PUBLICATION ETHICS & MALPRACTICE STATEMENT
Cedrus: The Journal of Mediterranean Civilizations Studies
Cedrus: The Journal of Mediterranean Civilizations Studies (Cedrus) is an international electronic journal which does not disclose either the authors submitting articles to the journal or the reviewers who evaluate the articles as the experts of the field through a double-blind peer review process without compromising on the principles of transparency and justice, which are the most delicate elements of the publication and review process. It is also an open access journal which gives an undertaking to provide a universal platform prioritising publication ethics.
The peer review process of an article submitted to Cedrus: The Journal of Mediterranean Civilizations Studies begins by being sent to two expert reviewers within the scope of the double-blind peer review process. The article is accepted if both reviewers present positive opinions. Should the reviewers present negative opinions, the process of rejecting the work is applied. Should one of the blind reviewers evaluate the article as positive and the other as negative then the article is sent to a third reviewer. According to the final decision, the acceptance or the refusal of the article is reported to the author together with the reasoned reports of the reviewers. Subsequently, the editorial process begins. In line with this the author is asked to make the necessary amendments on the article (if not applied in advance) with regard to the publication principles formed on the basis of the Harvard style as well as to the abbreviations, citations in footnotes and bibliography. In addition to this, he or she should the probable/necessary amendments stated by the reviewers and provide the necessary reasons, supplying examples if he or she does not agree to apply the amendments which have been requested. After this addendum and corrigendum process, the article is read by the proofreaders of the journal several times. Afterwards, the reading process carried out by the journal editors and the editor in-chief is completed. After that, the Cedrus publication format is applied by the publication editors and the article is submitted to the approval of the editor-in-chief. Following the evaluation of the editor-in-chief, the final version of the article is sent to the author for his or her approval and is included in the publication process of the relevant issue.
The Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement of Cedrus: The Journal of Mediterranean Civilizations Studies is prepared on the basis of the guidelines and suggestions for the execution, reporting and regulation of the policy statements of the COPE (Committee of Publication Ethics) and the CSE (Council of Science Editors).
The duties and expectations of all parties such as reviewers, editors, critics, authors etc. included in the publication process of the Cedrus: The Journal of Mediterranean Civilizations Studies is to comply with instructions of the publication ethics and malpractice statement given below. Otherwise, it will not be possible to publish an article within the scope of the Cedrus: The Journal of Mediterranean Civilizations Studies.
Submitting Articles and Authorship
The articles submitted by the authors are expected to be in accordance with the objectives, aims and scope of the Cedrus: The Journal of Mediterranean Civilizations Studies. In addition, authors should submit a statement explaining in which way their article complies with the content of the journal, either verbally or in writing. The articles submitted to the journal should be prepared in accordance with the journal publication principles formed on the basis of the Harvard style (see: Publication principles). Otherwise, it would be an unnecessary waste of time and energy. Authors should not send their articles to another journal to be published simultaneously. Should the Cedrus Journal be informed of such a malpractice/process – and one of our colleagues was caught in such an undesirable position – the aforesaid author would not be allowed to publish any article in the journal for 5 years. The same process is also applied to authors who withdraw their articles after the peer review process and the necessary amendments have been completed.
The articles submitted to the Cedrus Journal should not be published or applications sent for publishing in any other journal either in the same or a similar form. Moreover, the identical parts of an MA or PhD Dissertation may not be published as an article in the journal. A similarity rate of %15 to %20, excluding the bibliography, is allowed on condition that proper quotation and citations are provided. Should the similarity score exceed this percentage, the article cannot be published. In articles based on Mater's and Doctoral theses the author of the thesis should be listed first, in accordance with ethical guidelines.
The Cedrus Journal publishes common articles written by a maximum of three joint authors. Should the article be written by more than three authors, the article only undergoes the editorial evaluation on condition that each author clearly explains which part was written by him/her and the reasons for this, in a reasoned statement.
THE DUTIES OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD, PUBLISHER AND EDITOR
The Publishing Policy and the administration of unethical publication
The publisher with the aid of the editors carries out the necessary examinations and investigations in order to determine the articles which are a subject for malpractice. Should any malpractice be detected, the publisher would take necessary precautions to prevent it being publishing. Neither the administrative board nor the editors encourage or permit any type of malpractice.
The administrative board, Publisher and editor(s) take all the necessary precautions to clarify the uncertainties or inaccuracies in the article, to amend the said article, to eliminate any alleged or proven scientific abuse, fraudulent publication, plagiarism or close cooperation with the editors. Should such an article exist, it should be proved with certainty, with the assistance of reviewers, editors and the editorial board with justified evidence or the article should be withdrawn.
Participation and Investigation
Cedrus: The Journal of Mediterranean Civilizations Studies is responsible for responding to all allegations and doubts suggested by students, readers, academics, critics and other editors related to the article. Probable plagiarism and unnecessary/repeated articles will be evaluated by the journal. In other cases, an investigation may be requested by the administrative board or related authorised body. Under these circumstances, the journal may provide aid to the relevant institutions/authorities by presenting information or documents from its archives.
Each reported unethical publishing act undergoes examination even if discovered after several years of publication. The responsibility of the article which has been published in the journal rests solely with the author(s).
THE DUTIES OF EDITORS
Publication Decisions
Editors ensure that all applications undergo a swift and just editorial process. Even if the peer-review process is affirmative, the editor in-chief takes all responsibility relating to the article which will be published in the Cedrus: The Journal of Mediterranean Civilizations Studies. Thus, whether the article is accepted or not depends on the decision of the editor in-chief.
However, it must be highlighted that any article review process of which the result is negative or which does not undergo the review process cannot be published in the journal under any circumstances.
Impartiality
Editors evaluate submitted articles in terms of its problem, authenticity, quality and intellectual content rather than its author, institution or political tendencies. Editors should not be affected by other factors such as ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, political opinion and personal disputes. Should editors state their concerns about an article and examine the subject and find any evidence of abuse of research or publication, they will take action immediately.
Confidentiality
The editor and editorial staff will not disclose any information about a submitted article to anyone other than reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers and publishers, even if they insist.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Unpublished materials, ideas and hypotheses disclosed in a submitted article will not be used by the editor and editorial board for their own research purposes without the authors’ explicit consent in writing. Privileged information or ideas obtained by editors as a result of handling the manuscript will be kept confidential and not used for their personal gain. Editors should request explanations of conflicts of interest of authors or all other contributors. Should conflicts of interest arise after the publication of the article, other alternative precautions such as amendment or withdrawal of the article can be taken.
THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE AUTHORS Reporting Standards
Authors are expected to make necessary endeavours to control and verify the publication process. All information provided by the author should be stated as being produced by the author and being accurate
The authors of the results of survey studies or the inter-disciplinary authors of the excavation reports should present a correct narration of the studies which have been carried out, as well as an objective discussion of their importance. The findings which have been revealed in the studies carried out that year should be stated correctly, in these types of preliminary examinations. The expressions stated and the findings set forth here should be able to be utilised as references in the scientific studies carried out by other researchers who are interested in the subject matter and their colleagues, as well as containing sufficient details and references which they can refer to. The authors are required to provide information concerning the methodologies of research they have used in the matters they are discussing. This is especially valid where biological materials, in the anthropological, zoological, floral and faunal sense have been collected and used in the study. Any unethical behaviour, in the form of the use of dishonest or knowingly incorrect expressions by the authors in their articles will not be accepted by the administrators of the journal and such studies will not be published in the journal.
Authenticity and Plagiarism
Where necessary, the authors may be required to provide the raw data of their studies for an editorial control and, if applicable, their data should be ready to be made public. In any event, subject to the protection of the confidentiality of the participants and the prevention of release of legal rights in connection with registered data, the authors should ensure that this data is accessible to other authorised professionals for a period of 10 years following publication (preferably through an institutional or subject based data store or other data centre).
The authors should be certain that they have written and sent only original works, and if they have used the works and / or expressions of others, should specify these in the appropriate manner, with the necessary references. The authors may only send original works to the journal and quote the works and / or statements of others by specifying so in the appropriate manner. The publications and periodicals which were effective in determining the characteristics of the quoted study should also be stated. No forms of unethical publishing behaviour, such as the copying of any part of a different article, book, study or thesis (Master’s – Doctorate Degree thesis) either of the author’s own work or the work of anyone else, the stating (paraphrasing) of a significant part of another article without showing references, or the self-accrediting of the results of the studies carried out by others, will be accepted by the administrators of the journal. Where articles have been written by utilising theses, the thesis on which the article is based must be stated in the first footnote of the article or immediately underneath the identity of the author.
Articles sent to the Cedrus: The Journal of Mediterranean Civilizations Studies should be original and not plagiarised. All articles sent to the journal will be checked for plagiarism using software such as Turnitin and iThenticate. If the similarity index (SI) of the article is above 20%, apart from in the introduction, materials and methods, tables and references sections and the bibliography of the article, it will be returned to the relevant author for revision, in order for the SI to be reduced to less than 20%. In this sense, the first stage of the article will be concluded with the study being rejected. In the event that any plagiarism or abuse is determined and this is proven after the article has been published, the article will immediately be removed and taken off the website. It will then be deemed that any applications by the relevant author(s) to the Cedrus: The Journal of Mediterranean Civilizations Studies are not suitable for acceptance for a period of 5 years, as a result of this.
Acceptance of Sources
The author(s) should be certain that he/she/they has/have understood the works of other correctly when citing references to them and also cite references to the publications which have been effective in determining the characteristics of the referenced works. Information which has been obtained privately (conversations, written communications or discussions with third parties) should not be used or reported in the study without obtaining express written permission from the source. Authors should not use the information obtained through the provision of confidential services, such as applications for arbitration for handwritten manuscripts or grants, unless they have obtained the express permission of the authors involved in such services. The list of abbreviations related to the ancient sources used in the article and the standard and periodic publications used in the texts is shown in the relevant tabs in the publication principles of the journal website.
Article Writing
Authors who meet these writing criteria should be listed in the article to ensure that they take responsibility in the public domain. First of all, the authors must have made significant contributions to the correct understanding, design, conduct, obtaining of data or analysis / interpretation of the study. Secondly, authors are expected to ensure that the work they have prepared has been critically revised for significant intellectual content, contains general assessments on the subject matter, enlightens problems in the light of examples, synthesises, sets forth hypothetical ideas or brings analytical solutions to the subject. Thirdly, the authors should have seen, checked and approved the final version of the article, as well as having accepted that the article will be published in that particular edition of the journal and signed a declaration on copyright. Any other individuals who have made a significant contribution to the work (technical support, support with authoring and editing, general support, unnecessary acknowledgements, etc.), but who do not meet the writing criteria should not be listed as authors, and should be stated in the “notifications” section after having obtained written permission. This should especially be written in the relevant areas of the reports where annual assessments are made concerning Archaeological Excavations and Surface Studies and above the sections related to the names of the academicians working in the disciplines, with the identity details and ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) number of the author being given in the footnote section, immediately below it.
The relevant author should ensure that all appropriate joint authors (according to the definition set out above) and inappropriate joint authors are not included in the list of authors and verify that all joint authors have seen and approved the final version of the article and agreed to it being published. Applications to the journal should only be made once these approvals have been obtained.
The Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Article Preparation Process
Cedrus adheres to the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in the article preparation process. Authorship involves a set of responsibilities that can only be carried out by humans; therefore, authors must ensure the originality of the article and possess the necessary qualifications for authorship. AI can be used for tasks such as language corrections during the writing process (with this clearly indicated in the article), but in order to maintain originality and uphold the quality of the article, AI cannot be credited as an author.
Multiple, Unnecessary and Simultaneous Publications
In general, an article which presents studies which are fundamentally the same should not be published in more than one journal. The submission of the same article to more than one journal constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and cannot be accepted. Moreover, withdrawal of articles publishing process of which are still continuing, whether with a justified reason or not, will also be evaluated within this scope. They result in the loss of additional time and energy for the journal and referees. Therefore, it will be deemed that any applications by the relevant author(s) to the Cedrus: The Journal of Mediterranean Civilizations Studies are not suitable for acceptance for a period of 5 years.
Articles which have been published as materials which are protected under copyright elsewhere cannot be submitted to the journal. In addition to this, any articles which have been examined by the journal should not be re-submitted to publications which are protected under copyright. Authors only protect the publication rights of published materials by submitting articles. They permit the use of their studies under the CC-BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by3.0/) if they are published. This allows others to copy, distribute and transmit the published work, while at the same time adapting the work and using it in their own studies, subject to citing references.
Explanations, Conflicts of Interest and Financial Support
Authors should disclose any conflicts of interest (if any), which can be interpreted as possibly having an effect on their conclusions or inferences in the article, as early as possible, in particular by adding an explanatory note at the time of submission and by making a statement to that effect in the article. Examples of any potential conflicts of interest which need to be disclosed are complimentary teaching or other forms of financing, participation in speakers rostrums, memberships, employment, consultancy, share ownerships or other interests related to shares, statements made by specialists in return for a fee, patent licensing arrangements, personal or professional relationships, related parties, non-financial matters, such as information or beliefs or the materials being discussed in the article. All sources of financial support for the study should be disclosed (including grant numbers or other reference numbers if any). If the study is supported by any national / international bursaries or by a project, this should also be stated with a relevant footnote, at the start of the article.
Risks and Human or Animal Related Subjects
Where studies involve chemicals, procedures or equipment which constitute extraordinary dangers when used, the authors should state this in their articles. Where studies involve use by animals or human participants and experiments related to these, the authors must ensure that all procedures are in accordance with relevant laws and institutional directives and that the relevant institutional committees have approved these. A statement to this effect should be written in the introduction to the article. The authors should also have informed human participants regarding the content of the experiments to be carried out and include a statement to the effect that their approval has been obtained, in the article. The rights of confidentiality of the human participants should always be protected within the article.
In accordance with national and international index criteria, as of 2020 Ethics Committee Permissions are required in order for articles possessing the following characteristics (in general) to be published in the Cedrus Journal:
• The use of humans and animals (including material and data related to them) for experimental and other scientific purposes;
• Clinical research carried out on humans;
• Research carried out on animals;
• All types of studies conducted with quantitative or qualitative approaches requiring the collection of data from participants using surveys, interviews, focus group studies, observations, experiments and discussion techniques;
• Retrospective studies, in accordance with the legislation concerning the protection of personal data.
Blind Reviews
Authors are required to respond immediately to any requests for raw data, explanations, ethics approvals and copyright permissions by the editors, and to participate in blind reviews and cooperate in full. Where an initial decision has been made that “revision is necessary”, authors should provide systematic and timely answers to the comments of reviewers and re-submit their articles to the journal by the final due date, after having reviewed them.
Involvement in the same edition of the Cedrus Journal as both a blind reviewer and an author is not permitted. The articles of any authors who are employed as blind reviewers in the edition which is to be published cannot be published in the same edition. Similarly, the editorial group of the Cedrus Journal may not appoint an author in one edition of the journal as a blind reviewer in the same edition.
Fundamental Errors in Unpublished Works
Where authors have discovered significant errors or mistakes in their own works, which have been published, they have an obligation to notify the editors or published of the journal immediately and to cooperate with them to correct or retract the article. Where editors or the publisher learn from a third party that a study which has been published contains significant errors or mistakes, the authors have an obligation to prove to the editors that the said information is correct, or to correct or retract the article, immediately. Under these circumstances, if the article has not been placed on national and international indices, or sent to the publishing house for publication, or where any revisions or corrections would not constitute any problems, the editors may correct important errors and mistakes in the study.
Data Access and Storage
Authors may be required to provide the raw data of their studies for an editorial control and, if applicable, their data should be ready to be made public. In any event, subject to the protection of the confidentiality of the participants and the prevention of release of legal rights in connection with registered data, the authors should ensure that this data is accessible to other authorised professionals for a period of 10 years following publication (preferably through an institutional or subject based data store or other data centre). Authors should only send notifications concerning studies which have been conducted in an ethical and responsible manner and which abide by all the relevant regulations.
THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMMENTATORS
Contribution to Editorial Decisions
Reviewer reports assist the editor in the making of editorial decisions at the stage where the article is being assessed. At the same time, the editor may also assist the author to improve the article. The editor may share any inconsistencies in the narrative of the subject of the article, the fluidity of the language of the narrative, grammatical mistakes and errors in the terminology with the author, providing advice in this way. Similarly, the editor may also warn the author about any methodological, logical or speculative errors in the study and any problems with the article. The editor may guide the author on matters such as consistency / inconsistency between the title and content of the work and situations where the author has diverged from the focus and main problem of the study.
The Cedrus Journal expressly declares that it has an obligation to carry out a fair assessment of all articles submitted to the journal by all academicians who wish to make a contribution to the cultural and historical accumulation and the scientific process regarding the ancient history, medieval history and contemporary-modern history of the Mediterranean Basin, especially in the Turkish geography.
Confidentiality
Articles which have been received for examination should be treated as confidential documents by double-blind reviewers. Unless permission has been given by the Executive Editor who is to perform this, in only exceptional and special circumstances, reviewers may not disclose or discuss studies which have been received to be examined, with anyone else. This is also valid for reviewers who have not accepted the invitation to examine articles.
Standards of Objectivity
Examinations in the journal are carried out in an objective manner. Any persona or unnecessary criticism of the author is not appropriate. Reviewers should express their views clearly, with a supporting argument.
Acceptance of Sources
The reviewers and the editorial team should define the relevant studies which have been published, but not stated or overlooked by the authors. Any expressions to the effect that an observation, derivation or independent variable has been reported previously should be provided together with the relevant reference.
Should a reviewer find a significant similarity or overlap with other published works related to the published article, by taking into consideration anything overlooked by the editors, he/she may notify the editors of the journal on this matter, in a clear manner. The administrators of the journal will only be happy to receive such notifications.
Explanations and Conflicts of Interest
Privileged information or ideas which have been obtained through double-blind reviews will be kept confidential by the administrators of the journal. They cannot be used for personal gain under any circumstances. This is also valid for reviewers who have not accepted the invitation to examine articles. Academicians should not assess the work where they have joint interests or a conflict of interest with the authors, companies or organisations related to the article, through competition, cooperation or other relationships or ties. They should also notify the relevant editors concerning the said circumstances, immediately.
Waiver
Neither the editors, nor the editorial committee, nor the administrators of the Cedrus Journal can be held responsible for any of the views of the authors or the content of any of the articles published in the journal. Authenticity, the reading of the articles and individual errors are the responsibility of the authors. All articles submitted for publication to Cedrus: The Journal of Interdisciplinary Mediterranean Studies, for the purposes of examination, research, complication, critique, etc., will be subjected to double-blind reviews in connection with authenticity, ethical matters and beneficial contributions. The decisions of the reviewers are the final and sole vehicle for the articles to be published in the journal.
