Journal of Multidisciplinary Academic Tourism

Ethical principles

In accordance with editorial criteria and the evaluation principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), all manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer-review process based on an initial screening for significant contribution to the field, conceptual quality, appropriate methodology, and clarity of expression. Publication of an article in a "double-blind peer-reviewed" journal is crucial for the development of a coherent and credible knowledge network. In double-blind peer review, the content of articles written by 'prestigious' or well-known authors is evaluated rather than the author's reputation. Therefore, it is vital that all parties involved in the publishing process—authors, journal editors, reviewers, and publishers—agree on the expected ethical standards of conduct. Authors must ensure that their work is wholly original and that any use of the work or words of others has been appropriately cited.

About the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE, https://publicationethics.org/)

COPE provides editors and publishers with guidance on all aspects of publication ethics, including how to manage cases of research and publication misconduct. In addition, it provides a forum for members to discuss specific cases. COPE does not investigate individual cases, but editors are encouraged to guarantee that cases are investigated by the proper authorities (typically research institutions or employers). Members of COPE are expected to adhere to the publication ethics principles outlined in the fundamental practices.



Responsibilities of editors
1- Publication decisions
The editor is responsible for determining which of the submitted articles will be published in the journal. The editor will evaluate manuscripts regardless of the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnicity, citizenship, or political ideology. The decision will be based on the article's significance, originality, and lucidity, as well as the work's relevance to the journal's scope. Existing legal requirements regarding defamation, infringement of copyright, and plagiarism should also be considered.
2-Peer-Reviewer selection
At least two referees are assigned to evaluate the manuscript by the editor. At this point, he or she chooses a referee who is an expert in his or her field, keeping in mind the topic of the paper. Thus, the editor avoids practices that would compromise the paper's anonymity. He/she avoids assigning reviewers with whom the author has interacted. If at all possible, he or she designates a referee from a country other than the one in which the manuscript was submitted. He/she considers the objectivity and quality of the referees' evaluations and, if necessary, continues the process with additional referees.
3- Confidentiality
The editor and any editorial staff members should not reveal any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisors, and publisher, as appropriate.
4- Disclosure and conflicts of interest
The editor and editorial board members will not use unpublished material described in a submitted manuscript for their own research without the author's express written permission.


Responsibilities of reviewers
1- Contribution to Editorial Decisions:
Referees who believe they lack the necessary expertise to evaluate a manuscript or foresee a delay in the review process should inform the editor immediately and recuse themselves.
2- Promptness:
All submitted manuscripts should be regarded as confidential documents. Unless authorized by the editor, reviewers may not share or discuss them with others.
3- Confidentiality:
All manuscripts provided for review should be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not share or discuss them with others unless authorized by the editor.
4- Objectivity Standards:
Evaluations must be conducted objectively. Personal attacks on the author are improper. Referees should convey their opinions with clarity and well-reasoned support.
5- Source Acknowledgment:
Reviewers should identify instances in which pertinent published works cited in the paper are absent from the reference section. They should also indicate whether observations or arguments derived from other sources have been appropriately cited. Reviewers are urged to alert the editor to any substantial similarities or overlaps between the manuscript under consideration and other published works.
6- Disclosure and Conflict of Interest:
The information or concepts obtained through the peer-review process must be kept strictly confidential and not used for personal benefit. Reviewers should not evaluate manuscripts in which they have competing, collaborative, or other affiliations with the authors, corporations, or institutions involved.

Authors' Responsibilities:
1- Conformity with Reporting Standards:
Original research authors must accurately convey their work and provide an objective analysis of its significance. The underlying data should be precisely represented, and the paper should provide enough detail and references to allow replication. False or intentionally inaccurate statements are unacceptable and reprehensible.
2- Data Access and Storage:
For editorial review, authors may be required to submit raw data alongside their manuscript. Additionally, they should be willing to make this information public whenever possible. Authors must ensure that these data are accessible to qualified professionals for at least ten years after publication, preferably through an institutional or subject-based data repository, while preserving the anonymity of participants and observing legal rights.
3- Originality, Plagiarism, and Citation of Sources:
Authors are required to submit only original works and to properly attribute the work and words of others. All influential publications that contributed to the reported work must be cited.
4- Avoiding Multiple, Duplicative, and Concurrent Publication:
Generally speaking, similar research should not be published in multiple journals. Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals is unethical and unacceptable behavior in publishing. Previously published and copyright-protected manuscripts cannot be submitted. Furthermore, manuscripts currently under review by other journals should not be submitted for publication again.
5- Responsibility and Contributions:
Authorship should be reserved for those who have contributed significantly to the conception, execution, or interpretation of the study. Every significant contributor must be listed as a co-author. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all contributing co-authors are listed accurately on the author manifest and that uninvolved parties are omitted. In addition, the corresponding author must confirm that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript version and its submission for publication.
6- Disclosure and Conflict of Interest Management:
All authors must disclose any financial or substantive conflicts of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of the manuscript. Additionally, all financial support sources must be disclosed.
7- Correcting Basic Errors in Published Works:
If authors discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their own published work, they must immediately notify the journal editor or publisher. Together with the editor, they must publish a retraction or correction as an erratum. 

8- The authors of studies that involve human subjects are required to obtain approval from their institution's ethics committee and verify that recognized standards, such as the Declaration of Helsinki (for more information), have been adhered to in order to reduce the risk of harm to the participants. Conscientious consent from human participants is required to be obtained by authors. In addition to this, they are obligated to make certain that the information they gather from participants does not include any personally identifiable information and to take measures to reduce the possibility of being able to attribute data to particular individuals.
9- The right to protection is especially important for children who take part in research. Because of this, authors are required to obtain consent from parents or guardians prior to the collection of data. The informed consent of other vulnerable individuals, such as those who are disadvantaged, prisoners, and members of minority groups, must also be obtained by them.
10- When it comes to publication, authors are obligated to make certain that all participants in their study have provided their informed consent.
It is stated in the World Medical Association's Declaration of Helsinki – Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects that "Some groups and individuals are particularly vulnerable and may have an increased likelihood of being wronged or of incurring additional harm." Individuals and groups that are particularly vulnerable ought to be afforded protection that is specifically considered. (for further information)
Consequently, authors are required to take into consideration the issues that arise from working with potentially vulnerable individuals and must discuss the means by which risks to these participants are minimized and the means by which they are protected from risks.

For articles requiring Ethics Committee Approval

Ethics committee approval must be obtained for studies that require an ethics committee decision for studies conducted in all disciplines.
Researches requiring Ethics Committee approval are as follows:
1- All kinds of research conducted with qualitative or quantitative approaches that require data collection from participants using survey, interview, focus group study, observation, experiment, interview techniques.
2- Use of humans and animals (including material/data) for experimental or other scientific purposes,
3- Clinical trials on humans,
4- Research on animals,
5- Retrospective studies in accordance with the law on the protection of personal data.

Copyright and Licensing Policy

The copyright in JOMAT's content belongs to the author,  and are licensed under the CC-BY license (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)). Third parties may reproduce and redistribute the material in any medium or format, as well as remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially, with proper attribution, a link to the licence, and an indication of any modifications. Under the CC-BY license, authors may freely utilize their copyrighted works. Please see the following link for the terms of the license.
The Creative Commons license is available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The authors bear all legal and scientific responsibilities for the content of articles published in JOMAT. There are no royalties paid to the authors of the articles. Authors and copyright holders concur that all users have access without restriction.  Those who submit to JOMAT are presumed to have accepted the journal's policies.

Note: Jomat changed its licensing terms after 2022. While the CC BY NC ND license was used before, it started to use the CC BY license as of September 2022.

Open Access Policy
JOMAT is a free, open-access, electronic journal that charges no author fees, article submission fees, or article processing fees. This is owing to the support of the institution's founding academics and researchers. On the premise that making research readily accessible to the public promotes a greater global exchange of knowledge, JOMAT provides immediate open access to its content.
JOMAT is a fully open access publication, which means that the literature is freely accessible over the public internet at no cost to readers who authorize any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search or link to the full texts of these articles, scan them for indexing, import them as data into software, or use them for any other lawful purpose without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inherent to internet access itself.
In accordance with the definition provided by the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) (https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), JOMAT adopts and supports an Open Access policy. Therefore, we acknowledge that users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, and create links to the full text of these articles (as permitted by the terms of the license).

Plagiarism Detection
To ensure scientific and academic integrity, preventing plagiarism is of the utmost importance. Each submission to JOMAT is analyzed by a plagiarism detection program (such as Turnitin, iThenticate, or Intihal.Net). Before the evaluation, a single-word analysis is performed, excluding the bibliography. At the conclusion of the analysis, the total similarity rate should not exceed twenty percent, and the similarity rate for a particular work should not exceed five percent. If the study's degree of similarity exceeds the threshold indicated above, it will be rejected. Even if it falls within the similarity limits, these studies' similarity reports are manually analyzed. After evaluation and revisions, plagiarism analysis may be conducted if deemed necessary by the editor. The editor in charge of a manuscript determines whether it will be denied due to plagiarism or whether it will continue through the peer review process.

Policy for the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Scientific Paper Writing
In the production of papers sent to be published in our journal, the use of artificial intelligence tools should be within the framework of scientific ethics. The use of tools that will facilitate human life with developing technology is certainly a positive touch. However, it should not be forgotten that such tools may violate the rules of scientific ethics. For this reason, as a journal, we believe that some of the concerns regarding the use of artificial intelligence should be declared as an enlightening text. If the authors are using artificial intelligence as a part of the research process and thus artificial intelligence contributes as a tool to reveal some realities, there is no obstacle to benefit from this convenience. However, ethical violations may arise when the information generated by the tools known as generative artificial intelligence is transformed into publications without human supervision. Some problems that may cause these violations can be listed as follows:
- Since artificial intelligence tools are limited to the information data given to them, the information they produce may be flawed.
- Artificial intelligence tools may produce biased knowledge
- Artificial intelligence tools may tend to produce information that does not exist.
...
For such reasons, it seems more ethically correct to use artificial intelligence tools as a facilitating tool in the author's knowledge production phase rather than producing knowledge.
At the same time, artificial intelligence tools cannot take part as an author in a scientific research. Responsibilities related to scientific research processes are collected in the author. Therefore, it is not possible for a party that cannot take responsibility to take part in a paper as an author.
If the authors used artificial intelligence at any stage while creating the paper, they must declare the reason, the way of use and the order of use to the editor in detail. For whatever purpose, the use of artificial intelligence as a tool must be completely under human control and supervision.
As the technical team of the journal, the incoming papers are checked for similarity, as well as an examination of the use of artificial intelligence. At this stage, depending on the level and form of use, the editorial board may reject the paper or request a revision.
Authors are deemed to have accepted these conditions by submitting a paper to the journal and undertake the responsibility to make the necessary explanations and provide evidence when requested.

Repository Policy
In print:
Authors may share preprints at any time and in any location.
If accepted for publication, we encourage authors to include a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) link from the preprint to their official publication. Numerous researchers have access to the official publications in DergiPark; therefore, links will assist your users in locating, accessing, citing, and utilizing the best version.
Authors can update their arXiv or RePEc preprints with accepted manuscripts.
Accepted and Published:
After publication, JOMAT permits authors to use the final published version of an article or edited collection section (publisher pdf) for self-archival (author's personal website) and/or institutional archiving (on a non-profit server).
The source of the publication must be indicated. A link to the journal's homepage or the article's DOI must be provided for articles. Authors may self-archive their articles in subject-based public and non-commercial archives. Immediate after publication, all volumes (publisher pdf) can be submitted to institutional repositories. The published source should be cited, and a link to the volume's web page should be included.

Archiving Policy
The Dergipark platform, where our journal is hosted, exists for the electronic backup and preservation of papers with the LOCKSS system. Even if our journal is no longer published in the future, the articles will remain accessible in this way.  Each content published in the Journal of Multidisciplinary Academic Tourism is archived both on the Dergipark platform and in LOCKSS. The journal changed its title in 2018. Therefore, the before and after LOCKSS links are given below:
LOCKSS before 2018
LOCKSS after 2018
Also the contents are available in full text on cabdirect.org.
The journal complies with I4OC standards for open citations. The journal metadata are available by crossref with the old title due to the name change. Please check the link below:
https://www.crossref.org/members/prep/17058

Paper Whitdrawal Policy
Every article uploaded to our journal is subjected to serious preliminary evaluation by our team. At this stage, a lot of effort is spent and financial resources are used (for the plagiarism report and the crosscheck and citation style report) so that the papers are ready for peer review. For this reason, authors cannot withdraw their articles until a decision is made for the submitted works. After the decision for the paper is made, the authors can submit their withdrawal requests to the editor. However, until this stage, authors should not submit their work to another journal. In accordance with the ethical policy of the journal, a paper submitted to the journal cannot be submitted to another journal at the same time. Authors are deemed to have accepted these conditions by submitting their papers to the journal. If any of the authors are found to have violated ethics by not complying with the rules mentioned above, our journal team will take the necessary steps in this regard.

Appeal and Complaint Procedures Policy
The Journal of Multidisciplinary Academic Tourism (JOMAT) implements the following detailed appeal and complaint mechanism to protect the rights of all stakeholders (authors, reviewers, editors, and readers) and ensure the transparency of our processes:

Scope

Appeal and complaint submissions may include the following issues:

• Allegations of editorial pressure or inappropriate interference

• Conflicts of interest or concerns about impartiality

• Violations of confidentiality or data protection

• Suspicions regarding publication ethics, plagiarism, or data integrity

• Other ethical violations or procedural errors

Application Channels and Information Requirements

Applications can be submitted via the “Contact Us” section on Dergipark or the messaging module in the article submission system, or by sending an email to editor@jomat.org. The message should include the following:

• The applicant's full name and current contact information

• The title of the relevant article or the name and dates of the processes

• The scope of the objection/complaint and a reasoned explanation

• Any supporting documents or attachments related to the incident or decision

Confidentiality and Record Keeping

• All applications and documents related to the process are kept confidential and are only accessible to the relevant evaluation committees and the Editor-in-Chief.

• All correspondence, reports, and decision texts obtained during the application and evaluation stages are recorded on the Dergipark system and stored for at least five years.

Preliminary Review and Notification Processes

• The application is confirmed as received by the Editor-in-Chief or an authorized member of the Audit Committee within two business days.

• The preliminary review is completed within 15 business days; during this stage, additional information or defense may be requested from the relevant parties.

• If necessary, an independent external expert opinion is obtained; all evaluation reports are filed together with their justification texts.

Final Decision and Appeal Authority

• The recommendation report prepared after the preliminary review is submitted to the JOMAT Audit Committee.

• The Audit Committee issues its final decision within 45 business days and communicates the decision both through the Dergipark messaging system and to the applicant's email address.

• If the applicant is dissatisfied with the final decision, they may appeal to the JOMAT Applications Evaluation Committee, which acts as the “Ombuds Office,” within 10 business days. The Committee reviews the appeal within an additional 15 business days and communicates the final and binding decision via Dergipark and email. This decision is final and non-appealable.

Advertising Policy

The Journal of Multidisciplinary Academic Tourism (JOMAT) does not accept any advertising in order to maintain editorial independence and scientific integrity. The following procedures and criteria have been established to ensure complete transparency in the management of rejected advertising or sponsorship offers:

Separation from Editorial Content
All advertising and sponsorship offers, regardless of format or subject matter, are kept completely separate from the journal's peer-reviewed publication process. There are no advertising spaces on the journal's website, in article full texts, or on the Dergipark interface. All materials that may be considered advertising are placed in a special administrative review queue and are never published alongside peer-reviewed content.

Filtering and Rejection Process

Receipt of Offers: All advertising and sponsorship offers submitted via Dergipark’s “Contact Us” form, direct email, or other channels to editor@jomat.org are automatically recorded and tracked with a transaction number.

Administrative Review: Incoming proposals are reviewed by the Editorial Secretary within two business days for completeness (proposer’s identity, institutional affiliation, content summary, targeted placement, and fee proposal, if applicable).

Rejection Protocol: All valid proposals are rejected in writing via editor@jomat.org within ten business days at the latest, emphasizing JOMAT's policy of not accepting advertisements. The rejection letter reiterates the commitment to editorial independence and offers alternative academic contribution options to interested parties, such as special issues or thematic collaborations.


Evaluation of Sponsorship Proposals
In rare cases where a request for co-sponsorship of an academic event or special issue is received, the offerors must submit a detailed proposal to editor@jomat.org including the event title, scope, and beneficiary organization information. These offers are evaluated solely on the basis of thematic alignment and academic value; no financial transactions are conducted, and accepted collaborations are announced as academic rather than commercial sponsorships.

Record Keeping and Accountability
All proposal records, review notes, and rejection correspondence—sent via editor@jomat.org—are retained in JOMAT’s administrative archives for at least five years. These records may be reviewed upon request by COPE, DOAJ, or other regulatory bodies.

Direct Marketing Policy
The Journal of Multidisciplinary Academic Tourism (JOMAT) communicates with potential authors and subscribers via email only with content that they have previously approved. In this context, “call for papers” announcements, article evaluation process updates, and periodic newsletters published four times a year are sent. Personal data is collected within the framework of the explicit consent given by authors during article submission or through the Dergipark “Contact Us” form and is protected in accordance with the KVKK and GDPR.
Subscription and Opt-out Mechanisms
Via Email
You can unsubscribe immediately by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link at the end of each message; no further messages will be sent after this process.
Via Dergipark
By going to the “Notification Preferences” section of your Dergipark account, you can select which channels (email, Dergipark internal messaging, SMS, etc.) you wish to receive information from or disable all notifications. Once you update your preferences, notifications from the channels you did not select will cease.

All marketing communications are reviewed by the “Marketing Committee” appointed by the Editor-in-Chief; the frequency and appropriateness of the content are reported once a year. You can submit your complaints or objections via the Dergipark message module or editor@jomat.org; your requests will be processed within 48 hours, and the outcome will be communicated to you.

Publisher Policy

The Journal of Multidisciplinary Academic Tourism is published by Yusuf Karakuş with an independent academic publishing approach. As the publisher, Karakuş assumes all administrative and financial responsibility for the journal; editorial policies, referee appointment processes, and quality assurance controls are carried out by an independent editorial board under the supervision of the publisher. To maintain the separation of roles between the publisher and the editorial staff, no commercial or institutional interests interfere with the publication decision-making processes. Karakuş's name, title, and postal address (Faculty of Tourism, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, 53000 Rize, Turkey) are clearly displayed on the journal's pages. In addition, the publisher's contact email address, editor@jomat.org, is always accessible so that authors and readers can communicate directly with the publisher. This structure ensures the publisher's transparency and accountability in accordance with COPE, DOAJ, Scopus, and Clarivate requirements.

Publication Schedule Policy
JOMAT follows a regular and predictable publication schedule with three issues per year (April, September, and December). The article acceptance and preparation processes for each issue are conducted in accordance with previously announced dates; the full texts of accepted articles are completed no later than two weeks before the publication date of the relevant issue. In exceptional circumstances (e.g., editorial staff changes or technical infrastructure maintenance), publication dates may be updated; such circumstances are communicated to subscribers at least one month in advance via the “Announcements” section of the website and the Dergipark system. Since all back issues are archived in Dergipark and LOCKSS systems, access to past issues continues uninterrupted. Articles that have been accepted and are ready for publication may be made available online as early view (FreshPapers) without waiting for the publication date of the relevant issue. Early View articles receive volume and issue information and a DOI number; these details are retained when they are later published in print or as a full issue. The publication schedule and updates are always listed on JOMAT's “About” page, allowing authors and readers to transparently plan their expectations regarding the journal's publication program.