Social Sciences Journal of Harran University applies the publication principles envisaged and accepted by the organizations Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), and Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI). In addition, Social Sciences Journal of Harran University applies the publication principles determined by DergiPark under the umbrella of TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM, where it is located.
Ethics Committee Approval and Participant Rights
For all research including surveys, interviews, focus group studies, observations, and other qualitative-quantitative data collection methods, it is mandatory to obtain Ethics Committee Approval and to submit a declaration stating that the study protocol was conducted in accordance with international ethical standards. In the Material and Method (or Method) section of the study; the institution from which the Ethics Committee approval was obtained, the date, and the decision number must be clearly stated. In addition, an expression stating that an "Informed Consent Form" was obtained from the individuals participating in the research must definitely be included. The confidentiality of all kinds of personal data that could reveal the identities of the participants must be ensured, and the principles of the Personal Data Protection Law must be meticulously complied with.
Plagiarism and Other Violations
The quality of the submitted data and analysis are important issues for the Social Sciences Journal of Harran University. Authors are obliged to provide data sets upon review requests from editors. Journal editors check the text content for plagiarism and duplication using the relevant software. By submitting their articles to this journal, authors are deemed to have accepted that the article may be subjected to plagiarism scanning against previously published works. If plagiarism is detected before publication, the article will be rejected and the authors will be subject to institutional recognition. This information can be sent to the authors' institutions and other relevant institutions. Social Sciences Journal of Harran University does not accept articles that have been previously submitted to another journal for evaluation and/or previously published. For this reason, authors must be sure and declare in the cover letter that the article has not been simultaneously submitted to any other journal. The exception to this rule is oral presentations or posters presented as abstracts at scientific congresses. It must be stated if your article was previously presented as an oral presentation or a poster at a scientific congress. This information must be added to the cover page or the relevant field in the online article submission system, and details such as the name, date, and location of the congress where the abstract was published must definitely be specified. All ethical, scientific, and legal responsibility for the published works belongs to the authors. In the examination made with the plagiarism detection program, articles whose total similarity rate exceeds 20% will be sent back to the author for correction without being taken into evaluation. An article in the process cannot be submitted to another journal or published.
Declaration and Conflicts of Interest
All sources of financial support must be disclosed. All authors must declare whether there is a conflict of interest in the process of creating their work. Any financial grants or other support received from individuals or institutions for a study must be disclosed to the Editorial Board of Social Sciences Journal of Harran University. The Editorial Board of the journal determines the possible conflict of interest situations of editors, authors, or reviewers within the scope of COPE guidelines. Conditions that provide financial or personal gain lead to a conflict of interest. The reliability of the scientific process and published articles is directly related to the objective consideration of conflicts of interest during the planning, implementation, writing, evaluation, editing, and publication of scientific studies.
Financial relationships are the most easily identifiable conflicts of interest, and it is inevitable that they affect the reputation of the journal, authors, and science. These conflicts may arise from individual relationships, academic competition, or intellectual approaches. Authors should avoid making agreements with sponsors for the purpose of gaining profit or any other advantage that restricts their ability to access all data of the study or to analyze, interpret, prepare, and publish their articles as much as possible. Editors who make the final decision on articles must not have personal, professional, or financial ties with any of the issues they will decide on. Authors must inform the editorial board about potential conflicts of interest in order to ensure that their articles are evaluated within the framework of ethical principles through an independent evaluation process. If any of the editors is an author in any article, the relevant editor is excluded from the article evaluation process. To prevent any conflict of interest, the article evaluation process is conducted as double-blind. Due to the double-blind evaluation process, except for the Editor-in-Chief, none of the editorial board members, international advisory board members, or reviewers are informed about the authors of the article or the authors' institutions. Our publication team works with dedication to ensure that the evaluation process is conducted impartially, taking all these situations into consideration.
Authorship and Its Declaration
For papers with two or more authors, each author must carry the necessary qualifications for authorship by actively and sufficiently participating in the conducted and reported study. The inclusion of each author in the author list of a paper is based solely on the following principles: (1) contributing to the concept and design of the study or the analysis and interpretation of data, (2) having made significant contributions to the drafting of the article or its critical review in terms of important intellectual content, (3) approving the submitted final version of the article. All three of the above conditions must be met. Other people who contributed to the study should be acknowledged separately in the Acknowledgment section. In the cover letter accompanying the submitted papers, it must be confirmed that all authors fulfill both conditions. The responsibility for compliance with international ethical principles against misconduct such as fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, salamization, gift authorship, ghost authorship, and multiple publication of a work (duplication) in papers submitted to our journal belongs to the authors. If such a situation is detected before or after publication in any research, the paper is withdrawn from the journal.
Authorship of Editors
In the evaluation processes of articles submitted by authors who are in the journal management or editorial board, editorial rules are meticulously applied in order to protect academic neutrality and prevent conflicts of interest. Due to journal policies, section editors can only access the processes of studies assigned to them and cannot view other articles in the system. In addition to this technical restriction, in order to completely prevent a potential conflict of interest from both an administrative and ethical perspective; when a study of an author who is a board member is in question, the editorial duties and powers of the relevant author are temporarily suspended until the evaluation process of the article is completed. The relevant author cannot access any stage of the peer review, editorial analysis, and decision mechanisms of their own article, and cannot interfere in the process. The processes of such articles are carried out by completely independent editors; editors who manage the evaluation process strictly do not share process data with third parties due to confidentiality principles. In addition, no editorial or hierarchical influence or guidance towards the decision-making and information-sharing processes of the editors conducting the process is accepted.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Policy for Authors
In line with the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), Social Sciences Journal of Harran University recognizes that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in academic writing and research is gradually increasing. However, to ensure transparency, accountability, and integrity, the use of AI must comply with ethical publishing standards. Therefore, authors are required to comply with the following rules:
1. Artificial Intelligence Tools Cannot Be Listed as an Author It follows COPE's view that AI tools cannot fulfill the role of an author and therefore cannot be listed as an author on any submission. Only individuals who meet authorship criteria (e.g., significant contribution, accountability, and approval of the final version) should be named as authors.
2. Disclosure of AI Use is Mandatory "Authors who use AI tools in the writing of a manuscript, in the creation of images or graphical elements of the article, or in the collection and analysis of data, must transparently disclose how and which AI tool was used in the Methods section and in the cover letter of the article." The following format can be used in the cover letter: "During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [Tool Name, e.g., ChatGPT, OpenAI] for [a specific purpose, e.g., language editing, drafting parts of the introduction, summarizing background literature]. After using this tool, the authors reviewed and edited the content as necessary and took full responsibility for the content of the publication." The undisclosed or unethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) may lead to the rejection of the article or the retraction of the published article. This policy will be periodically reviewed and updated in line with COPE guidance and evolving best practices. If you have any questions about the use of AI tools, please contact the editorial office before submitting.
Guide for Section Editors and Reviewers
Provides ethical and procedural guidance for Section Editors and Reviewers. The document aims to protect the integrity, confidentiality, and fairness of the editorial and peer-review process; to define the appropriate and transparent use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in editorial and review workflows; and to promote accountability, transparency, and trust in academic publishing. Section Editors are responsible for ensuring a fair and timely peer-review process. Final decisions regarding the acceptance or rejection of articles must always be made by a human editor. No AI tool can autonomously determine article outcomes. Editors should critically evaluate AI-generated recommendations and ensure human oversight at every step of the decision process. Editors may use AI-powered tools only for supportive functions such as reviewer matching, plagiarism detection, or language checks. AI tools should not be used to make final editorial decisions, generate decision letters, or evaluate originality and validity without human judgment. Editors should not upload articles or reviewer comments to public or insecure AI systems. Editors continue to be responsible for all consequences of AI-assisted decisions. Any use of AI in editorial workflows must be internally disclosed and traceable. Editors must justify all decisions, including AI-assisted analyses. Reviewers may use AI only for language or grammar assistance and must state any such use in their reviews. If an ethical violation is suspected, reviewers should report this confidentially to the Section Editor, without making public accusations. Reviewers should provide objective, constructive, and respectful feedback, focusing solely on scientific merit. Articles under review are confidential; they should not be shared or uploaded to AI tools. If a reviewer or editor suspects that AI tools have been misused in article preparation, review, or decision-making processes, they should report the situation confidentially to the Editor-in-Chief. Social Sciences Journal of Harran University will keep records of AI-related incidents and update its policies accordingly. Authors have the right to know whether AI-powered systems are involved in article processing (e.g., plagiarism checks, reviewer matching). Any use of AI in decision support must be transparently disclosed in the journal's editorial policies.
Advertising Policy
Social Sciences Journal of Harran University is the periodical, peer-reviewed, open-access, official scientific publication organ of Harran University. In order to protect its academic independence, the journal maintains its publication activities independent of any commercial advertising or sponsorship agreements. All editorial decisions are made solely based on academic standards, scientific merit, and a rigorous peer-review process, without any commercial or financial influence. The journal operates in accordance with the financial and publication policies of Harran University, with a commitment to serving the public interest and advancing scientific knowledge. In line with these principles, the journal does not publish commercial advertisements or sponsored content; it is dedicated solely to the dissemination of academic and scientific materials. Ethical publishing practices and editorial independence are observed at all stages of the publication process.
Appeals and Complaints
Appeal and complaint situations are handled by the Editorial Board of the journal within the scope of COPE guidelines. Appeals must be based on the scientific content of the article. The final decision upon appeal and complaint is made by the Editor-in-Chief. Depending on the situation, a mediator or external ethics editor is appointed to resolve cases that cannot be resolved internally. Authors should contact the editor-in-chief regarding their appeals and complaints via the e-mail address xxx.
Handling of Unethical Publication Behavior
In cases of alleged or proven scientific misconduct, fabrication, or plagiarism, the publisher, in close cooperation with the editors, will take all appropriate measures to modify the article in question. In the most severe case, this includes the immediate publication of a correction, clarification, or retraction of the affected work. The publisher, together with the editors, will take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of articles where research misconduct has occurred, and will under no circumstances encourage or knowingly allow such misconduct to happen.
Errors Detected in Published Works
If significant errors or inaccuracies are detected in the published work, authors are obliged to promptly notify the journal's editors or publisher and cooperate with them to correct or retract the article. If the editors or publisher learn from a third party that a published work contains a material error or inaccuracy, the authors must promptly correct or retract the article, or submit the justification for retraction to the editorial board, or provide proof of the accuracy of the article to the journal editors.
Digital Archiving and Preservation Policy
Digital preservation is a set of processes and activities that guarantee the access and distribution of information in digital format to ensure long-term and continuous access. The preservation policy includes the following measures: Website Archiving All electronic content (website, manuscript, etc.) is stored in different sources. The content on one server is online and accessible to readers. A copy of the same content is kept as a backup. In case of a server failure, archive delivery is made from among other sources. Abstracting/Indexing Services The abstracting/indexing services of our journal store basic information about the articles. In addition, some abstracting/indexing services archive metadata about articles and electronic versions of articles. In this way, copies of the articles are presented to the scientific community through these systems as an alternative to journals. Discontinuation of Publication In the event that the publication of this journal is discontinued, the articles will remain online and accessible to readers through third parties and archiving processes such as those described above. They will be able to access the contents through the journal editors in specific cases such as the discontinuation of the publication process.
Archiving Policy of Authors
Abstract and Citation Information Authors may reuse the abstract and citation information of their articles (e.g., title, author name, publication dates), including on social media platforms; however, a backlink must be given to the article on the Social Sciences Journal of Harran University website as a citation. Accepted Manuscript The "accepted manuscript" is the final draft of the author's manuscript accepted for publication by a journal, including changes made in line with the reviewers' suggestions, before undergoing proofreading and typesetting processes. Authors of open-access articles have the freedom to publish their articles anywhere they want and share their links immediately after publication. However, a backlink must be given to the article on the Social Sciences Journal of Harran University website as a citation.