Research Ethics Policy

All manuscripts submitted to Geliotekhnika must comply with accepted principles of research integrity, ethical conduct, accuracy, transparency, and responsible scientific practice.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their research complies with applicable laws, institutional requirements, professional standards, safety rules, and ethical requirements. The journal follows relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Research Integrity

Authors must:

• present research methods, data, results, and conclusions accurately and honestly;

• avoid fabrication, falsification, or misleading alteration of data, results, or images;

• avoid plagiarism, duplicate publication, inappropriate text recycling, and citation manipulation;

• cite all sources appropriately;

• include as authors only individuals who meet the journal’s authorship criteria;

• disclose conflicts of interest, funding sources, and substantive use of artificial intelligence tools;

• obtain all necessary permissions for the use of data, software, figures, materials, equipment, and intellectual property;

• preserve research records in a manner that supports accuracy and verification.

Ethics Approval and Ethical Oversight

Most theoretical, computational, materials-science, and engineering studies in solar energy do not involve human or animal participants and therefore do not normally require formal research ethics committee approval.

However, approval must be obtained from an appropriate ethics committee, institution, or competent authority before research begins where it involves:

• human participants or identifiable personal data;

• surveys, interviews, observations, user testing, or professional assessments;

• human-derived materials;

• animals;

• activities requiring specific environmental, biosafety, radiation, industrial, or occupational-safety oversight;

• field, laboratory, or industrial testing that requires permission under applicable law or institutional or governmental rules.

Where approval is required, the manuscript must identify:

• the full name of the approving committee or authority;

• the approval, protocol, or licence number, where available;

• the approval date, where relevant;

• the applicable ethical or legal standard under which the research was conducted.

Where ethics approval is not required, authors may state:

Ethics approval: Not applicable. This study did not involve human participants, identifiable personal data, or animals and did not require formal ethics approval under the applicable requirements.

The Editorial Office may request a copy of the approval or a reasoned explanation confirming why formal ethics approval was not required.

Human Participants and Personal Data

Research involving human participants, surveys, interviews, assessments of the comfort or behaviour of building or energy-system users, professional observations, or identifiable personal data must comply with applicable ethical and data-protection requirements.

Authors must:

• provide participants with understandable information about the purpose, procedures, possible risks, and benefits of the research;

• ensure that participation is voluntary;

• obtain free and informed consent where required;

• respect a participant’s right to withdraw without adverse consequences;

• apply appropriate confidentiality, anonymisation, or pseudonymisation measures;

• collect, store, and process personal data only within the approved purposes and retention period.

Additional safeguards and consent from a legally authorised representative may be required where participants are minors, persons with limited decision-making capacity, employees in dependent relationships, or members of another vulnerable group.

Informed Consent and Consent for Publication

Informed consent must be obtained and documented, normally in writing, in accordance with applicable requirements or the decision of the relevant ethics committee.

Where an identifiable photograph, video, audio recording, individual case description, or other identifiable material is published, separate consent for publication may be required in addition to consent to participate in the research.

A waiver of consent may be used only where authorised by a competent ethics committee or applicable law. Authors must explain the legal and ethical basis for the waiver in the manuscript.

Research Involving Animals

Research involving animals must be conducted in accordance with applicable national legislation, institutional requirements, and animal-welfare principles.

Approval must be obtained from the competent ethics committee or regulatory body before the research begins. The manuscript must identify the approving body, approval or protocol number, and applicable standard.

Authors must scientifically justify the use of animals, reduce the number used where possible, minimise pain and risk of harm, and, where applicable, follow recognised reporting guidance such as ARRIVE.

Experimental, Laboratory, Field, and Industrial Research

Authors must obtain all necessary institutional, site, laboratory, industrial, landowner, safety, or governmental permissions before beginning experimental, laboratory, field, pilot, or industrial research.

Research activities must:

• comply with occupational, electrical, fire, chemical, radiation, and environmental safety requirements;

• avoid unjustified risk to people, property, energy infrastructure, and the environment;

• use equipment, test sites, and facilities lawfully and responsibly;

• document significant hazards, incidents, limitations, and protective measures;

• confirm the right to use third-party facilities or industrial data.

Specific Safety Requirements for Solar-Energy Research

Where relevant, authors must assess and control risks associated with:

• high voltage and electric current;

• concentrated solar radiation and optical or ultraviolet exposure;

• high temperature, pressure, and heat-transfer fluids;

• batteries, hydrogen, flammable, or toxic materials;

• chemical reagents, nanomaterials, and photovoltaic materials;

• working on roofs, towers, outdoor sites, or in adverse weather conditions;

• the effect of an experimental system on the electricity grid or existing infrastructure.

Important safety protocols, protective equipment, monitoring, and emergency measures must be described in the Methods section to the extent necessary.

Environmental Responsibility and Field Permissions

Research that may affect the environment, land, water, air quality, biodiversity, or natural resources must comply with applicable environmental legislation, permits, and local restrictions.

Authors must:

• assess the potential environmental effects of the research in advance;

• manage waste, hazardous materials, and emissions responsibly;

• minimise harm to the environment;

• obtain any permission required for protected areas or restricted resources;

• disclose important environmental limitations and uncertainties.

Data and Methodological Transparency

Authors must describe methods, experimental conditions, materials, equipment, software, computational models, assumptions, calculations, and analytical procedures in sufficient detail to support scientific evaluation and reproducibility.

Research data and supporting materials must be retained and provided where appropriate in accordance with the journal’s Research Data and Reproducibility Policy.

Fabrication, falsification, selective concealment, or misleading processing of data, images, graphs, code, models, or results is prohibited.

Required Declarations

Where applicable, every manuscript must include statements concerning:

• ethics approval;

• informed consent;

• consent for publication;

• funding;

• conflicts of interest;

• author contributions;

• data availability;

• use of artificial intelligence tools;

• required permits, licences, or safety approvals.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that every “Not applicable” declaration is justified and accurately reflects the nature of the research.

Editorial Assessment and Investigation

The Editorial Office or reviewers may assess ethics statements, approval documents, consent procedures, safety measures, and the adequacy of the research methods.

Where necessary, the journal may request:

• a copy of the ethics approval, consent form, or permit;

• the research protocol, risk assessment, or safety documentation;

• data, code, images, or laboratory records;

• clarification from the institution or competent authority.

The journal does not replace an ethics committee, but it may suspend consideration of a manuscript where there is serious doubt concerning the adequacy, authenticity, or applicability of the approval provided.

Non-Compliance

A manuscript that does not meet the journal’s ethical requirements may be returned for correction, suspended, rejected, or referred for investigation.

Where falsified ethics approval, missing required consent, unjustified harm to people or animals, falsified data, a serious safety violation, or another material concern is identified, the journal may:

• request an explanation and supporting documents from the authors;

• reject the manuscript or withdraw the acceptance decision;

• notify an institution, ethics committee, funding body, or competent authority;

• after publication, issue a correction, an editorial Expression of Concern, or a retraction notice;

• investigate the matter under the journal’s Research and Publication Misconduct Allegations Policy.

Authors will be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to the concern and provide relevant evidence before a final decision is made.

Policy Administration

This policy is effective from the date of its publication on the official website of Geliotekhnika and will be reviewed periodically in response to developments in research ethics, safety, data protection, and applicable legal requirements.

Questions, documents, or concerns concerning research ethics should be submitted to:

Email: ftikans@uzsci.net

This policy is informed by relevant COPE guidance on ethical oversight and, depending on the nature of the research, appropriate international guidance concerning research involving humans and animals.