ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

"Biological Diversity and Conservation" journal is an international, scientific, online and printed journal that publishes in accordance with the principles of independent, unbiased and double-blind peer review. "Biological Diversity and Conservation" journal is published three times a year depending on ethical principles and rules. The journal publishes original and experimental studies on biodiversity and conservation together with a limited number of reviews that contribute to universal science. The editorial and publishing processes of the Biological Diversity and Conservation journal are in line with the Council of Science Editors (CSE), Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), European Association of Science Editors (EASE), International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines, World Association of Medical Journal Editors (WAME) and National Information Standards Organization (NISO). Complies with Journal Openness Principles and Best Practice in Scientific Publishing.

Ethical Responsibilities of the Author(s)

❖ The author(s) should state that a study submitted to the "Biological Diversity and Conservation" journal has not been submitted to another journal for simultaneous publication.
❖ The author(s) should write the sources they used in the article correctly and according to the journal writing rules (according to the APA citation system).
❖ Author(s) must fill in the “Copyright Transfer Form/The Copyright Agreement Form” completely and this form must be signed by all authors.
❖ All authors must fill and sign the "Conflict of Interest Form (ICMJE Form) / Conflict of Interest Form (ICMJE Form)" for the article.
❖ If the study requires ethics committee permissions, the author(s) should obtain the relevant “Ethics Committee Approval” for the article and upload this document to the system with the application of the article.
❖ If there are copyrighted materials (pictures, figures, tables, etc.) in the article, the authors should obtain the necessary permissions for them and indicate this.
❖ All authors must have contributed to the article, have read and approved the final version of the article. If there are other lesser contributors to the article, they should be included in the "Acknowledgements" section.
❖ The author(s) endorsed the article to the STROBE guidelines for observational original research studies, the STARD guidelines for diagnostic accuracy studies, the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analysis, the ARRIVE guidelines for experimental animal studies, the TREND guidelines for nonrandomized public behavior studies and the CONSORT rules for random research studies. Medical articles should be prepared in accordance with the ICMJE Recommendations.
❖ The author(s) must upload all necessary forms to the journal's web system, together with the Full Text article. Articles with missing forms will not be evaluated.

Ethical Responsibilities of Referees

❖ Evaluation of an article in the journal "Biological Diversity and Conservation" is carried out in accordance with the principles of double-blind peer review, and the referee(s) must be unbiased and confidential during the evaluation process.
❖ Reviewer(s) should evaluate the articles regardless of the ethnic origin, gender, religious belief and political philosophy of the authors and should be objective, unbiased and fair.
❖ Referee(s) should not agree to evaluate studies that do not have conflicts of interest in their field of expertise.
❖ The referee who evaluates the study must download the "Reviewer Evaluation Form" of the journal from the system, fill it out completely and send it to the journal together with the evaluation form if he/she has made a correction on the original article.
❖ The referee who examines the article should be careful in his/her criticisms, avoid rude and offensive criticism, and use a constructive style.
❖ The referee(s) should not exchange information about the article and its authors with third parties.
❖ The referee(s) should evaluate the article in the given time, and if this is not possible, they should inform the journal editor as soon as possible.

Editors' Ethical Responsibilities

❖ The editor should evaluate the articles regardless of the ethnic origin, gender, religious belief and political philosophy of the authors, and should be objective and fair.
❖ The editor should fill out the necessary forms completely and reject the study and studies that do not comply with the purpose and scope of the journal in the absence of the necessary ethics committee approval and permissions for experimental research. In case of ethical violation, necessary actions should be taken.
❖ The editor should initiate the double-blind refereeing and evaluation process in accordance with the publication policy of the journal regarding the appointment of referees and convey their expectations to the referee(s).
❖ The editor should take care to protect the personal data of the author(s) and referee(s).

Publisher's Ethical Responsibilities

❖ The publisher should accept that the publication process is the responsibility of the referee and the editor and should not get involved in this process.
❖ The publisher should comply with all ethical principles regarding the journal and protect the copyright of every work it publishes.

Notifying the Editor of the Situation Not Complying with the Ethical Principles

In case of situations that do not comply with the ethical principles regarding the editors, referees, authors and / or other assignments working in the Biological Diversity and Conservation journal, and the articles published or sent for publication, it should be reported to the e-mail address biodicon @gmail.com.