Ethical Principles and Publication Policy
General Information
Laodikeia Rehabilitation Sciences (LRS) is the official scientific publication of the Faculty of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Pamukkale University. The journal is an open-access and free-of-charge scientific journal that follows the principles of independent, impartial, and double-blind peer review. The publication languages of the journal are Turkish and English.
LRS publishes original research articles, invited reviews, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, case reports, and letters to the editor. The journal aims to publish original studies of high scientific and ethical value in the fields of health and rehabilitation sciences and to contribute to the dissemination and advancement of scientific knowledge.
Manuscripts submitted to LRS must not have been previously published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere. Manuscripts should be prepared for scientific purposes and should not be submitted for commercial purposes. All authors must approve the content of the manuscript and its submission to the journal.
Ethical Responsibilities
Editors and Section Editors
Editors and Section Editors perform their duties and responsibilities in accordance with the relevant guidelines published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and internationally accepted principles of publication ethics.
Editors and Section Editors are responsible for:
- Ensuring that published articles comply with the journal's publication policies and relevant international standards;
- Maintaining and improving the scientific quality, originality, and readability of the journal;
- Conducting editorial processes in a transparent, impartial, and ethical manner;
- Identifying and managing potential conflicts of interest among authors, reviewers, and other parties;
- Evaluating manuscripts based on their scientific significance, originality, validity, clarity, and relevance to the aims and scope of the journal.
Editors ensure that the review process is conducted fairly, impartially, confidentially, and within a reasonable timeframe.
When an editor or a member of the Editorial Board is an author of a submitted manuscript, an independent editor may be appointed to manage the evaluation process in order to avoid conflicts of interest.
Reviewers
Manuscripts submitted to LRS undergo a double-blind peer-review process. Each manuscript is evaluated by at least two independent external reviewers with expertise in the relevant field.
Reviewers are expected to:
- Maintain the confidentiality of the manuscripts they receive;
- Use the manuscript solely for the purpose of scientific evaluation;
- Inform the editor of any potential conflict of interest;
- Provide objective, constructive, respectful, and scientifically appropriate comments;
- Complete the review within the requested timeframe.
Reviewers must not use or disclose information obtained from a manuscript for any purpose until the peer-review and publication processes have been completed.
Authors
Authors are responsible for the scientific content of their manuscripts and for compliance with applicable ethical standards.
Research involving human participants must be conducted in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki and relevant national and international ethical principles. Where required, ethical approval must be obtained from the appropriate ethics committee before the study begins.
For studies requiring ethics committee approval, the name of the ethics committee, approval date, and approval/decision number must be stated in the Methods section of the manuscript. For studies involving human participants, informed consent should be obtained when applicable.
For studies that do not require ethics committee approval, an appropriate exemption document or a statement from the responsible author explaining why ethics committee approval was not required should be submitted, where applicable.
For studies involving animals, the relevant ethics committee approval must be obtained, and internationally accepted principles for the care and use of laboratory animals must be followed.
Authorship Criteria
All individuals listed as authors must meet the authorship criteria defined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Each author should:
- Make a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the study, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data;
- Contribute to drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content;
- Approve the final version of the manuscript to be published;
- Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work and ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Similarity, Plagiarism, and Research Ethics
All manuscripts submitted to the journal may be screened using an appropriate similarity detection software during the technical evaluation process.
Similarity reports are evaluated in the context of the manuscript, taking into account standard and technical matches such as references, tables, figures, and commonly used terminology. The journal reserves the right to determine the acceptability of the similarity level based on editorial assessment.
In cases where plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, citation manipulation, or other forms of research or publication misconduct are detected or reasonably suspected, the journal will follow the relevant COPE guidelines and take appropriate action.
Manuscripts involving suspected ethical misconduct may not be sent for peer review or may be withdrawn from the review process at any stage.
Corresponding Author
The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal from manuscript submission through publication.
Where applicable, the corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that the following documents are uploaded to the submission system:
- Ethics committee approval document or relevant ethical statement;
- Copyright or licensing documents;
- Author contribution statement;
- Conflict of interest declaration;
- Other required publication and ethical documents.
After submission, changes to the authorship, including the addition or removal of an author or changes in author order, may only be considered in accordance with the journal's editorial policies and with the written approval of all authors.
Copyright and Previously Published Material
When previously published text, tables, figures, photographs, questionnaires, scales, or other copyrighted material are used, authors are responsible for obtaining the necessary copyright and permission to use such material.
Relevant permission documents should be submitted to the journal together with the manuscript.
When photographs or other images that may identify patients or participants are used, written permission for publication must be obtained from the individual or their legal representative. The manuscript should state in the Methods section that the necessary permission was obtained.
If the study has previously been presented at a scientific meeting, the name, location, and date of the meeting should be stated on the title page or in the relevant declaration section.
Copyright
Copyright and licensing conditions for articles published in the journal shall be governed by the relevant publication and licensing agreement established with the authors.
Disclaimer
The opinions, findings, and statements expressed in articles published in Laodikeia Rehabilitation Sciences are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors, Editorial Board, or the Faculty of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Pamukkale University.
The authors bear full scientific and legal responsibility for the published content.