Evaluation Principles

1. Manuscripts that have not been previously published or are not currently under review for publication in another journal and that have been approved by each author are accepted for evaluation.
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3. Submitted manuscripts that pass the preliminary check are scanned for plagiarism using iThenticate (or equivalent) software.
   
   
4. The Editor-in-Chief and field editors evaluate manuscripts independently of the authors’ ethnic origin, gender, nationality, religious beliefs, or political philosophy. They ensure that manuscripts submitted for publication undergo a fair double-blind peer review process.
   
5. The Editor-in-Chief does not allow any conflict of interest between authors, editors, and reviewers.
   
   
6. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the final decision regarding the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts. The editor’s decision is final.
   
   
7. The Editor-in-Chief may not publish articles in the Düzce University Journal of Social Sciences in which he/she serves as editor, except for editorial articles.
   
   
8. Field editors may publish articles subject to all of the journal’s usual procedures; however, they may not be involved in any stage of the evaluation process of their own manuscripts.
   
   
9. Field editors may not take part in the evaluation process of manuscripts authored by themselves, their family members, or colleagues working at the same institution, as well as any other manuscripts in which a conflict of interest exists or impartiality may be compromised.
   
   
10. The selection of reviewers is carried out by the field editors. Field editors manage all procedures until the acceptance or rejection stage of the manuscript.
    
    
11. Information regarding reviewers is kept confidential during the evaluation process and after publication.
    
    
12. During the evaluation process, the editor explicitly informs reviewers that the manuscripts sent for review are the exclusive property of the authors and that this is a privileged communication.
    
    
13. Reviewers and members of the Editorial Board may not discuss manuscripts with other persons.
    
    
14. All editors must take care to protect the anonymity of the reviewers.

Evaluation Process
1. Preliminary Review and Plagiarism Check
The manuscript is reviewed by the editor(s) for compliance with the journal’s publication principles, academic writing rules, and the APA 7 citation system, and is scanned for plagiarism using the iThenticate programme (or an equivalent programme). The preliminary review is completed within a maximum of 15 days. The plagiarism similarity rate must be less than 20%. Even if the similarity rate appears to be 1%, plagiarism may still be in question if citation and quotation rules have not been properly followed. Therefore, citation and quotation rules must be known and carefully applied by the author.

2. Preliminary Evaluation Process
The Editor-in-Chief and the field editor examine the manuscript in terms of the journal’s publication policies. If necessary, opinions may be obtained from the Editorial Board regarding the subject matter, and the preliminary evaluation process is completed. At this stage, the manuscript may be rejected. For manuscripts deemed appropriate during the preliminary evaluation process, a field editor is appointed.

3. Field Editor Review
The relevant field editor examines the manuscript in terms of problematic issues and academic language and style. This review is completed within an average of 15 days.

4. External Referee Process (Academic Evaluation)
After passing the field editor review, the manuscript is submitted to the evaluation of at least two external referees who have a doctoral thesis, book, or article related to the subject. The referee process is conducted confidentially within the framework of double-blind peer review. Referees are requested to state their opinions and judgments either directly on the text or by providing a justified explanation via the online referee form. Authors are given the right to object and defend their views if they disagree with the referee reports. The field editor ensures mutual communication between the author and the referees while maintaining confidentiality.

If both referee reports are favourable, the manuscript is submitted to the Editorial Board with a proposal for publication. If one of the two referees provides a negative opinion, the manuscript is sent to a third referee. Manuscripts may be published with the positive decision of at least two referees. The publication of book and symposium reviews and doctoral thesis abstracts is decided based on the evaluation of at least two internal referees (relevant field editors and/or members of the Editorial Board).

Refereeing Type: Double Blind

Double Blinding: After the plagiarism check, eligible manuscripts are evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief in terms of originality, methodology, importance of the topic, and compatibility with the scope of the journal. The editor ensures that manuscripts undergo double-blind peer review in a fair manner and, if the manuscript meets the formal requirements, submits it to the evaluation of at least two referees from within the country and/or abroad. If deemed necessary by the referees, publication is approved after the requested revisions are made by the authors.

Review Time: Pre-Publication
Author–Referee Interactions: Editors mediate all interactions between reviewers and authors.
Time in Review: For research articles taken into the referee process in the Düzce University Journal of Social Sciences, the time until the first decision is approximately 15 days.
Number of Referees Reviewing Each Article: Two–three
Permitted Duration: 20 days. This period may be extended by an additional 10 days.
Decision: In order for a manuscript to be accepted for publication by the editor, at least two referees must make an acceptance decision.
Suspicion of Ethical Violation: Referees should inform the editor if they suspect misconduct in the research or publication. The editor is responsible for taking the necessary actions in accordance with COPE recommendations.

5. Proofreading Phase
If referees request corrections to be made to the reviewed manuscript, the relevant reports are sent to the author and the author is asked to revise the manuscript. The author makes the corrections in the Word program with the “Track Changes” feature enabled or indicates the changes in red within the text and submits the revised manuscript to the field editor.

6. Field Editor Control
The field editor checks whether the author has made the requested corrections to the manuscript.

7. Referee Check
The referee who requested revisions checks whether the author has made the requested corrections to the manuscript.

8. Turkish Language Check
Manuscripts that pass the referee process are reviewed by the Turkish Language Editor and the Editor-in-Chief, and if necessary, the author is asked to make corrections. This review process is completed within a maximum of 15 days.

9. English Language Check
Manuscripts that pass the Turkish language check are examined by the English Language Editor, and if necessary, corrections are requested from the author. The English language review process is completed within a maximum of 15 days.

10. Editorial Board Review
Manuscripts that pass technical, academic, and linguistic reviews are examined by the Editorial Board, which decides whether they will be published and, if so, in which issue they will be included. The Board makes decisions by majority vote. In the event of a tie, the final decision is made in accordance with the Editor-in-Chief’s decision.

11. Typesetting and Layout Phase
Manuscripts approved for publication by the Editorial Board are typeset and prepared for publication and sent to the author for review. This stage takes a maximum of 15 days.

12. Data Submission to National and International Indexes
The data of the published issue is submitted to the relevant indexes within 15 days.