Kastamonu Education Journal

Dear authors, thank you for choosing our journal to submit your work. To ensure a smooth review process for your article, we ask that you carefully read and meticulously follow the guidelines below.

Submission Policy

Kastamonu Education Journal is an international, peer-reviewed journal that publishes original research. For information regarding the aims, scope, and peer review policy of our journal, please visit the "Aims and Scope" page. Please note that studies falling outside the scope cannot be considered for evaluation and that our journal publishes full-text articles in English.

Manuscripts submitted for publication must be original, possess sufficient theoretical content and methodological grounding, and must not have been previously published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere. A study previously published in proceedings books (such as symposia) must be significantly modified (at least 80% of the text must be original and previously unpublished content) before being evaluated by our journal.

The length of the articles submitted to our journal should ideally be around 6,500 words and must not exceed 11,500 words. The bibliography is not included in this count. Care should be taken to ensure that all submitted manuscripts are clear, concise, and compliant with grammatical rules.

Kastamonu Education Journal employs a double-blind peer review policy. Please anonymize the main manuscript file and upload the version prepared for blind review to the system. Care must be taken to ensure that the anonymous text does not contain author names or affiliations; if the author(s) cite their own work, these citations must be presented in a manner that maintains anonymity. Furthermore, the author(s) must provide an anonymized ethical statement in the manuscript that does not include the institution's name or any identifying information (e.g., “This study was approved by an institutional ethics committee [XXXXX board; approval number: XXX; approval date: XXX]”).

During the preliminary review, manuscripts may be excluded from evaluation if they: do not align with the journal's aims and scope; fail to establish a theoretical, methodological, or applied connection with the field of educational sciences; do not comply with the requirements specified in the journal’s scope; or fail to report expert consultation processes where necessary. Additionally, scale development and adaptation studies that do not establish an educational context based on the literature, or qualitative studies that limit findings to mere frequencies, code counts, and quotes without a rigorous analysis and interpretation, may also be rejected at the desk review stage.

Kastamonu Education Journal accepts original research articles and review articles (systematic reviews/meta-analyses). Research articles must be original and may be structured using qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods, provided that the rationale for the selected methodology and the contribution to the field are clearly demonstrated.

The journal only accepts review articles in the form of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Scientific value, methodological clarity, and originality are expected in these article types; non-systematic or traditional literature reviews are outside the journal's scope. Author(s) are expected to adhere to established reporting standards (e.g., PRISMA, MOOSE, or equivalent) in systematic reviews and meta-analysis studies and provide a clear description of procedures such as search strategies, and inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Plagiarism

Kastamonu Education Journal takes matters of copyright, plagiarism, and violations of other best publishing practices seriously. Emphasizing the originality of submitted manuscripts, the journal ensures that articles do not contain content involving plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or inappropriate citation. As part of the review process, manuscripts identified through iThenticate software as having high similarity or improper citation practices are rejected by the editor. A maximum similarity index of up to 15% is accepted, provided that the similarity does not originate entirely from one or two sources (bibliography excluded, limit match size to 5 words). Manuscripts with a similarity rate exceeding 15% will be rejected. Furthermore, articles identified with significant or unexplained similarities may be rejected at any stage of the process.

Ethical Approval and Research Ethics

The journal requires authors to provide ethical committee approval for research involving human or animal participants, personal data, or procedures subject to ethical oversight. Within this scope, ethical approval is mandatory for studies collecting data from participants through surveys, interviews, observations, or experiments; studies using humans or animals for experimental or scientific purposes; and retrospective studies that process personal data in accordance with data protection regulations. Authors must also adhere to ethical principles regarding participant confidentiality, informed consent, and responsible data management. "Ethical Committee Approval" must be obtained for all studies submitted to our journal. Submissions lacking ethical committee approval will not be included in the evaluation process. If a study does not require ethical committee approval according to national or institutional regulations, the corresponding author must upload a signed statement explaining why ethical approval is not required.

  Full-Text Manuscript File

Authors must ensure that the full-text manuscript and any supplementary files (metadata, etc.) are fully anonymized before uploading them to the system. Submitted manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with the Journal Template. Please download the manuscript template here. All references within the article text must comply with APA 7 standards. A typical manuscript should include the following sections:

·        Title

·        Abstract (150-300 words): A summary of the study outlining its aim, design, methods, key findings, and implications.

·        Keywords (3-6 terms): Words representing the main topics or core ideas of the study.

·        Introduction: A section that clearly defines the research problem, provides the theoretical background and literature review, highlights the contribution to the field, and includes research questions, etc.

·        Method: A section providing a detailed explanation of the study's methodology, participants, data collection procedures, instruments, data analysis, and approaches to validity and reliability.

·        Findings/Results: A section where conclusions drawn from the data are presented under subheadings, accompanied by appropriate statistics, analyses, quotes, evidence, and their interpretation.

·        Discussion: The discussion section should interpret and analyze the findings of the study in relation to the hypotheses and existing literature. Authors may use subheadings to organize this section effectively. Additionally, they can include extra subheadings if desired, such as limitations, future research, and implications for research and practice.

·        Conclusion

·        References

·        Appendices

Presentation of References, Tables, Figures, and Appendices

All references in the manuscript must comply with APA 7 standards. Authors are expected to ensure the accuracy of bibliographic information and its correct formatting, verify that in-text citations are reflected in the reference list, and include DOIs where available. We remind authors that incomplete or incorrect references may delay the manuscript process at any stage of evaluation.

The use of tables in the manuscript must adhere to APA 7 guidelines. It is recommended to avoid vertical lines in tables, place the table immediately after the paragraph where it is first mentioned, provide a call-out (reference) to the table before presenting it, ensure the table title is clear, and maintain consistency in the formatting of numerical data within the table.

Figures used in the manuscript must be high-resolution, legible, and visually clear. Figures should appear immediately after they are first mentioned, include explanatory captions and citations, and care must be taken to obtain permission from copyright holders for any copyrighted material. Tables and figures should be centered on the page, followed by a single line of space.

If included, appendices should follow the reference list. Documents such as measurement instruments are presented in the appendices. If there are multiple appendices, they should be presented in alphabetical order (Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix C, etc.).

Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

Kastamonu Education Journal acknowledges that all scientific responsibility and declarations of originality for submitted manuscripts rest with the authors. The journal maintains that artificial intelligence (AI) tools cannot be listed as authors and that the status of primary data generation, interpretation, and decision-making processes belongs solely to the authors. AI tools cannot assume the role of an author or be listed as a co-author of a manuscript. The processes of writing and revising manuscripts submitted to the journal must be under human supervision, and consequently, the accuracy of the text remains the responsibility of the author(s). The role of AI in manuscripts may be accepted only at a limited level (such as language enhancement or basic structuring). Therefore, authors are fully responsible for the verification of AI-supported content. In manuscripts submitted to the journal, authors are expected to transparently and explicitly disclose their use of any AI-based tools. Authors must declare the use of AI tools on the title page; if used, the specific tool(s) and the scope of their use must be explained, and the instructions (prompts) provided to the AI tool(s) must be documented by the authors.

Submission Process

Submissions are conducted through the DergiPark system. All submissions must be managed by the corresponding author via their personal account. To submit a manuscript, the corresponding author must register and log in through the DergiPark login page (https://dergipark.org.tr/en/login). Manuscripts submitted through alternative channels or by individuals other than the author (or the corresponding author in the case of multiple authors) will not be considered for evaluation.

The Manuscript Submission Guide is available at https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/journal-file/29908, and the instructional video can be accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naia4Y3MSjQ. Additional information regarding the system can be found at https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/page/egitim-dokumanlari.

During the initial upload to the DergiPark system, manuscript metadata must be entered meticulously; information such as the abstract, keywords, and bibliography must be complete. Submissions that do not meet technical or ethical requirements will be returned without evaluation. Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with the Journal Template. Please download the manuscript template here.

Authors are required to submit the following files during the initial submission. The requirements for each file are specified below:

1. Main Manuscript: A single, anonymized full-text file prepared in accordance with the journal template and double-blind review requirements. This file must not contain any information that could compromise the peer review process (e.g., names, institutional affiliations, or specific details of the ethics committee).

2. Similarity Report: A report generated via iThenticate software, showing a similarity index of no more than 15%.

3. Ethical Committee Approval: A document stating that ethical approval was obtained before the commencement of the study (must include the name of the ethics committee, approval date, and approval number). If the study does not fall into a category requiring ethical approval, you must sign and upload a declaration form stating this situation and specify it on the Title Page.

4. Title Page: This document must include the article title; the full names, affiliations, email addresses, mailing addresses, phone numbers, and ORCID IDs of all authors; corresponding author details; ethical compliance and approval information (including the board name, date, and number); CRediT author contribution statements (e.g., conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, writing); author’s note, permission and copyright information; funding information; conflict of interest statement; acknowledgments; and a disclosure of artificial intelligence tools (including details of the tools used and the scope of their use).

NOTE: The Title Page must be a separate file and must not be included in the anonymized manuscript. This page is not shared with reviewers. If the manuscript is accepted for publication, the statements on the Title Page (author’s note, funding, conflicts of interest, ethical approval, AI disclosure, acknowledgments, author contributions) will be published exactly as provided by the author(s). Therefore, it is essential for authors to ensure the accuracy and suitability of these statements for publication.

5. Copyright Transfer Form

Post-Acceptance Process

Accepted manuscripts undergo linguistic review, formatting according to the Kastamonu Education Journal full-text template, and final proofreading by the author. During this stage, authors must upload the full-text file, incorporating all changes following the revisions, along with a final similarity report for a concluding check. The manuscript is then reviewed by language editors. If deemed necessary, language editors may request a formal proofreading certificate for linguistic editing. In such cases, authors are obligated to provide this document; manuscripts for which the required document is not submitted will not be accepted for publication. Upon completion of this process, the manuscript is queued for the first available and appropriate issue. When reaching the publication stage, the typeset version of the article is sent back to the authors for final approval. Following their approval, a DOI is assigned, and the article is published online. Once page numbers and the DOI are finalized, the article becomes the official version of record.

Open Access and Licensing

Kastamonu Education Journal operates under an Open Access model that does not charge any fees at any stage. Articles are licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license, which allows for widespread reuse provided that proper credit is given.

Publication Ethics

Manuscripts submitted to the Kastamonu Education Journal must, first and foremost, comply with research and publication ethics. Kastamonu Education Journal conducts all publication and editorial processes in accordance with national and international ethical principles, as well as standards of transparency and responsible publishing. Kastamonu Education Journal follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines regarding article acceptance, ethical responsibilities of authors, duties and ethical responsibilities of editors, peer review, allegations of misconduct, conflicts of interest, plagiarism, authorship disputes, and post-publication procedures. This policy applies to all of the following situations:

·        All manuscripts submitted to the journal by authors,

·        Editor evaluation processes,

·        Accepted manuscripts,

·        Interactions between authors, editors, and reviewers.

The journal adopts the implementation of the "Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing" established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for all submissions. When encountering an issue not explicitly addressed herein, the journal accepts COPE flowcharts and the "Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing" as guiding principles in the decision-making process.

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are strongly advised to carefully read the journal’s aims and scope, as well as the guidelines for authors section, before submitting a manuscript. While there are various definitions of authorship, COPE defines authorship as referring to "individuals or groups who have conceived an idea or developed the publication disseminating this intellectual or creative work." COPE establishes making a significant contribution to the research and being responsible for the work undertaken as the minimum requirements for authorship. Based on this, a person in the role of an author contributes to the completion of the research by participating in the process from determining the research idea to developing the study (data collection, analysis, interpretation) and subsequently reviewing and reporting the results. Authors carrying out these processes are expected to comply with academic and ethical standards throughout the entire research and publication process. Consequently, the authors listed in the article must have contributed to the manuscript and approved the final submitted version. The accuracy of the views advocated and the sources cited in the article is the responsibility of the author or authors. The authors of the article must clarify the author order during the submission process; it should be noted that requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after the review process has begun will only be considered in exceptional and justified circumstances. No changes are made after the article has been accepted for publication.

Research Reporting Standards

Authors must declare at the time of initial submission that their work is original, has not been previously published, and is not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. It must also be affirmed that the study will not be submitted to another journal or publication for evaluation while the review process is ongoing. Studies presented as conference papers may only be considered if they have been significantly revised and expanded (at least 80% of the text must be original and previously unpublished content) in cases where they were published in proceedings books; such instances must be clearly disclosed on the Title Page during the initial submission. The Title Page must include the accurate and full names of all authors, their institutional affiliations, email addresses, ORCID IDs, and the full contact information of the corresponding author (mailing address, current institution, etc.). It is the responsibility of all authors, particularly the corresponding author, to perform the final checks of this information before publication. Authors must act on the principles of accuracy, clarity, and transparency in the work they submit to the journal, providing detailed methodological information and presenting data, analyses, and interpretations in a manner that reflects actual findings free from manipulation.

Originality and Plagiarism

Submitted manuscripts must be original, and authors are strongly advised to avoid any form of plagiarism or ethical violations (citation manipulation, self-plagiarism, slicing, data fabrication, data falsification, etc.). The journal will follow the appropriate COPE flowcharts to ensure a consistent investigation of any allegations or suspicions regarding plagiarism, citation manipulation, or data fabrication. Furthermore, if significant or unexplained similarity is detected in the manuscript, it may be rejected at any stage of the evaluation process.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors must declare any potential conflicts of interest that could influence the research or the interpretation of the findings at the time of submission. If no conflict of interest exists, this must be explicitly stated. For manuscripts authored by journal editors or members of the editorial and advisory boards, the evaluation process will be managed by editors from institutions with no affiliation to the author. Furthermore, the exclusion of relevant board members will be carefully monitored to ensure that no bias occurs during the peer review process.

Financial Disclosure

Author(s) are required to disclose any financial support or all sources of funding received for their research. This information must be included in the funding statement on the Title Page submitted during the initial submission (including the names of funding organizations, grant numbers, and a description of each funder's role in the research, etc.). The author(s) are responsible for the accuracy of the names of the funding organizations and related information.

Ethical Approval

Author(s) are required to confirm that ethical and legal approval was obtained before the commencement of the study and to specify the name of the granting institution. Ethical committee approval is requested for research involving human or animal participants, personal data, or procedures subject to ethical oversight. For studies approved by a recognized ethics committee, the name of the committee, the approval date, and the approval number must be included on the Title Page submitted during the initial submission and within the manuscript in an anonymized format.

Maintaining the Double-Blind Review Process

The journal conducts the evaluation of manuscripts through a double-blind peer review process. In this context, to ensure an objective evaluation of the work, reviewers cannot see the information of the authors, and authors cannot see the information of the reviewers. Therefore, authors are obliged to ensure that the manuscript is completely anonymized and are responsible for removing identifying information such as names, affiliations, acknowledgments, institution-specific identifiers, and metadata that could reveal the authors. A breach of anonymity may result in the return or rejection of the submission.

Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

The role of artificial intelligence in manuscripts may be accepted at a limited level (such as language enhancement or basic structuring). Authors must disclose the use of AI tools on the title page; if used, the specific tool(s) and the scope of their use must be explained, and the instructions (prompts) provided to the AI tool(s) must be documented by the authors. Undisclosed or inappropriate use of artificial intelligence may lead to rejection or post-publication actions.

Error Correction

Authors must immediately inform the journal editor if they detect any errors in their published work and collaborate with the Editor throughout the process to facilitate the evaluation/procedure, including cooperation on corrections or retractions in accordance with COPE guidelines. In the case of retractions, an "Article Withdrawal Form" must be filled out and sent to the journal's email address. Following a review of the request by the boards, authors will be informed within 15 days. In such instances, the Editorial Office will conduct a preliminary assessment and may consult independent experts, reviewers, or relevant institutional bodies as needed; a decision will be made accordingly based on recognized best practices, including COPE recommendations.

 Evaluation Process

Manuscripts submitted to the journal undergo a double-blind peer review process. To ensure an objective evaluation of the studies, they are reviewed by at least two independent external reviewers who are experts in their fields. During the evaluation processes, the editor and field editors act with an awareness of ethical duties and responsibilities based on COPE. Some key points are also specified below.

 Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for ensuring that the evaluation process is conducted fairly, transparently, and in adherence to ethical principles. In this context, editors are responsible for fair evaluation (making editorial decisions solely based on the scientific merit, originality, methodological structure, clarity of expression, and the aims and scope of the journal, without discriminating based on the authors' identity, institutional affiliation, nationality, or personal characteristics), oversight of peer review (preserving the integrity of the double-blind review process, selecting qualified and independent reviewers with appropriate expertise, and conducting an efficient, fair, and timely evaluation process), declaring conflicts of interest (recusing themselves from duty when necessary, and withdrawing from the evaluation process if there is a conflict of interest with any of the authors or institutions related to the manuscripts), and maintaining the confidentiality of submitted content. Editors must act in accordance with citation ethics and must not request citations for the purpose of increasing citation counts. Furthermore, editors must not use any part of the information, text, data, or studies contained in unpublished manuscripts submitted to the journal in their own research. Editors are obligated to carefully examine complaints from authors, reviewers, or readers and respond in an informative and explanatory manner. Evidence-based appeals from authors regarding editorial decisions are handled transparently and respectfully. Editors are responsible for responding to ethical concerns (plagiarism allegations, unethical research, data manipulation, etc.). In such cases, the matter is investigated in accordance with COPE procedures.

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must adhere to the principles of objectivity (impartiality regarding nationality, gender, etc.), confidentiality (destruction of evaluated studies and using only the final versions after a publication decision is made), and competence (accepting only studies related to their fields of expertise) during the evaluation of publications. Reviewers should provide constructive and polite feedback, complete their reviews within reasonable timeframes, and report any issues identified regarding the manuscript (plagiarism, errors in method, methodological concerns, conflicts of interest, etc.) to the editors. Reviewers must continue to maintain the double-blind evaluation system, should not attempt to identify the author(s), and must inform the editor if the identity of the author(s) is revealed. Reviewers cannot communicate directly with the authors; evaluation and reviewer comments on the text are conveyed to the author(s) through the journal management system and the editor. Reviewers must prioritize the protection of confidential content and must not upload the manuscripts they evaluate into artificial intelligence systems.

Dealing with Research Misconduct

In the event of unethical situations regarding manuscripts (such as plagiarism, data falsification, fabricated data, authorship, and citation manipulation, etc.), decisions are made by acting in accordance with the COPE flowcharts.

Editorial and Publication Workflow

1. Initial Review: Manuscripts are evaluated in terms of their compliance with the journal's aims and scope, adherence to ethical guidelines, writing quality, similarity index, and the complete upload of required documents.
2. Assignment of Assistant Editor/Field Editor: The assistant editor/field editor initiates the manuscript evaluation process and shares with the editor if any situation is identified that prevents the manuscript from being sent to reviewers.
3. Peer Review: The field editor ensures that manuscripts decided for evaluation are reviewed by assigning at least two reviewers (independent experts). If there are significant differences between reviewer decisions (e.g., one rejection and one acceptance), the manuscript is sent to a third reviewer. The final decision is made based on the feedback from the reviewers. For manuscripts authored by journal editors or members of the editorial and advisory boards, the evaluation process will be managed by editors from institutions with no affiliation to the author, and the exclusion of relevant board members will be carefully monitored to ensure no bias occurs during the peer review process.
4. Revisions: Authors specify their detailed responses on the "Manuscript Revision Form" according to the reviewers' suggestions. They upload the revised manuscript to the system along with this form. Revised manuscripts are sent back to reviewers willing to conduct a re-evaluation for further review. Reviewers or editors may request multiple corrections from the author. Depending on the status of the corrections, second or subsequent evaluation rounds may be initiated.
5. Acceptance, Final Check, and Layout: The decision-making process regarding whether manuscripts accepted as a result of field editor and reviewer evaluations will be published is initiated by the editor-in-chief. The final decision (acceptance, rejection, revision) is marked in the journal system. After passing the English language check, the manuscript undergoes a process ranging from formatting according to the journal template, page layout control, compliance with APA format in citations, and final editorial reading to the final corrections made by the author. Following acceptance, linguistic or technical editorial corrections may be requested if necessary. Finally, "approval for publication" is obtained from the author(s) after their final checks, and the manuscript is queued to be published in the first appropriate issue.
6. Early Online Publication: Accepted manuscripts may be published online in their final and corrected versions prior to the official publication date of the relevant issue.