The International Journal of Agriculture, Environment and Food Sciences is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all individuals involved in its editorial and publishing processes, including authors, reviewers, editors, and readers. This policy explains what personal data are collected, how they are used and protected, and what rights individuals have. It is applied in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK No. 6698), and the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Data Controller

Personal data relating to the editorial process are processed under the responsibility of the journal's publisher, Prof. Dr. Gültekin Özdemir. The journal operates on the DergiPark platform provided by TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM; data submitted through the platform are also subject to the DergiPark privacy terms.

Editorial production, administrative services, and invoicing are carried out under contract by EDİT TEKNOLOJİ AR-GE SANAYİ VE TİCARET LİMİTED ŞİRKETİ, which acts as a data processor on behalf of the journal and processes personal data only on the journal's instructions and for the purposes set out in this policy.

Personal Data Collected

The journal collects only the personal data necessary for manuscript submission, peer review, editorial decision-making, publication, and post-publication communication:

• full name, institutional affiliation, and academic title;
• contact details, including e-mail address and, where provided, telephone and postal address;
• ORCID iD and other research identifiers;
• roles and contributions declared in the manuscript;
• correspondence with the Editorial Office;
• billing details of the corresponding author or the paying institution, and records of payment of the Editorial Processing Charge, where a charge is levied;
• technical data such as IP address and interaction history recorded by the DergiPark platform.

Purposes of Processing

Personal data are processed solely for purposes related to scholarly publishing:

• evaluation of manuscripts and coordination of peer review;
• communication with authors, reviewers, and editors;
• publication, registration, and dissemination of accepted articles;
• verification of research integrity, including similarity screening;
• issuing invoices, recording payment of the Editorial Processing Charge, and meeting the accounting and tax obligations arising from it;
• editorial announcements and calls for papers, with the option to unsubscribe at any time.

Personal data are never sold or shared with third parties for commercial or unrelated purposes.

Legal Basis for Processing

• Performance of a contract or steps taken at the request of the data subject: submission, peer review, publication, and the invoicing and collection of the Editorial Processing Charge.
• Legal obligation: retention of accounting and tax records relating to payments.
• Legitimate interests: maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record, investigating research-integrity concerns, and securing the editorial systems.
• Consent: editorial announcements, calls for papers, and any other optional communication. Consent may be withdrawn at any time without affecting the handling of a submitted manuscript.

Publication of Author Data

Author names, affiliations, ORCID iDs, and the corresponding author's e-mail address are published as part of the article and are transferred to Crossref for DOI registration and to indexing and abstracting services. Authors are informed of this at submission, and publication of these data is a necessary condition for scholarly attribution and citation.

Confidentiality of the Peer Review Process

The journal operates a double-blind peer review system. The identities of reviewers are not disclosed to authors, and the identities of authors are not disclosed to reviewers. Reviewer reports and correspondence are treated as confidential and are accessible only to the editors handling the manuscript and to authorised editorial staff. Payment status is not recorded in the editorial file on which decisions are taken, and is not visible to handling editors or reviewers.

Third-Party Services

The journal uses third-party services required for its publishing functions:

• the DergiPark manuscript management platform (TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM);
• similarity detection software (iThenticate, intihal.net);
• Crossref, for DOI registration and metadata deposit;
• indexing, abstracting, and digital preservation services;
• EDİT TEKNOLOJİ AR-GE SANAYİ VE TİCARET LİMİTED ŞİRKETİ, for editorial production, administrative services, and invoicing;
• the journal's bank, for the receipt of payments.

These providers receive only the data necessary for the relevant function and are required to apply equivalent data protection standards.

Data Security and Retention

Personal data are stored securely, and access is restricted to authorised editorial and technical personnel. Submission and review records are retained for as long as necessary for the integrity of the scholarly record and for the investigation of any subsequent ethical concerns. Data relating to rejected or withdrawn manuscripts are retained for five years and are then deleted or anonymised. Accounting records relating to payments are retained for the period required by the applicable tax legislation. Published article metadata form a permanent part of the scholarly record and are retained indefinitely.

Rights of Data Subjects

In accordance with the GDPR and the KVKK, individuals have the right to request access to their personal data, to request the correction of inaccurate data, to request erasure or restriction of processing where legally applicable, to object to processing, and to withdraw consent for optional communications at any time. Requests should be addressed to the Editorial Office and are answered within the periods prescribed by the applicable legislation. The right to erasure does not extend to the bibliographic metadata of published articles, which must be preserved as part of the permanent scholarly record, or to accounting records that the journal is required by law to retain.

Responsibilities of Authors

• The corresponding author must confirm that all co-authors have approved the submitted version and consent to the processing of their personal data for publication purposes.
• Manuscripts must not contain personal data of research participants without informed consent and, where required, ethics committee approval.
• Authors must obtain all necessary permissions for third-party material.

Cookies

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Policy Updates

This policy is reviewed periodically and updated to reflect changes in legislation or publishing practice. Updated versions are published on the journal website with the date of revision.

Contact

For questions or requests concerning this Privacy Policy or the processing of personal data:

International Journal of Agriculture, Environment and Food Sciences
E-mail: editorialoffice@jaefs.com
Website: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/jaefs

Related pages: Ethical Principles and Publication Policy · Price Policy