Ethical Responsibilities Expected from Authors Submitting Work to Arşiv Kaynak Tarama Dergisi

Authors submitting work to *Arşiv Kaynak Tarama Dergisi* are expected to adhere to the following ethical responsibilities:

The publication processes applied by *Arşiv Kaynak Tarama Dergisi* form the basis for the unbiased and reputable development and dissemination of knowledge. The processes implemented in this direction directly reflect the quality of the authors' work and the institutions supporting them. Peer-reviewed studies embody and support the scientific method. At this point, it is essential for all stakeholders (authors, readers and researchers, publishers, reviewers, and editors) to comply with ethical principles and standards. Within the scope of publication ethics, *Arşiv Kaynak Tarama Dergisi* expects all stakeholders to uphold the following ethical responsibilities.

- The submitted work is expected to be original. If authors benefit from or use other works, they must cite and/or quote them completely and accurately.
- Individuals who did not contribute intellectually to the content of the work should not be listed as authors.
- Any potential conflicts of interest or relationships that may constitute a conflict of interest must be disclosed for all submitted works intended for publication.
- Authors may be requested to provide raw data related to their articles within the framework of evaluation processes. In such cases, authors should be prepared to submit the requested data and information to the editorial board and scientific committee.
- Authors must have the necessary rights to use the data, permissions related to the research/analyses, or documented consent from experimental subjects.
- If authors identify any errors or inaccuracies in their published, early-view, or under-review work, they are obligated to inform the journal editor or publisher, cooperate in corrections or retractions, and collaborate with the editor.
- Authors cannot submit their work to the evaluation processes of multiple journals simultaneously. Each submission can only be initiated after the previous submission is completed. A study published in another journal cannot be submitted to *Arşiv Kaynak Tarama Dergisi*.
- Changes to author responsibilities (such as adding an author, changing the author order, or removing an author) cannot be proposed after the evaluation process has begun.

Ethical Duties and Responsibilities of Editors

The editors and field editors of *Arşiv Kaynak Tarama Dergisi* must adhere to the following ethical duties and responsibilities based on the open-access guidelines published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): *"COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors"* and *"COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors."*

General Duties and Responsibilities

Editors are responsible for every publication in *Arşiv Kaynak Tarama Dergisi*. In this context, editors bear the following roles and obligations:

- Striving to meet the information needs of readers and authors,
- Ensuring the continuous development of the journal,
- Managing processes to improve the quality of published works,
- Supporting freedom of thought,
- Maintaining academic integrity,
- Conducting business processes without compromising intellectual property rights and ethical standards,
- Demonstrating transparency and clarity in publishing matters requiring corrections or explanations.

Relations with Readers

Editors must consider the knowledge, skills, and experience expectations of all readers, researchers, and practitioners when making decisions. They should ensure that published works contribute to readers, researchers, practitioners, and the scientific literature while maintaining originality. Additionally, editors are obligated to consider feedback from readers, researchers, and practitioners and provide explanatory and informative responses.

Relations with Authors

Editors' duties and responsibilities toward authors are as follows:

- Editors should make positive or negative decisions based on the importance, originality, validity, clarity of expression, and alignment with the journal's aims and objectives.
- They should proceed with the preliminary evaluation of works within the journal's scope unless there is a serious issue.
- Editors should not disregard favorable reviewer recommendations unless there is a serious problem with the work.
- New editors should not change decisions made by previous editor(s) unless there is a serious issue.
- The *"Double-Blind Peer Review and Evaluation Process"* must be strictly followed, and editors should prevent deviations from defined processes.
- Authors should be provided with explanatory and informative notifications and feedback.

Relations with Reviewers

Editors' duties and responsibilities toward reviewers are as follows:

- Selecting reviewers appropriate to the subject of the work,
- Providing reviewers with necessary information and guidance for the evaluation stage,
- Monitoring potential conflicts of interest between authors and reviewers,
- Maintaining the confidentiality of reviewers' identities under the double-blind peer review system,
- Encouraging reviewers to evaluate works impartially, scientifically, and objectively,
- Establishing practices and policies to enhance reviewer performance,
- Taking necessary steps to dynamically update the reviewer pool,
- Preventing discourteous and unscientific evaluations,
- Expanding the reviewer pool to include a broad range of perspectives.

Relations with the Editorial Board

Editors must ensure that all editorial board members follow processes in line with publication policies and guidelines. They should inform editorial board members about publication policies and keep them updated on developments. Additionally, editors should:

- Ensure that editorial board members evaluate works impartially and independently,
- Appoint new editorial board members who are qualified and can contribute,
- Assign works to editorial board members according to their expertise,
- Maintain regular interaction with the editorial board,
- Organize periodic meetings with the editorial board to discuss publication policies and journal development.

 Relations with the Publisher and Journal Owner

The relationship between editors and the publisher is based on the principle of editorial independence. As per the written agreement between editors and the publisher, all decisions made by editors are independent of the publisher and journal owner.

 Editorial and Double-Blind Peer Review Processes

Editors are responsible for implementing the *"Blind Peer Review and Evaluation Process"* policies outlined in the journal's publication policies. In this context, editors ensure that each work undergoes a fair, impartial, and timely evaluation process.

Quality Assurance

Editors are responsible for ensuring that every article published in the journal complies with the journal's publication policies and international standards.

 Protection of Personal Data

Editors must ensure the protection of personal data regarding subjects or images in evaluated works. They are obligated to reject works if explicit consent from individuals involved is not documented. Additionally, editors are responsible for protecting the personal data of authors, reviewers, and readers.

 Ethics Committee, Human and Animal Rights

Editors must ensure the protection of human and animal rights in evaluated works. They are responsible for rejecting works lacking ethics committee approval for human subjects or experimental research permissions. Since our journal publishes review articles, ethics committee approval is not required.

Measures Against Possible Abuse and Misconduct

Editors are responsible for taking measures against possible abuse and misconduct. This includes conducting a meticulous and objective investigation into complaints and sharing findings related to the issue.

Ensuring Academic Publication Integrity

Editors must ensure the prompt correction of errors, inconsistencies, or misleading judgments in published works.

Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

Editors are responsible for protecting the intellectual property rights of all published articles and defending the rights of the journal and authors in case of violations. They must also take necessary measures to ensure that content in published articles does not infringe on the intellectual property rights of other publications.

 Constructiveness and Openness to Discussion

Editors should:

- Consider persuasive criticisms of works published in the journal and adopt a constructive attitude toward such criticisms,
- Allow authors of criticized works the right to respond,
- Not disregard or exclude studies with negative results.

Complaints

Editors are obligated to carefully examine complaints from authors, reviewers, or readers and respond in an enlightening and explanatory manner.

Political and Commercial Concerns

The journal owner, publisher, or any other political or commercial entity does not influence the independent decision-making of editors.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors must consider conflicts of interest among authors, reviewers, and other editors to ensure the publication process is completed independently and impartially.

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

The evaluation of all works through *"Double-Blind Peer Review"* directly impacts publication quality. This process ensures objectivity and independence in evaluation, fostering trust. The evaluation process of *Arşiv Kaynak Tarama Dergisi* is conducted under the double-blind peer review principle. Reviewers cannot communicate directly with authors; evaluations and comments are conveyed through the journal management system. In this process, reviewer comments on evaluation forms and full texts are transmitted to the author(s) via the editor. In this context, reviewers evaluating works for *Arşiv Kaynak Tarama Dergisi* are expected to adhere to the following ethical responsibilities:

- Only accept to evaluate works within their field of expertise,
- Conduct evaluations impartially and confidentially,
- If they suspect a conflict of interest during the evaluation process, they should decline to review the work and inform the journal editor,
- Due to confidentiality principles, they must destroy the reviewed works after the evaluation process. They may only use the final versions of reviewed works after publication,
- Evaluate objectively, focusing solely on the content of the work. They should not allow nationality, gender, religious beliefs, political views, or commercial concerns to influence the evaluation,
- Conduct evaluations in a constructive and courteous manner, avoiding hostile, slanderous, or derogatory personal remarks,
- Complete evaluations of accepted works in a timely manner and in accordance with the above ethical responsibilities.

Ethical Responsibilities of the Publisher

The Editors and Editorial Board of *Arşiv Kaynak Tarama Dergisi* act with awareness of the following ethical responsibilities:

- Editors are responsible for all processes of works submitted to *Arşiv Kaynak Tarama Dergisi*. Decisions are made independently, without regard to economic or political gains,
- They commit to ensuring independent editorial decisions,
- They protect the ownership and copyright of every article published in *Arşiv Kaynak Tarama Dergisi* and undertake the obligation to retain records of every published copy,
- They are responsible for taking measures against scientific misconduct, citation manipulation, and plagiarism.

 If You Encounter an Unethical Situation

If you encounter any unethical behavior or content beyond the ethical responsibilities mentioned above in *Arşiv Kaynak Tarama Dergisi*, please report it via email to **editorcutf@cu.edu.tr**.

 Fee Policy

*Arşiv Kaynak Tarama Dergisi* does not charge any fees for submission, evaluation, acceptance, printing, or publication processes.

Article Evaluation Time

The evaluation process for articles submitted to *Arşiv Kaynak Tarama Dergisi* is aimed to be completed within **8 to 12 weeks**. In exceptional cases, this period may be extended.

Correction and Withdrawal Processes

Articles submitted to *Arşiv Kaynak Tarama Dergisi* cannot be withdrawn after the peer review process has begun or if they have been submitted to another journal. Authors may withdraw their articles if the peer review process has not yet started by submitting a petition to the journal editors stating their request for withdrawal. Unless the withdrawal request is approved by the editorial board, authors cannot submit their articles to another journal for evaluation.

Corrections, Withdrawals, and "Expressions of Concern"

Editors assume that authors initially base their work on honest observations. If articles require corrections for typographical or formatting errors, corrections are listed on a numbered page in the table of contents. They include original citations and are linked to the original article (similarly for online versions). If scientific misconduct is identified, the journal publishes a withdrawal notice.

As an alternative to withdrawal, the editor may choose to publish an "expression of concern" regarding the integrity or formation of the work.

Withdrawals or expressions of concern appear in a prominent section of the journal on a numbered page, listed in the table of contents, and include the original article's title in the introduction. The withdrawal text explains the reason for retraction.