PUBLICATION ETHICS
This statement is based on the “Code of Conduct and Best-Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors-2011” of the Committee on Publication Ethics.

Duties of the Editors

1. Impartiality and Independence

The editors evaluate the manuscripts based on their academic quality (importance and contribution to the field, originality, appropriateness of findings and methods, and clarity of language) and their suitability for the scope of the journal. Gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, religious beliefs, political opinion or institution of employment are not taken into account in the evaluation of publications. Also, government policies or the policies of any outside organization are not taken into account in the evaluation of a publication. The editor of the journal has full discretion in determining the overall content of the journal and when it will be published. The Journal of Iranian and Turanian Historical Studies (IRTAD) and its editors are obliged to evaluate publications only for their academic quality, i.e. their importance in their field, the originality of the article, the validity of the research and the clarity of the language. The only criterion for evaluating a publication is its relevance to the scope of the journal. The authors' race, gender, religious beliefs, political philosophy and/or institution of employment play absolutely no role in the decision-making process.

2. Confidentiality

Editors and editorial staff cannot share any information about a submitted manuscript with anyone other than the author(s), referees, associate editors and the publisher. The decision to interview these individuals rests solely with the Editor.

3. Conflicts of interest

Editors and editorial board members may not use information contained in manuscripts in the publication process (including their own work and work in progress) for their own benefit without the express consent of the author(s).
Editors will appoint another member of the editorial board for the preliminary review and evaluation of the publication(s) in cases where there are conflicts of interest arising from competitive, collaborative or other relationships/connections with any of the authors, companies or institutions.

4. Publication decisions

Editors and the publisher send all manuscripts submitted for publication to at least two referees who are experts in their fields for evaluation. Upon completion of the review process, the Chief Referee decides which manuscripts to publish, taking into account the accuracy of the work in question, its importance for researchers and readers, referee reports and legal regulations such as defamation, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The Editor-in-Chief may also seek advice from other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

5. Ensuring publication integrity

The Editor, together with the Publisher, guarantees that any reported breach of publication ethics will be investigated, even years after the publication date. Journal editors will follow COPE procedures in such suspected cases. If, after investigation, it is proven that unethical behavior has occurred, they must publish a statement that there is an error, inconsistency or misdirection in the publication.

Duties of Referees

1. Contribution to editorial decisions

Blind review processes directly affect the quality of academic publications. The review process is carried out with the principle of double blind review. Referees cannot communicate directly with the authors, and the evaluation and referee reports are transmitted through the journal management system. In this process, evaluation forms and referee reports are sent to the author(s) through the editor. Double blind reviewing helps editors to make decisions in dialog with authors. At the same time, authors have the opportunity to improve their work by obtaining important information about their work.

2. Urgency

A reviewer who receives an invitation to peer review a manuscript should inform the editor as soon as possible if he/she is able to review the manuscript. The refereeing process is maximum one (1) month.

3. Confidentiality

The manuscripts sent to the referees for evaluation should be treated as confidential documents. The manuscripts should not be shown to others and their contents should not be discussed. If necessary, with the permission of the Editor-in-Chief, reviewers may seek advice from other colleagues. The Editor-in-Chief may grant this permission only in exceptional circumstances. The confidentiality rule also extends to individuals who refuse to serve as reviewers.

4. Impartiality Principle

Personal criticism of the authors should not be made during the evaluation process. Evaluations should be objective and contribute to the improvement of the work.

5. Citing Sources

Reviewers are obliged to inform the authors of any citations that are not cited in the manuscript. Reviewers should pay particular attention to works not cited in the field or overlapping citations with similar works. Reviewers should inform the editors if they become aware of publications that are similar to any previously published work or information.

6. Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers should refuse to review and inform the editors if they have any collaborative relationship with any author, company or institution whose work they are assigned to review.
Reviewers may not use unpublished works or parts of works submitted for review in their own work without the written consent of the author(s). Information and ideas obtained during the review should be kept confidential by the reviewers and should not be used for their own benefit. These rules also apply to persons who refuse to serve as reviewers.

7. Access to journal content

The publisher is committed to providing open access to the journal and therefore accepts the duty to make all parts of the published content permanently and freely available to the academic community worldwide. The publisher does not charge any financial and moral fees for the submission and publication of the articles. The publisher undertakes to make the content of the journal available for continuous and free of charge.

8. Archiving and Protection of Publications

The publishing organization archives and preserves online content using Lockss through Dergipark.