Referee Guide
Given that the International Journal of Mardin Studies aims to publish original and important articles, we ask referees to help us evaluate the article submissions we receive.
Below are some tips on the article review process, how to become a reviewer, and how to write a good review. Also included are our terms and conditions for reviewing, based on the COPE Principles, which provide more information on how to conduct an objective and constructive review.
The International Journal of Mardin Studies has adopted a double blind reviewing model.

Selection of Reviewers
The referees are selected among experts who have a PhD degree in the field of science to which the article relates and who have publications. The information of the experts from Turkish universities can be accessed from YÖK Academic website and the information of the experts from abroad can be accessed from Publons.

Duties and Responsibilities of Referees
1) Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Reviewers should be aware of any personal bias and take this into account when reviewing an article. The reviewer should clearly express his/her judgements in support of his/her decision.
2) Contribution to Editorial Decision: Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and provides the author with the opportunity to improve the manuscript. In this respect, a referee who feels inadequate in reviewing an article or who thinks that he/she cannot complete the review in a short time should not accept the referee invitation.
3) Confidentiality: All manuscripts received by the International Journal of Mardin Studies for review should be treated confidentially. Reviewers should not share reviews or information about the manuscript with anyone or communicate directly with the authors. Information contained in the manuscript should not be used by a referee in his/her own research without the express written permission of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review should be kept confidential and should not be used for personal gain.
4) Sensitivity to the Ethical Conduct of Research and Publication: Reviewers should be alert to potential ethical issues in the manuscript and report them to the editor.
5) Conflict of Interest: Reviewers should not agree to review a manuscript with potential conflicts of interest arising from their relationship with the authors or the organisations with which the manuscript is affiliated.
6) Referee Citation Request: If a referee suggests that an author include citations to the referee's (or their collaborators') work, this should be for genuine scientific reasons and not for the purpose of increasing the referee's citation count or the visibility of their work. See also Code of Ethics for Referees

Making a Review
Referees' evaluations should be objective. During the refereeing process, referees are expected to make their evaluations by considering the following points.
• Does the article contain new and important information?
• Does the abstract clearly and accurately describe the content of the article?
• Is the methodology described in a coherent and understandable manner?
• Are the interpretations and conclusions substantiated by the findings?
• Are adequate references given to other studies in the field?
• Is the language quality adequate?
• Do the abstract/abstract/keywords/keywords accurately reflect the content of the article?

Editor's Guide
Editors' Choice
Editors are selected among experts who have a doctoral degree and have published publications in accordance with the publication scope of the journal.

Türkiye Editors Workshop Group
International Journal of Mardin Studies encourages editors to communicate with other editors, thinking that it will be useful for them. Our editors are members of the Türkiye Editors Workshop Group.

Editors' Job Responsibilities
Coordinating the Arbitration Process
The editor must ensure that the peer review process is fair, impartial and timely. Research articles should be reviewed by at least two external referees, and the editor should seek additional opinions when necessary.

Determination of Arbitrators
Editor; will select arbitrators with appropriate expertise in the relevant field, taking into account the need for appropriate, inclusive and diverse representation. The editor will follow best practices to avoid the selection of fraudulent reviewers.

Privacy Protection
The editor must maintain the confidentiality of all materials submitted to the journal and all communications with referees, unless otherwise agreed with the relevant authors and reviewers. In exceptional cases and in consultation with the publisher, the editor may share limited information with editors of other journals where the editor deems it necessary to investigate suspected research misconduct. The editor must protect the identities of reviewers. Information contained in a submitted article should not be used in the editor's own research without the express written permission of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained during the arbitration process must be kept confidential and must not be used for personal benefit.

Impartiality
Editors must evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnicity, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

Investigation of Allegations
An editor who finds convincing evidence of an ethical violation should contact the Editorial Board and the Publisher to arrange for the article to be corrected, retracted, or other correction made.

Conflict of Interest
The editor should not be involved in decisions regarding articles written by himself or his family members. Additionally, such work must be subject to all the journal's usual procedures. The editor must follow ICMJE guidelines regarding disclosure of potential conflicts of interest by authors and reviewers.

Publication Decision
The editor is responsible for reviewing the referee reports and deciding which of the articles sent to the journal should be published. The editor must comply with the policies determined by the Editorial Board.

Journal Citation Request
The editor should not attempt to influence the journal's ranking by artificially increasing any journal metric. The editor will not request references to articles from his own journal or another journal, except for scientific reasons.

Correction, Retraction, Expression of Concern
The editors may consider publishing a correction if the article published in the International Journal of Mardin Studies contains minor errors that do not affect the findings, interpretations and conclusions. Editors should consider retracting the manuscript in the case of major errors/violations that invalidate the findings and conclusions. If there is potential for misuse of research or publication by authors, if there is evidence that the findings are unreliable and the authors' institutions have not investigated the incident, or if the potential investigation appears unfair or inconclusive, editors should consider issuing an expression of concern. COPE and ICJME guidelines regarding corrections, retractions or expressions of concern are taken into account.