Ethical Conclusion Policy

The policy of the proceedings “Design, Production and Operation of Agricultural Machinery” regarding the obtaining of ethical approval for research involving humans, animals, their biomaterials, and confidential data is based on the current legislation of Ukraine, in particular the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of Human Rights in Biomedical Research,” the Law of Ukraine “On Personal Data Protection,” the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Animals from Cruelty,” as well as international ethical guidelines (the Declaration of Helsinki, ARRIVE, etc.). The proceedings recognize the priority of ethical norms and standards in scientific research involving humans, animals, their biological materials, as well as studies dealing with personal or other confidential data.

Authors are required to provide confirmation of a positive opinion (approval) from an authorized ethics committee in cases where the research:

  • involves human participants as research subjects;
  • includes work with human biomaterials;
  • involves the use of animals or biological specimens derived from them;
  • includes the processing of personal, sensitive, or confidential data;
  • falls under specific legal provisions of Ukraine or international regulations on bioethics and biosafety.

The ethical approval must clearly indicate:

  • the full name of the institution that issued the approval;
  • the date and protocol number;
  • the forms of informed consent obtained (for studies involving human participants).

Authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained voluntarily, without coercion, and in a form understandable to the participants.
The publication of personal data or visual materials that allow identification of an individual without their written consent is prohibited.

Research involving animals must comply with the 3Rs principles (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement). Authors must provide information on housing conditions, protocols used, and measures taken to minimize animal suffering.

The processing of confidential and personal data must comply with the requirements of the Law of Ukraine “On Personal Data Protection” and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Data must be depersonalized or anonymized. Authors must describe data protection mechanisms and access procedures.

The editorial board reserves the right to request copies of ethical approvals, informed consent forms, research protocols, or other documents to verify compliance with ethical standards. The proceedings may refuse to publish a manuscript in which ethical requirements have been violated or where information on compliance is incomplete.

If violations of ethical standards are identified after publication, the proceedings may take appropriate editorial actions, ranging from issuing corrections to retracting the article. Decisions will be made in accordance with COPE recommendations.