ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
Hars Akademi International Journal of Culture, Art, and Architecture, which began publication in June 2018, is published twice a year in June and December. The abbreviated name of the journal is Hars Akademi. Hars Akademi adheres to research and publication ethics in its articles and embraces the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Actions Contrary to Scientific Research and Publication Ethics
• Plagiarism: Presenting the original ideas, methods, data, or works of others as one's own, either partially or completely, without proper citation in accordance with scientific rules.
• Fabrication: Using data that does not actually exist or has been falsified in scientific research.
• Fabrication: Altering research records or obtained data, presenting devices or materials not used in the research as if they had been used, altering or shaping research results in line with the interests of the individuals and organizations providing support,
• Duplicate Publication: Presenting duplicate publications as separate publications for academic appointments and promotions,
• Salami slicing: Dividing the results of a research study into parts in an inappropriate manner that compromises the integrity of the research and publishing them as multiple publications, presenting these publications as separate publications for academic appointments and promotions,
• Unfair authorship: Including individuals who have not made an active contribution among the authors or excluding those who have, changing the author order in an unjustified and inappropriate manner, removing the names of those who have made an active contribution from subsequent editions, or including one's name among the authors by using one's influence despite not having made an active contribution.
Other types of ethical violations include:
a) Failing to acknowledge the individuals, institutions, or organizations that provided support, or their contributions, in publications resulting from research conducted with such support,
b) Using theses or studies that have not yet been submitted or defended and accepted as a source without the owner's permission,
c) Sharing information contained in a work assigned for review with others prior to publication without the express permission of the author,
ç) Using resources, facilities, equipment, and devices provided or allocated for scientific research for purposes other than those intended,
d) Making unfounded, inappropriate, and deliberate allegations of ethical violations,
e) Publishing data obtained without the explicit consent of participants in surveys and attitude studies conducted as part of scientific work, or without the permission of the institution if the research is to be conducted at an institution,
f) Failure to comply with the obligation to inform and warn those concerned about possible harmful practices related to scientific research conducted by researchers and officials,
g) In scientific studies, failing to use data and information obtained from other individuals and institutions to the extent and in the manner permitted, failing to respect the confidentiality of this information, and failing to ensure its protection,
h) Making false or misleading statements regarding scientific research and publications in academic appointments and promotions,
Responsibilities of Stakeholders
Ethical Responsibilities for Editors
• Editors are responsible for evaluating all articles submitted to the journal in an impartial and fair manner in terms of scientific quality, originality, methodological adequacy, and suitability for the journal's purpose and scope. Editors should not discriminate in the performance of their duties; they should not be influenced by factors such as the gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs, institutional affiliation, or political views of authors.
• Editors ensure the proper functioning of the double-blind peer review system implemented by the journal and maintain confidentiality during the review process. The identities of reviewers and authors are kept confidential from each other and are not shared with third parties.
Editors must consider potential conflicts of interest that may arise during the evaluation process and, if such a situation arises, withdraw from the editorial process of the relevant article. If there is a conflict of interest between editors and authors, reviewers, or relevant institutions, the process is carried out by another editor.
• Editors are responsible for conducting the necessary checks for plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, misrepresentation, salami slicing, or other ethical violations in articles submitted to the journal. If a suspected ethical violation arises, the necessary investigation is initiated in accordance with COPE principles. If deemed necessary, an explanation is requested from the author; depending on the severity of the situation, the article is rejected, corrected, or retracted.
• Editors take the necessary care to ensure that the review process is completed within a reasonable time frame. In cases of delayed reviews, the reviewers may be changed.
• Editors may decide to publish a correction, retraction, or expression of concern in cases of serious errors or ethical violations detected in published articles. The principle of transparency is adopted in these processes.
• Editors are responsible for protecting the intellectual property rights of published works and taking necessary measures against possible copyright infringements.
• Editors carefully evaluate complaints and objections submitted to the journal; request written explanations from the parties involved when necessary, and conduct the process objectively.
• Editors regularly review the suitability of publication policies to current academic and ethical standards and update them when necessary.
Ethical Responsibilities for Authors
• Authors must confirm that their work is original. Plagiarism, fraud, fabrication, duplicate publication, data fabrication, etc., are prohibited. In addition, authors must not cause physical or legal harm to research participants or engage in psychological abuse. Furthermore, authors must guarantee the privacy of participants' personal lives and identify the individuals or institutions (sponsors) supporting the research.
• The author's name should not appear in the article or in the file name.
• Authors must ensure that all sources used in the creation of their work are included in the reference list. If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they should immediately notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the article.
• Authors should disclose any conflicts of interest to Hars Akademi.
• All processes related to articles are conducted electronically. The journal's writing language is Turkish, but it also supports German and English.
• Articles submitted to the journal must not have been published or submitted for publication in another journal. However, papers that have been presented at a scientific meeting and not yet published may be submitted to the journal for publication, but information about the presentation must be provided in a footnote.
• Authors are responsible for following the writing guidelines provided on the journal's website and adhering to these guidelines. In cases where the writing guidelines and reference citation are not followed, the journal editor may intervene and make corrections to the manuscript. Manuscripts that do not meet the deadline will be processed for evaluation in the next issue.
Ethical Responsibilities for Reviewers
• Reviewers must keep information about the manuscript confidential. In addition, reviewers must bring to the attention of the Editorial Board any information that could be grounds for rejecting the manuscript for publication.
• Reviewers should evaluate articles based on scientific merit. They should objectively assess manuscripts solely based on their originality, significance, and suitability for the journal's scope. Reviewers should evaluate articles independently of the authors based on scientific merit.
• Reviewers should notify Hars Akademi if they encounter any conflict of interest in an article.
• The editor thoroughly reviews submitted articles to determine their publication and prevent misconduct. If a study is deemed to be misconduct, the author is responsible for retracting or revising the article based on feedback from the editor and reviewers.
• The journal employs a blind peer review system. However, reviewers are required to fill in the requested information about themselves on the evaluation form sent to them. This information is not shared with the author in any way.
• Articles are sent directly to reviewers through the system (without any changes to the author's uploaded file, except for formatting and spelling rules).
• Since the journal uses a blind peer review system, no identifying names or any other identifying information should be included in the article to ensure author-reviewer confidentiality. This information will be added to the article by the journal editor via the “Author Identification Form” sent to the author with the “Copyright Form.”
Artificial Intelligence Policy
1. Authors' Responsibilities
Artificial intelligence tools cannot be listed as authors in academic articles. Authors are required to clearly and transparently declare the use of artificial intelligence within their work. The scope of this use must also be specified in detail. The originality, accuracy, and scientific evaluation of the article are entirely the responsibility of the authors. However, the direct inclusion of content generated by artificial intelligence in the main text is not considered appropriate and is prohibited by ethical rules.
2. Responsibilities of Editors and Reviewers
Uploading unpublished articles to artificial intelligence platforms is strictly prohibited and is considered an ethical violation. Editors and reviewers are obligated to rigorously apply relevant ethical procedures when they suspect the use of AI-generated content during the review process. Furthermore, authors' statements regarding AI usage must be carefully reviewed, and full transparency must be ensured in this regard. The use of AI tools within the editorial process is only possible with the explicit approval of the journal management and within specific limits.
3. Areas Where Artificial Intelligence Use Is Permitted
The use of artificial intelligence tools is acceptable in technical areas such as conceptual diagrams, visual explanations, and data visualization. However, such visuals must ensure that the information in the content is presented accurately, clearly, and comprehensibly. Thus, AI-supported visual materials should serve as a tool to enhance the quality of academic work.
4. Areas Where Artificial Intelligence Use Is Prohibited or Restricted
It is strictly prohibited to prepare key sections of the article, such as the abstract, introduction, and discussion, entirely with artificial intelligence. Furthermore, the use of artificial intelligence is not permitted in the processes of generating and interpreting research findings. The use of artificial intelligence tools in source generation and citation processes is strictly prohibited; these processes must be carried out meticulously by the authors themselves.
5. Sanctions to be Applied in Case of Violation
If the use of artificial intelligence is not declared in the article or is used in violation of the specified rules, the relevant work will be rejected during the evaluation process. If such violations are detected after publication, sanctions such as publishing a correction or retracting the article will be applied if deemed necessary. Furthermore, future submissions from authors who commit repeated or serious violations may not be accepted by the journal.
Ethics Committee Approval
Our journal requires that all studies in scientific fields requiring ethics committee approval have obtained the relevant ethics committee decision. In this context, authors must include the date and number of the Ethics Committee approval in the “Sample and Method/Materials and Methods” section.
In line with the regulations implemented by Ulakbim TR Index since 2020, studies without ethics committee approval are not considered for publication in our journal.
Research Requiring Ethics Committee Approval
In our journal, research requiring ethics committee approval includes the following studies:
• All research conducted using qualitative or quantitative approaches that involve collecting data from participants through methods such as surveys, interviews, focus group studies, observation, and interview techniques.
• Retrospective studies within the framework of the Personal Data Protection Law.
For such studies to be considered for evaluation, the relevant ethics committee approvals must have been obtained and these approvals must be clearly stated in the article text.
Plagiarism Check
Studies submitted to our journal for publication are screened using the İntihal.net program to prevent plagiarism. The acceptable similarity rate for studies submitted to our journal is a maximum of 20%. Studies exceeding this rate are returned to the authors during the preliminary review stage. Our journal acts in accordance with COPE principles if plagiarism is detected in a submitted or published article.
Editorial Independence
The relationship between editors and publishers is based on the principle of editorial independence. Editors' decisions regarding publication are independent of the publisher.
Intellectual Property and Data Protection
The journal protects the intellectual property rights of published works. In case of copyright infringement, the necessary legal and ethical processes are implemented. Personal data belonging to authors, reviewers, and readers are protected in accordance with applicable legislation.
Conflict of Interest
Authors, reviewers, and editors are required to declare any potential conflicts of interest. The publication process is conducted in accordance with the principles of impartiality and independence.
Complaints
Any unethical conduct detected in our journal should be reported to harsakademi@gmail.com. Complaints are evaluated in accordance with COPE flowcharts.
Publication Policies1- Article Evaluation Process
• Articles submitted to the journal must not have been published in another journal or submitted for publication. However, information regarding papers presented at a scientific meeting and not yet published should be included in a footnote. Articles must be written in accordance with the Hars Akademi journal writing rules. All processes related to articles are carried out electronically.
• Every article submitted to Hars Akademi journal is checked for plagiarism by Dergipark. Articles found to have more than 20% similarity are returned to the author without being included in the evaluation process. After it is determined that there is no plagiarism or similarity above 20% in the articles and other works and they are reviewed for suitability for publication (articles deemed unsuitable for publication are not included in the process), the works are sent to two expert reviewers in the field. Articles are sent directly to reviewers through the system (without any changes to the file uploaded by the author). To ensure author-reviewer confidentiality, the article should not contain any information that identifies its author. Therefore, author names should not be included either in the article itself or in the file name.
• Articles that receive positive reports from both reviewers based on their evaluations are published in the next issue. If the referee reports are not unanimous, the article is sent to a third referee by the editor. In this case, the decision to publish or not publish the article is made based on the third referee's report. Furthermore, if the article is not evaluated within the time allotted to the referee, it is sent to a new referee. Articles such as translations, transcriptions, book reviews, event promotions, interviews, etc. are directed to one referee.
Based on the reports received from the reviewers, a decision is made to publish the article as is (accept), publish it after the corrections specified in the report are made (accept with corrections), request that it be sent back to the reviewers after the corrections specified in the report are made (revision), or not to publish it (reject). This decision, based on the referee reports, is communicated to the author(s) as soon as possible. If revisions are requested by the referees, authors should mark the suggested corrections in a different color (e.g., red) in the manuscript.
• If the reviewers recommend corrections, the author is asked to complete the necessary corrections and resubmit the manuscript. Manuscripts requiring corrections will not be published unless corrected by the author. Hars Akademi cannot be held responsible for the opinions and scientific responsibilities in manuscripts accepted for publication. Hars Akademi journal does not charge any fees for submission, refereeing, or publication.
• The journal editor makes the final decision on whether an article submitted to the journal will be published.
2- Archiving, Open Access, and Copyright Policy
The works published in our journal are digitally archived in LOCKSS. Our journal also allows authors to archive versions of their work on their own websites, institutional websites, and other repositories. As our journal is open access, there is no embargo period.
Authors retain the copyright to their work published in our journal, and their work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution International (CC BY 4.0). All works published in our journal are published as open access under the CC BY 4.0 license. Articles published in our journal can be accessed free of charge at https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/hars/archive. Click here to access the Copyright Notice Form.
You are free to do the following:
Share: Copy and redistribute the work in any medium or format, for any purpose, including commercial purposes.
Adapt: Remix, transform, and build upon the work for any purpose, including commercial purposes.
As long as you comply with the license terms, the licensor cannot revoke these freedoms (the specified rights).
Under the following conditions:
Attribution: You must provide appropriate credit, link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but this does not imply that the licensor endorses you or your use.
No additional restrictions: You may not impose any legal or technological measures that restrict others from exercising the rights granted by this license.
3- Special Issue Publication Policy
A special issue may be published once a year at the request of the Editorial Board of my journal. Articles submitted for inclusion in the special issue are first subject to editorial pre-review. They are then reviewed for compliance with the journal's writing rules and similarity scanning is performed to prevent plagiarism. After these stages, they undergo a peer review process using a double-blind model.
4- Fee Policy
There are no fees for publishing articles in the journal or for processing articles. No processing fees or submission fees are charged under any name for articles submitted to the journal or accepted for publication.
5- Advertising and Sponsorship Policy
The journal does not accept advertising or sponsorship. All expenses of the journal are covered by the Publisher.
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