PUBLICATION ETHICS
İnönü University Faculty of Communication Electronic Journal (INIF E-JOURNAL) aims to adhere to the guidelines and core practices set forth by several organizations, including the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (joint statement by COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, WAME). These guidelines and recommendations are designed to promote transparency, integrity, and best practices in scholarly publishing.
By adhering to these standards, the journal aims to ensure that the research it publishes is of high quality and meets the ethical standards of the scientific community.
RESEARCH ETHICS
İnönü University Faculty of Communication Electronic Journal (INIF E-JOURNAL) adheres to national and international standards of research and publication ethics. All submitted and published studies must be conducted in full compliance with the established principles of research ethics. In this context, compliance with national and international ethical standards is mandatory for research involving human and animal participants. For studies involving human participants, informed consent must be obtained.
For studies requiring ethics committee approval, details of the approval must be included in the text (committee name, date, and reference number). Authors must adhere to the principles of scientific integrity when collecting, analysing, and reporting data. Plagiarism, data fabrication, data manipulation and other ethical violations will not be tolerated.
ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND PUBLICATION POLICY
Ethics Committee Approval and Informed Consent
All research involving human subjects must be reviewed and approved by an ethics committee (e.g., IRB) before being conducted. The name of the ethics committee, approval number, and date should be included in the Methods section of the manuscript. Authors may also be required to provide a copy of the approval.
If the study is exempt from ethics approval, authors must provide a statement from the ethics committee explaining the exemption. If a manuscript is submitted without ethics approval, the journal will follow COPE's guidelines to assess the ethical concerns. Manuscripts lacking approval may be rejected if the issue is deemed significant.
Informed consent details must be included in the Methods section, along with relevant information about the research process.
For studies involving human subjects, authors must confirm that written informed consent was obtained from all participants, and the consent form should be kept by the researchers. For research involving children under 18, consent must be obtained from the parent or guardian. In surveys or interviews, participants’ consent for data use must also be confirmed. Personal details should be de-identified unless explicit consent for naming is given.
Authors are responsible for protecting participant anonymity and confidentiality, especially in photographs. Signed releases must be obtained for any images, ensuring consent for publication and specifying any conditions. This approval must be noted in the Methods section.
PLAGIARISM AND ETHICAL MISCONDUCT
All submissions undergo multiple screenings during the peer review and/or production processes using similarity detection software. When citing previous works, ensure that all material is properly referenced. Copying text, tables, or illustrations from any source (journal articles, books, theses, electronic media, etc.) and presenting them as one's own is considered plagiarism, even if a reference is provided. Listing the source in the 'References' section does not absolve authors of responsibility for plagiarism.
Authors are strongly encouraged to avoid any form of plagiarism or ethical misconduct, as illustrated below:
Citation Manipulation: Refers to inflating citation counts through self-citation, excessive citation of the same journal, or citation stacking, which distorts academic recognition.
Self-Plagiarism (Text Recycling): Involves reusing sections or sentences from an author's prior work without proper citation, constituting a form of plagiarism.
Salami Slicing: The unethical practice of publishing multiple articles using the same data set, hypotheses, and methods from a single study.
Data Fabrication: The creation of false data not supported by actual research or experiments, considered a serious breach of research integrity.
Data Manipulation/Falsification: Involves altering data, such as modifying images or removing outliers, to mislead or misrepresent findings.
In cases of suspected misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, citation manipulation, or data falsification), the Editorial Board will follow COPE guidelines to ensure fair, transparent, and consistent handling of allegations.
ADVERTISING POLICY
İnönü University Faculty of Communication Electronic Journal (INIF E-JOURNAL) accepts digital advertisements on its website, provided they are approved by the journal's Editorial Board and management. All advertisements must be clearly labeled as such. Advertisers have no influence on editorial decisions or advertising policies.
For advertising inquiries, please contact the Editorial Office (inueditorial@inonu.edu.tr).
PEER REVIEW POLICY
İnönü University Faculty of Communication Electronic Journal (INIF E-JOURNAL) upholds a rigorous, transparent, and double-anonymized (double-blind) peer review process to ensure the highest standards of academic integrity. Throughout this process, both authors and reviewers remain anonymous to one another, ensuring an unbiased evaluation based solely on scientific merit.
Initial Review
The initial review phase proceeds as follows:
- When an article is submitted, the editorial office first checks the article's compliance with the journal's writing and submission guidelines, and whether there are any missing documents. Studies with incomplete documentation are rejected at this stage.
- Articles that comply with the journal's writing guidelines and have no missing documents are forwarded to the Editorial Board, chaired by the Editor-in-Chief, which evaluates the study's suitability for the journal. The Editorial Board checks whether the fundamental problem of the articles falls within the matters explicitly stated within the journal's scope; texts that do not establish an organic connection with the relevant scope are rejected.
- Texts that do not present a new conceptual discussion or empirical finding to the literature, that merely provide a weak repetition of known theories, that lack a methodology or have an ambiguous methodology, and that are clearly devoid of academic depth and rigor are rejected by the decision of the Editorial Board.
- Articles that pass the aforementioned preliminary review and are deemed suitable to be sent to reviewers are sent back to the author for correction only once if they have deficiencies regarding the writing guidelines. Articles that are re-uploaded to the system without being corrected in accordance with the writing guidelines are rejected.
Evaluation
Suitable manuscripts are assigned to Associate/Field Editors, who select appropriate reviewers. Each manuscript is evaluated by at least two independent external reviewers who are experts in the relevant field. Authors may suggest potential reviewers at submission; however, the final selection rests with the handling editor, who is not obliged to follow these suggestions.
All reviewers must adhere to COPE's Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers and must disclose any potential conflicts of interest before accepting a review invitation, allowing editors to assess whether the reviewer can provide an unbiased evaluation. The Editorial Board follows COPE procedures to prevent and detect peer review manipulation. Reviewers are expected to provide timely, unbiased, evidence-based, and constructive feedback to improve manuscript quality. Any suspected research misconduct must be reported confidentially to the editor to uphold the integrity of the process.
Based on reviewer reports, Associate/Field Editors may recommend rejection, continuation of the review process, or revisions prior to further evaluation.
Reviewer Use of AI
To preserve manuscript confidentiality, reviewers must not upload manuscripts to AI tools or other technologies where confidentiality cannot be guaranteed, unless explicitly permitted by the journal. Reviewers who use AI must disclose this use to the journal and ensure that any AI-generated content is accurate, appropriate, and valid, as AI outputs may be incorrect, incomplete, or biased.
Confidentiality
All review reports and related communications are kept confidential and are not made public. Submitted manuscripts remain confidential until publication. Reviewers must not use, disclose, or share information from manuscripts under review, except with the editor's consent. Any suspected misuse of manuscript content by reviewers will be addressed in accordance with COPE guidelines.
Transparency
The journal ensures transparency by publicly sharing information on its review process, reviewer selection criteria, and appeals procedure, and by publishing key metrics such as acceptance rates and publication timelines.
Final Editorial Decisions
Editorial decisions are based on reviewer reports and the recommendations of Associate/Field Editors. The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision on all submissions. Following review, authors receive anonymized reviewer reports along with the editorial decision. Revised manuscripts are reassessed by the same editors, who make reasonable efforts to engage the original reviewers. In the event of delays, authors will be informed and given the option to withdraw their manuscript.
Manuscripts from Editorial Board Members
Manuscripts submitted by Editorial Board members are handled by external editors to ensure impartiality. These external editors are selected based on their expertise and peer review experience, and their identities—along with those of the reviewers—remain confidential. All parties must disclose any potential conflicts of interest before accepting an editorial or review role, and all communications between editors and reviewers remain confidential.
REVISION DETAILS
Manuscripts that require "minor revision" or "major revision" will receive a decision letter from the Editor-in-Chief, which includes the reviewers' and editors' comments, along with a deadline for resubmission. Authors must submit a revised manuscript and a detailed "Response to the Reviewers" document, which addresses each comment individually. The response should explain the revisions made and specify the corresponding line numbers in the manuscript. An annotated version of the manuscript highlighting the changes must also be provided. Revised manuscripts must be submitted within the deadline specified in the decision letter. Failure to meet the deadline may result in the rejection of the revision. If additional time is needed, authors should request an extension before the original deadline expires.
AUTHORSHIP CRITERIAS
Authors of submissions reporting research findings must meet all four criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE):
Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work;
Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
Final approval of the version to be published;
Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Before submission, authors should determine who qualifies for authorship and in what order authors will be listed. The editors of the Inönü University Faculty of Communication Electronic Journal (INIF E-JOURNAL) do not resolve authorship disputes. Any changes to the number or order of authors after the initial submission must be explained in writing to the Editor-in-Chief. The editors reserve the right to refer any authorship irregularities to the research officer or appropriate academic ethics authority at the institution or employer of the first or corresponding author.
Authors may use CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) to provide information about individual contributions at the time of submission.
Declaration of Interests
Any potential financial or non-financial competing interests, including relationships with editorial associations, commercial editing companies, medical communications companies, or other organizations interested in the submission, must be disclosed at the end of the manuscript, just before the References section.
Funding Information
All sources of funding must be acknowledged at the end of the manuscript. Authors should specify the role of the study sponsor(s), if applicable, in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, report writing, and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. If the funding source had no involvement in these areas, the authors should clearly state this.
GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) USE POLICY
İnönü University Faculty of Communication Electronic Journal (INIF E-JOURNAL) supports transparency, accountability, and ethical standards in the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools during manuscript preparation. This policy is aligned with international publication ethics guidelines, including those of COPE, ICMJE, and WAME.
1. Use of AI Tools in Manuscript Preparation
Authors may use AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) to support tasks such as language editing, improving clarity and structure, organizing ideas, or summarizing literature. However, AI tools must not replace human judgment, scientific reasoning, or interpretation.
Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of all content generated or supported by AI tools. All AI-assisted content must be carefully reviewed and validated by the authors before submission.
Basic grammar and spelling checks do not require disclosure. Any AI use beyond basic language editing—such as literature synthesis, data processing, analysis, or content generation—must be transparently declared.
2. Disclosure Requirements
Any use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools must be disclosed at the time of submission. An AI Disclosure Statement must be included in the manuscript, specifying:
• The name and version of the AI tool used
• The purpose of use (e.g., language editing, literature summarization)
• The extent of human oversight and verification
If AI tools are used in research design, data analysis, or data generation, this must be clearly described in the Methods section.
3. Authorship and Accountability
Authorship implies human intellectual contribution, responsibility, and accountability. AI tools cannot meet authorship criteria and must not be listed as authors or co-authors.
All listed authors must comply with ICMJE authorship criterias and remain fully accountable for the conceptualization, data analysis, interpretation, and final approval of the manuscript. AI tools may be acknowledged for language or technical assistance but cannot be credited as authors.
4. Use of AI Tools in Figures and Images
The journal does not permit the use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools to create, modify, enhance, or fabricate scientific figures or images.
Permitted image adjustments are limited to standard, transparent modifications (e.g., brightness, contrast, color balance) that do not alter or obscure original data.
AI-generated or AI-modified images are only acceptable if the use of AI is an essential and validated part of the study’s methodology. In such cases, authors must:
• Clearly describe the AI tools and methods used (tool name, model version, developer, parameters)
• Provide raw, unprocessed data upon editorial request
AI-generated artwork, graphical abstracts, cover images, or visual materials are not permitted without prior written approval from the editorial office.
5. Copyright, Ethics, and Responsibility
Authors must ensure that the use of AI tools complies with data privacy, confidentiality, and intellectual property regulations. AI tools must not claim ownership of submitted materials or restrict publication rights.
Any approved AI-generated content must be clearly labeled as “AI-generated” in the relevant captions or descriptions. Authors bear full responsibility for the ethical and legal compliance of all submitted materials.
POST-PUBLICATION CORRECTION REQUESTS AND RETRACTIONS POLICY
All post-publication correction requests are subject to editorial review. The Editorial Board evaluates the necessity and appropriateness of corrections based on the nature of the error, its impact on the article, and the supporting evidence. If approved, the correction will be made in the journal’s archive. The journal follows the COPE guidelines.
Article Withdrawal (Pre-Publication)
Withdrawal applies only to articles in press, which are early versions of articles that may contain errors, accidental duplicate submissions, or ethical violations (e.g., multiple submissions, fraudulent data, or plagiarism). Withdrawn articles will have their HTML and PDF content removed, replaced by a statement indicating the withdrawal and linking to the journal’s withdrawal policy.
Article Retraction (Post-Publication)
Retractions are issued for serious ethical violations, such as plagiarism, data fabrication, authorship fraud, or publication without co-author consent. Retraction notices include:
- A formal retraction note titled “Retraction: [Article Title],” published in a subsequent issue.
- A watermark on the PDF of the original article, marking it as "Retracted."
- A removal of the HTML version, ensuring transparency in corrections while preserving academic integrity.
Article Removal (Legal & Safety Concerns)
In rare cases, an article may need to be permanently removed from the journal’s online database due to legal issues, court orders, defamation, or significant health risks. While the metadata (title and authors) will be retained, the article content will be replaced with a legal notice explaining the removal.
Article Replacement
If an article poses a serious health risk, authors may request a replacement with a corrected version. In such cases, a retraction notice will be published with a link to the revised article, ensuring a transparent record of updates.
Self-Archiving Policy
Authors are permitted to self-archive their published work on institutional or personal websites, as well as in open-access repositories. When sharing their articles, they must appropriately cite the original publication and include the DOI number. Additionally, authors are encouraged to provide a link to the publisher’s official website, ensuring the authenticity and integrity of the scientific record. The version published on the publisher’s website is considered the definitive version of record.
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed in published manuscripts belong solely to the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors, editorial board, or publisher. The editors, editorial board, and publisher are not responsible for the content of published manuscripts and do not endorse the views expressed within them.
Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy and integrity of their work. While the journal serves as a platform for disseminating research to the scientific community, it does not guarantee the validity of the content.