ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND PUBLICATION POLICY

1. Publication Ethics and Standards

Journal of Spatial Studies (JOS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and follows the principles established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), Council of Science Editors (CSE), and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.

All parties involved in the publication process, including authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher, are expected to comply with these ethical principles.

2. Research Ethics

Authors must ensure that their research complies with internationally accepted ethical standards.

For studies involving human participants:

• Ethics committee approval must be obtained before conducting the study.
• Informed consent must be obtained from participants.
• Personal data and privacy rights must be protected.

For studies involving animals:

• Research must comply with institutional and national guidelines.
• Necessary ethical approvals must be documented.

Authors may be requested to submit ethics approval documents during the evaluation process.

3. Editorial Responsibilities

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board are responsible for:

• Making publication decisions based solely on academic merit.
• Evaluating manuscripts regardless of authors’ race, gender, nationality, religious belief, or political philosophy.
• Ensuring a fair, unbiased, and confidential peer-review process.
• Protecting the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts.
• Managing conflicts of interest appropriately.
• Taking reasonable steps when ethical complaints are presented.
• Publishing corrections, clarifications, retractions, or apologies when necessary.

Editors shall not use unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript for their own research without the author's explicit written consent.

4. Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers are expected to:

• Provide objective, constructive, and timely evaluations.
• Maintain confidentiality regarding submitted manuscripts.
• Decline review invitations when they lack expertise or have conflicts of interest.
• Identify relevant published work not cited by the authors.
• Report any suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, or unethical conduct.
• Refrain from using information obtained through peer review for personal advantage.

The journal employs a double-blind peer-review process.

5. Author Responsibilities

Authors must ensure that:

• Submitted work is original and has not been published elsewhere.
• Manuscripts are not simultaneously submitted to another journal.
• Data presented are accurate and honestly reported.
• Fabrication, falsification, and manipulation of data are strictly prohibited.
• All individuals who made significant contributions are listed as authors.
• All sources of financial support are disclosed.
• Potential conflicts of interest are declared.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permissions for copyrighted materials included in their manuscripts.

6. Authorship Criteria

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial contributions to:

• The conception or design of the work,
• Data collection, analysis, or interpretation,
• Drafting or revising the manuscript,
• Final approval of the version to be published.

Gift authorship, honorary authorship, and ghost authorship are considered unethical practices.

7. Conflict of Interest Policy

Authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members must disclose any financial, institutional, professional, or personal relationships that may influence the publication process.

When conflicts of interest are identified, appropriate measures will be taken to ensure impartial evaluation.

8. Plagiarism Policy

All submissions are screened using plagiarism detection software before peer review.

The journal generally expects a similarity rate below 20%, excluding references, quotations, and methodological similarities.

The following practices are unacceptable:

• Plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism
• Duplicate publication
• Salami publication
• Data fabrication
• Data falsification

Manuscripts found to contain serious ethical violations will be rejected.

9. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

Artificial Intelligence tools may assist authors in language editing and manuscript preparation; however:

• AI tools cannot be listed as authors.
• Authors remain fully responsible for all content.
• The use of AI tools must be disclosed within the manuscript when significant assistance has been provided.
• Authors are responsible for verifying the accuracy of AI-generated content.

10. Data Availability and Reproducibility

Authors are encouraged to:

• Retain original research data.
• Share datasets when appropriate.
• Provide sufficient methodological details to enable reproducibility.

Editors may request underlying research data during the review process.

11. Complaints and Appeals Procedure

Authors may submit appeals regarding editorial decisions.

Appeals should include detailed justification and supporting evidence.

Complaints regarding editorial processes, peer review, or publication ethics will be investigated according to COPE guidelines.

The Editor-in-Chief will coordinate investigations, and when necessary, independent editorial board members may be involved.

12. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

When significant errors or ethical violations are identified, the journal may publish:

• Corrections (Errata)
• Retractions
• Expressions of Concern

Such actions will follow COPE Retraction Guidelines.

Retraction notices will remain permanently linked to the original article.

13. Confidentiality

Editors and reviewers must not disclose information about submitted manuscripts to anyone other than individuals directly involved in the editorial process.

Confidential information obtained through peer review shall not be used for personal benefit.

14. Archiving and Preservation Policy

The journal ensures long-term preservation of published content through the DergiPark infrastructure and institutional archiving systems.

Published articles remain permanently accessible through the journal website.

15. Publisher Responsibilities

The publisher supports editorial independence and does not interfere with editorial decisions.

The publisher is committed to:

• Maintaining academic integrity,
• Supporting ethical publishing practices,
• Preserving scholarly records,
• Taking corrective actions when ethical issues arise.

16. Policy on Ethical Violations

Suspected ethical misconduct may include:

• Plagiarism
• Duplicate publication
• Citation manipulation
• Data fabrication
• Data falsification
• Authorship disputes
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest

The journal will investigate allegations in accordance with COPE Core Practices and may request explanations, documentation, corrections, or retractions where appropriate.

17. Contact for Ethical Concerns

Questions, concerns, or allegations regarding publication ethics may be directed to the Editor-in-Chief through the official journal communication channels.