Publication Policy
Fırat University Journal of the Faculty of Theology is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and pays regard to Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA).
The press law has been published on the Official Gazette in Turkey on 26 June 2004. The purpose of the press law is to arrange freedom of the press and the implementation of this freedom. http://www.lawsturkey.com/law/press-law-5187?s=187+Press+Law#
The Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works has been published in the Official Gazette in Turkey on 13 December 1951. http://www.lawsturkey.com/law/5846-law-on-intellectual-and-artistic-works
The Regulation on Scientific Research and Publication Ethics in Higher Education Institutions has been gone into effect with General Assembly Resolution numbered 2016.23.497, https://www.yok.gov.tr/Sayfalar/Kurumsal/mevzuat/bilimsel-arastirma-ve-etik-yonetmeligi.aspx
Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.1.12

Fırat University Journal of the Faculty of Theology checks for plagiarism: Submitted manuscripts that pass preliminary control are scanned for plagiarism using TURNITIN software. If plagiarism/self-plagiarism will be found authors will be informed. Editors may resubmit the manuscript for similarity check at any peer-review or production stage if required. High similarity scores may lead to rejection of a manuscript before and even after acceptance. The percentage of similarity score taken from each article, the overall similarity score is generally expected to be less than 20%.

Publication processes of Fırat University Journal of the Faculty of Theology Journal are based on producing, developing and sharing knowledge objectively within scientific methods. The processes implemented in this direction are directly reflected in the quality of the works of the authors and the institutions that support the authors. Peer-reviewed articles are studies that ensure the application of scientific method and impartiality. In the realization of scientific production, all components of publication process (authors, readers and researchers, publisher, reviewers and editors) should comply with ethical principles. In this context, the publication ethics and open access policy of Fırat University Journal of the Faculty of Theology Journal require that all components of publication process comply with the ethical principles below:
If situations such as manipulating and distorting the data used in the articles and using fabricated data are detected, this situation will be officially reported to the institution where the author of the article works and the article will be rejected. Fırat University Journal of the Faculty of Theology Journal has the right to request the output files related to the analysis results from the authors according to the feedback given by editors and/or reviewers.
When the study prepared for publishing is produced from a book chapter, an unpublished report, and master thesis or doctorate dissertation, it should certainly be stated in Turkish and English on the first page of the study.In order for the articles produced from reports to be evaluated, the author should send his/her articles together with a contract with a wet signature stating that “My study has not been published previously and will not be published”. The reason is that duplication/ republishing/ scientific deception/multicast is a crime. According to the TUBITAK Committee on Publication Ethics, republishing is to publish or send the results of the same research to more than one journal for publishing. If an article has been evaluated or published previously, the publications apart from this are regarded as republishing.

Publication of research that involve human subjects (i.e., surveys and interviews)
Fırat University Journal of the Faculty of Theology is adopts the "Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" and "Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers" of the Publication Ethics Committee (COPE) in order to create ethical assurance in scientific periodicals. In this context, the following points should be followed in the manuscripts submitted to the journal:
1) For research conducted in all branches of science that requires ethics committee approval (ethics committee approval should be obtained, this approval should be stated and documented in the article.
2) In research that requires ethics committee permission, information about the permission (name of the committee, date, and number) is in the method section, and also on one of the first/last pages of the article; In case of reports, information about signing the informed consent/consent form should be included in the article.

Editorial oversight and processing concerning special issues
A special issue can be published in the journal once a year upon the request of the Editorial Board. Manuscripts sent for inclusion in a special issue are first subjected to editorial review. Then it is examined in terms of compliance with the writing rules of the journal and similarity is scanned to prevent plagiarism. After these stages, it is taken into the peer review process in which the double-blind model is used.

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
Correction, Retraction, Expression of Concern
Editor should consider publishing correction if minor errors that do not effect the results, interpretations and conclusions of the published paper are detected. Editor should consider retraction if major errors and/or misconduction that invalidate results and conclusions are detected. Editor should consider issuing an expression of concern if there is evidence of research or publication misconduct by the authors; there is evidence that the findings are not reliable and institutions of the authors do not investigate the case or the possible investigation seems to be unfair or nonconclusive. The guidelines of COPE are taken into consideration regarding correction, retractions or expression of concern.

Plagiarism Action Plan and Journal Precautions
The journal respects intellectual property and aims to protect and promote the original work of its authors. Articles containing plagiarism are against the standards of quality, research, and innovation. Therefore, all authors who submit articles to the journal are expected to comply with ethical standards and avoid plagiarism in any form. If an author is suspected of plagiarism in a submitted or published article, the journal's Ethics Editor reviews the work first. This work is then reviewed by the Editorial Board. The Journal then contacts the author(s) to submit their comments within two weeks. If the journal does not receive any response from the author within the specified time, it requests the investigation of the claim by contacting the university to which the author is affiliated. The journal will take the following serious precautions against published articles that are found to contain plagiarism.

1. The journal will immediately contact the university to which the author(s) are affiliated, in order to take final action against the related author.
2. The journal will remove the PDF copy of the published article from its website and disable all links to the full-text article. The phrase Plagiarized Article will be added to the title of the published article.
3. The journal will disable the author's account and reject all future submissions by the author for a period of 3 years.

This journal checks for plagiarism
Submitted manuscripts that pass preliminary control are scanned for plagiarism using TURNITIN software. If plagiarism/self-plagiarism will be found authors will be informed. Editors may resubmit the manuscript for similarity check at any peer-review or production stage if required. High similarity scores may lead to rejection of a manuscript before and even after acceptance. The percentage of similarity score taken from each article, the overall similarity score is generally expected to be less than 15%.

Publication Ethics Policy
a) Plagiarism: To show others’ original ideas, methods, data or works as their own work, partially or completely, without reference to scientific rules,
b) Fraud: To produce data that is not based on research, to edit or change the presented or published work on the basis of untrue data, to report or publish these, to present an unstudied research as if it has been done,
c) Distortion: Falsifying the research records or the data obtained, showing the devices or materials not used in the research as being used, not evaluating the data that is not suitable for the research hypothesis, manipulating the data and/or results in order to fit the relevant theory or assumptions, falsifying or shaping the research results in line with the interests of the people and organizations,
ç) Republishing: Presenting more than one work containing the same results of a research as separate works in academic appointments and academic promotions,
d) Slicing: Dividing the results of a research into pieces in a way that disrupts the integrity of the research and is inappropriate, and publishing in more than one issue, and presenting these publications as separate publications in academic appointments and promotions,
e) Unfair authorship: Including persons without active contribution among the authors or not including those who have active contribution, changing the author’s order in an unjustified and inappropriate manner, removing the names of those who have active contribution from the work in subsequent editions, having their names included among the authors by using their influence even though they have no active contribution,

Other types of ethical violations are as follows:
a) Not specifying the supporting persons, institutions or organizations and their contributions in the publications made as a result of the research conducted with support,
b) To use the theses or studies that have not yet been submitted or accepted as a source without the permission of the owner,
c) Not complying with ethical rules in research on humans and animals, not respecting patients’ rights in publications,
ç) To violate the provisions of the relevant legislation in human biomedical research and other clinical research,
d) Sharing the information contained in a work that has been assigned to review with others before it is published without the explicit permission of the owner of the work,
e) Misuse of the resources, places, facilities and devices provided or allocated for scientific research,
f) To make unfounded, unwarranted and deliberate allegations of ethical violations,
g) To publish the data obtained without the express consent of the participants in a questionnaire and attitude research conducted within the scope of a scientific study or, if the research will be conducted in an institution, without the permission of the institution,
ğ) To harm animal health and ecological balance in research and experiments,
h) Failing to obtain written permissions from the authorized units in research and experiments before starting the work,
ı) To carry out studies contrary to the provisions of the legislation in research and experiments or the provisions of the international conventions to which Turkey is a party, regarding the relevant research and experiments.
i) Failing to comply with the obligation of researchers and authorities to inform and warn those concerned about possible harmful practices regarding the scientific research,
j) Not using the data and information obtained from other persons and institutions in scientific studies, to the extent and as permitted, not to respect the confidentiality of this information and to ensure its protection,
k) To make false or misleading statements regarding scientific research and publications in academic appointments and promotions (YÖK Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive, Article 4).

Responsibilities of Stakeholders
Our readers and stakeholders can report any material error or violation of scientific research and publication ethics they see in the articles published in Fırat University Journal of the Faculty of Theology by sending e-mail to ilahiyatdergisi@firat.edu.tr We welcome such feedback as it provides an opportunity for us to improve, and we aim to respond promptly and constructively.

a) Editors' Responsibilities
The editors and field editors of Fırat University Journal of the Faculty of Theology provide the following ethical duties and responsibilities considering Code of Conduct and Best Practice for Journal Editors (COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors), Best Practice Guidelines (COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors) for Journal Editors published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and the Principles of Publication Ethics Flowcharts developed by COPE in possible situations of abuse or breach of publication ethics:
• Impartiality and Publisher’s Freedom: Editors evaluate the submitted article proposals by considering their suitability to the scope of the journal and the importance and originality of their studies. Editors do not take into account the race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, nationality, or political views of the authors submitting the article proposal. Other institutions other than the journal editorial board cannot influence the correction or publication decision. Editors take care that the published issues contribute to the reader, researcher, practitioner, and the scientific field and to be original.
• Independence: The relationship between Editors (Editor and Assistant Editors) and the publisher is based on the principle of the editor’s independence. According to the written agreement between the editors and the publisher, all decisions of the editors are independent of the publisher and the journal owner. Editors should reject, under no influence, incomplete or erroneous research that does not comply with the journal policy, publication rules, and level.
• Privacy: Editors do not share information about a submitted article with anyone other than the responsible author, referees, and editorial board. It ensures that the articles evaluated by at least two referees are evaluated according to the double-blind review system and keeps the referees confidential.
• Disclosure and differences of opinion: Editors and editorial board members may not use unpublished information in an article submitted for their own research purposes without the express written consent of the authors. Editors should not have a conflict of interest regarding articles they accept or reject.
• Printing decision: Editors ensure that all articles accepted for publication are reviewed by at least two referees who are experts in their field. Editors are responsible for deciding which work will be published from the articles submitted to the journal, the validity of the study in question, its importance to researchers and readers, the comments of referees, and such legal requirements. Editors have the responsibility and authority to accept or reject articles. Therefore, it has to use its responsibility and authority in place and on time.
• Ethical concerns: Editors will take action when ethical concerns arise regarding a submitted article or published article. As a matter of fact, they continue their business processes without compromising intellectual property rights and ethical standards. Any reported unethical publishing behaviour will be reviewed, even if it occurs years after publication. Editors follow COPE Flowcharts in case of ethical concerns. If ethical issues are significant, correction, retraction may be applied or concerns regarding the issue may be published in the journal.
• Collaboration with Journal Boards: Editors ensure that all members of the advisory committee advance the processes in accordance with the editorial policies and guidelines. They inform the advisory board members about publication policies. It enables advisory board members to evaluate their work independently. They can contribute to new advisory board members and decide accordingly. They should send studies appropriate to the expertise of the members of the advisory board for evaluation. It interacts regularly with the advisory board. It holds regular meetings with the editorial board for publication policies and the development of the journal.

b) Authors' Responsibilities
1. Reporting standards: The authors of the original research should ensure that the work done and the results are presented accurately, followed by an objective discussion of the significance of the work. The article proposal should contain sufficient details and references.
2. Data access and retention: Authors are required to keep the raw data of their studies. When necessary, they should submit it for editorial review if requested by the journal.
3. Originality and plagiarism: Authors must submit entirely original works and if they have used the work or words of others, this must be appropriately cited. Plagiarism constitutes unethical publishing behaviour in all its forms and is unacceptable. For this reason, a similarity rate report is requested from all authors who submit an article to the journal.
4. Multiple, duplicate, backup or simultaneous submission / publication: Authors should not submit an article previously published in another journal for consideration. Submitting an article to more than one journal simultaneously is unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
5. Authorship of the manuscript: Only those who fulfil the authorship criteria should be listed as authors in the content of the manuscript. These authorship criteria are as follows; (i) contributed to the design, implementation, data collection or analysis phases (ii) prepared the manuscript or made significant intellectual contribution or critically revised it; or (iii) saw the final version of the manuscript, approved it and agreed to be submitted for publication. Corresponding author should ensure that all authors (according to the definition above) are included in the list of authors and declare that they have seen the final version of the article and agree to be submitted for publication.
6. Statement and conflicts of interest: Authors should reveal conflicts of interest at the earliest possible stage (usually by submitting a disclosure form at the time of submission and including a statement in the article). All sources of financial support for the study must be declared (including the grant / fund number or other reference number, if applicable).
7. Peer review process: Authors are responsible for participating in the peer review process and are obliged to fully cooperate by responding promptly to editors’ requests for raw data, explanations and evidence of ethical approval, and copyright permissions. If a “required revision” decision is made first, the authors should review and re-submit their manuscript until the deadline given to the reviewers' comments in a systematic manner.
8. Fundamental errors in published works: When authors find material errors or inaccuracies in their own published work, they are obliged to inform the journal editors or publishers immediately and to cooperate with the journal editors or publishers to correct a typo in the article (erratum) or remove the article from publication. If editors or publisher learn from a third party that a published work contains a material error or inaccuracy, the author must take the responsibility of correcting or withdrawing the article immediately or providing the journal's editors with evidence of the paper's accuracy.

c) Responsibilities of Referees
1. Contribution to editorial decisions: Assists editors in their editorial decisions and assists authors in improving their articles through editorial communication. Indicates the completion of other articles, works, sources, citations, rules and similar deficiencies related to the article.
2. Speed: Any referee who does not feel qualified to review the proposal of the article or knows that the article review cannot take place on time should immediately notify the editors and reject the invitation to review, thus ensuring the appointment of a new referee.
3. Confidentiality: All article suggestions submitted for review are confidential documents and should be handled as such. It should not be shown or discussed to others unless authorized by the editor. This also applies to referees who decline the invitation to review.
4. Impartiality standards: Comments on the proposal of the article should be made impartially and recommendations should be made in a way that the authors can use to improve the article. Personal criticism of the authors is not appropriate.
5. Acceptance of references: Referees should describe relevant published works that are not cited by the authors. The referee should also inform the editor of any significant similarities between the manuscript reviewed and any other manuscript (published or unpublished).
6. Conflicts of interest: Conflicts of interest should be reported to the editor. There should be no conflict of interest between the referees and the stakeholders of the article that is the subject of evaluation.

Editorial and Blind Review Processes
Editors are obliged to comply with the policies of "Blind Review and Review Process" stated in the journal's publication policies. Therefore, the editors ensure that each manuscript is reviewed in an unbiased, fair and timely manner.

Quality Assurance
Editors must make sure that articles in the journal are published in accordance with the publication policies of the journal and international standards.

Protection of Personal Information
Editors are supposed to protect the personal information related with the subjects or visuals in the studies being reviewed, and to reject the study if there is no documentation of the subjects' consent. Furthermore, editors are supposed to protect the personal information of the authors, reviewers and readers.

Encouraging Ethical Rules and Protection of Human and Animal Rights
Editors are supposed to protect human and animal rights in the studies being reviewed and must reject the experimental studies which do not have ethical and related committee’s approval about the population given in such studies.

Precautions against possible Abuse and Malpractice
Editors are supposed to take precautions against possible abuse and malpractice. They must conduct investigations meticulously and objectively in determining and evaluating complaints about such situations. They must also share the results of the investigation.

Ensuring Academic Integrity
Editors must make sure that the mistakes, inconsistencies or misdirections in studies are corrected quickly.

Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
Editors are responsible for protecting the intellectual property rights of all the articles published in the journal and the rights of the journal and author(s) in cases where these rights are violated. Also, editors must take the necessary precautions in order to prevent the content of all published articles from violating the intellectual property rights of other publications.

Constructiveness and Openness to Discussion
Editors must pay attention to the convincing criticism about studies published in the journal and must have a constructive attitude towards such criticism. Editörs must grant the right of reply to the author(s) of the criticized study and not ignore or exclude the study that include negative results.

Conflicting Interests
Editors, acknowledging that there may be conflicting interests between reviewers and other editors, guarantee that the publication process of the manuscripts will be completed in an independent and unbiased manner. In studies with more than one author, the contribution rate statement, if any, support and acknowledgment statements, and conflict statements should be included at the end of the review process. (See. Article Writing Template) Also, it is demanded from the authors to fill out the form for declaration of conflict of interest and upload to the system when the process of peer-review is ended.

In the event that the members of our journal boards publish articles in our journal, all their duties in the relevant issue are suspended. Violation of the blind refereeing system is not permitted under any circumstances. Such publications cannot exceed 1/3 of the total number of articles. While the article is in the refereeing process, the editorial roles of the editors are suspended and the referee process is not seen, thus double-blind refereeing is preserved.