About the Journal

Aims and Scope

The aim of the scholarly journal “Problems of Literary Criticism” is to publish original research in the fields of literary studies, literary theory, comparative literature, and related humanities disciplines, as well as to foster the development of contemporary scholarly discourse, promote the integration of Ukrainian humanities into the international academic community, and ensure open access to research findings.

The journal focuses on key research areas, including:

literary theory and history of literature;
comparative literary studies;
reception studies;
intermedial and interdisciplinary approaches;
postcolonial, decolonial, and cultural studies perspectives;
contemporary methodologies in the humanities.

The main objectives of the journal are:

to provide a platform for the dissemination of original research findings;
to uphold high standards of academic integrity, transparency, and independent peer review;
to promote international scholarly collaboration and attract contributions from researchers worldwide;
to advance contemporary methodological approaches in literary studies;
to support early-career researchers and facilitate their integration into the academic community;
to ensure open access to scholarly publications in accordance with open science principles;
to enhance the visibility and impact of research through indexing in international databases.

The journal publishes research articles, review articles, book reviews, and other materials relevant to its scope, all of which undergo a process of independent peer review.

Editorial Policy and Ethics

The journal follows internationally recognized standards of publication ethics and academic integrity, including the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and other widely accepted international principles of scholarly publishing.

The editorial policy is designed to ensure transparency, objectivity, academic quality, and ethical responsibility of all participants in the publication process – authors, reviewers, and editors.

General principles of publication ethics

The journal adheres to the following core COPE principles:

honesty and reliability of research findings;
transparency of all stages of the editorial process;
fair and unbiased treatment of authors regardless of status, institution, or country;
non-discrimination on any grounds;
responsibility of all participants for compliance with ethical standards.

Ethical responsibilities of authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to the journal are expected to:

submit only original research that has not been previously published and is not under consideration elsewhere;
properly cite all sources used;
avoid plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and data fabrication;
disclose any potential conflicts of interest;
comply with ethical standards in the use of research materials.

In cases of detected violations, the editorial board reserves the right to reject a manuscript or retract a published article.

Peer review principles

The journal applies a double-blind peer review system, which ensures:

anonymity of both authors and reviewers;
objectivity and impartiality of evaluation;
assessment based solely on scholarly criteria;
confidentiality of all materials involved in the review process.

Reviewers are expected to:

evaluate manuscripts fairly, objectively, and constructively;
inform the editorial board of any conflicts of interest;
not use unpublished materials for their own research prior to publication.

Editorial responsibilities

The editorial board ensures:

independence of editorial decisions from external influence;
fair and unbiased consideration of all submitted manuscripts;
confidentiality of manuscripts and reviews;
response to all suspected cases of ethical misconduct in accordance with COPE guidelines;
the possibility of corrections, retractions, or clarifications of published materials when necessary.

Research integrity policy

The journal maintains zero tolerance toward:

plagiarism and self-plagiarism;
data fabrication or falsification;
duplicate submission or publication;
improper authorship;
undisclosed conflicts of interest.

All submitted manuscripts may be screened using specialized plagiarism detection tools.

Corrections, retractions, and editorial changes

In cases where errors or ethical issues are identified after publication, the journal follows COPE guidelines regarding:

corrections (Erratum / Corrigendum);
retractions;
editorial notes or clarifications.

These measures aim to ensure the accuracy of the scholarly record and maintain trust in published research.

Conflict of interest

All participants in the publication process are required to disclose any financial, professional, or other conflicts of interest that may influence the objectivity of the review or interpretation of research results.

Responsibility of participants

The journal considers authors, reviewers, and editors equal participants in scholarly communication who share responsibility for:

the quality of academic content;
adherence to ethical standards;
the development of an integrity-based scholarly environment.

Compliance with International Standards

The journal adheres to internationally recognized standards of publication ethics and research integrity, including the principles and recommendations of:

the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE);
the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).

By following these frameworks, the journal ensures alignment with best international practices in scholarly publishing, peer review, and research evaluation.

Editorial ethics and responsibilities

The editorial board is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and ensures that all stages of the publication process are conducted in accordance with ethical norms. In particular, the journal guarantees:

Transparency of editorial procedures – all stages of manuscript handling, from submission to publication, are clearly defined and consistently applied;
Objectivity and fairness in peer review – all submitted manuscripts are evaluated solely on the basis of scholarly merit, originality, methodological rigor, and relevance to the journal’s scope;
Prevention of unethical practices – the journal takes active measures to prevent plagiarism, data fabrication, duplicate publication, conflicts of interest, and other forms of academic misconduct;
Ethical assessment of scholarly materials – each submission is evaluated not only for scientific quality but also for compliance with ethical standards in research involving sources, citations, and academic representation.

Commitment to research integrity

The journal promotes responsible research assessment in line with DORA principles, emphasizing the quality and content of individual scholarly contributions rather than quantitative indicators such as journal impact factors.

All participants in the publication process – authors, reviewers, and editors – are expected to adhere to these standards to ensure the integrity, credibility, and international recognition of published research.

Peer Review Process

The author provides an article to the editorial board; the article should meet the requirements of the policy of the journal “Pytannia literaturoznavstva” and the rules of the preparation of articles and scientific papers before publication. Manuscripts that do not meet the adopted requirements are not accepted for further consideration.
All manuscripts submitted to the Editorial Board are directed according to the profile of research to a reviewer. The chief editor of “Pytannia literaturoznavstva” assigns reviewers. Under certain circumstances reviewers can be assigned at the meeting of the Editorial Board by its members. According to the chief editor's decision some articles of the eminent scientists as well as specially requested articles may be exempted from the standard procedures of reviewing.
For reviewing articles as reviewers may act both members of the Editorial Board of the scientific journal “Pytannia literaturoznavstva” and foreign top-qualified professionals who have profound professional knowledge and experience in a particular scientific direction, usually PhDs and professors.
After receipt of article for review reviewer evaluates the possibility of reviewing materials based on his own skills under the direction of the author and the absence of any conflict of interest. If there are any competing interests reviewer should not review the article and should inform the Editorial Board about this. The latter should decide to appoint another reviewer.
Reviewer usually concludes the possibility of printing the article. The review timeline in each individual case depends on the conditions required for the most objective assessment of the quality of the submitted materials, but does not exceed one month from the date the author’s manuscript is received for review.
Reviewing is held in confidence by the principles of double-blind reviewing (two-way “blind” review, when neither the author nor the reviewer know each other). The interaction between the author and reviewers occurs (in a way of correspondence by e-mail) through the executive secretary of the scientific journal. At the request of the reviewer and in agreement with the working group an interaction between the Editorial Board and reviewer can occur in an open mode (such decision is made only if the interaction of openness will improve the style and presentation logic of research material).
After the final analysis of the article the reviewer fills out a standardized form, which contains a summary of recommendations.
If the reviewer points to the need to make certain corrections in the article, it is sent to the author with the offer to consider the comments in the preparation of an updated version of the article or to refute them reasonably. With a revised article, the author adds the letter, which contains answers to all comments and explains all the changes that were made in the article. Revised version is given to a reviewer again for the decision and preparation of a reasoned conclusion about the publication appropriateness.
In case of inconsistency with the reviewer opinion the author is entitled to a reasonable response to the editor of the journal. In this case the article is considered at a meeting of the Working Group of the Editorial Board. Editors may submit an article for additional or new review to another expert. Editorial Board has the right to reject articles in case of the author's failure or unwillingness to consider suggestions and comments of reviewers. At the request of the author the Editorial Board can give the article to another reviewer with mandatory compliance with the principles of double-blind review.
The final decision on the expediency of the publication is adopted by the chief editor, and if necessary at the meeting of the Editorial Board. After deciding on the admission of articles for publication executive secretary shall notify the author and indicate the expected date of publication.
In the case of a positive decision on the possibility of publishing an article comes to the editorial magazine portfolio for its publication in the order of turn and relevance (in some cases, by the decision of the Editorial Board, the article may be published out of turn, in the nearest issue).
The date of acceptance of articles for publication is the date of a positive opinion by editorial reviewer (or the decision of the Editorial Board) about the possibility of publishing an article.
The approved for publication article is provided to a technical editor. Minor stylistic or formal corrections which do not affect the content of the article are made by the technical editor without the consent of the author.
Responsibility for the validity and independence of the findings, theoretical and practical level of the article is imposed on the author.

Plagiarism Policy

The journal accepts for publication only original materials that have not been previously published and have not been submitted for publication to other journals.

All manuscripts submitted to the editorial office are checked for originality using the Unicheck text-matching detection service at the initial review stage.

In cases where plagiarism is detected, the manuscript is rejected.

AI Policy

The editorial board of the scholarly journal adheres to the principles of academic integrity, transparency, and responsibility in the use of artificial intelligence (hereinafter – AI) technologies.

Use of AI by Authors

Authors may use AI tools exclusively as auxiliary instruments, including for:

language editing and stylistic improvement;
text formatting;
organization of material.

Authors are required to clearly disclose the use of AI in the manuscript (in the “Acknowledgements” or “Methods” section), specifying:

the name of the tool;
the nature of its use.

Prohibited Use

The following practices are prohibited:

generating the main content of a scholarly article (text, analysis, conclusions);
creating or falsifying data, sources, or research results;
presenting AI-generated material as original scholarly work.

AI tools cannot be listed as authors of a scholarly publication.

Use of AI by Reviewers and Editors

Reviewers and members of the editorial board:

must not upload manuscripts or their parts to AI services that may store or reuse data;
are required to ensure the confidentiality of submitted materials;
may use AI tools only for limited language assistance.

Responsibility

Authors bear full responsibility for the content of submitted materials regardless of the use of AI.

Violation of this policy may result in:

rejection of the manuscript;
retraction of a published article;
notification of the author’s affiliated institution.

Procedure for Handling Complaints and Appeals

The journal provides a transparent procedure for handling complaints related to:

editorial decisions;
the peer-review process;
breaches of academic integrity.

Submission of a complaint

Complaints should be sent to the editorial email address: pytlit@chnu.edu.ua

A complaint must include:

the name and affiliation of the complainant;
the nature of the issue;
justification and, where possible, supporting evidence.

Review procedure

Acknowledgement of receipt – within 5 working days;
Initial review by the editorial team;
If necessary – involvement of an independent editor;
Decision and notification of the complainant – within 30 days.

Appeals

An author has the right to appeal an editorial decision. Appeals are considered independently and on the basis of scholarly argumentation.

Retraction and Post-Publication Changes

The journal follows the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) regarding the correction of the scholarly record.

Types of Post-Publication Changes

Correction (Erratum / Corrigendum)

Issued in cases of minor errors that do not affect the main results or conclusions of the study.

Retraction

An article may be retracted in cases of:

plagiarism or improper use of sources;
data fabrication or falsification;
significant methodological errors;
duplicate publication;
undisclosed conflict of interest;
breaches of the peer review process.

Retraction Procedure

initiated by the editorial board, the author, or a third party;
reviewed by the editorial board;
the decision is documented in writing with a clear justification;
a retraction notice is published and linked to the original article.

Retracted articles are not removed from the archive but are clearly marked as “Retracted”.

Open Access Policy and Copyright Notice

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Publication fees

The journal does not require authors to pay for any publication fees. Publication of articles is free of charge.

Archiving

The journal uses the LOCKSS system for distributed archival preservation of published content across numerous libraries and information centers. Participating LOCKSS libraries ensure long-term preservation of complete journal archives and the automatic restoration of damaged content.

For archival preservation, the journal also uses the PKP Preservation Network.

Copies of articles are stored on the DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) and CEEOL (Central and Eastern European Online Library) platforms.

Abstracting and Indexing

The journal is indexed in the international databases: Index Copernicus, Central and Eastern European Online Library (CEEOL), MLA International Bibliography, Slavic Humanities Index, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), EBSCO Discovery Services.

About the Journal

Peer Review Process

Plagiarism Policy

Open Access Policy and Copyright Notice

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