Ethical Rules to be Followed in Research:

According to the ULAKBİM decision dated February 25, 2020, Ethics Committee Approval must be obtained for studies involving animals and humans [without age restrictions]. The approval obtained should be indicated in the methodology section of the article. Ethics committee approval should be uploaded to the system along with the article. Works that do not meet these conditions will be returned to the author(s) without evaluation.

Regarding the application of the Ethical rules in the TR Index criteria, an explanation was made by TR Index:

The items related to Ethical Rules in the criteria that were previously included in past years were detailed with explanations in 2020, and it was added to the criteria that "information regarding the permission should be included in the article," assuming that permissions for research requiring ethics committee approval were obtained.

However, it is understood from the feedback that detailed information about Ethics Committee Approvals is needed. Therefore, a comprehensive study will be shared later from the TR Index website, and an announcement will be made to you.

Below are the information we thought would be helpful based on frequently asked questions.

QUESTION: Is ethics committee approval required for all articles?

No. The criteria also specify articles requiring "Ethics Committee Approval."

Research requiring Ethics Committee approval includes:

Ø Surveys, interviews, focus group studies, observations, experiments, and interviews conducted using qualitative or quantitative approaches requiring data collection from participants,

Ø Use of humans and animals (including materials/data) for experimental or other scientific purposes,

Ø Clinical research conducted on humans,

Ø Research conducted on animals,

Ø Retrospective studies in accordance with the law on the protection of personal data,

Additionally;

Ø Indication of the receipt of the "Informed Consent Form" in case presentations,

Ø Permission obtained from the owners for the use of others' scales, surveys, photographs, and indication of it,

Ø Compliance with copyright regulations for the use of ideas and artistic works.

QUESTION: Should retrospective Ethics Committee Approval be obtained for completed studies and publications derived from theses completed in previous years?

Ethics committee approval is not required retroactively for research data used before 2020, produced from postgraduate/doctoral studies (should be indicated in the article), for articles submitted to the journal in the previous year, accepted but not yet published.

QUESTION: Have restrictions been imposed on publications made outside universities with these rules of TR Index?

No. Researchers who are not university members can also apply to Ethics Committees in their regions.

IN ADDITION:

Journals must indicate compliance with "Publication Ethics", "Research Ethics", and "Obtaining Legal/Special Permits" rules by referencing international standards, by opening separate headings for each on both the website and in the printed journal.

The issue of compliance with publication ethics in journals should not be left solely to the responsibility of the authors; the path to be followed in terms of journal publication ethics should be clearly defined.

Whether Ethics Committee approval and/or legal/special permission are required for articles to be published in journals should be indicated in the article. If these permissions are necessary, it should be clearly stated which institution the permission was obtained from, on which date, and with which decision or number.

If the study requires the use of human and animal subjects, it should be declared that the study was conducted in accordance with appropriate international declarations, guidelines, etc.

It is important to complete the studies related to the mentioned issues within this year and to rectify any deficiencies as soon as possible.

Best regards,