Aim and Scope

The Istanbul Kent University Journal of Health Sciences (IKUJHS) is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal published three times a year (March, July, and November). It aims to publish scientific, original, and ethically sound studies in the field of health sciences.
The publication languages are Turkish and English.
All submitted manuscripts are evaluated based on their scientific quality, originality, and contribution to universal knowledge.
This document defines the ethical and publication policy framework of the journal.

Ethical Principles

IKUJHS adheres to the ethical guidelines of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics), ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors), and the EQUATOR Network.
Research involving humans or animals must comply with national laws, institutional regulations, and international ethical standards.
Studies involving human participants must conform to the Declaration of Helsinki, and those involving animals must follow the ARRIVE guidelines.
Clinical trials should be registered in an international registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov or WHO ICTRP) and the registration number must be provided in the abstract.

Authorship Principles and Contributor Roles

Authorship is limited to individuals who have made a meaningful and direct scientific contribution to the work.
Authors must have actively participated in at least one of the following: study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or manuscript preparation.
All authors must approve the final version of the manuscript and share responsibility for the integrity of the work.
Author contributions are defined according to the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) system, which includes:
Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data Curation, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project Administration, and Funding Acquisition.
These roles should be stated clearly in the Declarations section at the end of the manuscript.
The author order must be determined with the consent of all authors before submission.
After acceptance, changes in authorship (addition, removal, or order change) require the Editor-in-Chief’s approval and written consent from all authors.
Authors are responsible for maintaining accurate data records and sharing data upon reasonable request.

Conflict of Interest and Funding Transparency

Authors must disclose all financial and non-financial relationships that may represent potential conflicts of interest.
If the study was supported by an organization or grant, the funding source and project number must be clearly stated.
Editors and reviewers are also required to declare any potential conflicts of interest and ensure impartiality during the review process.

Data, Material, and Code Sharing

IKUJHS supports data transparency and reproducibility.
Authors should clearly indicate the accessibility of their data and, when possible, deposit datasets in open repositories (e.g., Figshare, Dryad, Zenodo) with a DOI.
Use of Research Resource Identifiers (RRID) for biological materials and software is encouraged.
Authors must share their data upon request.
Promotion of Open Science and Data Sharing:
To enhance transparency and reproducibility, IKUJHS actively promotes Open Science practices.
Authors are strongly encouraged to deposit raw data supporting their findings in publicly accessible repositories and provide a DOI after acceptance.
If data sharing is restricted (e.g., due to patient confidentiality or commercial reasons), the justification must be clearly stated in the Declarations section.

Similarity and Originality Policy

All submissions are screened for similarity using iThenticate.
After excluding references and properly cited content, the similarity index must not exceed 20%.
If plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, duplicate submission, or salami publication is detected, the review process is suspended, and appropriate action is taken in accordance with COPE guidelines.

Originality and Multiple Submission Declaration:

• All authors must complete the “Originality and Conflict of Interest Declaration Form” available in the journal’s online system.

They are confirming that:

• The manuscript has not been published or submitted elsewhere,
• It is not under review by another journal,
• All authors have approved the submission and share responsibility,
• All potential conflicts of interest have been disclosed.
  

Peer Review Process

IKUJHS employs a double-blind peer review system.
Manuscripts are first evaluated by the editor for scope and format compliance.
Scientific evaluation is then conducted by at least two independent reviewers.
Reviewers are expected to complete their evaluations on time.
Reports must be constructive, objective, and respectful, providing clear justification for recommendations and criticisms.
Authors have the right to respond to reviewer comments in an academic tone.
The editor may assign a third reviewer or seek advice from the advisory board when necessary.

Reviewer Pool and Evaluation Standards:

• The journal maintains a dynamic pool of expert reviewers from diverse disciplines.
• Selection considers academic expertise, publication record, and methodological experience.
• Reviewers receive a standardized evaluation form covering scientific originality, methodological rigor, validity of results, ethical compliance, and citation accuracy.
• At least 30% of the reviewer pool consists of researchers from international institutions.
  

Editorial Responsibilities

The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board are responsible for final publication decisions.
Editorial evaluation is based solely on scientific merit, independent of author identity, institution, gender, or beliefs.
Editors ensure that the peer review process is fair, confidential, and timely, and that reviewers possess appropriate expertise.
If a review report contains inappropriate or personal remarks, the editor filters such content and conveys only the constructive feedback to authors.
Editors are responsible for issuing corrections, Errata, Expressions of Concern, or Retractions when necessary.

Editorial Board Composition and Continuity:

• The Editorial Board consists of national and international experts representing at least ten different institutions across various health science disciplines.
• Members advise the Editor-in-Chief on scientific direction, peer review development, special issues, and strategic planning.
• Appointments are made for two-year renewable terms to ensure continuity and renewal.
• The current board list is published on the journal’s website and updated annually.
  

Management of Ethical Misconduct

All allegations of misconduct are handled in accordance with COPE flowcharts.
Claims are assessed confidentially; evidence is collected and shared only with individuals directly involved in the process.
Depending on the severity of the violation, outcomes may include a correction, an expression of concern, or article retraction.
Retracted articles remain in the system labeled as “Retracted” and remain accessible for citation transparency.
All misconduct records are archived, and authors with repeated violations may face a temporary submission ban.

Submission and File Requirements

Authors must upload two separate files to the online system:

• The anonymized main text, and
• The title page containing identifying information.
  

The title page must include:

• Author names, institutional affiliations, ORCID numbers, corresponding author contact details, anonymized ethics approval, conflict of interest and funding statements, reporting guideline type, CRediT roles, and acknowledgment information.
• Acknowledgments may include individuals or institutions who contributed to the work but do not meet authorship criteria.
• Reporting guideline checklists (e.g., CONSORT, PRISMA, STROBE, ARRIVE) must be uploaded as separate files.
• The main text file must not contain any identifying information about the authors.
  

Copyright, Open Access, and Fee Policy

Open Access Statement:

• IKUJHS provides free and unrestricted access to all published content.
• All articles are available online immediately upon publication without subscription or access fees, promoting knowledge sharing, faster scientific communication, and wider visibility.
  

Article Processing Charge (APC):

• IKUJHS does not charge any fees for submission, review, editorial processing, or publication.
• All stages of publication are based on voluntary scientific contribution.
  

Copyright and Licensing:

• All published articles are distributed under a valid Creative Commons License as announced on the journal’s website.
• Authors retain copyright while allowing unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction for non-commercial purposes with proper citation.
• The specific license type (CC BY 4.0 or CC BY-NC 4.0) is determined by the journal policy and stated clearly in each issue.
• Authors are responsible for obtaining permissions for third-party materials.
  

Correction, Proof, and Publication Process

Accepted manuscripts are sent to authors for proofreading during the typesetting stage; only minor typographical or formatting corrections are permitted.
Any substantial scientific change requires the Editor-in-Chief’s approval.
Articles are published online as “Online First” with DOI numbers.
Editors may issue corrections or additional notes when necessary.

Confidentiality, Archiving, and Preservation

All communication between editors, authors, and reviewers is strictly confidential.
Reviewers may not use any information obtained during review for personal research.
All published content is permanently archived in the journal’s digital system and in national/international databases.
The journal ensures long-term preservation following LOCKSS and CLOCKSS principles.

Website Transparency and Accessibility

All journal policies, guidelines, and forms (Ethical Principles, Author Guidelines, Reviewer Forms, Declarations, etc.) are publicly available in Turkish and English on the journal website.
Editorial board information, contact details, journal scope, and archive links are clearly and regularly updated.
Authors and readers can contact the editorial office directly via the official email address provided on the website.

Enforcement and Updates

This Ethical Principles and Publication Policy takes effect as of its publication date.
IKUJHS follows updates in national and international publishing ethics standards and revises this policy as necessary, ensuring that all updates are publicly announced.