1. Purpose and Ethical Standards

The Journal of Anatolian Geography (JAG) is committed to protecting the integrity, reliability, transparency, and accessibility of the scholarly record.

The journal conducts its editorial and publication processes in accordance with internationally recognized principles of publication ethics, including the guidance and core practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.

These policies apply to all manuscripts, articles, reviews, supplementary materials, special issues, editorial content, and other scholarly material submitted to or published by the journal.

The journal takes reasonable steps to identify and prevent plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, citation manipulation, peer-review manipulation, inappropriate authorship, duplicate publication, redundant publication, image manipulation, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and other forms of research or publication misconduct.

The journal, its editors, reviewers, authors, publisher, and editorial staff share responsibility for maintaining ethical and professional standards.

2. Editorial Independence, Fairness, and Non-Discrimination

Editorial decisions are based exclusively on:

• scholarly merit;
• originality;
• methodological soundness;
• ethical compliance;
• clarity and relevance;
• contribution to geographical knowledge; and
• conformity with the journal's aims and scope.

Editorial decisions are not influenced by:

• nationality;
• ethnicity;
• gender;
• religion;
• political opinion;
• institutional affiliation;
• academic title;
• professional status;
• disability;
• personal characteristics;
• commercial considerations; or
• the payment or non-payment of any fee.

The publisher, owner, funder, university administration, advertisers, sponsors, and other external parties must not interfere with editorial evaluation, peer review, acceptance, rejection, correction, or retraction decisions.

The Editor-in-Chief has final responsibility for editorial decisions while remaining accountable to the journal's published policies and ethical obligations.

3. Publication Model, Languages, Access, and Fees

JAG is published electronically under a continuous publication model.

The journal accepts manuscripts in Turkish and English. Every published article must include an English title, abstract, and keywords.

JAG is an immediate open-access journal. Published content is freely available to readers without subscription, registration, or pay-per-view charges.

The journal does not charge:

• submission fees;
• editorial processing fees;
• article processing charges;
• publication fees;
• page charges;
• colour figure charges;
• DOI fees; or
• expedited or fast-track review fees.

Detailed information is provided in the journal's Fee Policy and Funding Model.

4. Peer Review Policy

4.1 Initial Editorial Assessment

All submissions undergo an initial editorial assessment before external peer review.

The editorial office evaluates:

• conformity with the aims and scope;
• scientific and methodological adequacy;
• originality;
• ethical compliance;
• completeness of required declarations;
• language and presentation quality;
• anonymization; and
• suitability for a fair and effective peer-review process.

A manuscript may be rejected or returned to the authors without external review if it:

• falls outside the journal's scope;
• lacks a clear research question or scholarly contribution;
• is predominantly descriptive without adequate analysis;
• contains serious methodological, ethical, linguistic, or presentation problems;
• does not comply with essential submission requirements; or
• shows evidence of misconduct or duplicate submission.

4.2 Review Model

Research articles, review articles, and methodological articles are normally evaluated through double-anonymous peer review.

The identities of authors are not disclosed to reviewers, and the identities of reviewers are not disclosed to authors.

Authors, editors, reviewers, and editorial staff must take reasonable steps to preserve anonymity and confidentiality throughout the review process.

4.3 Number and Selection of Reviewers

Manuscripts that pass the initial editorial assessment are normally evaluated by at least two independent reviewers with relevant subject expertise.

Reviewers are selected on the basis of:

• academic expertise;
• publication record;
• methodological knowledge;
• absence of relevant conflicts of interest;
• previous review performance; and
• ability to provide a fair and timely assessment.

The journal does not guarantee that author-nominated reviewers will be invited.

4.4 Editorial Decisions

Reviewer recommendations are advisory. The final editorial decision belongs to the responsible editor or the Editor-in-Chief.

Possible decisions include:

• accept;
• minor revision;
• major revision;
• reject and resubmit as a new manuscript; or
• reject.

The acceptance of a manuscript does not require identical recommendations from all reviewers.

Where reviewer reports conflict substantially, the editor may:

• seek clarification from the reviewers;
• obtain an additional independent review;
• consult a member of the editorial board with relevant expertise; or
• make a reasoned editorial decision based on the available evidence.

4.5 Revisions

Authors must respond to every editorial and reviewer comment in a point-by-point Response to Reviewers document.

Revised manuscripts may be returned to the original reviewers or evaluated by the editor, depending on the nature and extent of the revisions.

The deadline for revision is stated in the editorial decision. A reasonable extension may be granted upon a justified request submitted before the deadline.

4.6 Editorial Board Submissions

Manuscripts submitted by an editor, editorial board member, reviewer, or person with a close relationship to the journal are not given preferential treatment.

Such submissions are handled by an independent editor who:

• has no relevant conflict of interest;
• controls reviewer selection;
• manages all correspondence; and
• makes or recommends the editorial decision without involvement from the submitting editor or board member.

The identity of the handling editor and the safeguards used may be disclosed in the published article where appropriate.

4.7 Special Issues

Special issues, thematic collections, and invited submissions are subject to the same ethical, editorial, and peer-review standards as regular submissions.

Guest editors must not make final acceptance decisions without the oversight of the Editor-in-Chief or an authorized independent editor.

5. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must be limited to individuals who have made a substantial intellectual contribution to the study and who accept responsibility for the work.

All authors must:

• approve the submitted and final versions;
• agree to be accountable for their contributions;
• cooperate in responding to questions concerning the integrity or accuracy of the work; and
• approve the order in which authors are listed.

Guest, gift, honorary, purchased, coercive, and ghost authorship are prohibited.

Individuals who contributed to the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship may be acknowledged with their permission.

Author contributions should be reported using the CRediT Contributor Role Taxonomy where applicable.

Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must include:

• a written explanation;
• the consent of all listed and affected authors; and
• an updated Author Contributions Statement.

The journal may suspend evaluation while an authorship dispute is investigated. Where the authors cannot resolve the dispute, the journal may refer the matter to the relevant institution.

6. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that:

• the manuscript is original;
• the work has not been published previously in substantially the same form;
• the manuscript is not under consideration by another journal;
• all data and results are reported honestly and accurately;
• methods are described transparently;
• sources are cited accurately and appropriately;
• all required ethical approvals and permissions have been obtained;
• participant privacy and confidential information are protected;
• all authors have approved the submission;
• funding and competing interests are fully disclosed;
• data availability is accurately described; and
• copyright and licensing requirements are respected.

Authors must disclose related:

• manuscripts;
• preprints;
• conference papers;
• theses or dissertations;
• reports;
• data publications; and
• earlier versions of the work.

Authors must promptly notify the journal if they discover a significant error, omission, ethical concern, or unreliable result in a submitted or published article.

Authors must cooperate with requests for:

• original data;
• analysis files;
• ethics documents;
• consent forms;
• permissions;
• authorship information; and
• other evidence necessary to verify the integrity of the work.

7. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must:

• accept assignments only within their area of competence;
• declare relevant conflicts of interest without delay;
• conduct reviews objectively, respectfully, and constructively;
• support criticisms with clear reasoning;
• identify relevant uncited work where appropriate;
• avoid personal, discriminatory, or hostile comments;
• complete the review within the agreed period;
• notify the editor if additional time is needed;
• maintain the confidentiality of the manuscript and review process;
• avoid using unpublished information for personal or professional advantage;
• not contact authors directly without permission from the journal; and
• inform the editor of suspected plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, authorship misconduct, or other ethical concerns.

Reviewers must not delegate a review to another person without prior permission from the editor.

A permitted co-reviewer must be identified to the journal and must comply with the same confidentiality and ethical requirements.

Reviewers must not upload manuscripts, figures, data, supplementary files, or review materials to public or external generative artificial-intelligence tools that do not guarantee confidentiality and data protection.

Reviewer reports are confidential editorial documents unless the journal explicitly adopts and announces an open peer-review model.

8. Responsibilities of Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors must:

• protect editorial independence;
• apply journal policies consistently;
• treat authors and reviewers fairly;
• maintain confidentiality;
• select reviewers with appropriate expertise;
• identify and manage conflicts of interest;
• make evidence-based and timely decisions;
• prevent discrimination and inappropriate influence;
• respond to ethical concerns;
• correct the scholarly record when necessary; and
• maintain appropriate documentation of editorial decisions.

Editors must not use unpublished manuscript content for personal research or professional advantage.

An editor with a relevant personal, professional, academic, financial, or institutional conflict of interest must withdraw from handling the manuscript.

Editorial board membership does not guarantee publication, expedited review, or favourable treatment.

Editors are responsible for ensuring that reviewer comments transmitted to authors do not contain discriminatory, abusive, defamatory, irrelevant, or personally identifying content.

The journal may edit reviewer comments only to remove such material or to protect confidentiality, without altering the substantive meaning of the review.

9. Conflicts of Interest and Competing Interests

A competing interest is any financial, professional, academic, institutional, personal, ideological, or other relationship that could reasonably be perceived as influencing judgement.

Authors must disclose:

• funding sources;
• grant numbers;
• the role of funders;
• employment or consultancy relationships;
• financial interests;
• personal or professional relationships;
• institutional interests;
• relevant academic competition; and
• other circumstances that could influence or appear to influence the work.

Reviewers and editors must decline or withdraw from an assignment when a conflict could compromise or reasonably appear to compromise impartiality.

The journal evaluates declared conflicts and may:

• assign another editor or reviewer;
• publish a competing-interest statement;
• request additional disclosure;
• correct a published declaration; or
• take further editorial action where a conflict was deliberately concealed.

A competing interest does not automatically prevent publication, but it must be disclosed and appropriately managed.

10. Ethical Oversight and Informed Consent

Research involving human participants, animals, personal data, sensitive information, vulnerable groups, interviews, surveys, focus groups, observations, experiments, biological materials, private documents, or other ethically sensitive activities must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international standards.

Where required, ethical approval must be obtained from an authorized body before the research or data collection begins.

The manuscript must state:

• the name of the approving committee or institution;
• the approval date;
• the approval or reference number; and
• the informed-consent procedure.

Where ethical approval was not required, the authors must provide a clear Ethics Declaration explaining the basis for exemption.

Where applicable, authors must obtain:

• informed consent to participate;
• consent for publication;
• permission to publish identifiable images, quotations, recordings, or personal information; and
• authorization to use restricted, private, culturally sensitive, or confidential data.

Editors may request ethics approval documents, consent records, institutional confirmation, or additional information.

The journal may reject or take post-publication action regarding research conducted without required ethical approval, valid consent, or appropriate safeguards.

11. Data Sharing, Transparency, and Reproducibility

Authors must describe the sources, collection, processing, and analysis of data with sufficient clarity to permit evaluation and, where reasonably possible, replication.

Research articles must include a Data Availability Statement.

Authors are encouraged to deposit:

• data;
• code;
• protocols;
• questionnaires;
• analytical scripts;
• geospatial files;
• models; and
• supplementary materials

in a recognized repository where ethical, legal, contractual, and practical conditions permit.

Restrictions on data sharing must be explained. Legitimate restrictions may include:

• participant confidentiality;
• personal-data protection;
• legal obligations;
• national-security concerns;
• cultural sensitivity;
• endangered species or heritage-site protection;
• third-party licensing;
• proprietary ownership; or
• contractual restrictions.

Data, software, maps, and other research outputs should be cited using persistent identifiers where available.

The journal may request data or analytical materials for confidential editorial examination when concerns arise about accuracy, integrity, or reproducibility.

Failure to provide reasonable supporting evidence may affect the editorial decision or lead to post-publication action.

12. Research and Publication Misconduct

Research and publication misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

• plagiarism;
• data fabrication;
• data falsification;
• image or map manipulation;
• selective omission or distortion of results;
• duplicate or redundant publication;
• simultaneous submission;
• inappropriate text recycling;
• salami publication or unjustified data fragmentation;
• citation manipulation;
• coercive citation;
• peer-review manipulation;
• use of fabricated reviewer identities;
• inappropriate authorship;
• undisclosed conflicts of interest;
• misrepresentation of ethical approval;
• misuse of confidential information;
• paper-mill activity;
• fabricated references;
• undisclosed or misleading artificial-intelligence use; and
• deliberate interference with editorial processes.

The journal does not encourage, permit, or knowingly tolerate such conduct.

12.1 Reporting Concerns

Authors, readers, reviewers, editors, institutions, or other parties may report suspected misconduct to:

jag@gumushane.edu.tr

Reports should include:

• the article or manuscript concerned;
• a clear description of the allegation;
• relevant documentation or evidence; and
• contact information where possible.

Anonymous allegations may be considered when they contain specific and verifiable evidence.

12.2 Investigation Procedure

When an allegation is received, the journal will:

1. acknowledge receipt where contact information is available;
2. conduct a preliminary assessment;
3. preserve confidentiality as far as reasonably possible;
4. determine whether the allegation falls within the journal's responsibility;
5. notify the relevant author, reviewer, editor, or other party where appropriate;
6. request explanations, records, data, ethics documents, or other evidence;
7. ensure that persons with conflicts of interest do not conduct the investigation;
8. consult independent experts or editorial board members where necessary;
9. contact institutions, ethics committees, funders, other journals, or relevant authorities where appropriate; and
10. decide what editorial action is required to protect the scholarly record.

The journal is responsible for editorial action and preservation of the published record. Institutions or authorized bodies may be asked to investigate matters involving employment, discipline, research governance, or access to original records.

Possible outcomes include:

• no further action;
• a request for clarification or correction;
• rejection of the manuscript;
• suspension of review;
• withdrawal of acceptance;
• publication of a correction;
• publication of an expression of concern;
• retraction;
• notification of an institution or authority;
• restriction of future submissions in serious cases; or
• other proportionate action.

Good-faith complainants will be treated respectfully, and their identity will be protected as far as legally and practically possible.

13. Similarity Screening and Plagiarism

The journal may use similarity-detection software at any stage before or after publication.

A similarity percentage is a screening indicator and is not, by itself, proof of plagiarism or acceptable originality.

The journal does not apply an automatic universal similarity threshold.

Editors assess:

• the source of the overlap;
• the amount and distribution of matching text;
• whether quotation and attribution are appropriate;
• whether methods or standard terminology account for the overlap;
• whether the overlap concerns original ideas, data, results, or conclusions;
• whether text recycling has been disclosed; and
• the seriousness and intent of the conduct.

Depending on the findings, the journal may request revision, reject the manuscript, contact the authors' institution, issue a correction, or retract a published article.

14. Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

Artificial-intelligence tools and large language models cannot be listed as authors because they cannot accept accountability, approve the final manuscript, declare conflicts of interest, or enter into copyright and licensing agreements.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, confidentiality, citations, data protection, and ethical compliance of all submitted material.

Substantive use of generative artificial intelligence in:

• drafting or rewriting;
• translation;
• literature organization;
• summarization;
• coding;
• data analysis;
• image or figure generation;
• statistical interpretation; or
• other research activities

must be disclosed transparently.

The disclosure should identify:

• the tool;
• the version where relevant;
• the purpose of use; and
• how the output was verified by the authors.

Routine spelling, grammar, and reference-formatting assistance normally does not require detailed disclosure unless it materially changes the scholarly content.

Authors must not use artificial-intelligence tools to fabricate, manipulate, or misrepresent:

• data;
• images;
• maps;
• citations;
• results;
• participant information; or
• research processes.

Reviewers and editors must not upload confidential manuscript materials to external generative-artificial-intelligence services that do not provide adequate confidentiality, security, and data-protection guarantees.

Human editors and reviewers remain responsible for all evaluations and decisions.

15. Complaints and Appeals

15.1 Appeals against Editorial Decisions

Authors may appeal an editorial decision when they believe that:

• a material factual error affected the decision;
• the journal's stated procedures were not followed;
• reviewer or editor comments were based on a significant misunderstanding;
• a relevant conflict of interest was not managed; or
• substantial evidence was overlooked.

An appeal must:

• be submitted by the corresponding author;
• be sent to jag@gumushane.edu.tr;
• be clearly marked “Editorial Appeal”;
• normally be submitted within 30 calendar days of the decision;
• address the decision and reviewer comments point by point; and
• provide specific evidence rather than merely expressing disagreement.

Only one appeal is normally considered for each editorial decision.

The appeal will be reviewed by an editor or senior academic who was not responsible for the original decision and who has no relevant conflict of interest.

An appeal may result in:

• confirmation of the original decision;
• reconsideration by the original or another editor;
• additional peer review; or
• a revised editorial decision.

An appeal does not guarantee reopening, external review, or acceptance.

15.2 Complaints

Complaints concerning:

• editorial conduct;
• reviewer conduct;
• confidentiality;
• conflicts of interest;
• delays;
• discrimination;
• administrative irregularities;
• published content; or
• journal policies

may be submitted to jag@gumushane.edu.tr and should be clearly marked “Complaint”.

Complaints will be handled:

• impartially;
• confidentially;
• without unnecessary delay;
• by a person not directly involved in the matter where possible; and
• in accordance with due process.

A complaint concerning the Editor-in-Chief will be referred to an independent senior academic or representative designated by the publisher.

16. Post-Publication Discussion

The journal welcomes reasoned, evidence-based discussion of published articles.

Readers may submit comments, concerns, or proposed correspondence through the official journal email address.

The journal may:

• request clarification from the authors;
• invite the authors to respond;
• publish a Letter to the Editor, commentary, response, correction, or editorial note;
• refer the matter for additional expert review; or
• initiate an ethical investigation.

Post-publication submissions must be respectful, relevant, evidence-based, and free from defamatory, discriminatory, or abusive language.

17. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

The journal is committed to correcting the scholarly record promptly and transparently.

17.1 Corrections

A correction may be published when an error or omission affects the accuracy, interpretation, attribution, or discoverability of an article but does not invalidate its principal findings.

A correction notice will:

• identify the original article;
• describe the error and correction clearly;
• be linked electronically to the article;
• remain freely and permanently accessible; and
• indicate the date and nature of the change.

Minor typographical or formatting errors that do not affect meaning may be corrected without a separate notice.

Substantial changes will not be made silently.

17.2 Retractions

An article may be retracted when:

• findings are unreliable because of fabrication, falsification, or serious error;
• plagiarism or unauthorized use of material is established;
• the article substantially duplicates prior publication;
• required ethical approval, consent, or permission was absent;
• serious authorship, conflict-of-interest, copyright, peer-review, or publication-ethics violations occurred;
• results or conclusions are invalid and cannot be corrected adequately;
• the article was produced through paper-mill or fraudulent activity; or
• legal or ethical considerations require formal retraction.

Retraction decisions are made after an appropriate and impartial assessment.

Authors will normally be given an opportunity to respond, but author disagreement does not prevent retraction where the evidence justifies it.

17.3 Retraction Notices

A retraction notice will:

• be clearly identified as a retraction;
• identify the retracted article;
• explain the reason objectively;
• identify who is retracting the article;
• be linked to the original article;
• remain freely accessible; and
• distinguish reliable from unreliable parts of the work where appropriate.

The retracted article will normally remain accessible to preserve the scholarly record, but every page of the PDF and the article webpage will be clearly marked as retracted.

17.4 Expressions of Concern

An expression of concern may be issued when serious questions exist but:

• an investigation is incomplete;
• evidence is inconclusive;
• an institution has not completed its investigation; or
• resolution is expected to take a substantial period.

An expression of concern will be linked to the article and will describe the matter under review.

It may later be updated, removed, replaced by a correction, or followed by a retraction.

17.5 Removal of Published Content

Complete removal is reserved for exceptional circumstances, including:

• a binding legal order;
• serious privacy or confidentiality violations;
• unlawful or defamatory content;
• infringement that cannot be corrected by retraction; or
• content posing a serious and immediate risk to public safety.

Where legally possible, the bibliographic record and an explanation for removal will remain available.

18. Withdrawal of Unpublished Manuscripts

A manuscript that has not been formally published may be withdrawn upon a justified written request from the corresponding author.

The request should confirm that all authors have been informed and agree.

A withdrawal request does not prevent the journal from continuing an investigation concerning:

• duplicate submission;
• plagiarism;
• fabricated or falsified data;
• authorship misconduct;
• peer-review manipulation; or
• another serious ethical concern.

Accepted manuscripts should not be withdrawn without a valid and documented reason.

19. Copyright, Licensing, and Open Access

Authors retain copyright in their published work.

Authors grant JAG the right of first publication and permission to publish and distribute the article under the journal's applicable Creative Commons licence.

Unless otherwise stated, JAG content is published under the:

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Under this licence, users may share and adapt the work provided that:

• appropriate credit is given;
• a link to the licence is provided;
• changes are indicated; and
• adapted material is distributed under the same licence.

Third-party material not covered by the article's Creative Commons licence must be clearly identified.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permissions for copyrighted material.

The journal does not require full transfer of copyright.

Detailed provisions are stated in the Copyright and Licensing Policy and the Publication Agreement and Author Declaration Form.

20. Ownership, Management, Revenue, Advertising, and Direct Marketing

20.1 Ownership and Publisher

The Journal of Anatolian Geography is owned and published by:

Gümüşhane University

The journal's academic and editorial activities are conducted independently in accordance with its published policies.

20.2 Revenue and Institutional Support

JAG is a non-commercial scholarly journal.

Its operations are supported through institutional resources provided by Gümüşhane University.

The journal does not depend on:

• author charges;
• subscriptions;
• pay-per-view income;
• commercial sponsorship; or
• acceptance-related payments.

Institutional support does not influence editorial decisions.

20.3 Advertising

The journal does not currently accept commercial advertising.

Advertisements, sponsorship, or commercial relationships, if introduced in the future, will:

• be clearly identified;
• be kept separate from editorial content;
• not be based on editorial decisions;
• not influence peer review or acceptance; and
• be governed by a publicly available policy.

20.4 Direct Marketing

Any direct marketing or solicitation of manuscripts conducted on behalf of the journal must be:

• truthful;
• professionally worded;
• appropriately targeted;
• non-coercive;
• unobtrusive; and
• consistent with the journal's actual scope, services, and indexing status.

The journal will not make misleading claims concerning indexing, metrics, acceptance probability, review speed, or academic recognition.

21. Digital Preservation and Scholarly Record

Published articles and metadata are stored through the DergiPark publishing infrastructure and are subject to the backup and preservation arrangements available through that platform.

The journal seeks to maintain permanent access to published content through:

• DergiPark archiving and backup services;
• persistent identifiers such as DOI;
• metadata distribution and harvesting services;
• institutional or subject repositories; and
• additional verified preservation systems where available.

If the journal ceases publication, reasonable steps will be taken to maintain access to published articles and metadata through DergiPark or another trusted archive or repository.

Corrections, retractions, expressions of concern, and other post-publication notices will be permanently linked to the original article where technically possible.

22. Official Contact for Ethical Concerns

Questions, complaints, appeals, notifications of errors, and allegations of misconduct should be sent to:

Journal of Anatolian Geography Editorial Office
Email: jag@gumushane.edu.tr

Correspondence should identify the relevant manuscript or article and provide sufficient information for an impartial assessment.