Author Guidelines

Authors must prepare their manuscripts directly on the Article Template and upload them to the system accordingly. Manuscripts that do not conform to the template will be rejected by the editors without being sent for peer review. The template is a file in which the formatting rules (font, size, heading levels, table and reference styles) are already defined; authors are therefore expected to use the predefined styles in the template rather than applying formatting manually.

📝 Download the article template: 📝 ETU Sentez Template.docx 

Since manuscripts undergo double-blind peer review, no author information should appear on the manuscript. This information will be added by the editorial office if the study is accepted. Author information must be provided in the Article Title Page.

Manuscripts may only be submitted through the journal's online submission and evaluation system (https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/etusentez). Submissions made through any other means or by persons who are not authors will not be considered.

The formatting and citation style of manuscripts must comply with the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), 7th edition.

Mandatory Documents

1. Copyright Agreement Form 📝 Copyright Agreement Form.docx 
2. ICMJE Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form (each author must complete and sign a separate form) 📝 ICMJE DISCLOSURE FORM.docx 
3. Ethics Committee Approval (if required by the study)
4. Article Title Page 📝 Article Title Page.docx 
5. Artificial Intelligence Use Disclosure Form 📝 Artificial Intelligence Use Disclosure Form.docx 

In accordance with the principles of transparent publishing, the journal requires the declaration of any AI use. The Artificial Intelligence Use Disclosure Form must be completed and uploaded together with the submission.

Formatting Rules

Author Information and Anonymity

Because manuscripts are forwarded directly to reviewers through the system, no information identifying the owner of the manuscript should be present, in order to maintain author–reviewer confidentiality. For this reason, author name(s) must not appear either within the manuscript or in the file name. In addition, personal information must be removed from the "Document Properties and Personal Information" section of MS Word. Author information is provided only on the Article Title Page.

Manuscript Text

• Manuscripts must not exceed 10,000 words. The bibliography and any appendices are not included in this limit; appendices are placed after the bibliography.
• The manuscript must be prepared as an MS Word file and directly on the Article Template.
• The body-text format defined in the template is Times New Roman, single line spacing. Authors must use the predefined styles in the template and should not change the font or size manually. If a special font is used in the study, it must be submitted together with the manuscript.
• Except where compulsory, the current Spelling Guide of the Turkish Language Association (TDK) must be observed for Turkish-language manuscripts.
• Research articles must begin with an Introduction setting out the aim, scope, and hypothesis of the study. The main body must be supported by data, observations, opinions, interpretations, and discussion; the Conclusion must present the results reached, supported by recommendations.

Title

• Manuscripts must have both a Turkish and an English title.
• Titles must consist of no more than 12 (twelve) words and must be written with only the first letter of each word capitalized.
• If the manuscript language is English, the English title appears first on the first page, followed by the Turkish title.
• The heading styles defined in the template must be used; dedicated styles are provided for both the manuscript title and in-text headings.

Abstract (Öz and Abstract)

• The study must include a Turkish (Öz) and an English (Abstract) summary of 200–250 words each, briefly and concisely expressing the subject matter, including the aim, data, methodology, and findings of the research.
• Below each summary, a minimum of 3 (three) and a maximum of 5 (five) keywords, together with their English equivalents, must be provided.
• JEL classification code(s), where applicable, must be specified.
• The Öz and Abstract must be formatted using the Öz/Abstract style defined in the template.
• If the manuscript language is English, the Abstract is presented first, immediately followed by the Öz.

In-Text Headings

Only two heading levels should be used in the manuscript text. Headings must not be formatted manually; the template's predefined "Main Heading" (Ana Başlık) and "Subheading" (Alt Başlık) styles must be selected and applied from the "Styles" gallery in the top menu of Word.

Tables

• Tables must be embedded in the manuscript text and numbered consecutively in the order in which they are referred to in the text.
• Each table must have a descriptive title above it, with the table number in bold; the initial letters of the words in the title must be capitalized.
• Tables must be created using Word's "Insert Table" command; any abbreviations used in a table must be defined in footnotes below the table.
• If a table is taken from another source, its source must be cited below the table in accordance with the in-text citation rules.
• Visual standard: the header row must have a top and bottom border of 1.25 pt (black) and a background shaded with #E8EFF5; inner horizontal lines must be 1 pt and colored #D9D9D9 (light grey); the bottom border closing the table must be 1.25 pt (black). The style registered as "ETU Sentez" in the table-styles menu can be applied directly by selecting the relevant table.
• Data presented in tables must not merely repeat the main text; they must support and enhance it.

Figures and Graphics

• All charts, maps, photographs, and illustrations in the study must be labeled as "Figure" and numbered consecutively within the text (Figure 1, Figure 2 …).
• The figure number and title must be placed below the figure, centered on the page; the initial letters of the words in the title must be capitalized.
• All visuals must be centered and must not exceed the page margins.
• Images, graphics, and photographs must be of high resolution (at least 300 DPI), clear, and legible. If a visual has sub-units, they must be combined into a single image and labeled (a, b, c …).
• If a figure is taken or adapted from another source, the source must be cited immediately below the title (e.g., Source: Yılmaz, 2023, p. 45).
• Visuals used in manuscripts must not be copied directly from other sources; they must be redesigned by the authors.

Quotations and Footnotes

• Direct quotations shorter than five lines are given in quotation marks ("Quotation").
• Direct quotations longer than five lines are written without quotation marks, as a separate, left-indented paragraph, using the template's "Quote" (Alıntı) style.
• Direct quotations must be given with the page number (North, 1992, p. 13).
• Footnotes must appear on the page on which they are cited.

Declarations (End of Manuscript)

The Author Contributions, Peer Review, Conflict of Interest, Financial Disclosure, Statement on the Use of Artificial Intelligence, and Ethics Committee Approval fields at the end of the manuscript are provided ready-made in the template. All of these fields will be completed during the editorial process and must therefore be left blank by the authors.

Citations and References (APA 7)

Both in-text citations and the reference list must follow the APA 7th edition rules. All references in the bibliography must be formatted using the "Kaynakça" (Bibliography) style defined in the template. This style automatically applies the APA 7 indentation and spacing.

Important Notice: When applying the bibliography style, avoid selecting the entire text as a block. If the style is applied while the whole text is highlighted, the formatting of parts that should be italicized—such as the title of a work or a journal name—may be disrupted. The style must be applied to each reference paragraph individually.

Basic in-text citation formats:

• Multiple sources cited together are placed in the same parentheses, separated by semicolons: (North, 1992; Ferrer et al., 2016).
• Works by the same author in the same year are distinguished with a, b: (Kaya, 2020a), (Kaya, 2020b).
• All sources cited in the text must appear in the reference list, which must be arranged alphabetically by author surname.
• In the reference list, journal and book titles are italicized. If a source has a DOI, it must be given; no period is placed after a DOI or URL.
  
  Click here for examples of APA 7 citation system.

Article Types

Research Articles present new knowledge based on original research. Acceptance is generally based on the originality and significance of the research. The main text must be structured under the headings Introduction, Literature Review, Method, Findings, Discussion, and Conclusion.

Review Articles are prepared by experts who have accumulated knowledge on the subject and whose work is reflected in the international literature in terms of publications and citations; authors may also be invited by the journal. Reviews must provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge on a topic within the journal's scope and must include discussion and evaluation of the relevant research. Subheadings may be planned by the authors; however, every review article must include an "Introduction" and a "Conclusion" section.

Rules Governing Evaluation

1. Texts that do not contain scholarly analysis, as well as texts of a compilation nature, are not evaluated as research articles.
2. Book presentation/review articles are not accepted.
3. Manuscripts that do not comply with the journal's plagiarism/similarity policy are returned to the authors.
4. Manuscripts submitted without being formatted in accordance with the author guidelines are returned to the authors.
5. For a new work by an author who has had an article published in an issue to be published, at least 4 issues (2 years) must have elapsed. This applies to multi-author works as well; the waiting period may be longer for in-house authors.
6. Author contribution rates must be entered during the editorial process, via the relevant form, after the article is accepted.
7. Where applicable, an in-house limitation is applied: at most 10% of the articles published in a single issue may be authored by ETU-affiliated authors; multi-author works are also within this scope. Under no circumstances may the number of ETU-affiliated authors exceed 2 in a single issue.
8. When members of the journal's boards submit a manuscript to the journal, their relevant board memberships are terminated immediately to prevent a conflict of interest; ongoing processes are either completed or transferred to another board member. The manuscript is taken into the evaluation process only after all relevant authorities have ended. If a critical role is involved, reassignment is possible only by decision of the Editorial Board and a reasoned assessment, at the earliest 2 years later. Decisions are kept in the archive.
9. To ensure institutional and regional diversity, care is taken not to publish a large number of articles from the same institution in the same issue.
10. Manuscripts prepared in English and having successfully completed the peer-review process may be given publication priority to increase international visibility.
11. In studies requiring ethics committee approval, only the persons named in the ethics committee document are accepted as authors.
12. If an ethical problem is identified after the process in a published article, the necessary correction or clarification is published. To preserve the integrity of the scholarly record, published articles are not deleted from the system or completely removed.
13. The final decision regarding the acceptance and publication of manuscripts rests with the Editorial Board. The acceptance date is binding in publication planning; however, in line with issue integrity, thematic coherence, or editorial needs, the Editorial Board reserves the right to make limited changes (20%) to the publication order.
14. Manuscripts derived from a thesis are evaluated on the condition that they are prepared in English if the thesis is in Turkish, and in Turkish if the thesis is in another language.

(The rules above are the decisions taken and implemented by the journal's Editorial Board as of June 2026.)

For comprehensive information on the journal's policies—including publication, peer review, editorial, and ethical standards—please visit the Ethical Principles and Publication Policy page; for detailed information about the journal, please visit the Aims and Scope page.