The Publication Principles of the JENAS
In the Journal of Natural and Environmental Studies (JENAS), the publication processes and the basic planning for the development and dissemination of information impartially and respectfully were planned. The processes applied in this direction are directly reflected in the quality of the work of the authors and the institutions supporting the authors. Refereed studies are studies that embody and support the scientific method. At this point, all stakeholders of the process (authors, readers, researchers, publishers, referees, and editors) must comply with standards for ethical principles. JUA is expected to have the following ethical responsibilities for all stakeholders within the scope of publication ethics.
JENAS follows the COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors and the Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers.
Ethical Duties and Responsibilities of Authors
It is expected that the author (s) submitting a submission to our journal will comply with the following ethical responsibilities:
1. Authors should ensure that they have written and submitted only entirely original works, and if they have used the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately cited. Plagiarism takes many forms, from "passing off" another's paper as the author's own, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another's paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
2. Persons who do not intellectually contribute to the content of the study should not be mentioned as authors.
3. The name of the author, who has the most added value in the works of art, should be written as the first name, and the author whose academic title is superior should not be defined as the first author, even if it does not provide sufficient value in the academic community.
4. The status of any work submitted for publication and the relationship that may constitute a conflict of interest should be explained.
5. The author (s) may be asked for raw data on their manuscripts within the framework of the evaluation process, in which case the author (s) should be prepared to submit the expected data and information to the editorial and scientific boards.
6. The author (s) must have the right to use the data used, the document that they have the necessary permissions for the research/analysis, or the consent of the test subjects has been obtained. Even if our journal did not request this, these documents should be taken as 'ready'.
7. It is the author's prerogative to discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their published work. If such an issue is discovered, the author(s) are expected they must promptly notify the journal’s editors or publisher and cooperate with them to either correct the paper in the form of an erratum or to retract the paper.
8. Authors cannot have more than one journal in the application process. Each application may be initiated following the completion of the previous application. Work published in another journal cannot be sent for evaluation.
9. It is not possible to change the author's responsibilities (such as adding the author, changing the order of the author, or removing the author) of a study that has started the evaluation process. However, this request is taken into consideration by the JUA in case DERGİPARK uploads a file to the editor by the author or the corresponding author of the work regarding the signed requests of the other authors in the process.
B- Ethical Duties and Responsibilities of Editors:
The Journal of JENAS editors and field editors have the following ethical duties and responsibilities based on "COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" and "COPE Best Practice Guidelines for JournalEditors" guidelines published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE):
1. Editors are responsible for every publication in the journal. In this respect, editors have the following roles and obligations:
2. Striving to meet the information needs of readers and authors,
3. Continuously improving the growth and development of the journal,
4. To take part in the processes aimed at improving the quality of the studies published in the journal,
5. To support freedom of thought and to be diligent in bringing original and foreign works to the article,
6. Apply the editorial processes without compromising intellectual property rights and ethical standards,
7. Demonstrate clarity and transparency in terms of publication in matters requiring correction and clarification.
8. To be supportive in guiding the field editors by using various communication forms,
9. The editor is obliged to take into account the feedback from the readers and researchers and to provide explanatory and informative feedback.
10. The submissions that comply with the publication scope should be taken to the pre-evaluation stage unless there is a serious problem.
11. Editors should not ignore the favorable referee recommendations unless there is a serious problem with the work.
12. New editors should not change the decisions made by the previous editor (s) for the work unless there is a serious problem.
13. Help the field editors to be careful in conducting the blind referee process, inform the field editors about violations of the blind referee process, and warn if necessary.
14. Editors in charge of publication processes should be proficient in the effective and efficient use of referees and editorial processes,
15. Encourage Field Editors to develop the referee pool.
16. Editors should protect the intellectual property rights of all published articles and defend the rights of the journal and author (s) in case of possible violations. In addition, editors are obliged to take the necessary measures to ensure that the content of all published articles does not infringe on the intellectual property rights of other publications.
17. It should take into account the persuasive criticism of the works published in the journal and should take a constructive attitude towards these criticisms.
18. Editors should grant the author(s) the right to reply to the reviews.
19. Editors are obliged to examine the complaints from the referees or readers carefully and to respond in an enlightening and explanatory manner.
20. The author, publisher, and any other political and commercial elements do not affect the independent decision-making of the editors.
21. Editors should ensure that the judgments contained in the work are corrected quickly, including errors, inconsistencies, or misstatements.
C- Ethics, Duties and Responsibilities of Field Editors:
1. Field editors should assign the referees based on the subject of the study.
2. Field editors should provide the information and guidance to referees that they need during the evaluation phase.
3. It is necessary to be proactive in this regard to ensure that there is no conflict of interest between the authors and reviewers.
4. According to the blind refereeing system, the referees should keep their identity information confidential, and the field editor should pay attention to hiding the names and surnames of the referees in the evaluation form.
5. They should use methods that encourage the referees to evaluate work in an objective, scientific form of communication.
6. Evaluate the referees with criteria such as timely return and performance. Use encouraging and motivating statements to referees, and refrain from engaging in content discussions with them.
7. Develop policies and practices to improve the performance of referees.
8. Take the necessary steps to update the referee pool dynamically.
9. In case of a negative response from both referees, if the article is considered to be very useful for the journal and the scientific community, it should be able to make the initiative to refer to the 3rd and 4th referees if necessary.
10. Maintain dialogue with the author regularly during the review process.
11. In rejected articles, the field editor should respond as politely as possible in dialogues with the author and state the reasons for rejection in absolute terms.
D- Ethics, Duties, and Responsibilities of Referees:
The Journal of Urban Academy evaluation process is carried out with the principle of a double-blind blind refereeing process. The referees cannot contact the authors directly. Reviews and comments are communicated through the journal management system. In this process, referee comments on evaluation forms and full texts are forwarded to the author (s) through the editor. In this context, the reviewers are expected to have the following ethical responsibilities:
1. Only accept the assessment related to the area of expertise.
2. Evaluate neutrality and confidentiality.
3. Any invited referee who has conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the manuscript and the work described therein should immediately notify the editors to declare their conflicts of interest and decline the invitation to review so that alternative reviewers can be contacted.
4. Dispose of the submission they reviewed by the principle of confidentiality after the evaluation process. They can only use the final versions of the articles after they are published.
5. Evaluate the content of the submission objectively. Nationality, gender, religious and political beliefs, and commercial concerns should not influence assessment.
6. Do not make humiliating personal comments that include hostility, slander, and insult. Personal critiques oriented toward the manuscripts’ authors are not an appropriate manner of conduct. Reviews should follow an objective procedure in their reports, and upon the acceptance of referee duty, they accept that their comments are supported by arguments that are of help to the authors in improving their work.
7. The submission should be carried out promptly and with the above ethical responsibilities.
8. The Journal protects the property and copyright of each published article and undertakes to keep a record of each published copy.
9. Has the responsibility to take all kinds of scientific misconduct, citation, and plagiarism related to academic publishing.
E- Ethical Duties and Responsibilities of the Editorial Board:
1. The JENAS Editorial Board is responsible for publishing each article according to the journal's publishing policies and international standards.
2. The Editorial Board members, who are the Chief Editor, Editors, Technical Editors, and Foreign Language Editors, are responsible for the overall journal.
3. The journal should not remain indifferent to its deficiencies in terms of content, technical, and visual aspects, and should inform the relevant person first if there is a problem in a related field of responsibility.
4. The editorial board must express its opinion in virtual meetings.
5. The editorial board organizes periodical meetings for the development of publishing policies of JENAS
6. The owner of the journal may not interfere with the content of the publication, nor intervene in such a way that the execution coherence of the processes is disturbed.
7. The Editorial Board is responsible for all processes of the manuscripts submitted to the journal. Regardless of economic or political gains, decision-makers are editors.
F- Protection of Personal Data:
1. The JUA is obliged to ensure the protection of personal data relating to subjects or visuals in the submissions evaluated. Individuals used in the submissions may refuse to work unless explicit consent is documented.
2. The JUA is responsible for protecting the individual data of field editors, referees, authors, and readers.
3. The journal is obliged to ensure the protection of human and animal rights in the studies evaluated. The ethics committee approval of the subjects used in the studies is responsible for rejecting the study in the absence of permission for experimental research.
G- Hazards and human or animal subjects
1. If the work involves that have any unusual hazards inherent in its use, the authors must identify these in the manuscript. If the work involves the use of animals or human participants, the authors should ensure that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committee(s) have approved them; the manuscript should contain a statement to this effect.
Measures against Possible Abuses
JENAS is obliged to take measures against possible misconduct.
In cases of alleged or proven scientific misconduct, fraudulent publication, or plagiarism, the JUA will take all necessary measures to clarify the situation and amend the article in question. This will be done in concordance with the editor and the editorial board. The measures include, but are not limited to, an erratum, clarification, and, in the most severe case, the retraction of the article. The editor is responsible for conducting a rigorous and objective investigation into the identification and evaluation of complaints, as well as sharing relevant findings.
H-Research and Publication Ethics
Research ethics aims to eliminate concerns about the neglect of individuals' health, well-being, and rights. It ensures that scientific research is conducted by high ethical and scientific standards. Research ethics encompasses the realistic and needs-based design of research, the protection of participants' integrity throughout the research process, the appropriate termination of research, and the honest publication of results. Today, these requirements are built upon fundamental ethical principles. Principles such as autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice provide a solid framework that guarantees the ethical conduct of research processes.
In the articles published in our journal, ethical issues, problems, and disputes that may arise, including conflicts of interest that authors may experience with third parties, starting from the editorial process and continuing through article publication, are evaluated within the framework of international universal legal rules, ethical principles, and general ethical legislation in Turkey, and are ultimately decided by the ICAM Network Ethics Committee.
JENAS Editorial Board Decision No. 19-2023/3, dated 3/10/2023:
In our journal, the publishing of articles by the Publisher's representative, the Editor-in-Chief, and the Editors has been abolished as of 01/01/2024.
Likewise, it has been decided that the editors and assistant editors working in our journal will not continue to use their referee powers since 01/01/2021, by the principles of impartiality and objectivity.
I- Access to Journal Content
The publisher is committed to open access to all academic endeavors and accepts its duty to make published content available and freely accessible by all sections of the worldwide educational community. The publisher does not charge any pecuniary fees for the processing, submitting, and publishing of manuscripts. The publisher perpetually commits to free and universal access to its published content.
J- Encountering an Unethical Situation
In the event that any ethical violation, misconduct, or content inconsistent with the ethical responsibilities outlined above is identified, the procedures set forth in Article 7, Paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of the ICAM Network Publishing Group Ethics Committee Regulation on Organization and Operational Procedures shall be applied. Such cases must also be reported to ethic@icamnetwork.net. Submissions will be reviewed and adjudicated by the ICAM NETWORK Ethics Board.
