1. Open Access, Copyright, and Author Rights 

• Open Access and Licensing: Karadeniz Fen Bilimleri Dergisi is a fully open-access journal that supports the free distribution of scientific knowledge. All articles published in the journal are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. Readers and institutions are free to read, download, copy, distribute, and reproduce the material in any medium, provided it is for non-commercial purposes and proper attribution is given to the original work. 
• Copyright Retention: Authors retain full copyright and all commercial and non-commercial rights to their work published in Karadeniz Fen Bilimleri Dergisi. Authors grant the journal only the right of first publication. The journal does not request any copyright transfer or assignment of financial/commercial rights from the authors. 
• Self-Archiving Policy: Authors are permitted and encouraged to deposit the published version (Publisher's Version) of their work in institutional repositories, personal websites, or academic networking sites immediately upon publication without any embargo period. 

2. Research and Publication Ethics (Ethics Committee Approval & Plagiarism)

• Ethical Standards: The journal adheres to the "Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing" published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), OASPA, and WAME, as well as national scientific research and publication ethics guidelines. 
• Ethics Committee Approval: For all research involving human or animal subjects, qualitative/quantitative data collection methods (surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations), and retrospective data studies, approval from an authorized Ethics Committee is mandatory. The ethics committee approval details (board name, date, and decision/approval number) must be explicitly stated in the manuscript text and on the first/last page. 
• Plagiarism and Data Integrity: All manuscripts submitted to the journal are screened for plagiarism using iThenticate or Turnitin software prior to peer review. Any form of data fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism results in immediate rejection of the manuscript. All submitted manuscripts undergo plagiarism screening via iThenticate or Turnitin. The total similarity rate (excluding references) must not exceed 20% (with a maximum of 5% from any single source). Submissions exceeding these limits will be returned to the authors or rejected prior to peer review.

3. Publication and Peer Review Process (Reviewer and Editorial Responsibilities)

• Double-Blind Peer Review: Karadeniz Fen Bilimleri Dergisi is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that employs a double-blind peer-review model for all manuscript evaluations. The identities of both authors and reviewers are kept strictly confidential throughout the process. 
• Editorial Independence: Editors evaluate manuscripts exclusively on the basis of their scientific merit, originality, and relevance to the journal's scope, without regard to the author's race, gender, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, or political philosophy. 
• Objectivity and Conflict of Interest: Reviewers and editors are required to declare any potential conflicts of interest regarding the submitted work. All stakeholders in the publishing process are expected to act in compliance with COPE guidelines. 

4. Special Issue Policy Karadeniz Fen Bilimleri Dergisi may publish Special Issues to contribute to current and thematic research in the field of natural and applied sciences. Special Issue procedures adhere to the following principles:

• Scope and Approval: Special Issues must align with the journal's scope and must be approved by the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board. 
• Peer-Review Rigor: All special issue submissions undergo the standard double-blind peer-review process with the same rigor as regular issues. No preferential review process is granted to any submission. 
• Guest Editor Responsibilities and Independence: Manuscripts authored or co-authored by Guest Editors are managed independently by a designated editor (Editor-in-Chief or an assigned Section Editor). Guest Editors cannot participate in the reviewer selection or decision-making processes for their own submissions. 
• Contribution Limit (25% Rule): The proportion of articles authored or co-authored by Guest Editors cannot exceed 25% of the total number of articles published in the Special Issue. 

5. Publication Fee Policy and Publication Frequency

• Publication Fee Policy: Karadeniz Fen Bilimleri Dergisi does not charge any article processing charges (APCs), submission fees, or publication fees from authors at any stage of the editorial or publication process. 
• Publication Frequency and Model: The journal publishes 4 issues per year (March, June, September, and December) and operates under a Continuous Publishing Model. Manuscripts that complete peer-review and copyediting processes are published digitally without delay.

Publication Ethics Standards: Karadeniz Fen Bilimleri Dergisi strictly adheres to the ethical standards and guidelines set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and national academic integrity regulations.