ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND PUBLICATION POLICY

Ethical Principles

Çağdaş Yerel Yönetimler (Journal of Contemporary Local Governments - CYY) operates in accordance with international publication ethics standards. CYY adopts the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The journal also follows the ethical standards published by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA).

Principle of Transparency

The journal's operations are transparent and subject to predetermined procedures. The manuscript submission and review process is managed through the Dergipark system, allowing relevant units and individuals to access information and track every stage at any time.

Plagiarism Policy

Before the review process begins, the Journal of Contemporary Local Governments requires author(s) to upload a plagiarism report from a plagiarism detection software, such as "iThenticate," "Turnitin," or "İntihal.net." After reviewing the similarity rate in the plagiarism report and checking for compliance with the journal's writing rules and principles, the Editorial Board initiates the evaluation process. The similarity rate in the plagiarism report for manuscripts must not exceed 20%; manuscripts with a similarity rate of over 20% are rejected.

Confidentiality Statement

Any data entered into the Journal of Contemporary Local Governments Management System (such as personal information, including names and email addresses) will not be shared with third parties or used for any other purpose.

Copyright

Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the ideas, suggestions, and sources in their articles. No royalties are paid for articles published in the journal. While the copyright of published articles belongs to the author(s), the author(s) accept the journal's authority to publish the article and to identify themselves as the original publisher. When uploading the manuscript, a wet-signed Copyright Transfer Form must also be uploaded as a PDF file.

Open Access

All works in the Journal of Contemporary Local Governments are published under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.

Artificial Intelligence Policy

In submissions to the Journal of Contemporary Local Governments, the name(s) of any generative AI tools used, as well as the purpose and extent of their use, must be declared in the notes section at the end of the paper. If this declaration is not made and the use of generative AI tools is detected, the submission will be directly rejected and considered an ethical violation. A core principle is that the content of the work should not be generated by AI. However, the following rules must be observed:

If generative AI tools are used, they should not be added as authors.
Generative AI tools can be used for the translation of limited sections like the abstract or extended abstract, or for grammar checks. However, the translation of an entire text by generative AI tools is not accepted.
For editors and reviewers: Uploading authors' works to AI applications and platforms during the peer review process would violate the double-blind review policy and ethical principles, and could also create issues regarding intellectual property rights.

Publication Policy

The Journal of Contemporary Local Governments accepts original articles in the fields of local governments, urban planning, and the environment. Manuscripts that are derived from ongoing or defended master's theses, or ongoing doctoral dissertations, as well as articles prepared by expanding on papers presented at a conference (published or unpublished abstracts), are not accepted or considered for review.

Authors submit their manuscripts to the journal through the Dergipark system (for detailed information on Dergipark, see: https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/page/about). All journal processes, including correspondence, are conducted through the Dergipark system. Manuscript processes, files, and correspondence are archived via Dergipark.

Authors cannot submit more than one manuscript at a time. An author (or one of the authors) can submit another manuscript only after their current one has been published. The publication of an author's other accepted manuscript can only take place in a subsequent volume.

During their term, journal editors and editorial board members cannot submit or publish manuscripts for consideration in the journal.

Since communication with authors and reviewers is carried out through the DergiPark system and the journal's email address (cyydergisi@hbv.edu.tr), authors and reviewers must check the email address they have provided for communication.

Manuscripts deemed suitable for submission after the required documents have been uploaded undergo a preliminary review by the Editorial Board. They are examined for scope, journal policy, writing rules, original contribution to the field, and scientific expression. Manuscripts that are not deemed suitable are rejected outright.

If the works meet the preliminary review criteria, they are sent to two reviewers. If the two reviewers have conflicting opinions, a third reviewer may be consulted at the editor's discretion. The identities of the reviewers and the author are kept confidential during this process in accordance with the double-blind peer review policy. The evaluation period for reviewers is 15 days from the date they accept the review. Upon the reviewer's request, this period can be extended by an additional 15 days. For manuscripts where the review process is complete, the reviewer reports are sent to the authors via email through the system. If revisions are requested, the revised manuscript and a revision report must be uploaded to the system within 15 days of the date the reviewer reports were sent to the author. Upon the author's request, this period can be extended by an additional 15 days.

The editors and editorial board decide whether to publish the manuscript based on the reviewer reports. The completion of revisions does not guarantee that the manuscript will be accepted. The process may also result in a rejection decision by the editor and the editorial board based on the peer reviews.

As a rule, works that have completed the publication process are published in the next available issue. However, the Editorial Board may postpone the publication of manuscripts that have successfully completed the review process to a subsequent issue based on criteria such as thematic coherence of the issue, technical layout processes, or the number of articles on a similar topic in previous issues.

Manuscripts approved for publication are moved to the typesetting stage, while those that are not approved are rejected. The scientific responsibility for the articles in the journal rests with the author. No royalties are paid to the authors of published works. Articles published in the journal cannot be published or reproduced elsewhere without the approval of the Journal of Contemporary Local Governments.

In accordance with the journal's open access policy, the journal content, including the full text of articles, is provided to all users free of charge. Citing published works is permitted with proper attribution.

Authors who submit a manuscript for review are considered to have accepted the journal's "Article Publication Principles and Writing Rules" and the specified copyright terms. The author(s) are responsible for any articles that do not comply with these rules and principles. The Editorial Board reserves the right to reject any manuscript found not to comply with the relevant rules and principles at any stage of the review process.

Authors' Responsibilities

Submitted manuscripts must align with the journal's aims and scope.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts comply with scientific and ethical rules. Plagiarism, duplication, fake authorship/denied authorship, research/data fabrication, slicing, salami-slicing, copyright infringement, and the concealment of conflicts of interest are considered unethical behaviors. All manuscripts that do not meet ethical standards will be removed from the publication process (if detected).
The author must upload a signed printed Ethics Declaration Form to the system, stating that the manuscript is original, has not been published elsewhere before, and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere or in another language.
Copyrighted materials (e.g., tables, figures, or large quotations) must be used with the necessary permissions and acknowledgments. The work of other authors and contributors or sources used must be properly cited and included in the references.
Individuals who have not made a direct academic and scientific contribution to the content of the work should not be listed as authors. The order of authors' names reflects the authors' collective decision. All authors must indicate their author order with their signatures on the Copyright Transfer Form.
All individuals and institutions who have contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship (e.g., those providing technical support, writing assistance, or general support, financial, and material support) are listed in the "acknowledgments / information" section.
Authors must declare any financial relationships, conflicts of interest, and competing interests that could potentially influence the results of the research or the scientific evaluation.
If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published article, they are responsible for immediately contacting the editor and collaborating to make a correction or retraction.
Authors must have documents showing that they have the rights to use the data, the necessary permissions for the research/analysis, or the consent of the subjects involved.
Authors cannot have their work under submission to more than one journal at the same time. Each submission can be initiated only after the previous one has been completed.



Responsibilities of Editors and Assistant Editors

The Editor is responsible for managing the entire publication and peer review process from the time a manuscript is received until it is published, and is also responsible for the journal's quality and performance. The Editor is appointed by the Rector of Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University from among the University's academic staff with at least a doctoral degree, for a term of three years. The Editor, as the chief editor, is also responsible for the harmony and coordination among the assistant editors and other editors working for the journal, and for the quality of the publication.
Each manuscript has an assistant editor assigned to it, which is visible to the authors via the Dergipark system.
Editors evaluate manuscripts independently of the authors' ethnic origin, gender, nationality, religious beliefs, political philosophy, and institution.
Editors assess the manuscripts submitted to the journal for their scientific quality, content, and contribution to the field, and decide whether the manuscript should enter the publication process. At this stage, a manuscript may be rejected without being sent for further review.
Assistant editors verify that the manuscripts comply with the journal's writing rules and ensure that authors make the necessary revisions. Assistant editors initiate the peer review process for manuscripts that have completed the preliminary review. Assistant editors communicate with authors and provide necessary information and reminders to the editors.
Manuscripts are sent for a double-blind peer review by the assistant editors. Editors do not allow conflicts of interest among authors, editors, and reviewers. If a peer review is not completed within a reasonable time, editors may contact the reviewer to expedite the process or assign a new reviewer.
Following the peer review, editors evaluate the reviewer reports. The Editorial Board convenes to decide on the acceptance, submission to a third reviewer, or rejection of the manuscript. The reason for the rejection and the reviewer reports are sent to the author.
All information regarding manuscripts is kept confidential until the manuscript is published.
The chief editor can publish an erratum or make corrections if necessary, with the author's knowledge.
The Editorial Board, composed of the chief editor, assistant editors, and other editorial roles, is in constant communication and collaboration to ensure that the publication processes proceed in accordance with the publication principles and rules. They hold regular meetings and make collective decisions regarding the journal's publication policy. Gender equality in the formation of the Editorial Board is a core principle.



Reviewers' Responsibilities and Double-Blind Peer Review Policy

For scientific research articles, double-blind peer reviewers are assigned by the assistant editors.
It is essential that reviewers do not have a conflict of interest with the research, authors, and/or funding sources of the research.
It is essential that the reviewers assigned to a manuscript are not from the same institution as the author. Peer reviews are conducted by independent external reviewers who do not have a conflict of interest with the authors. If the authors are academics, reviewers are chosen from academics with a higher rank if possible, or at least the same rank. Care is also taken to avoid academic relationships between the author and the reviewer, such as graduate thesis advising.
Within the context of double-blind peer review, the identities of the reviewers are kept confidential.
Reviewers are expected to respond within 10 days to the invitation sent to them via email through Dergipark, which includes the manuscript abstract. This period can be extended twice by 5 days if necessary. If a reviewer does not accept or rejects the invitation within the given period, the relevant assistant editor can cancel the invitation in the system and send a new invitation to another person.
A reviewer who accepts the invitation can access the manuscript file and the reviewer evaluation form via their Dergipark account.
The peer review is generally completed within 15 days. If necessary, the assistant editor can extend this period. If a reviewer does not feel qualified on the topic of the manuscript or cannot provide timely feedback, they should inform the editor or assistant editor and request the cancellation of the review process.
Reviewers are obligated to complete the Reviewer Evaluation Form truthfully and provide a scientific assessment.
For a manuscript to be published, it must be approved by at least two reviewers. Reviewers may request minor or major revisions to the manuscript. In this case, the author is asked to revise their manuscript in line with the reviewer's comments. In the case of minor revisions, the revised manuscript is checked by the relevant assistant editor. In the case of major revisions, the manuscript is sent back to the same reviewer to decide on the suitability of the revised version for publication.
Manuscripts that are not approved for publication by both reviewers will not be published. If one of the reviewers does not approve the manuscript for publication, the manuscript may be rejected by the editorial board or sent to a third reviewer, taking into consideration the other reviewer's comments.
Reviewers keep all information about the submitted manuscripts confidential. Reviewers and editorial board members cannot discuss manuscripts with other individuals. If they notice any copyright infringement or plagiarism by the author, they report the situation to the editor.
Reviewers are evaluated based on criteria such as timely response and performance. Uncivil and unscientific evaluations are prevented.



Responsibilities of the Advisory Board

The advisory board, consisting of academics from various institutions, monitors the journal's operations and provides feedback and suggestions.



SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ETHICS

The following points should be considered for the ethics committee report:

For studies that do not require an ethics committee decision, the Research Declaration Form Not Subject to Ethics Committee Approval (available in the Forms section) must be completed. For studies that do require an ethics committee decision, an Ethics Committee Approval must be obtained, mentioned in the article, and documented. Additionally, the Ethics Declaration Form (available in the Forms section) regarding compliance with research and publication ethics must be completed and uploaded to the system. In studies requiring ethics committee approval, information about the approval (committee name, date, and number) must be provided in the methodology section and also at the end of the article.
The following research requires ethics committee approval: All kinds of research conducted with qualitative or quantitative approaches that require data collection from participants using surveys, interviews, focus group studies, observation, and interview techniques. Furthermore, it is required to obtain and state permission from the owners for the use of scales, surveys, and photos belonging to others, and to state that copyright regulations have been complied with for the use of ideas and works of art. Manuscripts derived from thesis works that have used a portion of the research data must be specifically mentioned in a footnote. Researchers who are not university staff can apply to the Ethics Committees in their region for an Ethics Committee Report if necessary.

These rules have been updated as of September 22, 2025.