Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

Important: Ethical committee approval must be obtained for studies involving animals, and this approval must be stated and documented in the article. For studies requiring ethical committee approval, information regarding the approval (committee name, date, and approval number) must be included in the methodology section and also on the first/last page of the article.

The publication process of the Çukurova Journal of Agricultural and Food Sciences is carried out within the framework of ethical principles. The procedures involved in this process support the quality of the studies. Therefore, it is of great importance that all stakeholders involved in the process adhere to ethical standards.

The Çukurova Journal of Agricultural and Food Sciences strives to achieve the highest standards of publication ethics and operates as an international journal published both in print and electronically. It is issued twice a year, in June and December.

In the process of publishing scientific articles, editors, authors, reviewers, and readers are all required to adhere to ethical principles.

In this context, the Çukurova Journal of Agricultural and Food Sciences commits to fulfilling ethical duties and responsibilities based on the "Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive" of the Turkish Council of Higher Education and the guidelines and policies published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). It expects editors, authors, and reviewers to act within this framework.

Ethical Responsibilities of the Publisher
The publisher of the Çukurova Journal of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Çukurova University Faculty of Agriculture, is a public educational institution prioritizing public interest and operating on a non-profit basis.
The journal was published under the name Çukurova University Journal of Faculty of Agriculture from 1973 to 2015 and has continued under its current name since January 1, 2016. Since 1973, it has published significant studies in the fields of agriculture and natural sciences, operating with the administrative support of the Çukurova University Faculty of Agriculture Administrative Board.
The Editorial Board of the journal is formed by the Administrative Board of Çukurova University Faculty of Agriculture. Members of the Editorial Board are appointed for three years, considering different scientific fields. A chief editor and a responsible editor are selected, with one or more associate editors and subject editors appointed as needed. New members are appointed to replace those who resign, and the terms of existing members may be extended.

Ethical Duties and Responsibilities of Editors and Associate Editors
The editor is responsible for all content published in the Çukurova Journal of Agricultural and Food Sciences. In this regard, the editor has the following duties and responsibilities:

Ensures the continuous development of the journal.
Manages processes to improve the quality of the articles published in the journal.
Conducts operations without compromising ethical standards.
Evaluates submitted studies based on their significance, originality, clarity, and alignment with the journal’s aims and objectives, making decisions accordingly.
Notifies authors within 30 days whether their submissions have been taken into consideration for review.
Checks submissions for potential plagiarism as an initial step and rejects works with identified issues.
Ensures that unpublished methods and information from submissions are not used or shared without explicit written permission from the authors.
Assigns articles to reviewers with expertise in the relevant fields.
Builds and maintains an up-to-date reviewer pool, ensuring the inclusion of ethical and timely reviewers who provide constructive feedback.
Withdraws from the review/publishing process in cases of conflicts of interest involving submitted articles.
Holds the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles, prioritizing originality and significance.
Does not pressure authors to cite specific articles or works for acceptance in the journal.
Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers
The peer review process is crucial to the success of academic publishing. Reviewers must ensure the integrity and improvement of the process.
Reviewers who feel unqualified or unable to conduct a timely evaluation must notify the editor and withdraw from the review process.
Reviewed manuscripts must be treated confidentially and not disclosed or discussed with anyone outside the editorial team.
Reviewers must not use unpublished material from the manuscript for their own research.
Reviews must be objective, avoiding personal criticism. Arguments should be clearly supported with evidence.
Reviewers must avoid evaluating manuscripts where conflicts of interest exist due to competition, collaboration, or other connections with the authors.
Ethical Responsibilities of Authors
Manuscripts submitted to the Çukurova Journal of Agricultural and Food Sciences must not contain plagiarism or fabricated data. They must adhere to scientific research and publication ethics (e.g., plagiarism, falsification, fabrication, duplication, slicing, unjust authorship, failing to disclose supporting organizations, or not complying with ethical rules in animal studies).
Submissions must be original and relevant to the journal’s scope.
Authors must not submit the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously.
Submitted studies must provide adequate reference details. Fraudulent or intentionally misleading statements are unethical and unacceptable.
Unpublished theses or studies must not be used as sources without permission from their owners.
Potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed. Authors must report the supporting institutions, funding sources, or conflicts of interest related to their studies.
Individuals contributing to the design, implementation, or interpretation of the study must be appropriately credited. Contributors with significant roles should be listed following the lead author, while others should be mentioned in the "Acknowledgments" section.
The "Corresponding Author" is responsible for communicating with the journal and ensuring accuracy and timeliness of all processes.
Authors are responsible for notifying the editor promptly of any errors or inaccuracies in their published work and cooperating with the editor to correct or retract the work as needed.
All listed authors are considered accountable for the content of the manuscript. Adding or omitting authors without justification is unethical.
Ethical committee approval is mandatory for studies involving humans or animals, and this approval must be documented and stated in the article. Approval details (committee name, date, and approval number) must be included in the methodology section and on the first/last page of the article.