Article Preparation
Language: Turkish, English, Uzbek, and Russian
Types of Articles: Research articles, Reviews, Theoretical articles, Congress (bilgitoy) reviews and Book reviews.

Article Format:
1. Font: Times New Roman 12-point font style should be used for the text. Line spacing should be set to 1.5 lines with paragraph spacing options set to 6 points before and after paragraphs.
2. Paragraph Format: Paragraphs should be justified. The first paragraph under each heading should be left-aligned without indentation. However, the first line of subsequent paragraphs under the same heading should have a 1.25 indentation.
3. Word Limit: Articles should not exceed 10,000 words, including all notes and references.
4. Headings: The title of the article should not exceed 16 words, each word should be capitalized, written in black (bold) and 16-point font and centered. The English title should be written in black (bold) with the initial letter of each word capitalized, but in 10-point font and centered. Subheadings, excluding INTRODUCTION, CONCLUSION, and REFERENCES, should have only the first letter capitalized, with the rest in lowercase, written in black (bold) and 12-point font size. Additionally, no heading should be numbered using digits.
5. Abstract: The Abstract and Özet should be prepared using 10-point font size, single line spacing, and Times New Roman font. The Özet should have between 100-250 words, should not contain citations, and should be in a single paragraph.
6. Extended Abstract: Authors are required to include an extended English abstract, which should consist of at least 1000 words, equivalent to 10% of the length of the Turkish article. This text should be located below the "CONCLUSION" and above the "REFERENCES".
7. Keywords: Should consist of 5-8 words. Keywords should be provided with each word capitalized. A full stop should be placed after the last keyword.
8. Tables-Figures: The text and numbers within tables should be set in Times New Roman font size 10. The title of tables, figures, and graphs should be provided above the table, and the source should be given below the table. The title should be in bold format (Table: 1. Figure: 1. Diagram: 1.).
9. Quotations: When providing block quotations within the text, they should be written in 11-point font size, with 1.15 line spacing, justified, and with a 1.25-inch indentation from both the left and right sides. Quotations should begin and end with quotation marks, and punctuation should be placed after the closing quotation mark.
10. Footnotes: In-text citation style is preferred over the use of footnotes and endnotes. Therefore, footnotes should be used sparingly. Footnotes can be used only when absolutely necessary for explanatory notes, in 10-point font size, using Times New Roman font, indicated with an asterisk or number.
11. Author Name(s) and Affiliation(s): The author's name should be aligned to the right below the title of the article. The surname of the author should be written in capital letters. The author's title, affiliation, email address, and ORCID number should be provided in the footnote. The initial submission file should not contain any author identification or any information that would disclose the identity of the author(s). Authors should add their identification details in the revised version after the evaluation process is completed.

Visual Format: A4 Portrait, Margins (Normal) (2.5 cm on all sides [right-left-top-bottom])

Reference Style: İmgelem Journal follows the APA 6 system. For matters not found in the style guide, refer to APA 6 version. URL: http://www.apa.org 

Authorship Change: Authorship changes are only processed before acceptance of the article. Authors should carefully review and confirm the list and order of authors before submitting their articles, providing the final author list during the original submission.

Ethics Committee Permission
In our journal, all studies that require ethics committee approval must be approved by the relevant committee. Surveys, experiments, observations, clinical and animal studies and research involving personal data are subject to ethics committee approval. This permission must be clearly stated in the text of the article. Studies without ethical approval are not evaluated. Scientific research on humans and animals must be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and ARRIVE guidelines and approval must be obtained from the relevant ethics committee. Studies without ethics committee approval are not evaluated in our journal.

Conflict of Interest and Contribution Rate Statement
For multi-authored manuscripts, the contribution rate and conflict of interest declarations of the authors should be submitted to our journal at the manuscript submission stage.

Financial Support
Authors should clearly declare the financial support provided by any organization within the scope of their work in the text of the article.

Final Checklist
This checklist is intended to be useful during the final review of the submitted article before it is uploaded to the journal system.

Make sure the following items are included:
1. Author information is added
• Email address
• Full postal address
• linked ORCID number
2. All necessary files have been uploaded.
• Article text
• Copyright Agreement
•Cover Page
3. "Grammar check" and "language check" have been performed on the article.
4. All references mentioned in the bibliography are cited in the text, and vice versa. The Doi numbers of the article in the references should be written and the link should be given. (Doi:)

Article Submission
In submissions, the account of the corresponding author must be used. All correspondence regarding the submission is sent to the responsible author via email through the journal system.
When uploading the article file, make sure that it does not contain any elements that would disclose the author's identity or institutional information due to the double-blind peer review process.

During submission, the following commitments are obtained from the author electronically:
1. I am authorized to submit this work to your journal/authorized by co-authors.
2. The article is original, has not been formally published in any peer-reviewed journal, is not under consideration for publication by any other journal, and does not violate any existing copyright or other third-party rights.
3. I/we agree that if the article is accepted for publication editorially, it will be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.
4. The copyright and intellectual property rights of the author(s) or, if applicable, the employer of the author(s) are reserved. The author(s) undertake(s) that the publisher shall have no liability for any claims for damages or lawsuits for copyright infringement by third parties, and that all responsibility lies with them.
5. The author(s) undertake(s) that there are no elements of crime or unlawful expression in the article, and that no material or method contrary to law was used during the research.

Reference Style
Articles must be prepared according to the APA 6 Citation System.

References:
1. Single Author, Single Work
Reference Example: (Alptekin, 2013).
Page Numbered: (Alptekin, 2013: 85)
2. Citation Example from a Secondary Source
(Alptekin, 2013 as cited in Karyelioğlu, 2016: 20).
3. Reference Example for a Single-Author Book
Aydın, M. (2017). Sociology of Change. Istanbul: Açılım
4. Reference Example for a Two-Author Book
Alptekin, M. Y., & Karyelioğlu, S. (2016). Construction Business in Trabzon: Social and Economic Aspects. Trabzon: Karadeniz Technical University Press.
Citation to the same book: (Alptekin & Karyelioğlu, 2016: 139).
5.Reference Example for a Three-Author Book
Alptekin, M. Y., Karyelioğlu, S., & Fidan, S. (2019). Patriotism in Theory and Practice: Local and National Dimensions - A Study of the Eastern Black Sea Region Centered on Trabzon. Ankara: Gece Akademi.
Citation to the same book: (Alptekin et al., 2019: 52).
6. Reference Example for a Book with More Than Three Authors
Büyüköztürk, Ş., Kılıç-Çakmak, E., Akgün, Ö. E., et al. (2017). Research Methods in Science. Ankara: Pegem.
Citation to the same book: (Büyüköztürk et al., 2017: 13).
7. Reference Example for a Translated Book
Giddens, A. (2012). Sociology. (Trans. C. Güzel). Istanbul: Kırmızı
8. Formatting of a Single Author Article in the References
Alptekin, M. Y. (2013). Geographer Approach in Sociology and Ecological Interpretation of Social Character in Trabzon, Journal of Black Sea Studies, (15), 77-98.
Note: As the number of authors increases in the article, the rules in the book citation examples are applied in the same way
9. Articles in Electronic Newspapers, Magazines, or Websites with Identified Authors
Gallagher, J. (2020, April 2). Coronavirus: What Are the Effects of Covid-19 on the Human Body? Retrieved December 17, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-dunya-51910851.
Citation to the same article: (Gallagher, 2020).
10. For articles in digital newspapers, magazines, and websites with unknown authors:
URL-1: "Coronavirus Doesn't Infect Turks". (2020, March 5). https://www.yenicaggazetesi.com.tr/oytun-erbas-corona-virus-turklere-bulasmiyor-270766h.htm (Accessed: December 17, 2021).
In-text citation to the same source: ("Coronavirus Doesn't Infect Turks," 2020).
Note: When citing a page from a website of an organization without individual authors, the name of the organization is used as the author.
Example: Ministry of Interior. (2020, December 1). Circulars on New Restrictions and Measures within the Scope of the Fight Against Coronavirus. https://www.icisleri.gov.tr/en/circulars-on-new-restrictions-and-measures-within-the-scope-of-the-fight-against-coronavirus (Accessed: December 17, 2021). Citation to the same website: (Ministry of Interior, 2020).
11. For Press News and Texts with Unknown Authors
Diyanet Gazette, "Patriotism is a Matter of Faith: Those Who Fought in Gallipoli Fulfilled the Command of the Quran," August 30, 1971.
In-text citation to the same source: (Patriotism is Faith, 1971).
12. For Press News and Texts with Known Authors
Azokur, M. (1971, August 30). Patriotism is Faith: Those Who Fought in Çanakkale Fulfilled the Command of the Quran. Diyanet Gazetesi.
In-text citation to the same source: (Azokur, 1971)
13. Reference Example for an Edited Book
Usta, V. (Ed.). (2015). Şalpazarı History-Culture-Human. Trabzon: Serander Yayınları.
14. Reference Example for a Chapter in an Edited Book
Alptekin, M. Y. (2017). Ethno-Demography of Şalpazarı from 1835 to the Present. In V.
Usta (Ed.), Şalpazarı History-Culture-Human (pp. 139-226). Trabzon: Serander Yayınları.
In-text citation to the same chapter: (Alptekin, 2017: 216).
15. Reference Example for an Edited Book
Alptekin, M. Y. (Ed.). (2020). Society and Culture in Eastern Black Sea. Trabzon: Serander Yayınları.
16. Reference Example for a Chapter in an Edited Book
Köksal, S. (2020). South Turkmen in Trabzon. In M. Y. Alptekin (Ed.), Society and Culture in Eastern Black Sea (pp. 9-24). Trabzon: Serander Yayınları.
In-text citation to the same chapter: (Köksal, 2020: 9).
17. Reference Example for a Thesis
Alptekin, M. Y. (2000). Turkish Interpretation of Islam (Turkish Islam). Unpublished Master's Thesis, Istanbul University- Institute of Social Sciences.
In-text citation to the same thesis: (Alptekin, 2000).
18. Reference Example for an Encyclopedia
Köprülü, M. F. (1972). Ahmed Yesevi. İslam Encyclopedia (Vol. 1, pp. 750-788). Ankara: Ministry of National Education.
In-text citation to the same encyclopedia entry: (Köprülü, 1972: 780).
19. Reference Example for a Conference Paper
Alptekin, M. Y. (2017). Conservative Tourism: Tourism Activities and Social Interaction in Trabzon/Uzungöl (pp. 120-150). In Euroasian Conference on Language & Social Science Proceedings. Antalya: www.eclss.org 
In-text citation to the same paper: (Alptekin, 2017: 145).
20. Reference Example for Parliamentary Records
Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT), Proceedings Record, Vol. 8, Vol. 13, 4th Session, November 10, 1948.
In-text citation to the same record: (GNAT PR 1948, November 10).
21. Twitter Profile Reference Example
Koca, F. [@drfahrettinkoca]. (n.d.). Tweets [Twitter profile]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/drfahrettinkoca (Accessed: March 25, 2022). In-text citation to the same source: (Koca, n.d.)
22.Twitter Tweet Kaynakça Örneği
Koca, F. [@drfahrettinkoca]. (2022, 25 Mart). COVID-19 DÜŞÜŞTE! Bugünkü vaka sayısı 15.303, vefat sayısı 68. Salgının üstesinden gelmek iyice kolaylaşıyor. [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/drfahrettinkoca/status/1507413709093683200?cxt=HHwWgICqwYSytOspAAAA (Erişim: 25.03.2022).
Aynı Kaynağa Metin İçi Atıf: (Koca 2022).

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
İmgelem Journal adheres to national and international standards of research and publication ethics. Our journal has adopted the International Ethical Publishing Principles published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

Actions Contrary to Scientific Research and Publication Ethics
• Plagiarism: Representing the original ideas, methods, data or works of others as one's own work in whole or in part without citation in accordance with scientific rules,
• Forgery: Using non-existent or falsified data in scientific research,
• Distortion: Falsifying research records or data, falsifying devices or materials that were not used in the research, falsifying or shaping the results of the research in line with the interests of the persons and organizations receiving support,
• Republishing: Presenting duplicate publications as separate publications for academic appointments and promotions,
• Slicing: Inappropriately and inappropriately dividing the results of a research into parts in a way that disrupts the integrity of the research and publishing them in more than one issue and presenting these publications as separate publications in academic appointments and promotions,
• Unfair authorship: Including or excluding people who have not made active contributions, changing the order of authors in an unjustified and inappropriate manner, removing the names of active contributors from the work in subsequent editions, using one's influence to have one's name included among the authors even though one has not made active contributions,

Relations with Journal Owner and Publisher
The relationship between the editor and the publisher is based on the principle of editorial independence. As per the written contract between the editor and the publisher, all decisions of the editor are independent from the publisher and the journal owner.

Ethics Committee Permission
In our journal, all studies that require ethics committee approval must be approved by the relevant committee. Surveys, experiments, observations, clinical and animal studies and research involving personal data are subject to ethics committee approval. This permission must be clearly stated in the text of the article. Studies without ethical approval are not evaluated. Scientific research on humans and animals must be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and ARRIVE guidelines and approval must be obtained from the relevant ethics committee. Studies without ethics committee approval are not evaluated in our journal.

Research Requiring Ethics Committee Approval
In our journal, researches that require ethics committee permission include the following studies:
• All research conducted with qualitative or quantitative approaches that involve collecting data from participants through methods such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, experiments and interview techniques,
• Studies in which humans and animals (including materials or data) are used for experimental or other scientific purposes,
• Clinical trials conducted on humans,
• Scientific research on animals,
• Retrospective studies within the framework of the Personal Data Protection Law.
In order for such studies to be included in the evaluation, the relevant ethics committee permissions must be obtained and these permissions must be clearly stated in the text of the article.

Plagiarism Check
Our journal scans all submitted manuscripts for plagiarism with Turnitin & iThenticate software. The similarity rate is expected to be below 20%. However, the main criterion is compliance with citation and citation rules; in cases of non-compliance, plagiarism may occur even at low rates. In this respect, citation and citation rules should be known and carefully applied by the author. If plagiarism is detected in an article submitted to or published in our journal, our journal will act in accordance with the COPE principles (Plagiarism in a submitted manuscript - Plagiarism in a published article).

Protection of Personal Information
All personal data sent to our journal are protected in accordance with legal regulations and ethical rules.

Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
Our journal is obliged to protect the intellectual property rights of all published articles and to defend the rights of the journal and the author(s) in possible violations.

Correction, Retraction, Expression of Concern
Editors may consider publishing a correction if minor errors are identified in the published article that do not affect the findings, interpretations and conclusions. In the case of major errors/violations that invalidate findings and conclusions, editors should consider retracting the article. COPE guidelines regarding correction, withdrawal or expression of concern are taken into account.

Complaints
If readers notice a significant error or inaccuracy in an article published in İmgelem Journal or have any complaints about the editorial content (plagiarism, duplicate articles, etc.), they can send an e-mail to imgelem@bilgitoy.org. Our journal follows the procedure outlined in the COPE flowcharts for complaints.

Conflicts of Interest
The Journal of Imagination requires early disclosure of conflicts of interest. Authors should indicate financial support and sponsors; if not, this should also be reported. Editorial and editorial board members' own manuscripts are referred to other journals for impartiality or their duties are suspended and reviewed in a double-blind process.

Principles of Research Ethics
• Integrity, quality and transparency must be ensured.
• Participants should be informed about the purpose, method, possible uses and risks of the research.
• Participant confidentiality and autonomy must be protected.
• Participation should be voluntary and not forced.
• Participants must not be harmed or put at risk.
• Research independence and conflicts of interest must be clearly stated.
• Written informed consent must be obtained in studies conducted with human subjects; guardian approval must be obtained in cases where the child and legal representative are required.
• Institutional approval must be obtained for studies conducted in institutions.
• In studies involving human subjects, informed consent and ethics committee approval must be specified in the method section.

Responsibilities of Stakeholders

Ethical Responsibilities of Editors
• Conducting an impartial and objective evaluation process
• Protecting the confidentiality of author and reviewer identities
• Intervening in case of conflict of interest
• Identifying inappropriate or unethical situations and taking necessary measures
• Overseeing that reviewers provide timely and qualified evaluations
• Initiating investigations for violations of publication ethics (plagiarism, fabrication of data, etc.)
• Retracting the article or publishing a correction when necessary
• To ensure compliance with the journal's editorial policies and ethical principles

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors
• To ensure that the study is original, ethical and accurate
• Identify all contributors as authors, do not include non-contributors
• Avoiding plagiarism, proper citation of all sources
• Clearly declare conflicts of interest and financial support
• If errors are detected in the article, informing the editor and participating in the correction process
• If human or animal subjects were used in the study, to obtain and indicate the approval of the ethics committee
• To prepare a file in accordance with the format and ethical rules of the journal for article submission
• To comply with confidentiality, consent and personal data protection rules in the study
• If artificial intelligence tools were used in the study, to declare this clearly

Ethical Responsibilities of Referees
• Objective, impartial and confidential evaluation
• Agreeing to review only articles that fall within his/her area of expertise
• Providing constructive criticism with adequate justification and explanation
• Not using the information obtained during the evaluation process for personal gain
• Informing the editor in case of conflict of interest and withdrawing from the evaluation

PUBLICATION POLICIES

General Principles
• İmgelem Journal is an international refereed academic journal published twice a year (July-December) by the BİLGİTOY Association.
• The aim of the journal is to contribute to science by publishing high quality studies of scientific importance. The journal publishes original research articles, reviews, theoretical articles, congress (bilgitoy) reviews and book reviews from all fields of social sciences, provided that they are written from a sociological perspective; if this condition is not fulfilled, only in the fields of Sociology, Political Science and International Relations. The publication languages of the journal are Turkish, English, Uzbek and Russian.
• The readership of our journal; Professionals, experts, academicians, researchers, specialists, master's and doctoral students, as well as undergraduate students in all fields of Social Sciences.
• Original, unpublished manuscripts that are not in the process of evaluation in another journal and whose content and submission have been approved by each author are accepted for evaluation. Article acceptance dates: For the July issue, January 1 - May 30; for the December issue, August 1 - October 31. Manuscript submissions are not accepted outside these dates. Late submissions should apply for the next issue on the current dates. The date restrictions regarding article acceptance dates do not include special issue publications. The article submission schedule and deadlines for special issues will be announced separately.

Copyright and Open Access Policy
The copyrights of the works published in our journal belong to their authors. Authors give permission for the intellectual work they submit to be published as Open Access by İmgelem Journal under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. Click here for detailed information.

Archive Policy
Articles published in our journal are digitally archived in LOCKSS. Articles published in our journal can be accessed free of charge at https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/imgelem/archive. Click here for detailed information.

Article Evaluation Process
Manuscripts submitted to our journal are evaluated within the scope of a double-blind refereeing system. All submissions are first scanned for plagiarism using Turnitin and iThenticate software; the similarity rate is expected to be below 20%.
The manuscripts that successfully pass the Preliminary Review and Plagiarism Scanning stage are reviewed by the relevant field editor. After the editor's approval, the manuscript is forwarded to at least two field expert referees. If one of the referees gives a negative opinion, the manuscript is sent to a third referee. In order for an article to be published, at least two referees must submit a positive report.
In the double-blind review process, author and referee identity information is kept confidential and all evaluation procedures are carried out in accordance with the principle of confidentiality. If revisions are requested by the referees, the evaluation reports are forwarded to the author and necessary corrections are requested. The revised text is reviewed first by the field editor and then by the relevant referee(s).
The manuscripts that successfully pass the referee process are checked by language editors for language and spelling. If deemed necessary, language corrections are requested from the author; the corrections made are reviewed again by the language editors.
The typesetting and layout processes of the articles that are decided to be published are completed and made ready for publication. At the end of the process, the article is published in the journal. Click here for detailed information.

Special Issue Publication Policy
With the decision of the Editorial Board, a special issue may be published once a year. The publication and evaluation principles for the articles to be published in the special issue are applied as in the planned issues. Click here to reach our special issue announcements.

1- Uzbekistan Special Issue
“Uzbekistan Special Issue” of our journal was made available to our readers on 26.10.2024. This issue was published under the editorship of Chief Editor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Musa Yavuz ALPTEKİN and Special Issue Editor Prof. Dr. Cumali ŞABANOV. Click here to reach our special issue.

Artificial Intelligence Policy
Our journal aims to use artificial intelligence in academic writing in accordance with ethical and scientific standards. AI can only be used for grammar, spelling and style corrections; it is not used in the evaluation process.
Considerations:
Transparency: It should be clearly stated at what stage and how AI is used; the author's statement is included on the cover of the manuscript.
Accuracy: AI outputs should be checked against sources.
Responsibility: All responsibility arising from artificial intelligence belongs to the author.
Impartiality: Conflicts of interest should be declared; impartiality should be maintained.
Confidentiality: Personal data security should be ensured.
Citation of References: Artificial intelligence is not cited in footnotes and bibliography; it is mentioned in the ethical statement.

Review Process

🔹 Peer Review Type: Double-Blind
• All manuscripts are first screened through iThenticate plagiarism detection software.
• Suitable submissions are evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief in terms of originality, methodology, significance of the topic, and alignment with the journal’s scope.
• Manuscripts that meet the formal requirements are sent to:
o Domestic reviewers if the manuscript is in Turkish,
o Domestic and/or international reviewers if the manuscript is in English.
• At least two reviewers are assigned.
• If revisions are requested, authors are expected to revise the manuscript accordingly before publication approval is granted.
🔹 Pre-Publication Review Process
• Author–Reviewer Interaction: All communication takes place through the editors.
• Time to First Decision: Approximately 2 weeks.
• Acceptance Rate: Only 15–20% of submitted manuscripts are accepted. About two-thirds are rejected during the preliminary review before peer evaluation.
• Number of Reviewers: Usually 2–3, occasionally 5.
• Time Allowed for Reviewers: 20 days (+10-day extension if needed).
• Decision Criteria: At least two positive reviewer reports are required. If one reviewer accepts and another rejects, the manuscript is sent to a third reviewer.
🔹 Editorial Procedure
• The Editor-in-Chief reviews submissions within the first 3 days.
• If the manuscript is deemed worthy of further review, it is assigned to an associate editor.
• Target time for initial decision: 1–2 weeks.
• Manuscripts rejected at this stage receive an early notification so authors can resubmit elsewhere without delay.
• Common reasons for rejection:
o Lack of originality,
o Outside the journal’s scope.
🔹 Editorial Board Review
• Board members evaluate manuscripts in terms of importance, originality, and scientific quality.
• For research papers, decisions focus particularly on the research question.
• Even if a manuscript is relevant and timely, it may be rejected if no research question is present.
• All participants must declare any conflicts of interest.
• Those with significant conflicts may either leave the room or speak last during the discussion, depending on the nature of the conflict.
🔹 Peer Review Procedure
• If deemed suitable, manuscripts are sent to two external reviewers by the section editor.
• Reviewers are asked to:
o Confirm their reports,
o Declare any conflicts of interest.
• The final decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief after receiving external reviewers’ recommendations.
• In cases of suspected serious research misconduct, the manuscript may also be reviewed by the Ethics Editor and independent experts.
🔹 Decision and Publication
• Final decision timeframe: 4–12 weeks after submission.
• If revisions are required, authors are generally expected to submit their revised version within 1 month.
• Accepted manuscripts are:
o Published online as early access,
o Later included in the relevant issue.
🔹 Open Access Policy
• İmgelem Journal provides free and open online access to all published articles.
🔹 Corrections
• If you notice an error in your published article, you may contact the Editor-in-Chief via email.
• The Editor-in-Chief will decide whether a correction will be issued.