Submissions

Author Guidelines

General principles

University Scientific Notes publishes original scholarly works that present the results of independent research, demonstrate scientific novelty, have an appropriate analytical level, and contain well-founded conclusions.

The journal follows a content-oriented approach to the initial consideration of manuscripts. Priority is given to the quality, relevance, scholarly value, and conformity of the manuscript with the journal’s scope, rather than to formal technical requirements at the submission stage.

Authors may include scholars, academic staff, teaching staff, doctoral researchers, postgraduate students, degree-seeking researchers, employees of research institutions and higher education institutions, as well as legal and other practitioners from judicial, law enforcement, law-applying, governmental, self-governmental, and other institutions and organisations in Ukraine and abroad, provided that the submitted manuscript presents the results of independent scholarly or professional research and falls within the journal’s scope.

The journal does not consider manuscripts that lack sufficient scholarly depth or independent analytical contribution. The journal does not accept pupil or student papers for consideration, including those prepared as part of the educational process, whether submitted as single-authored works or co-authored with other persons.

Submission of a manuscript means that the author confirms:

• the originality of the material and the absence of its prior publication;

• that the manuscript is not under consideration by another journal;

• proper acknowledgement of all sources used;

• compliance with the requirements of academic integrity.

All manuscripts are subject to peer review in accordance with the journal’s peer review policy.

Content requirements

The manuscript should demonstrate:

• a clear research problem;
• engagement with relevant scholarship;
• a defined research objective;
• a coherent presentation of results;
• substantiated conclusions.

A typical structure of a research article includes:

• problem statement;
• analysis of recent research;
• research objectives;
• main body;
• conclusions and prospects for further research.

The journal does not impose rigid structural formatting, provided that the manuscript is logically organized and academically sound.

Length of the manuscript

The journal establishes minimum length requirements to ensure sufficient depth and academic value of the research.

• Article length: at least 30,000 characters, including spaces.
• The recommended length of a scholarly article is 18–40 pages.

Manuscripts that do not meet the minimum length requirement or do not demonstrate sufficient depth of analysis may be declined without peer review.

Abstract requirements

The abstract must comply with academic standards and reflect the essential content of the research.

• Minimum length: 2,000 characters (including spaces).
• The abstract must be informative rather than descriptive.

It should include:

• the research problem;
• the aim of the study;
• the methodology (where applicable);
• key results;
• main conclusions.

The abstract must not contain references, citations, or undefined abbreviations.

Keywords (3–6) should reflect the core concepts of the study.

Submission requirements

Authors are expected to submit manuscripts that are:

• clearly written and free from excessive or inconsistent formatting;
• linguistically and stylistically coherent;
• prepared in a form suitable for editorial processing.

Text and formatting

• Unjustified formatting (multiple fonts, excessive styles, manual spacing, etc.) should be avoided.
• Key terms may be highlighted using bold or italics (no underlining).
• References should be clearly indicated and consistently formatted.

Figures, tables, and graphics

If included, visual materials must:

• be readable and of sufficient quality;
• allow for editorial and linguistic adjustments if necessary;
• be submitted in editable or high-resolution formats where possible.

References and links

• References must be accurate and verifiable.
• Web links must be active at the time of submission.
• The editorial office may standardize or shorten links for consistency and formatting purposes.

References

The reference list must:

• include only sources cited in the text;
• be accurate, complete, and verifiable;
• follow a consistent citation format.

References are arranged in the order of citation in the text.

The journal currently applies national bibliographic standards:

• DSTU GOST 7.1:2006
• DSTU 8302:2015

Where possible, authors are encouraged to:

• provide DOIs for cited sources;
• include English translations or transliteration of references not in Latin script.

The editorial office may standardize references to ensure consistency and compliance with indexing requirements.

Author information

The submission should include:

• full name(s) of the author(s);
• academic degree, title, position, and institutional affiliation;
• email address;
• ORCID (if available).

Submission process

Manuscripts are submitted primarily through the journal’s electronic system (OJS).

Submission by email may be accepted in exceptional cases.

Communication with authors is carried out via:

• the OJS system; or
• email correspondence.

Editorial processing

The editorial office may:

• request revisions or clarifications;
• carry out linguistic and technical editing;
• adapt the manuscript to the journal’s publication format.

Such processing does not alter the substantive content of the work.

Manuscripts that do not meet basic academic or quality standards may be declined without further review.

Author responsibilities

Authors are responsible for:

• the accuracy of the content;
• proper citation of sources;
• compliance with academic integrity requirements;
• responding to editorial and reviewer comments where applicable.

Where relevant, authors should provide:

• information on funding or institutional support;
• disclosure of any conflicts of interest.

After the list of references, the author shall provide information ensuring the transparency of the publication.

Author Contributions. The author(s) should briefly indicate the specific contributions of each author (conceptualization, analysis, writing, editing, etc.). For single-authored articles, this section is not required. In this section, the following role descriptions may be used, where appropriate: conceptualization (formulation of the research idea and problem), methodology (development of approaches and methods of analysis), data collection (selection of case law, sources, and normative materials), analysis and interpretation (processing of materials and formulation of conclusions), writing – original draft, writing – review and editing, supervision (scientific or general guidance of the research), project administration (organization of work and coordination of authors).

Funding. The author(s) shall indicate sources of financial support or explicitly state that the research received no external funding. If the research was conducted within the framework of an institutional research topic of a higher education institution, the author shall indicate its title and, where applicable, the state registration number.

Conflict of Interest. This section is mandatory in all cases: the author either confirms the absence of a conflict of interest or briefly discloses its existence. In the declaration, the author should indicate any circumstances that may affect the objectivity of the research or create such an impression. This includes not only financial factors but also professional, institutional, or personal involvement in the subject of the study. In particular, this may include participation of the author as a representative in a case analyzed in the article (e.g., “The author acted as a representative in the case analyzed in this article”), employment in an institution whose activities are examined (“The author is an employee of the institution whose activities are analyzed in the study”), or participation in the drafting of a нормативного акта or decision under analysis (“The author participated in the drafting of the legal act analyzed in the article”). A conflict of interest may also arise from professional relationships with individuals or entities related to the subject of the research (e.g., “The author provides professional services to an entity whose activities are related to the subject of this study”). If no such circumstances exist, this should be explicitly stated: “The author declares no conflict of interest.”

Acknowledgments. Where appropriate, the author may acknowledge individuals or institutions that contributed to the preparation of the article but do not meet the criteria for authorship. This section is optional. Acknowledgments are appropriate where a person has made a significant contribution to the work without qualifying as an author. Typical examples include providing консультації or expert advice on specific issues, discussing research ideas, offering comments on the manuscript, assisting with the selection of sources, case law or archival materials, providing technical assistance (preparation of tables, formatting, translation, language editing), organizational support (facilitating access to information, databases, or documents), institutional support (department or research unit within which the study was conducted), or contributing to the discussion of results (e.g., participation in seminars or workshops where useful feedback was obtained).

Use of Artificial Intelligence. The author shall indicate whether artificial intelligence tools were used. If not, this should be explicitly stated. If such tools were used, the author shall briefly describe the tool(s) and the purpose of their use (e.g., language editing, improvement of wording without altering the content, assistance in structuring the text, technical formatting, or generation of ideas at the initial stage of the research as an auxiliary tool). In all cases, the author must explicitly confirm the independent conduct of the research, including the development of arguments and conclusions, and bears full responsibility for the content of the article.

Final provisions

Submission of a manuscript constitutes acceptance of the journal’s editorial policies.

The journal reserves the right to make final decisions regarding publication, editing, and presentation of submitted materials.