DUTIES OF EDITORS AND EDITORIAL BOARD

Fair Conduct and Editorial Independence
Editors consider the submitted articles not only for their academic merit (importance, originality, validity, and openness of the study) but also for their suitability for the scope of the journal, regardless of the author's race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, nationality, religious belief, political opinion, or institution. evaluate on the basis. Government policy or any institution outside the journal does not determine editing and publishing decisions. The editor-in-chief has full authority over all the editorial content of the journal and the timing of its publication.

Privacy
Editors and editorial staff will not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone apart from the corresponding author, reviewers, prospective reviewers, other editorial consultants, and the publisher.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest
Editors and editorial board members will not use unpublished information disclosed in a submitted text for their research purposes without the express written consent of the authors. Privileged information or ideas obtained as a result of the editors' use of the article will be kept confidential and will not be used for personal gain. Editors should withdraw from articles where there are conflicts of interest arising from competition, partnership, or other relationships or affiliations with any of the authors, companies, or institutions that may be associated with the article. Editors should ask all contributors to disclose conflicting interests on the topic and to publish corrections if they arise after publication. If necessary, other appropriate action should be taken, such as issuing a statement of concern or withdrawal.

Publication Decisions

Editors ensure that all submitted articles are evaluated for publication and that they are peer-reviewed by at least two referees who are experts in this field. The editor decides which articles to publish based on their importance to researchers and readers, the referees' comments, and legal requirements. Relevant laws apply to defamation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The editor-in-chief may discuss this decision with other editors or referees.

DUTIES OF REFEREES

Contribution to Editorial Decisions
Peer review assists editors in making decisions and can assist authors in improving their writing through editorial communication with authors. Peer review is an essential component of official scientific communication and is central to the scientific effort.
Promptness
The referee who is not qualified to evaluate the research reported in a paper or knows that it will be impossible to evaluate in a short time should immediately notify the editor of this situation and request his exemption from the evaluation process to appoint a new reviewer.
Privacy
Manuscripts submitted for review are confidential documents and should be treated as such; they should not be shown or discussed with others unless authorized by the editors (who will only do so under exceptional and special circumstances). This privacy policy also applies to invited reviewers who decline an invitation to review.
Objectivity Standards
Reviewers should conduct their reviews objectively and clearly articulate their assessments with supporting arguments that the authors can use to improve the manuscript. Personal criticism of the authors is not appropriate.
Recognition of Resources
Reviewers ought to be cognizant of published studies that the authors fail to cite. Any statement that is an observation, derivation, or discussion reported in previous publications must be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also notify editors of any significant similarity or overlap between the article in question and any other article (published or unpublished) with personal information. For this, he can also deepen his analysis by using software that offers similarity reports.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Invited reviewers should promptly notify the editors of any conflict of interest by refusing the invitation to review if they have competitive, collaborative, or other affiliations with any of the article authors, companies, or institutions related to the articles they are reviewing, so that alternative reviewers can be contacted.
A referee should not use unpublished material from a submitted article in their research without the authors' express written consent. Reviewers should maintain the confidentiality of privileged information or ideas they obtain through peer review and refrain from using them for personal gain. This regulation also applies to reviewers who decline an invitation to review.

AUTHOR'S DUTIES

Reporting Standards
The authors of the original article should accurately present the procedures and results of the work performed and then objectively discuss its importance. The manuscript should contain sufficient details and references so that other researchers can benefit from the work. Review articles should be accurate, objective, and comprehensive, with pieces of editorial 'opinion' or perspective stated. Fraud or knowingly false statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Data Access and Retention
Authors may be asked to provide raw data of their work with the manuscript for editorial review and, if applicable, should be prepared to make the data publicly available. In any event, authors should ensure that this data is accessible to other authorized professionals (preferably through an institutional or subject-based repository or other data center) at least 10 years after publication, provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be maintained. Legal rights regarding proprietary data do not prevent publication.

Authenticity and plagiarism are crucial considerations.
Authors must write and submit only original works; if they use others' works and statements, they must be properly attributed. The article should also mention the publications that significantly influenced the quality of the reported work. Plagiarism takes many forms, from writing someone else's publication as the author's to copying (without attribution) important parts of someone else's work, or in other words, getting the result of research conducted by others. Any form of plagiarism constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

Multiple, duplicate, redundant or simultaneous references/posts
The same study should not be published in more than one journal or primary publication. Therefore, authors should not submit an article published in another journal for consideration. Submitting an article to more than one journal at the same time is unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
Certain conditions may necessitate the publication of some articles, such as clinical guidelines and translations, in multiple journals. The authors and editors of the respective journals should accept the secondary publication, ensuring it reflects the same data and interpretation as the main document. The primary reference should be cited in the secondary publication.

The author of this Article
Only individuals who meet the criteria for authorship and who can take public responsibility for the content/article should be listed as authors in the text:
(i) Make significant contributions to the design, implementation, data collection, or analysis/interpretation of the study.
(ii) have prepared the article or critically revised it for important intellectual content
(iii) Have seen and approved the final version of the article and have accepted its submission for publication.
All authors who have made significant contributions to the work reported in the manuscript (such as technical assistance, writing and editing assistance, and general support) but do not meet the authorship criteria should not be listed as authors. In addition, all co-authors must certify that they have seen and approved the final version of the article and agree to be published. The authors' contribution rates to the article should be stated.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Authors should—at the earliest possible stage (usually by submitting a disclosure form at the time of submission and adding a statement in the text)—disclose any conflicts of interest that could be interpreted to affect the results or comments of the article. Examples of potential conflicts of interest that should be disclosed include honorary and educational grants or other funding, participation in financial speakers' offices, membership, employment, consulting, share ownership or other equity interests, and financial assets such as paid expert testimony or patents. In addition to these regulations, personal or professional relationships, members, knowledge or beliefs on the subject, or materials discussed in the manuscript are also considered conflicts of interest in non-financial matters.

Recognition of Resources
Authors should declare that they have properly reviewed the work of others and should also cite work that has inspired their own work. Privately obtained information (interviews, correspondence, or conversations with third parties) should not be used or reported without express and written permission from the relevant person/sources. Authors should not use information obtained during the provision of open/confidential services unless they obtain the express written consent of the persons involved.

Peer Review
Authors are required to participate in the peer-review process and must cooperate fully by promptly responding to editors' requests for raw data, disclosures and ethical consent, patient consents, and copyright releases. In case of an initial decision for “necessary revisions,” authors should review and resubmit their manuscripts by the given deadline, responding systematically, accurately, and in a timely manner to reviewers' comments.

Fundamental Errors in Published Works
Authors are responsible for notifying the journal's editors or publisher immediately if they discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their published work. In addition, the authors have to cooperate to correct or retract any typos in the article. If the editors or the publisher learn that third-party publications have been misrepresented/reviewed/cited incorrectly, the corresponding author is obliged to promptly correct or retract the article or provide proof of its accuracy to the journal's editors.

DISCLAIMER
Neither the editors nor the editorial board are responsible for the views expressed by the authors and the content of the articles published in the journal. Authenticity, reading, and errors are the responsibility of the individual authors. All manuscripts submitted for review and publication in the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research are subject to double-blind review for originality, ethical issues, and useful contributions. The decisions of the referees are the only tool to be published in the journal and are final.

SOURCE
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). (2011, March 7). Code of Conduct and Best-Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors. http://publicationethics.org/files/Code_of_conduct_for_journal_editors_Mar11.pdf

PLAGIARISM POLICY

Plagiarism is the act of copying someone else's ideas, processes, results, or words without the express consent of the respective author and source. Self-plagiarism occurs when an author uses a large portion of his or her own previously published work without proper references. It can also be from having the same article published in more than one journal or replacing a previously published article with some new data. The Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research is an international peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes review and research articles. Submitted articles are evaluated in a double-blind, peer-reviewed manner. The Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research is an open access journal published twice a year. The Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research has the copyright of all articles published in the journal. Double blinding is applied in the journal. The publication policy, which is in the form of open access, does not charge any fee from the authors.
The journal is strictly against any act of unethical copying or plagiarism in any form. Plagiarism is known to occur when large portions of an article are copied from existing previously published sources. All articles submitted for publication to the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research are cross-checked for plagiarism using Turnitin / iThenticate / Viber / Plagium software.
The similarity rate of all articles must be less than 20%.

The Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research requests and checks plagiarism reports from authors for article submission. Articles that are found to be plagiarized during the initial evaluation stages are rejected and not evaluated for publication in the journal. If an article is found to be plagiarized after publication, a preliminary review is made by the editor-in-chief with the help of an appropriate committee formed for the purpose. If the article is found to contain plagiarism that exceeds acceptable limits, the journal will contact the author's institution, if applicable.

Types of Plagiarism
The following types of plagiarism are evaluated by the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research:

Complete Plagiarism: Receiving the previously published content without any changes in the text, idea, and language used is considered complete plagiarism. It involves presenting the full text from a source as its own.

Partial Plagiarism: If the content is a mix from multiple different sources in which the author extensively restates the text, then it is considered partial plagiarism.

Self-Plagiarism: Self-plagiarism occurs when an author uses a large portion of their own previously published work without proper references. It can also result from having the same article published in more than one journal or replacing a previously published article with some new data. Also, an author republishing their previously published work in a new journal is considered complete plagiarism.

Plagiarism Action Plan and Precautions of The Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research respects intellectual property and aims to protect and improve the original work of its authors.
Articles containing plagiarism are against the standards of quality, research, and innovation. For this reason, all authors who submit articles to the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research are expected to comply with ethical standards and avoid any form of plagiarism. If the author is found to be suspected of plagiarism in a submitted or published article, the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research will contact the author(s) and ask them to submit their explanations within two weeks, and these explanations can be forwarded to the Plagiarism Detection Unit.

If the Karadeniz Journal of Tourism Studies does not receive any response from the author within the stipulated time, it contacts the manager of the institution to which the author is affiliated.
The Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research completely removes published articles found to contain plagiarism from the journal website and other third-party websites where it is listed and indexed. As soon as plagiarism is reported in any article published in the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research database, the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research creates a Plagiarism Detection Unit to investigate it. After detecting that the article is plagiarized from some previously published work, the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research may take any or all of the following actions or follow additional actions recommended by the committee:
- The Karadeniz Journal of Tourism Research editorial office will immediately contact the managers of the institutions to which the relevant author(s) are affiliated.
- Karadeniz Tourism Research Journal will remove the PDF copy of the published article from its website and disable all links. Tourism Studies

REFEREE PROCESS

Blind Refereeing and Evaluation Process
Blind peer review is a method applied to publish scientific publications with the highest quality. This method forms the basis of the objective evaluation process of scientific studies and is preferred by many scientific journals. The opinions of the referees have a decisive place in the publication quality of The Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research. All studies submitted to the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research are evaluated by blinding according to the following stages.

Blind Refereeing Type
The Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research uses the double-blind method in the evaluation process of all studies. In the double-blind method, the identities of the authors and referees of the studies are hidden.

Initial Evaluation Process
Studies sent to the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research are first evaluated by the editors. At this stage, studies are rejected if they do not comply with the purpose and scope of the journal, are weak in terms of language and expression rules in Turkish and English, contain scientifically critical errors, have no original value, or do not meet the publication policies. Authors of rejected studies are notified within one month, at the latest, from the date of submission. Studies that are found suitable are sent to a member of the Editorial Board for the preliminary evaluation.

Preliminary Evaluation Process
In the preliminary evaluation process, the journal editorial board member reviews the introduction and literature, method, findings, conclusion, evaluation, and discussion sections in detail in terms of journal publication policies and scope, and originality. As a result of this examination, the works that are not found suitable will be returned within one month at the latest. Studies that are found suitable are included in the refereeing process.

Refereeing Process

The studies are referred to according to the content and expertise of the referees. The expert journal editorial board member who received the study proposes at least two referees from the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research's referee pool according to their fields of expertise or may suggest a new referee suitable for the field of the study. The referee suggestions from the journal's expert editorial board member are evaluated by the editors, and the studies are forwarded to the referees. The referees have to guarantee that they will not share any process or document about the studies they evaluate.

Referee Reports
Peer-reviews of the studies in general; It is based on originality, the method used, compliance with ethical rules, consistent presentation of findings and results, and review of the literature. This review is based on the following elements:

Introduction and literature: The evaluation report includes the presentation of the problem addressed in the study and its aims, the importance of the subject, the scope of the literature on the subject, its actuality, and the originality of the study.

Method: The evaluation report includes information about the suitability of the method used, the selection and characteristics of the research group, and validity and reliability, as well as an opinion on the data collection and analysis process.

Findings: The evaluation report includes opinions on the presentation of the findings obtained within the framework of the method, the accuracy of the analysis methods, the consistency of the findings with the aims of the research, the presentation of the needed tables, figures, and visuals, and the conceptual evaluation of the tests used.

Evaluation and discussion: the evaluation report includes discussion of the topic based on the findings, the relevance to the research question(s) and hypothesis(es), generalizability, and applicability.

Conclusion and recommendations: The evaluation report includes views on contributions to the literature, suggestions for future studies, and applications in the field.
Style and expression: The evaluation report contains an opinion on the content of the study title, the proper use of Turkish, the references and references to the examples under the Journal publication principles title, and the language of the full text.

General evaluation: the evaluation report includes an opinion on the originality of the study as a whole and its contribution to the literature and practices in the field.
During the evaluation process, the referees are not expected to make corrections according to the typographic features of the study.

Reviewer Evaluation Period

The time given to the referees for the referee evaluation process is 3 weeks. It is obligatory for the authors to complete the correction suggestions received from the referees or expert editorial board members within 1 month in line with the "correction instructions." Referees can examine the corrections to a study and decide whether they are appropriate, or they can request more than one correction if necessary.

Evaluation Result
Opinions from the referees are reviewed by the editors within 1 week at the latest. As a result of this review, the editors take the final decision on the study.

Editorial Board Decision
Editors prepare the opinions of the editorial board about the study based on the opinions of the referees. The prepared opinions are conveyed to the author(s) by the editor, together with the referee suggestions, within 1 week at the latest. In this process, studies that have negative opinions are returned without requesting a plagiarism check. The final decision for the studies with positive opinion is made according to the results of the plagiarism inspection reports.

Objecting to the Evaluation Result
The author(s) reserve the right to object to the evaluation results in the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research. The author(s) should send their grounds for objection regarding the opinions and comments resulting from the evaluation of their work, using scientific language and citing relevant references, via e-mail to “turizmfakultesi@omu.edu.tr.” The objections made are reviewed by the editors within one month at the latest (opinions can be requested about the objections made to the referees of the study), and positive or negative feedback is provided to the author(s). If the objections of the author(s) to the evaluation result are found positive, the editorial board restarts the evaluation process by making a new refereeing in accordance with the subject area of the study.

After Acceptance
The studies accepted as a result of the evaluation in the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research go through the processes of plagiarism checking, bibliography editing, sending and citation checking, layout and typesetting, and giving the DOI number. Since the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research does not charge an article processing fee (evaluation fee or printing fee) or a subscription fee for accessing the articles, there is no source of income. 

Language Arrangement
Studies submitted to the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research should have a plain and clear language quality, in accordance with the grammar rules and scientific literature of the full-text language (Turkish or English). Studies should be written in a clean and fluent language free from foreign words. In this context, the fact that the studies are redacted before they are sent for evaluation ensures that the publication processes continue in a healthier way. The editorial board may request language editing services during the evaluation processes of the submitted manuscripts or after the acceptance phase.

OPEN ACCESS POLICY
The Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research has adopted the policy of providing open access with its publication. Open access increases the global exchange of information, resulting in benefits for humanity. The Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research also supports the Budapest Open Access Initiative, which was accepted on 12 September 2012. In this context, open access policies adopted by the editorial board of the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research are available at http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/boai-10-translations/turkish-translation.

All articles published in the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research are licensed under the "Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International License." This license grants the right to reproduce, share, and disseminate all published articles, data sets, graphics, and attachments on data mining applications, search engines, websites, blogs, and all other platforms, provided that the source is cited. Open access is an approach that facilitates interdisciplinary communication and encourages different disciplines to work with each other. In this direction, the Journal of Karadeniz Tourism Research provides added value to its field by providing more access to its articles and a more transparent evaluation process.