Author Guidelines

Fırat University Journal of Social Sciences

e-ISSN: 2149-3243 Indexed in: TR Dizin, EBSCO

Aims and Scope

The Fırat University Journal of Social Sciences is a peer-reviewed, open-access academic journal publishing original scholarly work in the field of social sciences. It welcomes interdisciplinary studies that make a significant contribution to academic literature. The journal adheres to high scientific and ethical standards and aligns its publication policy with internationally recognized indexing systems such as TR Dizin and EBSCO.

1. General Submission Criteria

Manuscripts submitted for publication must:
Be original and unpublished, and not under review elsewhere.
Offer a scientific contribution to the field of social sciences.
Be written in Turkish or English, following correct grammar and academic style.
Follow a clear and organized structure with scientifically sound content.

2. Structure and Content Requirements

Title: Must be in Turkish and English, accurately reflecting the content and scope of the article.
Abstract: Both Turkish and English abstracts (150–200 words) must summarize the purpose, scope, methodology, results, and conclusion of the study in a way that allows the abstract to be published independently. The abstract must be written in Times New Roman, 9 pt font.
Keywords: 3–5 relevant keywords in both Turkish and English should be included below each abstract.
Main Text: Articles should follow the IMRAD structure (Introduction, Methodology, Results, and Discussion). Clarity, objectivity, and logical flow are essential. The main body text must be written in Times New Roman, 10 pt font.
Figures, Tables, and Visuals:
Should be selected based on relevance to the scope and purpose of the article.
Must be of high quality, clearly labeled, and include understandable captions.
Irrelevant or unused visuals and sources must not be included.
Narrative Style:
Must comply with academic writing rules.
Should avoid redundancy and focus on the research objective.
Grammatical accuracy and clarity of expression are mandatory.

3. Ethical and Technical Requirements

Ethics Committee Approval: Required for any study that collects data from participants via surveys, interviews, experiments, focus groups, or similar methods. A scanned copy of the Ethics Committee Approval Document must be submitted.
Plagiarism Check: Authors must upload a Similarity Report (e.g., Turnitin, iThenticate, intihal.net). The similarity index must be below 20%, and no single source may exceed 3% similarity.
Double-Blind Peer Review: All submitted manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer review process, where both authors and reviewers remain anonymous to ensure impartiality.
Submission Files:
One version of the manuscript must include author details.
A second, anonymous version must exclude all author information (used for peer review).
File names must include the article title (not just the author's name).

4. Formatting Guidelines

File Format: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx)
Font: Times New Roman, 10 pt (main document), Times New Roman, 9 pt (abstracts)
Line Spacing: 1.0
Margins: 2.5 cm on all sides
Referencing Style: Use APA referencing style consistently.
Recent Sources: At least 30% of references must be from the past five years, preferably from peer-reviewed, indexed sources.
Citation Accuracy: All sources mentioned in the text must be included in the reference list, and vice versa.
Formatting Guide: See the full writing rules and template here: https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/firatsbed/writing-rules

5. Results and References

Results: Must align with the article’s goals and scope. Only findings discussed in the main text should appear in the results.
References: Must follow consistent citation rules. Sources not cited in the manuscript must not appear in the reference list.

6. Peer Review and Publishing Process

Peer Review Model: The journal uses a double-blind peer review system. Authors and reviewers are anonymous to each other to ensure an unbiased review process.
Review Duration: Typically 4–6 weeks depending on reviewer availability.
Licensing: Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.
Open Access Policy: All content is freely accessible online without restrictions.

7. Submission Process

All manuscripts must be submitted through the journal’s online submission system:👉 https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/journal/330/submission/step/manuscript/new
No other method of submission is accepted.

8. Important Editorial and Ethical Notes

Submission and Communication: All steps of the publication process must be conducted via the DergiPark system. Communication should be limited to the message section of the system and the official journal email (sbedergi@firat.edu.tr). Please do not contact editors directly.
Institutional Limit: As per TR Dizin and journal policy, no more than one-third of articles in a single issue may originate from the same institution.
Similarity Report: Articles with more than 3% similarity from a single source or a total similarity above 20% will be rejected without review.
ORCID and Author Info: Author files must include valid ORCID numbers and complete affiliation details.
Anonymity Rule: The anonymous file must not include any author names in the text, on the first page, in the document properties, or in the filename.
Template Compliance: Submissions must follow the journal’s article template and writing rules.
Abstract Quality: Turkish and English abstracts must be properly structured, clearly written, and between 150–200 words.
Author Limit: Only one article per author may be published in the same year unless explicitly approved by the Editorial Board.
Editorial Screening: Articles found to be inadequate in terms of content, structure, sources, methodology, or language in the preliminary editorial review will be rejected.
Length Restrictions: Articles (excluding abstract and references) must be between 10 and 18 pages in length.
Resubmissions: Manuscripts that have been previously rejected by the journal will not be reconsidered.
Ethics Approval Timing: Ethics committee approvals that are dated too close to the submission date may be deemed insufficient.
AI-Generated Manuscripts: Manuscripts prepared using artificial intelligence technologies will not be reviewed or published.

9. Open Access Policy

The Fırat University Journal of Social Sciences adopts an Open Access publishing model. Open Access means that all articles are freely accessible online to anyone, with limited restrictions on reuse. Unrestricted dissemination of research is especially valuable for authors, readers, and funders.
The publisher believes that for Open Access to work effectively, user rights and copyright ownership must be transparent, which is achieved through clear licensing.
All articles published in this journal are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
This license allows users to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
Under the following terms:
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
For full license details, please see: CC BY-NC 4.0 License

10. Digital Archiving

Articles published in this journal are digitally archived via the LOCKSS system, which ensures long-term preservation and access. LOCKSS permits participating libraries to collect, preserve, and serve the journal content.

🔗 LOCKSS Manifest

🔗 RSS Feed

11. Contact Information

Fırat University Journal of Social Sciences

Social Sciences Institute

Fırat University, Elazığ, Türkiye📧 Email: sbedergi@firat.edu.tr🌐 Website: https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/firatsbed