The following steps are followed in the peer-review process of an article sent to ISTJ.

In order to send articles to ISTJ, authors first sign in to the DergiPark system from their own accounts, and then they can start the article submission process to ISTJ by clicking https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/istj. Authors must prepare the article in accordance with the ISTJ Article Writing Template (click to download the ISTJ Article Writing Template), and send it by uploading all the requested attachments to the system together with the article, complete and signed (click to download the documents requested by ISTJ).

All the responsibility for similarity belongs to the authors. The similarity rate is expected to be less than 15%. However, the main criterion in the similarity rate is that authors know the rules of citation and comply with these rules. Even if the similarity rate is 1%, if the citation is not done in accordance with the rules, plagiarism may occur. Therefore, the citation rules must be known by authors and applied carefully (click to learn about APA 7 citation.).

Within the scope of the cooperation between ISTJ, DergiPark, and intihal.net, a similarity report can be obtained free of charge for article applications. Accordingly, a similarity report is prepared, and authors are notified of the result by e-mail. The submission process is completed when the report's result is announced.

Articles that are not original, up-to-date, suitable for the ISTJ target audience, within the scope of ISTJ subjects, and do not contribute to the field are returned to authors by the ISTJ Editor-in-Chief without preliminary review and without writing a reason for rejection. The ISTJ Editor-in-Chief has full authority to reject an article submitted to ISTJ without preliminary review.

Qualified articles that are original, up-to-date, thought to contribute to the field within the scope of ISTJ subjects, and not previously published or under review in another journal for the publication are accepted at ISTJ for preliminary review.

Each article accepted for review is first scanned by the ISTJ Writing Editor once within a maximum of 10 days for compliance with the ISTJ Article Writing Template. If there are any deficiencies or errors in the article template, the responsible author is asked to correct these deficiencies and errors within 7 days at most. If the necessary changes are not made, the author will be given an additional 3 days. If the author does not make the necessary changes during this period, the article will be rejected and will not be processed again in the same publication period.

The article that complies with the ISTJ Article Writing Template is reviewed comprehensively by either the ISTJ Editor-in-Chief or an ISTJ Subject Editor familiar with the research topic of the article in terms of originality, methodology, importance of the research topic, contribution to the field, and suitability for the scope of the journal. At the same time, the article is sent to the ISTJ Statistical Editor to determine the accuracy of the statistical test methods and statistical findings used in the article. This evaluation is expected to be completed within 15 days. If authors are requested to make any corrections at this stage, the authors and ISTJ Editors are given 15 days for each correction and the responsibilities of the procedures are expected to be fulfilled within this period. The article, which receives a positive report from the control of the ISTJ Editor-in-Chief or the ISTJ Subject Editor and the ISTJ Statistical Editor, is then submitted to the review of two referees who have expertise in the subject and have at least a doctoral degree.

Articles that pass the preliminary review phase are evaluated by at least two referees with the double-blind referee model. According to the double-blind peer review model, authors and referees do not know each other's identities. The ISTJ Editor-in-Chief ensures confidentiality throughout the refereeing process.

During the refereeing process phase, referees are expected to make a review about the article by paying attention to the following points:
1. Is there new and important information in the article that can contribute to the field?
2.Does the abstract reflect the content of the article?
3. Is the method of the article determined correctly?
4.Are the author's comments and conclusions supported by the findings?
5.Are sufficient references from studies on similar subjects cited?
6.Is the level of academic language quality appropriate?

Referees are expected to complete their article reviews within 30 days at the latest. If referees request corrections from the article they review, the relevant reports are sent to authors and the article is requested to be corrected as requested. Authors are expected to complete the corrections given to them within 15 days. Referees who want to see the correction are expected to approve the correction or send it back for correction within 15 days. If one of the two referees expresses a negative opinion, the article is sent to a third referee. The article can be published with the positive decision of at least two referees. It works like this until the refereeing process phase is completed.

The accuracy of the academic language usage level, spelling rules, grammar, and punctuation marks in the article whose refereeing process is completed is reviewed by the ISTJ Turkish and English Language Editors within 15 days at the latest. If there are any errors, authors are asked to correct them. In these corrections, both the ISTJ Language Editors and the responsible author are given separate periods of 10 days each, and the process continues like this until it is completed.

The ISTJ Editorial Board makes the publication decision after all corrections made by authors are in line with the requests of the ISTJ Editors and referees and have been completed. Corrections may also be requested from authors in line with the requests of the ISTJ Editorial Board Members. The layout of the article, which is decided to be published by the ISTJ Editorial Board unanimously or by majority vote, is done by the ISTJ Layout Editor.

The final reading of the article, the completed layout, is done by the ISTJ Editor-in-Chief or the ISTJ Assistant Editor. After the final reading phase, the article is published sequentially according to submission date, with equal distribution of different subtopics in the current issue.