The Journal of the Faculty of Engineering of Sivas Cumhuriyet University (CUMFAD) is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal published by Sivas Cumhuriyet University. The journal aims to contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge by publishing original and high-quality research in the fields of engineering and applied sciences while maintaining the highest ethical and academic standards.

The journal is published biannually (June and December) and accepts manuscripts in English. Submission types include Research Articles and Review Articles.

The publication process is based on transparent, systematic, and ethical collaboration among the publisher, editor-in-chief, editorial board, reviewers, and authors. The journal’s ethics policy is developed in accordance with the principles and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1. Publication Ethics and General Principles

The journal is committed to academic integrity, transparency, scientific rigor, and ethical publishing standards.

All stakeholders (editors, reviewers, authors, and the publisher) are expected to comply with internationally accepted ethical standards.

The integrity of the scholarly record is maintained; corrections, clarifications, or retractions are issued when necessary.

Ethical oversight and editorial decisions are carried out independently and objectively.

2. Responsibilities of Editors

The Editor-in-Chief and editorial board members:

Are responsible for all editorial decisions regarding submitted manuscripts.

Evaluate manuscripts solely based on scientific merit, originality, methodological quality, and relevance.

Ensure fair and unbiased evaluation regardless of authors’ ethnicity, gender, religion, institutional affiliation, or geographic location.

Maintain confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and related communications.

Do not use unpublished materials disclosed in submitted manuscripts for personal research without written permission from the author.

Assign another editor to manage the review process in cases of conflict of interest.

Investigate suspected ethical misconduct according to COPE procedures and take appropriate action when necessary.

Safeguard transparency and integrity throughout the publication process.

3. Responsibilities of Reviewers

The journal follows a double-blind peer review process.

Reviewers are expected to:

Provide objective, constructive, timely, and scientific evaluations.

Assess originality, scientific contribution, methodology, and clarity of presentation.

Maintain confidentiality throughout the review process.

Avoid direct communication with authors; all communication occurs through the editorial system.

Inform the editor of any conflicts of interest and decline review when necessary.

Report potential ethical issues such as plagiarism, duplicate publication, or research misconduct.

4. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors agree to the following responsibilities:

Submitted work must be original and comply with ethical research standards.

Manuscripts must not have been previously published or simultaneously submitted elsewhere.

Fabricated, falsified, or manipulated data are strictly prohibited; detected misconduct may result in rejection and notification of the authors’ institution.

All conflicts of interest must be clearly disclosed.

Proper acknowledgment and citation must be provided for all sources used.

Only individuals who made substantial scholarly contributions should be listed as authors.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all legitimate contributors are included and that no non-contributors are listed.

Author addition or removal is not permitted after the review process has started.

5. Ethics Committee Approval and Legal Permissions

For studies requiring ethics committee approval, legal permissions, or special authorization:

The name of the ethics committee,

Scope of approval,

Approval date and reference number

must be clearly stated in the manuscript and provided during submission.

6. Plagiarism and Similarity Policy

The maximum acceptable similarity index is 20% (excluding references).

All submissions are screened using iThenticate plagiarism detection software.

Manuscripts exceeding the similarity threshold or containing plagiarism are rejected before peer review.

7. Copyright and Licensing

Authors are required to complete and submit a copyright transfer form during submission.

All published articles are provided as open access.

Content is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.

8. Responsibilities of the Publisher

The journal management and DergiPark:

Support transparent and ethical editorial processes.

Ensure compliance with international standards regarding publication ethics, authorship, confidentiality, and conflict of interest.

Protect editorial independence.

Promote timely publication and long-term accessibility of content.

9. Open Access Policy

The journal follows an open access model that supports the free and global dissemination of scientific knowledge. All articles are freely accessible through the journal website, and users may read, download, and use the content for non-commercial scholarly purposes.

10. Archiving and Publication Continuity

The journal supports digital archiving and long-term preservation practices to ensure permanent accessibility of published content and continuity of the scholarly record.

Authors submitting articles to our journal are required to complete a copyright transfer form.