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. 

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 any unethical conduct is identified in our journal, it should be reported to gsfdergi@ankara.edu.tr. Our journal follows the procedure outlined in the COPE principles (1,2) regarding complaints.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF STAKEHOLDERS

Ethical Responsibilities of Editors
1. Editors evaluate all submitted manuscripts solely on the basis of scientific merit, regardless of personal opinions or any positive or negative bias, and in accordance with the journal's editorial policies.
2. Throughout the publication process, editors strive to meet the information needs of authors, reviewers, researchers, and readers by maintaining transparent communication and providing timely responses when necessary.
3. Editors assess manuscripts by considering their originality, scientific contribution, methodological soundness, and compliance with the journal's aims and scope.
4. Editors protect the confidentiality of authors' personal information and do not share it with reviewers or third parties. Manuscripts are sent to reviewers in anonymized form, and reviewer identities are likewise kept confidential in accordance with the double-blind peer review process.
5. Editors work with qualified reviewers who are experts in their respective fields and continuously seek to maintain and expand the journal's reviewer pool.
6. Editors are responsible for safeguarding the personal information of authors, reviewers, and readers and ensuring its confidentiality.
7. Editors are committed to protecting human and animal rights throughout the publication process. Manuscripts requiring ethics committee approval or informed participant consent that fail to provide the necessary documentation are rejected.
8. Editors oversee compliance with publication ethics and ensure that all published manuscripts adhere to accepted ethical standards.
9. Editors manage the editorial workflow, including manuscript evaluation, requests for revision, peer review, and publication, and ensure that all processes are completed within a reasonable timeframe.
10. Editors carefully consider complaints and requests concerning the journal, conduct the necessary investigations, and provide appropriate responses.

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers
1. Reviewers should accept manuscripts only within their area of expertise.
2. Reviewers must comply with the principles of double-blind peer review and maintain the confidentiality of all information related to the manuscripts they evaluate.
3. Reviewers should assess manuscripts according to objective academic criteria rather than their personal opinions or viewpoints.
4. Reviewers should provide clear, constructive, and evidence-based evaluations and avoid ambiguous statements, particularly when recommending rejection or major revisions.
5. Reviewers must remain objective and refrain from using offensive, disrespectful, or inappropriate language in their reports.
6. Reviewers are expected to complete their evaluations within the specified review period. If a manuscript falls outside their area of expertise, they should promptly inform the editor.

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors
1. Authors are responsible for submitting original manuscripts to the Journal of the Faculty of Fine Arts of Ankara University.
2. Submitted manuscripts should make a meaningful contribution to the relevant scientific literature.
3. Manuscripts must not have been previously published, accepted for publication, or be under consideration by another journal.
4. Authors are responsible for complying with copyright regulations and must complete and submit the journal's Copyright Transfer Form during the submission process.
5. Any actual or potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed to the editorial office by submitting the required Conflict of Interest Declaration Form.
6. Only individuals who have made a substantial scholarly contribution to the study should be listed as authors.
7. Citations and references must be prepared accurately, completely, and in accordance with accepted academic and ethical standards.

PUBLICATION POLICY

1- Article Review Process

In our journal, the article review process consists of four main stages: preliminary review, peer review, revision, and publication.

A. Preliminary Review
Submitted manuscripts are first evaluated by the editorial board for compliance with the journal’s publication policies, academic writing principles, and the APA 7 Citation System. At this stage, a similarity check is conducted using the iThenticate software employed by our journal. The similarity rate is expected to be below 15%.

If plagiarism is detected in an article submitted or published in our journal, our journal acts in accordance with the COPE principles (Plagiarism in a submitted manuscript - Plagiarism in a published article).

NOTE: In cases where there is a conflict of interest among the editor, reviewers, or members of the Editorial Board, the individuals involved will not participate in the review and decision-making process. In such cases, the process will be conducted by another editor or an authorized editor.

B. Peer Review Process
For works that meet the preliminary review criteria, a double-blind peer review process is initiated. The article is sent to two independent reviewers who are experts in the field. Both the author's and the reviewers' identities are kept confidential throughout the review process, which is conducted in accordance with ethical principles and confidentiality guidelines.
If both reviewers submit positive reports, the work is accepted for publication.
If one of the reviewers submits a negative report, the article is referred to a third reviewer, and the decision is made based on that reviewer's decision.

C. Revision Process
If revisions are requested by the reviewers, authors must submit the suggested corrections marked in a different color (e.g., red) in the work. During the revision process, the author is expected to upload a text/texts containing responses to each of the reviewers' comments to the system. The changes made are first reviewed by the editor and then by the relevant reviewers.
Studies that have completed the referee process are also reviewed by the journal's language editors.
In cases where it is deemed necessary in terms of language and spelling, authors are asked to make additional corrections. The linguistic revisions made are checked again and approved. 

D. Publication Process
All scientific, technical, and linguistic processes completed, articles are prepared for publication after typesetting and layout. Approved works are published in early view.

NOTE: The final decision regarding the acceptance or rejection of all submissions to our journal is made by the Editor-in-Chief. 

2-Copyright and Open Access Policy

Our journal is an open-access journal. In line with the principle of disseminating knowledge, it provides free access to all articles, including those in the archive. The copyright of the works published in our journal remains with the authors, and they are published as open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Click here for more information. 📄 Journal - Copyright Notice

3-Archive Policy 

Articles published in our journal are digitally archived in DSpace and LOCKSS. In addition, published articles can be accessed by the author in the institutional archive of the university where the author works, in thematic archives or in any other archive without an embargo period. Thus, anyone can immediately access this publication free of charge. Articles published in our journal can be accessed free of charge at https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/augsfd/archive. 

Version Published in the Journal
Publication Type: Open Access
DSpace: https://dspace.ankara.edu.tr/communities/fe4f83a2-e6a7-4bc4-95ff-4c68c4fd5687/search 
LOCKSS: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/augsfd/lockss-manifest 
RSS: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/augsfd/rss 
Embargo Period: No embargo period.
Open Access License: CC BY 4.0
Copyright Holder: The author(s) retain copyright.
Archive Locations: Institutional Repository, Crossref, Journal Website, Institutional Website, Author’s Personal Website, Public and/or Commercial Subject-Based Repositories.
Policy Conditions: The journal must be cited in accordance with citation and referencing standards. It must be linked to the publisher’s version via a DOI.

Version Accepted After Peer Review
Embargo Period: None
Archive Locations: Journal Website, Institutional Site, Author’s Personal Website.
Copyright Holder: The author(s) retain copyright.

Initial Manuscript Submitted to the Journal
Embargo Period: None
Archive Location: Journal Website, Institutional Website, Author’s Personal Website.

4-Special Issue Policy

With the decision of the Editorial Board, a special issue may be published once a year. For articles to be published in the special issue, the publication and evaluation principles are applied as applied in the planned issues.

5. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage Policy

This policy sets out the principles for the ethical, transparent, and responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in the preparation of manuscripts submitted to the Journal of the Faculty of Fine Arts of Ankara University. It applies to authors, reviewers, and editors.
Responsibilities of Authors
Artificial intelligence tools cannot be listed as authors.
Authors bear full scientific, ethical, and legal responsibility for the content of their manuscripts.
Authors are responsible for verifying the accuracy, originality, and proper citation of any content generated with the assistance of AI tools.
AI tools may be used for language editing, proofreading, translation support, and improving the overall clarity and coherence of the manuscript. However, the original scientific contribution of the research must not be generated by AI.
The use of fabricated references, fictitious data, or AI-generated manuscripts constitutes a violation of publication ethics.
If AI tools have been used during the preparation of a manuscript, this must be disclosed at the time of submission through the Artificial Intelligence Usage Declaration Form.
Responsibilities of Reviewers and Editors
Reviewers may use AI tools only for supportive purposes and must not upload manuscripts or any confidential submission content to AI platforms during the peer review process.
Editors may request additional information or clarification from authors regarding the use of AI whenever deemed necessary.
Policy Updates
This policy may be revised periodically in line with developments in artificial intelligence technologies and internationally accepted standards of scholarly publishing.

6-Price Policy

Article submission, evaluation and publication processes in our journal are completely free of charge. No fee is charged for articles submitted or accepted for publication. In accordance with our publication policy, sponsorship and advertising are not accepted and all expenses of our journal are covered by Ankara University.