Ethical Principles and Publication Policy
The publication process at Balagh is the basis of the improvement and dissemination of information objectively and respectfully. Therefore, the procedures in this process improve the quality of the studies. Peer-reviewed studies are the ones that support and materialize the scientific method. At this point, it is of utmost importance that all parties included in the publication process (authors, readers and researchers, publisher, reviewers and editors) comply with the standards of ethical considerations. Balagh expects all parties to hold the following ethical responsibilities.
The following ethical duties and responsibilities are written in the light of the guide and policies made by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
In issues published in the Balagh Journal, the proportion of studies accepted from within the journal's affiliated institution cannot exceed 1/4 (25%) of the total studies in that issue.
As of Volume 5, Issue 1 (June 2025), only one submission per researcher is allowed in the same issue. Furthermore, the same researcher is not permitted to publish a second time in the same year. Even if in different years, at least two issues must have passed before an author can publish a second time.
The journal may close the acceptance of articles early if deemed necessary.
The publication of an article in a peer-reviewed journal is an essential building block in the development of a coherent and respected network of knowledge. It is a direct reflection of the quality of the work of the authors and the institutions that support them. Peer-reviewed articles support and embody the scientific method. It is therefore important to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the journal editor, the peer reviewer, and the publisher.
Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
Correction, Retraction, Expression of Concern
Editor should consider publishing correction if minor errors that do not effect the results, interpretations and conclusions of the published paper are detected. Editor should consider retraction if major errors and/or misconduction that invalidate results and conclusions are detected. Editor should consider issuing an expression of concern if there is evidence of research or publication misconduct by the authors; there is evidence that the findings are not reliable and institutions of the authors do not investigate the case or the possible investigation seems to be unfair or nonconclusive. The guidelines of COPE and ICMJE are taken into consideration regarding correction, retractions or expression of concern.
Plagiarism Action Plan and Journal Precautions
The journal respects intellectual property and aims to protect and promote the original work of its authors. Articles containing plagiarism are against the standards of quality, research, and innovation. Therefore, all authors who submit articles to the journal are expected to comply with ethical standards and avoid plagiarism in any form. If an author is suspected of plagiarism in a submitted or published article, the journal's Ethics Editor reviews the work first. This work is then reviewed by the Editorial Board. The Journal then contacts the author(s) to submit their comments within two weeks. If the journal does not receive any response from the author within the specified time, it requests the investigation of the claim by contacting the university to which the author is affiliated. The journal will take the following serious precautions against published articles that are found to contain plagiarism.
1. The journal will immediately contact the university to which the author(s) are affiliated, in order to take final action against the related author.
2. The journal will remove the PDF copy of the published article from its website and disable all links to the full-text article. The phrase Plagiarized Article will be added to the title of the published article.
3. The journal will disable the author's account and reject all future submissions by the author for a period of 3 years.
This journal checks for plagiarism
Submitted manuscripts that pass preliminary control are scanned for plagiarism using iThenticate, Turnitin or İntihal.net software. If plagiarism/self-plagiarism will be found authors will be informed. Editors may resubmit the manuscript for similarity check at any peer-review or production stage if required. High similarity scores may lead to rejection of a manuscript before and even after acceptance. The percentage of similarity score taken from each article, the overall similarity score is generally expected to be less than 20%.
Publication of Studies Based on Survey and Interview
Balagh adopts the "Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" and "Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers" of the Publication Ethics Committee (COPE) in order to create ethical assurance in scientific periodicals. In this context, the authors are requested to comply with the following issues in the studies submitted to the journal:
1) Ethics committee approval should be obtained for research conducted in all disciplines that require ethics committee approval, this approval should be stated on the first page of the article and the ethics approval document should be uploaded to the Dergipark system with the article.
2) In research that requires ethics committee permission, information about the permission (name of the committee, date and number) is given in the method section, and after the bibliography section of the article; In case reports, information about signing the informed consent/consent form should be included in the article.
Special Issue Publishing Policy
Our journal publishes a special issue annually, in December, upon the request of the Editorial Board. The articles sent to our journal for publication are first subjected to an editorial review and it is checked whether they have been prepared in accordance with the journal's publication policy and writing principles. It is then subjected to a similarity scan to prevent plagiarism. Articles that pass these stages without any problems are included in the peer review process using the double-blind model.
Use of Artificial Intelligence
In articles submitted to our journal, the use of AI-based tools in stages that do not directly affect the original content of the study, such as literature review and language checking, is acceptable. However, such uses must be carried out in accordance with ethical rules. Using AI to generate false data, manipulate content, or for other unethical purposes is absolutely unacceptable. In articles utilizing AI-assisted processes, this must be clearly stated along with the article submission. Authors are solely responsible for all aspects of the use of AI.
1. Publication and authorship
• List of references, financial support;
• No plagiarism, no fraudulent data. As a result of plagiarism control, articles with a similarity rate of 20% or more are directly rejected in accordance with the journal's publication policy.
• Forbidden to publish same research in more than one journal.
2. Author’s responsibilities
• Authors obliged to participate in peer review process;
• All authors have significantly contributed to the research;
• Statement that all data in article are real and authentic;
• All authors are obliged to provide retractions or corrections of mistakes.
3. Peer review / responsibility for the reviewers
• Judgments should be objective;
• Reviewers should have no conflict of interest with respect to the research, the authors and/or the research funders;
• Reviewers should point out relevant published work which is not yet cited;
• Reviewed articles should be treated confidentially.
4. Editorial responsibilities
• Editors have complete responsibility and authority to reject/accept an article;
• Editors should have no conflict of interest with respect to articles they reject/accept;
• Only accept a paper when reasonably certain;
• When errors are found, promote publication of correction or retraction;
• Preserve anonymity of reviewers.
• No plagiarism, no fraudulent data.
5. Publishing ethics issues
• Monitoring/safeguarding publishing ethics by editorial board;
• Guidelines for retracting articles;
• Maintain the integrity of the academic record;
• Preclude business needs from compromising intellectual and ethical standards;
• Always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when needed.
Duties of the Publisher
Balagh is committed to ensuring that commercial revenue has no impact or influence on editorial decisions. In addition, CTJ will assist in communications with other journals and/or publishers where this is useful to editors. Finally, we are working closely with other publishers and industry associations to set standards for best practices on ethical matters, errors and retractions–and are prepared to provide specialized legal review and counsel if necessary.
Plagiarism Detection
Balagh uses double-blind review fulfilled by at least two reviewers. In addition, all articles are checked by means of a program in order to confirm they are not published before and avoid plagiarism.
The peer review process is at the heart of the success of scientific publishing. As part of our commitment to the protection and enhancement of the peer review process, CTJ has an obligation to assist the scientific community in all aspects of publishing ethics, especially in cases of (suspected) duplicate submission or plagiarism.
When a reader discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in a paper published in Balagh journal or have any other complaint about editorial content (plagiarism, duplicate papers, etc.), he/she should make a complaint by e-mail to: balagh@karabuk.edu.tr. We welcome complaints as they provide an opportunity for improvement, and we aim to respond quickly and constructively.
June 15, 2026
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