ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
The ethical principles and publication policy of our journal have been prepared in accordance with the guidelines and policies published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).
Actions Contrary to Scientific Research and Publication Ethics
• Plagiarism: Presenting the original ideas, methods, data or works of others as one's own work in whole or in part without citation in accordance with scientific rules,
• Forgery: Using non-existent or falsified data in scientific research,
• Distortion: Falsifying research records or data obtained, falsifying devices or materials that were not used in the research, falsifying or shaping the results of the research in line with the interests of the persons and organizations receiving support,
• Republishing: Presenting duplicate publications as separate publications for academic appointments and promotions,
• Slicing: Inappropriately and inappropriately dividing the results of a research into parts in a way that disrupts the integrity of the research and publishing them in more than one issue and presenting these publications as separate publications in academic appointments and promotions,
• Unfair authorship: Including or excluding people who have not actively contributed, changing the author ranking in an unjustified and inappropriate manner, removing the names of active contributors from the work in subsequent editions, using one's influence to have one's name included among the authors even though one has not actively contributed,
Other types of ethical violations include:
a) Failing to acknowledge the individuals, institutions, or organisations that provided support for research conducted with such support, or failing to acknowledge their contributions in publications resulting from such research,
b) Using theses or studies that have not yet been submitted or defended and accepted as a source without the permission of the owner,
c) Sharing information contained in a work assigned for review with others prior to publication without the express permission of the author,
ç) Using resources, premises, facilities, and equipment provided or allocated for scientific research for purposes other than those intended,
d) Making unfounded, inappropriate, and deliberate allegations of ethical violations,
e) Publishing data obtained without the explicit consent of participants in surveys and attitude studies conducted as part of scientific work, or without the additional permission of the institution if the research is to be conducted at an institution,
f) Failure to comply with the obligation to inform and warn those concerned about possible harmful practices related to scientific research conducted by researchers and officials,
g) In scientific studies, failing to use data and information obtained from other persons and institutions to the extent and in the manner authorised, failing to respect the confidentiality of this information and failing to ensure its protection,
h) Making false or misleading statements regarding scientific research and publications in academic appointments and promotions.
Research Ethics Principles
• Scientific integrity, integrity, quality, and transparency should be adopted as fundamental principles in the planning of research, the development of its methodological framework, its ethical evaluation, and the execution of its implementation processes. Every stage of the research process should be documented and open to audit when necessary.
• The research team and participants should be informed in a clear and understandable manner about the purpose, scope, method, data collection tools, how the data will be analyzed, and the possible uses of the findings. The obligations required for participation in the research, possible risks, and expected contributions should be clearly explained to the participants.
• Personal data obtained from participants must be kept confidential; technical and administrative measures must be taken to prevent the disclosure of identity information. The principles of anonymity and privacy must be observed; actions must comply with data protection legislation (e.g., regulations on the protection of personal data). The research design should be structured in a way that protects the autonomy, human dignity, and fundamental rights of participants.
• Participation in the research should be entirely voluntary. Participants should not be subjected to any pressure, coercion, or expectation of benefit. Participants should have the right to withdraw from the study at any stage without facing any repercussions.
• All necessary measures should be taken to ensure that participants do not suffer physical, psychological, social, or economic harm during the research process. A risk analysis should be conducted, and the research should be planned to minimize potential harm. When children, restricted individuals, or persons with limited mental capacity are involved, permission should be obtained from their legal representatives, and relevant ethical committee approvals should be secured.
• Researchers should maintain their scientific independence and clearly declare any conflicts of interest that could influence the design, analysis, or results of the study. Financial support, sponsorship, or institutional affiliations should be transparently disclosed.
• If the research is to be conducted within any public institution, private organization, or university, official permission should be obtained from the relevant institution and, if necessary, ethical committee approval should be secured.
Responsibilities of Stakeholders
Responsibilities of Editors
• Editors evaluate all submitted manuscripts impartially with regard to their scientific quality, originality, and compliance with the journal's aims and scope.
• They ensure that the peer review process is conducted in accordance with the principles of double-blind peer review.
• In selecting reviewers, they consider subject-matter expertise, impartiality, and any potential conflicts of interest.
• They maintain the confidentiality of all information and documents exchanged among authors, reviewers, and editors throughout the editorial process.
• In cases of suspected ethical misconduct, they carry out the necessary procedures in accordance with the guidelines and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
• Editorial decisions are made solely on the basis of academic merit and ethical standards.
• They oversee the review process to ensure that it proceeds in a timely, efficient, and well-organized manner.
Responsibilities of Authors
• Authors declare that the submitted manuscript is original, has not been published previously, and is not under consideration by another journal.
• They are responsible for ensuring that the research has been conducted in accordance with accepted scientific methods and ethical principles.
• For studies requiring ethics committee approval, authors obtain the necessary permissions and clearly state this information in the manuscript.
• Authors comply with citation and referencing standards and refrain from plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, and other forms of scientific misconduct.
• Only individuals who have made a substantial scholarly contribution to the study are listed as authors, in accordance with accepted authorship criteria.
• Authors disclose any potential conflicts of interest as well as all sources of financial support or funding, where applicable.
• They respond to editors' and reviewers' requests for revisions, clarifications, or additional information within the specified timeframe and provide appropriate justifications when necessary.
Responsibilities of Reviewers
• Reviewers conduct their evaluations objectively, constructively, and in accordance with accepted scientific standards.
• They maintain the confidentiality of all manuscripts and related materials obtained during the review process and do not disclose them to third parties.
• Reviewers decline invitations to review manuscripts that fall outside their area of expertise or where a conflict of interest exists.
• They support their recommendations with clear, well-reasoned, and constructive comments that contribute to improving the quality of the manuscript.
• If they identify or suspect plagiarism, ethical misconduct, or any form of scientific malpractice, they promptly notify the editor.
• Reviewers make every effort to complete their evaluations within the deadlines established by the journal.
•They comply with the principles of the double-blind peer review system and avoid including any statements that could reveal their identity.
Ethics Committee Approval
Our journal requires that the relevant ethics committee decision must be obtained for all studies in all disciplines that require ethics committee approval. In this context, authors should write the date and number of Ethics Committee approval in the “Sampling and Methods/ Materials and Methods” section.
In line with the regulations implemented by Ulakbim TR Index since 2020, studies that do not have ethics committee permission are not evaluated in our journal.
Studies Requiring Ethics Committee Approval
Studies requiring ethics committee approval in our journal include the following:
• All research conducted using qualitative or quantitative approaches that involve collecting data from participants through methods such as surveys, interviews, focus group studies, observation, and interview techniques.
• Retrospective studies within the framework of the Personal Data Protection Law.
For such studies to be considered for evaluation, the relevant ethics committee approvals must have been obtained and clearly stated in the article text.
Relations with Journal Owner and Publisher
The relationship between the editor and the publisher is based on the principle of editorial independence. In accordance with the written contract between the editor and the publisher, all editorial decisions are independent of the publisher and the journal owner.
Correction, Retraction, Expression of Concern
Editors may consider publishing a correction if minor errors are identified in the published article that do not affect the findings, interpretations and conclusions. In the case of major errors/violations that invalidate findings and conclusions, editors should consider retracting the article. The COPE Principles (1,2,3,4,5,6) shall be taken into account with regard to corrections, retractions or expressions of concern.
Conflicts of interest
Our journal guarantees the independent and impartial completion of the publication process, taking into account the conflicts of interest between the author(s), reviewers and other editors. Our journal acts in accordance with COPE principles (1,2) regarding potential conflicts of interest.
Change of Author
Only the article is processed before acceptance. Authors are required to carefully review the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the exact list of authors at the time of original submission. Our journal acts in accordance with COPE principles (1,2,3,4,5) regarding relevant changes.
Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
Our journal is responsible for protecting the intellectual property rights of all published articles and defending the rights of the journal and authors in case of possible infringements.
Protection of Participants' Personal Data
All personal data submitted to our journal is protected in accordance with legal regulations and ethical rules.
Complaints
If you identify any unethical conduct in our journal, please contact us through our contact page. Our journal follows the procedure outlined in the COPE principles (1,2) regarding complaints.