Research Ethics Involving Human Participants

The journal "Achievements of Economics: Perspectives and Innovations" adheres to international standards for the ethical conduct of research involving human participants. This policy applies to all manuscripts submitted to the journal that contain results of studies in which human participants served as objects or subjects of scientific research.

1. Scope

This policy applies to research involving:

— surveys, questionnaires, and interviews; — focus groups and group discussions; — experiments in behavioral economics, neuroeconomics, and decision-making; — analysis of personal data, including data of employees, consumers, and entrepreneurs; — observation of participant behavior in controlled or natural settings; — collection of biometric, medical, or psychological data in the context of economic research; — use of data from vulnerable populations (refugees, internally displaced persons, minors, persons with disabilities, military personnel, and veterans).

This policy does not apply to research based exclusively on the analysis of publicly available aggregated statistical data, open government registers, or published scholarly sources without the involvement of human participants.

2. Core Principles

The journal is guided by the following principles of ethical research:

Respect for participant autonomy. Every research participant has the right to voluntary and informed participation, as well as the right to withdraw at any stage without negative consequences.

Minimization of risks. Research must be designed to minimize any physical, psychological, social, or economic risks to participants.

Confidentiality. Participants' personal data must be protected. Research results must be presented in a form that prevents identification of individual participants, unless explicit consent has been provided.

Justice. Participant selection must be justified and fair. Research must not disproportionately burden vulnerable populations.

Integrity. Research results must accurately reflect the actual course of events without fabrication, falsification, or selective data presentation.

3. Informed Consent

Informed consent from participants is required for all research involving human subjects. Informed consent means that participants:

— received clear and complete information about the purpose, procedure, duration, and potential risks of the research;

— were informed about how their data will be used and stored;

— had the opportunity to ask questions before the start of the research;

— gave consent voluntarily, without coercion, pressure, or manipulation;

— were informed of their right to withdraw consent at any stage.

For research using online surveys, informed consent may be obtained electronically (e.g., mandatory confirmation on the first page of the questionnaire).

For research involving vulnerable populations, additional safeguards must be observed in accordance with national and international legislation.

The journal does not require submission of copies of informed consent forms; however, authors must confirm that consent was obtained and retain the relevant documentation in case of a request from the editorial office.

4. Ethical Approval

Research involving human participants must be approved by the relevant ethics committee or institutional review board (IRB) before data collection begins.

In the manuscript, authors should indicate:

— the name of the ethics committee that granted approval;

— the number and date of the ethical approval decision;

— confirmation that all participants provided informed consent.

If the research did not require ethical approval (e.g., analysis of anonymous aggregated data or voluntary anonymous online survey with minimal risk), authors must include an appropriate justification in the manuscript stating the reasons why ethical approval was not required.

Example statement with approval: "This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of [institution name] (protocol No. [number] dated [date]). All participants provided written informed consent to participate in the study."

Example statement without approval: "This study is based on an anonymous voluntary online survey with minimal risk to participants. In accordance with the institutional requirements of [institution name], ethical approval is not mandatory for this type of research. All respondents confirmed their consent to participate before completing the questionnaire."

5. Protection of Personal Data

Authors are required to comply with national and international legislation on the protection of personal data, including:

— the Law of Ukraine "On the Protection of Personal Data" (No. 2297-VI dated 01.06.2010);

— the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union (GDPR)

— for research involving EU citizens or conducted within the EU.

Manuscripts must not contain data that allows identification of individual participants (surnames, contact details, exact addresses, photographs) unless the participant has provided explicit consent for the publication of such information.

6. Research Involving Vulnerable Populations

Research involving vulnerable populations (minors, refugees, internally displaced persons, military personnel and veterans, persons with disabilities, incarcerated persons) requires heightened attention to:

— obtaining informed consent from legal representatives (for minors);

— ensuring voluntariness of participation without any institutional pressure;

— anonymization of data at all stages of research and publication;

— consideration of potential risks of re-traumatization (for persons who have experienced military conflict or violence).

The editorial board reserves the right to request additional explanations from authors regarding compliance with ethical standards in research involving vulnerable populations.

7. Role of the Editorial Board

The editorial board of the journal:

— verifies the presence of ethical approval and informed consent statements in all manuscripts containing research involving human participants;

— may request additional documentation from authors regarding compliance with ethical standards;

— reserves the right to reject a manuscript if the research was conducted in violation of ethical norms;

— reserves the right to initiate retraction of a published article if research ethics violations are discovered after publication, in accordance with the journal's Retraction Policy.

8. Regulatory Framework

This policy has been developed with reference to:

— World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki (revised 2024);

— COPE Position Statement: Studies Requiring Ethics Approval;

— ICMJE Recommendations: Protection of Research Participants;

— Taylor & Francis Research Ethics Guidelines for Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Journals;

— Law of Ukraine "On the Protection of Personal Data";

— General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union (GDPR).