The Journal of Nursing Science is a journal that publishes original studies and evaluates them using scientific methods and ethical principles. The studies submitted to the journal must not have been previously published in any other publication or be in the process of publication review. Studies that are found to have ethical violations (plagiarism, manipulation, self-plagiarism, republication, etc.) during the editor's evaluation will not be considered for review. During the file uploading process, authors are required to upload the similarity report from the iThenticate program. Articles with a similarity rate of more than 20% are rejected. No fees are charged for articles to be published in the journal. However, the publication/copyright rights of the studies accepted for publication belong to the journal. The thoughts and suggestions in the articles are entirely the responsibility of the author(s).

The Journal of Nursing Science's publication policy places importance on research and publication ethics, and as per the publication policy, the editor, author, reviewer, publisher, and readers must comply with ethical principles. It is in compliance with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and Publication Ethics Guidelines (COPE). In the scope of publication ethics, it is expected that all stakeholders carry the following ethical responsibilities.

Ethical Responsibilities

1. Publisher's Responsibilities
The publisher of the Journal of Nursing Science is Aydın Adnan Menderes University. The publisher's responsibilities are as follows:
• The editorial board of the journal is responsible for the processes related to the studies submitted to the journal and is composed of decision-makers who do not consider any gain (economic, political, etc.). The editors pledge to make independent editorial decisions.
• Open, electronic, and free access is provided on the journal's website. The publisher organization is responsible for preserving the copy record of all published articles while protecting the property and copyright rights.
• The publisher has the responsibility to take necessary measures against any scientific misconduct, research and publication ethical violations involving the editors.

2.Editor's Responsibilities

Editors are responsible for each article submitted to the Journal of Nursing Science. In this context, the responsibilities of editors are as follows:
• Editors consider only the public interest in decisions related to the journal and make their decisions independently.
• Editors strive for the continuous development and improvement of the quality of the journal's publication.
• They evaluate the effects of journal policies on authors and reviewers and revise them as necessary.
• They conduct pre-evaluations of the studies submitted to the journal in terms of compliance with the journal's publication policy, originality, contribution to the field, and adequacy, and use appropriate processes for this.
• They establish and ensure the implementation of a double-blind peer-review process for the studies.
• They determine the assigned reviewers based on the appropriateness of their field of study and encourage them to make impartial evaluations in a timely manner.
• They protect the copyright of the authors of the articles published in the journal.
• They take necessary measures related to intellectual property rights and scientific and ethical misconducts during the article and journal publication process.
• They update the reviewer pool dynamically.
• They update the author and reviewer guidelines according to their information needs.
• They keep electronic or printed records of each article and correspondence related to the journal.
• They take necessary precautions against any potential misconduct or abuse of duty.
• They carefully examine complaints from stakeholders and provide clear and explanatory responses.

3.Reviewer's Responsibilities
The responsibilities of reviewers are as follows:

• They accept evaluations of studies only related to their expertise.
• They carry out evaluations in an impartial and confidential manner.
• They consider the existence of any conflict of interest during the evaluation process, and if so, they reject the study for review and inform the journal editor.
• They destroy the studies they reviewed in accordance with the principle of confidentiality after the review process. They can only use the final versions of the studies they reviewed after they have been published.
• They conduct the review objectively and only in relation to the content of the study.
• They conduct the review in a constructive and polite manner and do not make derogatory personal comments that include hostility, defamation, or insult.
• They conduct the review within the timeframe allocated to them and in accordance with the ethical responsibilities mentioned above.


4.Authors' Responsibilities
The responsibilities of authors are as follows:

• The authors are responsible for ensuring that the study submitted for publication meets scientific language and ethical requirements. The studies submitted to the journal must be original. The authors must correctly and fully cite their sources in their studies.
• They must ensure that the study they submitted has not been published in any other journal (in Turkish or English), has not been accepted for publication, or is not in the submission process. Each submission can only be initiated after the completion of the previous submission.
• They must disclose any situations or relationships that may constitute a conflict of interest in their studies.
• If necessary, the authors must indicate and document that they have obtained institution permission, ethics committee approval, and "Informed Consent" from the participants.
• All studies that involve human or animal subjects must comply with national and international laws and regulations (such as the WMA Helsinki Declaration, NIH Laboratory Animal Use Policy, and EU Directive on the Use of Animals), and the necessary approvals must be obtained and respect for the privacy of subjects must be maintained. If there is any supporting institution in the article, authors must indicate whether there is any commercial relationship with the used commercial product, drug, company, etc. or if there is, how this relationship is.
• Authors must send written permission from the copyright holders of visual materials that require copyright and must indicate in the article.
• In the evaluation process, authors may be asked for raw data of the studies, in this case, the authors must be prepared to provide the expected data and information.
• All authors of a study submitted to the journal must have an academic-scientific contribution. The authors cannot propose any changes to their author responsibilities in a study that has already started the review process.
• The author who communicates with the journal carries the responsibility of the final version of the manuscript on behalf of all authors.

Article Review Process
The review process for articles submitted to the Journal of Nursing Science is conducted through double-blind peer review, where the identities of both the reviewers and the authors are kept confidential. Once the process is completed, the decision of whether or not the article is accepted is communicated to the corresponding author.

1.The Article Evaluation Process

The evaluation process of articles submitted to the Journal of Nursing Science begins with the submission process through the Dergipark system. The author team uploads a Title Page file that includes information about the researchers, a Main Text file that includes the title and abstract in Turkish and English, and anonymized information about the authors and institutions, an Ethical Board Approval Form for original research, and a Copyright Transfer Agreement Form. Once the authors confirm that all submission requirements have been met by uploading a Final Checklist, the submission process is complete.

2.The Pre-review Process

The pre-review process is carried out by the journal secretariat, who checks the submitted papers for compliance with journal writing guidelines, the title page, ethical committee approval form, copyright transfer form, full text and any additional files such as tables and figures. If any files are missing or incorrect, they will be sent back to the author for corrections. If there is no ethical committee approval, the work will be rejected by the editor. The pre-review process is completed within one week after the submission is completed on the Dergipark system. The author is given a 3-day deadline for corrections, with the possibility of extension upon request.

3.The Peer Review Process

The peer review process begins with the submission of the article through an online submission system. The editor is responsible for assigning at least two expert reviewers to evaluate the paper within a 2-week period. In some cases, a third reviewer may be assigned by the editor. The review process is conducted double-blindly, keeping the identities of both the reviewers and authors anonymous. If a reviewer fails to submit their evaluation within the 2-week period, the editor will send them a reminder. Reviewers are given 5 days to complete their evaluations. After the evaluations are completed, the editor will send the evaluations and any suggested revisions to the author. The author is given 1 week to make revisions, however, if more time is needed, an extension can be granted upon the author's request. After revisions are made, the editor may choose to send the revised version to the reviewers for a second evaluation. Reviewers are given 1 week to complete this second evaluation. After the review process is completed, the editor will inform the author of their decision to accept, reject, or request additional revisions. This process continues until at least two reviews are completed. Accepted articles will be informed of the acceptance for publication.

4.Layout and Publication process

Accepted articles are taken into the publication process by the editor. During the publication process, the editor assigns a layout editor for each article to ensure that it is in compliance with the journal's format. The layout editor makes the necessary changes within a week to make the article compliant with the journal's format. After the editor's review and approval, the author is given the opportunity for a final review of the article. After the final review by the author, the editor decides to publish the article in the relevant issue of the journal.


*Ethics Committee Approval is mandatory for research articles.