ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND PUBLICATION POLICY
1. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
1a. Research Ethics
Studies submitted to our journal are based on the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive and international research ethics principles. Compliance with the following rules within the scope of research ethics is mandatory:
• Ethics Committee Approval: For all research involving human or animal subjects, requiring qualitative or quantitative data collection methods such as surveys, interviews, focus group studies, observations, or experiments, Ethics Committee Approval must be obtained from authorized bodies.
• Requirement of Disclosure: The ethics committee approval obtained must be stated and documented in the article. Details regarding the approval (committee name, date, and decision/number) must be explicitly stated in the Methods section and on the final page (under the "Ethics Statement" section) of the article.
• Informed Consent: In case reports and studies involving human participants, information stating that an informed consent form was obtained must be included in the article.
• Human and Animal Rights: In research conducted on humans and animals, ethical rules must be complied with, patient rights must be respected, no harm must be caused to animal health or ecological balance, and all necessary legal permissions must be obtained.
1b. Publication Ethics
Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems and Applications (JITSA) adopts the standards of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and follows a zero-tolerance policy against actions considered publication ethics violations.
• Plagiarism and Similarity Rate: Submitted articles are screened using plagiarism detection software prior to evaluation. The similarity rate of articles must be below 20% excluding references, and the similarity rate from a single source must not exceed 5%.
• Use of Artificial Intelligence: If AI tools were utilized in processes such as text generation, data analysis, or image preparation, this must be transparently disclosed at the end of the article. AI tools cannot be listed as an author.
1c. Actions Considered Contrary to Scientific Research and Publication Ethics
• Plagiarism: Presenting the original ideas, methods, data, or works of others partially or wholly as one's own work without properly citing them in accordance with scientific rules,
• Fabrication: Using non-existent or falsified data in scientific research,
• Falsification: Falsifying research records or obtained data, presenting devices or materials that were not used in the research as if they were used, or altering/shaping research findings in line with the interests of supporting individuals or institutions,
• Redundant Publication: Presenting duplicate publications as separate publications in academic appointments and promotions,
• Salami Slicing: Unsuitably dividing the results of a research project into multiple parts in a way that disrupts the integrity of the research and publishing them separately to present them as distinct publications in academic appointments and promotions,
• Unfair / Gift Authorship: Including individuals who have not actively contributed among the authors or excluding those who have contributed; changing the author order without justification and inappropriately; removing the names of active contributors in subsequent editions; or using influence to be included as an author without active contribution,
• Non-acknowledgment of Support: Failing to cite the individuals, institutions, or organizations supporting the research conducted, as well as their contributions,
• Unauthorized Use of Unpublished Works: Using unpublished or undefended theses or studies as a reference without the permission of the author,
• Non-compliance with Ethical Rules in Human and Animal Studies: Failing to comply with ethical rules in research on humans and animals, failing to respect patient rights in publications, damaging animal health and ecological balance, or failing to obtain necessary permissions,
• Misuse of Research Resources: Misusing resources, venues, opportunities, and equipment provided or allocated for scientific research,
• False Representation: Making false or misleading statements regarding scientific research and publications in academic appointments and promotions.
2. PUBLICATION POLICY
Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University's "Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems and Applications" is an international peer-reviewed journal that accepts scientific works for publication in the fields of Engineering, Technical Sciences, Basic Sciences, Social Sciences, Logistics, Transportation, Communication, and Informatics, adhering to the ethical principles and publication policy rules specified below. Articles submitted to the journal are reviewed by at least two reviewers, evaluated based on double-blind peer review, and published electronically twice a year. Below are the ethical responsibilities that the publisher, author(s), reviewers, editors, and field editors must adhere to for the Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems and Applications. The specified ethical responsibilities have been prepared in line with the policies published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA).
2a. Responsibilities of the Publisher
The "Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems and Applications" began its publication life in 2018 and is published twice a year by Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University. The publisher is a public institution and publishes scientific knowledge with an open-access policy without aiming for any profit. The ethical responsibilities that the publisher must comply with are given below:
• After the initial evaluation of scientific works submitted to the journal is carried out by the editor, they are assigned to field editors, and field editors assign experts in the field to initiate the scientific evaluation process.
• The publisher ensures the electronic upload of the journal and provides free access to journal publications in accordance with the open-access policy.
2b. Responsibilities of Author(s)
• Author(s) must have obtained Ethics Committee Approval for research conducted in all scientific fields that require Ethics Committee Approval. Ethics Committee Approval must be stated and documented in the article. In research requiring Ethics Committee Approval, information regarding the approval (committee name, date, and decision number) must be included in the methods section and also on the first/last page of the article. In case reports, information indicating that an informed consent form was signed must be included in the article.
• Author(s) accept and declare that the submissions they provide have not been previously published in any journal.
• Author(s) cannot submit the same article to more than one journal simultaneously. For each submission, they must wait for the completion of the submission process in the previous journal.
• Author(s) are deemed to have accepted that their submitted articles will undergo detailed review.
• Author(s) may be requested to provide raw data of their studies if needed by the reviewers during evaluation processes. In such cases, author(s) are expected to transmit the requested data.
• Author(s) are obliged to correct the parts that are deemed lacking or requested to be corrected as a result of the scientific reviews conducted by reviewers assigned by the editor/field editors.
• At the end of the article, author(s) must provide an Author Contribution Statement in multi-authored articles; a Support and Acknowledgment Statement if the article is supported by an institution or organization; and a Conflict of Interest Statement if there is a potential conflict.
• Author(s) must provide a complete list of references and proper citations for the scientific information provided in the article.
• Author(s) are required to fill out and sign the copyright transfer form prepared by the journal for each publication submitted.
• In case of any conflict of interest or if a breach of ethical principles is detected in their submitted work, author(s) are obliged to share this situation with the publisher and journal editor, publish an erratum or expression of concern, or withdraw the manuscript if deemed necessary.
• Author(s) must prepare their manuscripts in accordance with the topics accepted by the journal and its ethical rules.
• Author(s) must prepare their submitted manuscripts according to the formatting guidelines of the journal.
• Individuals who have not contributed to the manuscript must not be listed as authors.
• Author(s) accept that all liabilities arising from the writings in the article belong to them.
• Author(s) can submit their works with a maximum of 6 named authors.
• Author(s) must prepare their works in compliance with a similarity rate below 20% and a maximum 5% similarity rate for each cited source.
2c. Responsibilities of Reviewers
The "Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems and Applications" uses a double-blind peer review evaluation method in which author(s) cannot see the reviewers, and reviewers cannot see author(s) during article evaluation processes. The "double-blind peer review" system is considered to positively affect quality. In this regard, reviewers cannot communicate directly with the author(s); communication can only be established through forms opened on the DergiPark system. The ethical responsibilities expected from reviewers are given below:
• Reviewers are expected to review only articles within their field of expertise.
• Reviewers are expected to perform their evaluations within the framework of impartiality and confidentiality principles.
• Reviewers must complete their reviews within the time allocated to them for the articles they accept to review.
• When reviewers notice a conflict of interest in an article, they must inform the editor about the matter and decline to review the article.
• Reviewers are expected to make suggestions in a polite, constructive, and respectful manner without offending the other party in their critiques.
• Reviewers are expected to ensure that no personal data is included in the files they upload for author(s) to see.
2d. Responsibilities of Editors
• Editors and field editors of the Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems and Applications must possess ethical duties and responsibilities based on the "COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" and "COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" published as open access by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
• Editors should actively evaluate the views of authors, readers, reviewers, and editorial board members regarding the development and improvement of journal processes.
• Editors should manage processes aimed at improving the quality of works published in the journal and demonstrate openness and transparency in terms of publication on matters requiring correction or clarification.
• Editors must ensure that the article meets academic standards and maintains journal integrity when deciding on its publication.
• Editors are obliged to apply the "Blind Peer Review and Evaluation Process" policies included in the journal publication policies. In this context, editors must ensure a fair, impartial, and timely evaluation process for each submission.
• Editors should ensure that published works contribute to readers, researchers, practitioners, and the scientific literature, and are of original quality.
• Editors should make positive or negative decisions based on the importance, validity, clarity of expression, and aims and scope of the study, and should not disregard positive reviewer recommendations unless there is a serious problem with the study.
• Editors protect the intellectual property rights of published articles, defending the rights of the journal and author(s) in case of violation. In addition, they take necessary measures to ensure that the content of published articles does not violate the intellectual property rights of other publications; they conduct originality-similarity checks.
• Editors are responsible for ensuring the protection of personal data regarding human subjects or images in the evaluated works. They are obligated to reject the work unless the explicit consent of the individuals used in the study is documented. Furthermore, editors are responsible for protecting the personal data of authors, reviewers, and readers.
• Editors must ensure that all editorial board members advance processes in accordance with publication policies and guidelines. They should inform editorial board members about publication policies and keep them updated on developments.
• Editors are obligated to ensure the protection of human and animal rights in evaluated works. In cases where ethics committee approval for test subjects or necessary permissions for experimental research are lacking, editors are responsible for rejecting the study.
• Editors are responsible for ensuring that every article published in the journal is published in accordance with journal publication policies and international standards.
• Editors are obliged to take precautions against potential misconduct and malfeasance. In addition to conducting a meticulous and objective investigation regarding the identification and evaluation of complaints on this matter, sharing findings related to the issue is among the editor's responsibilities.
• Editors guarantee that the publication process of studies is completed independently and impartially, taking into account conflicts of interest among author(s), reviewers, and other editors.
• The relationship between editors and the publisher is based on the principle of editorial independence. Pursuant to the written contract between editors and the publisher, all decisions to be made by editors are independent of the publisher and the journal owner.