Guidelines and rules are meticulously applied to act in accordance with the rules of the indexes to which Akdeniz İletişim is subject, and to be accepted by higher level journal indexes by publishing qualified studies. Thus, studies that do not comply with these rules are rejected at the preliminary evaluation stage. For minor deficiencies in terms of Author Guidelines, revisions are requested from the authors, but no concessions are made in these revision requests. During the pre-evaluation stage, the maximum time allowed for the author to complete the revisions is 7 (seven) days. The manuscripts that do not fulfill the revisions within this period are returned to the author(s).

For this reason, it is of great importance for author candidates who are considering submitting their manuscript to Akdeniz İletişim to take into account the rules and recommendations in this section.

In addition, we would like to inform that it is the authors' own responsibility to follow the processes. All responsibility for the delays caused by the author belongs to the author.

It is Akdeniz İletişim’s priority criteria that;

• all manuscripts to be submitted are written in accordance with APA’s journal article reporting standards (available at https://apastyle.apa.org/jars)
• their references are arranged by using Mendeley (https://www.mendeley.com/) or Endnote (https://endnote.com/) reference managers.
• the number of words used in the titles is at most 12, the number of words used in the abstract is between 150-250, and the number of words in the manuscript is between 5000-8500 (including the abstract, tables and footnotes, excluding the References).
• the manuscripts are scanned for plagiarism on Turnitin or iThenticate, and their originality reports are uploaded to the Manuscript Submission System,
• the manuscripts are prepared on the Manuscript Template.

Writing and Publishing Rules

- Manuscripts submitted to Akdeniz İletişim must be original and must not have been published elsewhere and sent for publication. The preliminary, peer-review and/or publication processes of the manuscripts that are found to be published in other journals or publications are terminated.
- Due to the indexation rules that Akdeniz İletişim is subject to, the same author cannot publish more than one article in a year. In addition, each author is required to submit only one (1) manuscript in one issue for consideration. An author (whether first, second, third, etc.) may submit only one (1) manuscript per issue. Otherwise, all manuscripts submitted by an author will be rejected at the preliminary evaluation stage.
- All authors who have contributed to the submitted manuscript should be stated as an author of the manuscript. If this is not notified by the corresponding author at the beginning, no corrections regarding author contributions will be processed even if the authors request any correction from Akdeniz İletişim later. JAUFC has no legal responsibility in this sense. Authors who submit articles to Akdeniz İletişim are deemed to have accepted the legal issues.
- All manuscripts should be prepared on the Manuscript Template. You can download the Manuscript Template here.
- The files to be uploaded separately from the Manuscript Template are stated below:
        o Turnitin / iThenticate Originality Report,
        o Cover Letter (in which authors’ information regarding their names, ORCID numbers, e-mail addresses, phone numbers and their short bio are provided) (should be filled and signed by all authors),
        o Copyright Transfer Form (should be filled and signed by corresponding authors),
        o Letter of Approval by Institutional Review Boards (where required)
- No author information should be included in the manuscript files sent for evaluation.
- Manuscripts should be prepared by using the MS Office Word program (.doc, .docx). No other formats are accepted.
- If the manuscripts have been previously presented in a meeting / symposium, the date and place of the meeting/symposium should be stated in the Cover Letter.
- Only manuscripts produced from doctoral dissertations are accepted for evaluation, those produced from master's thesis are not evaluated.
- If the manuscript was previously submitted as a doctoral dissertation and is produced from that dissertation, the title of the doctoral thesis should be stated and the information regarding the institute/institution, supervisor, etc. must be reported in the Cover Letter. The editorial board has the right to remove an article that was detected to have been produced from a doctoral thesis, even after it has been published, even though it was not notified by the author.
- If the manuscript produced from the doctoral dissertation is submitted to JAUFC as a manuscript produced by a single name, the petition of the doctoral dissertation supervisor notifying that he has waived all his rights (it is mandatory to have the doctoral dissertation supervisor’s wet signature) must be uploaded to the system. Thesis abstracts with a single name will be rejected at the preliminary evaluation stage if they do not upload this petition to the system.
- A maximum of three manuscripts produced from doctoral dissertations are published in all issues in a year.
- If the manuscript has been supported by a funding agency, the information regarding the funder, project number, etc. must be reported in the Cover Letter.
- APA 7 citation rules (https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines) should be considered when making in-text references to the sources used in the manuscripts and preparing the references at the end of the manuscript. The works in the references should be listed alphabetically. The works in the references should be included in the text, and the works cited in the text should be included in the References. Footnotes and endnotes are not accepted in our Journal.
- At the end of the manuscripts written in Turkish, there should be an English extended abstract section of at least 600 and maximum 850 words that briefly summarizes the study. Extended abstract in English is only required for Turkish manuscripts. Structured extended abstracts are not required for manuscripts in English. Please consider the Structured Extended Abstract format available in the Manuscript Template.
- The main titles of the manuscript (including the titles of Introduction, Conclusion, References and Extended Abstract) should be written in Calibri Light (Heading) font, lowercase, 14 point, bold and centered, with the first letters capitalized. Except for the main title, introduction, conclusion, references and extended abstract sections, all titles should be numbered and these numbered titles should be left-justified in the text. Headings and subheadings should be short and clear. Please consider the Manuscript Template.
- Manuscripts should be written in Calibri (Body), in 12 pt and single spacing.
- Pages should be arranged with 2.5 cm margins on the right, left, top and bottom. Paragraphs in the manuscript should be indented. Paragraph spacing should be 0 pt first and then 6 pt. Page numbers should not be added. The titles of figures, graphics and pictures are at the bottom in Calibri (Body) font, 10 pt, in the middle and in bold. Table headings should be in Calibri (Body) font, 10 pt size, centered and numbered in bold at the top.
- It will be appropriate for manuscripts to comply with the following order in the studies: Title, Abstract, Keywords, English Title, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Main Text, Method, Results, Discussion, Conclusion and References, and Structured Extended Abstract in English (if the manuscript is in Turkish). APA Journal Article Reporting Standards must be applied.
- Manuscripts should employ in-text references for citations instead of footnotes. If footnotes are needed, footnotes should be written in 8 pt and single line spacing.
- All manuscripts prepared in Turkish or English must have been grammarly proofread by a native speaker.
- All legal, academic, ethical, etc. responsibility belongs to the author(s). Manuscripts should not contain plagiarism, and originality report obtained from Turnitin or iThenticate should be uploaded to the Manuscript Submission System together with the study. For manuscripts to be evaluated, the Turnitin/ iThenticate originality report must be 15% or less (with less than 9 words, including citations, excluding references). The rate of quoting from the same study should be at most 3%. Manuscripts with a similarity rate above or those without a Turnitin/iThenticate report will be desk-rejected.
- In accordance with the copyright law, the permissions for quotations, tables, pictures, examples, etc. used in the manuscript must be obtained by the authors from the copyright-holders.
- If human factor is involved in research articles, then the Letter of Approval by Institutional Review Boards should be uploaded to the system. Manuscripts that do not require such letter are required to upload a wet-signed petition to the system for notifying this situation.

Referencing Rules

• Only APA 7 style rules (https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines) should be applied for references and in-text citations.
• The References should include the DOI numbers of the works which were assigned a DOI number.

The publishing process of the Journal of Akdeniz University Faculty of Communication (JAUFC) is based on the impartial production, development and sharing of information using scientific methods; adhering to academic principles, it is committed to preventing malpractices in publishing in accordance with determined academic and ethical standards. International standards set by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) are taken into account in scientific articles sent to ensure ethical principles (https://publicationethics.org/files/u7141/1999pdf13.pdf).
Uploading the article via DergiPark for publication in JAUFC by the author(s) starts the application process.
Akdeniz University Journal of the Faculty of Communication has the right to make corrections, and publish or not publish the articles submitted.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD
The Editorial Board of the Journal of the Akdeniz University Faculty of Communication (hereinafter, the "Editorial Board") is composed of the Editor(s), Asistant Editor(s) and Field Editors. Editor(s)/Asistant Editor(s) are responsible for every article submitted to the Journal of Akdeniz University Faculty of Communication, and even for all processes after its publication.
The Editorial Board ensures the determination and implementation of journal policies such as publication, blind refereeing, evaluation process, and ethical principles.
The submission of the article to the referee process by the Editorial Board does not mean a publication commitment. Even if the referee process is positive for the publication, the decision of the Editorial Board and the Editors / Assistant Editors is absolutely required.
The Editorial Board encourages academic honesty. The Editorial Board ensures the authenticity of written works by checking them prior to publication through the Turnitin and iThenticate plagiarism programs.
The Editorial Board always examines plagiarism and abuse allegations regarding published articles. For example, if an author has plagiarized other works in his article, used third-party copyrighted material without permission or with incomplete notification in cases where permission is required, the Editorial Board reserves the right to take various actions, including retracting the article, reporting the issue to the head of the department, dean and/or relevant academic institutions in the institution where the author works. .
RESPONSIBILITIES OF EDITORS / ASSISTANT EDITORS
JAUFC’s Editors/Assistant Editors are responsible for taking precautions regarding intellectual property rights, scientific-unethical behaviour and plagiarism during the publication process of articles and journals.
Editors/Assistant Editors take into consideration the original value of the articles, their contribution to the field, the validity and reliability of the research method, the clarity of the narrative, and the purpose and scope of the journal when making a positive or negative decision about the articles.
Editors/Assistant Editors implement blind peer-review and review process policies, keep the identities of referees and authors confidential from each other during the evaluation process, and ensure that each article is evaluated impartially and on time. They perform the correction of errors, inconsistencies or misdirections in the articles.
Editors/Assistant Editors ensure the protection of personal data within the scope of the journal's publication principles and ethical principles.
Editors/Assistant Editors pay attention to the protection of human and animal rights in articles, attach importance to documenting the explicit consent of the participants in the study, and reject the article when there is no ethical committee approval in experimental studies or studies containing questionnaires.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF REFEREES
The opinions of the referees are prioritized in the decision of the Editorial Board on whether the submitted manuscript will be published or not.
The referees should evaluate the work fairly and impartially, following the two-way blind referee procedure.
Referees must comply with the principle of confidentiality, they are obliged not to use the information obtained from the evaluation process for their personal interests; they should not share their reports or information about the article with others.
Referee reviews should be objective and constructive. The academic proficiency of the article should be taken as a basis. Criticisms against the personalities of the authors are not considered appropriate. The referees should present the explanations and arguments to support their evaluations in the referee evaluation reports submitted by the journal editor. Editors/Assistant Editors have the right to remove the referee in case his/her evaluation report is considered biased, personalized and containing unjustified approvals and/or rejections, and they re-appoint a new referee instead.
Reviewers should not agree to review articles that may result in personal or organizational conflicts of interest.
Referees should notify the journal editor of any actual or potential cases of plagiarism, multiple publications or multiple submissions if they detect it.
The referees should make the evaluation with impartiality and confidentiality. In accordance with this principle, they should destroy the articles they have reviewed after the evaluation process. Nationality, gender, religious beliefs, political views, and commercial concerns should not impair the academic impartiality of the assessment.
The referees should evaluate the article for which they accepted the evaluation within the time limit. In order to increase the academic quality of the article, the correction suggestions of the referees are forwarded to the authors and if requested by the referees, the corrections made by the author are forwarded to the referee.
Reviewers cannot force authors to cite their own publications.
AUTHOR RESPONSIBILITIES
The texts/works submitted to the Journal of Akdeniz University Faculty of Communication should not contain plagiarism and should be original. Responsibility for this matter lies entirely with the authors.
It is the author(s) responsibility to comply with the formal rules of the journal and to make the necessary formal corrections on time.
Any form of plagiarism is a very serious ethical issue, including the author's improper self-quotation. The evaluation process of articles found to contain plagiarism will be ended immediately and definitely and without reevaluation.
If plagiarism is detected after publication, the Editors and Assistant Editors take appropriate action.
The author has the right to withdraw the article until the publication decision is made, provided that it is notified to the journal editorial board.
Authors should not use discriminatory language on the basis of belonging and identities such as gender, race, language, belief, culture, class, age, opinion, group and sexual orientation.
Works/articles must not violate the privacy and intellectual property rights of a third party.
Authors must identify all persons with a stake in their work. Individuals who have a significant share in their work should be cited as co-authors. A work cannot be published without the consent of all its authors.
The names of people who do not contribute to the article should not be written as authors. It should not be recommended to change the author order, remove an author, or add an author for an article that has been applied for publication.
Authors should indicate if an old version of the work/text has been published elsewhere. If the work is compiled from an unpublished thesis or an unpublished scientific meeting presentation, it should be indicated as a footnote on the first page.
Authors are responsible for acting in accordance with current legal copyright regulations.
If information or data is requested from the authors during the evaluation process, they should submit the requested information to the journal editor as soon as possible.
Authors are responsible for fulfilling the correction suggestions of the referees and Editors/Editor's assistants. In case of disagreement with the suggestions of the referees or Editors/Editor's assistants, the author has the right to inform the journal editor about this situation along with his/her justification.
Authors should submit their actions to the referee evaluation suggestions to the journal editor by including them in the report sent by the journal editorial.
All authors should disclose any financial or other conflicts of interest in their research papers that are thought to affect the results or interpretation of that article. All sources of financial support received for the study should be clearly identified.
When an author discovers a serious error or inaccuracy in a published article, he should notify the journal editor without delay. In this case, the author is responsible for cooperating with the journal editor in retracting or publishing a correction to the article.
Ethics committee approval should be obtained separately for studies conducted and for clinical and experimental studies on humans and animals that require an ethics committee decision, and this approval should be stated and documented in the article.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ADVISORY BOARD
Advisory Board is composed of faculty members associated with different universities.
Faculty members who agree to be a member of JAUFC’s advisory board may act as a referee for the submitted manuscripts or suggest referees, advise on the policy and scope of the journal, suggest topics for special issues, support publishing special issues as guest editors, support the promotion of the journal to young researchers/colleagues, assist the editor(s) in resolving disputes.

REPORTING UNETHICAL PRACTICES
In case of a practice that does not comply with the ethical principles regarding the editors, referees and authors, or in case of a situation that violates the ethical principles regarding an article in the evaluation process, in early view or published, please contact us at iletişimdergi@akdeniz.edu.tr.