The Journal of Innovations in Civil Engineering and Technology (JICIVILTECH) commenced its publication life in 2019. It is managed and edited by prominent faculty members from the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Afyon Kocatepe University. JICIVILTECH is an international, independent, double-blind peer-reviewed, and diamond open-access electronic journal that publishes exclusively original scientific research articles across major disciplines of civil engineering, architecture, environmental engineering, geomatics engineering, and geological engineering.
JICIVILTECH is formally hosted on the dergipark platform. The journal is published semi-annually (June and December). Adopting a strict diamond open-access framework, the journal has no article submission, processing, or publication fees (APCs). The official language of publication is strictly English for all submissions. JICIVILTECH does not accept review articles or technical notes, focusing solely on high-quality studies that present novel empirical, experimental, or analytical findings.
Plagiarism Control
All submitted manuscripts undergo a rigorous preliminary evaluation. Before being advanced to the peer-review stage, all draft articles are screened for plagiarism and similarity using professional detection software (such as iThenticate or Turnitin). JICIVILTECH enforces a strict compliance criterion: the general similarity index must not exceed 25%, and individual source similarity must remain below 5% (excluding references). Manuscripts exceeding these thresholds will be returned to the authors for comprehensive revision to lower the similarity index within the required limits. However, if a manuscript fails to meet the journal's similarity criteria upon its third submission following revisions, it will be officially rejected by the editorial decision and will be permanently rejected from further evaluation in JICIVILTECH
Preflight Performed by Author
Prior to submission, authors must ensure full compliance with the following administrative and formatting conditions:
• The submitted manuscript must be an entirely original work that has not been previously published or concurrently submitted to any other journal for evaluation.
• The submission file must be meticulously formatted in Microsoft Word (.docx) layout in absolute accordance with the official, single-column JICIVILTECH article template. Manuscripts that fail to meet these structural requirements during the preliminary technical control will be returned to the authors for comprehensive revision prior to further evaluation.
• Where applicable, persistent identifiers such as active URLs and DOIs for references must be explicitly provided.
• Authors cannot be added, removed, or reordered after the initial submission stage without a formal, written administrative appeal approved by the Editorial Board.
Blind Reviewing Process
To safeguard absolute scientific integrity and objectivity, JICIVILTECH implements a rigorous double-blind peer-review model. The identities of both authors and reviewers are completely concealed from each other throughout the evaluation process.
Upon successful preliminary technical control, the Editor-in-Chief or relevant Field Editors appoint a minimum of two (2) independent national or international reviewers who hold a Ph.D. degree and possess proven expertise in the specific subject area. All review forms and evaluation reports are submitted electronically and anonymously through the dergipark management system. Reviewers are strictly forbidden from contacting authors directly.
Decision Process
The final publication decision for all submitted manuscripts is governed by a transparent, rigorous, and quality-driven editorial workflow. If both initial reviewers agree on acceptance (either as-is or after minor/major revisions), the Field Editor reviews the reports and submits a formal publication recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief. Furthermore, if the handling editor deems the quality of the initial peer-review reports insufficient or weak, they reserve the right to seek additional evaluations from a third or fourth independent reviewer to ensure an academically rigorous decision. In the event of a split or conflicting decision between the two initial reviewers (e.g., one acceptance and one rejection), the Field Editor must appoint a third independent reviewer (arbitrator) to resolve the dispute and reach a final consensus. A manuscript that receives two final rejection recommendations across the evaluation cycles is officially rejected. Following final editorial approval, accepted manuscripts undergo rigorous English language proofreading and reference metadata checks prior to layout formatting and publication.
Revision Policy and Requirements
When a revision (Minor or Major) is requested following the peer-review process, authors must strictly adhere to the following requirements upon resubmission:
Separate "Response to Reviewers" Document: Authors must submit a separate document explicitly titled "Response to Reviewers" alongside the revised manuscript file.
Point-by-Point Response: The response file must address all reviewer and editor comments in a structured, point-by-point format, detailing precisely how and where each comment or critique has been addressed.
Highlighting Changes in Revised Manuscript: All additions, corrections, and modifications within the Revised Manuscript must be clearly indicated using a different font color or text highlight (e.g., yellow background or colored text) to facilitate fast verification.
Revision Timeframe: Unless otherwise specified by the Editor, authors are granted 15 calendar days to complete Minor Revisions and 15+15 (30) calendar days for Major Revisions from the date of the decision notification. Requests for deadline extensions must be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief before the deadline expires. Revisions received after the deadline without prior consent may be subject to withdrawal or treated as new submissions.
Privacy and Confidentiality
All manuscripts received for peer review are highly confidential documents and must be treated as privileged intellectual property. Reviewers, editors, and editorial assistants are strictly prohibited from showing, sharing, downloading into unsecured devices, or discussing the contents of unpublished submissions with any third parties. These confidentiality rules apply equally to individuals who decline the invitation to act as a reviewer.
Complaints and Appeals
JICIVILTECH welcomes feedback, complaints, and appeals regarding editorial decisions, peer-review processing times, or publication ethics. Authors have the right to formally appeal an administrative rejection or reviewer outcome by submitting a written appeal to the Editor-in-Chief. The Editorial Board evaluates all complaints and appeals objectively, transparently, and without undue delay, strictly adhering to the core principles and flowcharts established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Retraction Policy
JICIVILTECH is strictly committed to maintaining the integrity and reliability of the scholarly record. In accordance with international publishing standards, published manuscripts may be retracted under the following circumstances:
• Identification of major scientific errors or unreliable, misleading conclusions.
• Evidence of data fabrication, data manipulation, or fraudulent results.
• Determination of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or severe ethical violations.
• Identification of duplicate publication (the same study published elsewhere).
• Copyright infringement or unauthorized use of intellectual property.
• Any breach of institutional research and publication ethics.
The final decision to retract a manuscript rests solely with the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board following a formal investigation. When necessary, the authors' home institutions or funding bodies may be contacted. Retracted articles are not completely removed from the journal repository; instead, the article webpage and the official PDF file will be prominently watermarked as "RETRACTED ARTICLE," accompanied by a clear statement detailing the specific reason for retraction to inform the global research community. All retraction processes are executed in absolute compliance with the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). For detailed policy workflows, please see COPE Retraction Guidelines
This journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License.