Motif Academy Journal of Folklore

Motif Academy Journal of Folklore aims to share the current scientific knowledge of contemporary cultural sciences, especially folklore, with objective criteria. Original, innovative, concept-developing and ethical studies are supported by a publication and scientific committee made up of expert scientists through impartial/transparent evaluation processes. The journal is committed to multidisciplinary approaches and seeks to promote international approaches and discussions. It deals with all forms of culture including contemporary theoretical discussions. The journal, which was published semi-annually from 2008 to 2018, started to be published quarterly as of its 21st issue in 2018.

The journal welcomes scientific studies in (mainly but not restricted to) Cultural Anthropology, Ethnology, Sociology, Ethnomusicology, Traditional Arts, Folk Dances, Folk Literature, Cultural History, and other branches of cultural sciences and folklore. We especially look for contributions in areas such as Material Culture Studies, Performative Arts Studies, Narratology and Folk Narratives, Urban Culture, Beliefs and Rituals, Ways of Life, Folk Art and related Aesthetics, Customs and Traditions, Crafts, Traditional Costumes and Occupational Culture. Priority is given to original and critical studies that include current debates in transnational and local contexts.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1. Motif Academy Journal of Folklore is a double-blind peer-reviewed quarterly journal.
2. In Motif Academy Journal of Folklore, scientific articles, translations and introductory/critical reviews etc., concerning Folklore, Anthropology, Ethnology, Traditional Arts, Sociology of Culture, History of Religions, Musicology, Folk Dances, Handicrafts, Literature and Linguistics are published.
3. Motif Academy Journal of Folklore has the right to make corrections in the submitted articles, to publish or not to publish the articles.
4. All legal responsibilities concerning papers published in Motif Academy Journal of Folklore belong to their authors.
5. Publication languages are Turkish and English.
6. The paper can be sent through Article Sending tab on http://dergipark.org.tr/mahder after online membership application. Peer-reviewing process can be followed through login on the same page. For correction(s), reports from all peer-reviewers must be finished first. Following all reports by peer-reviewers, author(s) must make the necassary corrections suggested/demanded by peer-reviewers, and then re-submit corrected texts. (If peer-reviewing corrections are not made by author(s), the article will be rejected. (Decision by Editorial Board, dated 15.12.2018).
7. At the beginning of the article, there should be Turkish and English abstract(s) between150 - 250 words; Turkish and English keywords of 5; and Turkish and English (second language) title(s). The abstract should be of a feature that gives an opinion about scope of the study, its purpose, method, effects and results.
8. Our journal started to request “Extended Summary” from authors as of September 2024 issue.
“Extended Summary": Extended Summary will be requested from the authors during the typesetting stage when the article is accepted for publication, not during the initial submission of the articles to our journal. Authors can add it in the end of the article at the first stage. “Extended Summary” will be requested for Turkish articles, where the problem, purpose, methodology and results of the study will be explained in more detail than the traditional abstract. “Extended Summary” will not be requested for English articles. The “Extended Summary” should be preferably 500-6000 words in length in 9-point font and should clearly describe the purpose, problem, method, findings and conclusions of the study in subheadings. The subheadings in the extended abstract may vary according to the type of the study. The subheadings that can be used in the “Extended Abstract” are shown below. The following example can be used to summarize the study clearly and comprehensibly.
Example:
Introduction and Research Questions & Purpose: In the introduction and purpose of the study, the reader should be given clear information about what question the study seeks to answer, which research question or questions the study is based on, and why this study is necessary.

Literature Review: Briefly state the method of the literature review (which databases were used, what kind of sources were accessed, etc.), its purpose and the general trend of the sources accessed (what are the points of intersection or divergence of previous research on this subject, etc.). In particular, studies that are directly related to the subject and purpose of the study should be summarized and it should be clearly explained why the study is important / meaningful in this sense, what gap it will fill in the field, what additional contribution it can make.
Methodology: In this section, the type of the study (applied, conceptual, theoretical, review); if it is an applied research, the study design (exploratory, descriptive, causal); the problem(s) of the study (in line with what is stated in the objective section); the model and/or hypothesis(es), if any; the main population, sampling method, sampling process; data collection technique should be clearly stated; which quantitative/qualitative analyzes were used should be briefly stated. Results and
Conclusions: Write your main findings, main conclusions, conclusions and/or recommendations regarding the research objectives/questions.
9. All issues of Motif Academy Journal of Folklore are available online and in print. All issues are printed in hard cover (paperboard/hardbound) and can be requested through motifakademidergisi@gmail.com for a fee.
10. Researcher IDs are used to prevent possible problems related to names/institutions. In the scope of studies conducted in cooperation with TUBİTAK (Scientific and Technological Research and Council of Turkey) - ULAKBİM (Turkish National Academic Network and Information Center) and YÖK (Council of Higher Education), ORCID information is added. Authors must add their ORCID numbers. Those who do not possess ORCID can get it through free membership from orcid.org.
11. No letter or written document as regards the acceptance of articles is given to author(s).
13. Articles related to dissertation theses of MA or PhD students must include the names of students and their advisors, otherwise, will not be considered for publication.
14. The texts must be sent in the following format. Manuscripts which do not have the required format are turned down by the Editorial Board.

LIMITATIONS

1. Articles should have maximum 20 pages including abstracts, graphics, tables, references, images (visuals) and appendix.
2. In each issue, the number of research and review articles is 28, and an additional 2 articles can be included as introduction/criticism and translation. Book critiques are not subject to the same evaluation process as research / review type studies. (Decision by Editorial Board, dated 10.02.2019).
3. 70% of total number of articles in each issue of the journal is assigned to folklore field, and %30 to other fields of cultural studies. (Decision by Editorial Board, dated 15.12.2018).
4. Studies with more than %50 of their content consisting of images&visuals will be refused during editorial process. (Decision by Editorial Board, dated 15.12.2018).

PAGE LAYOUT

1. Manuscripts should be written in Microsoft Word program and their page setup should be arranged as below:
Paper Size Width: 16 cm Height: 24 cm
Top Margin 1,5 cm
Bottom Margin 1,5 cm
Left Margin 2 cm
Right Margin 1,5 cm
Font Cambria
Font Style Normal
Size (text) 11 (Cambria)
Size (abstract and footnote text) 9 (Cambria)
Paragraph Spacing Before 6 nk, After 0 nk
Line Spacing Single (1)
Paragraph indent 1 cm
2. In manuscript where a special font is used, the font used should also be sent together with the manuscript.
3. No details such as page number, header and footer etc. should be included in manuscript.
4. Only first letters of each word of headings within the manuscript should be capitalized and there should not be any other formatting.
5. In terms of spelling and punctuation, except for special cases which the paper or the subject requires, Spelling Book of Turkish Language Association should be taken as a basis.
6. The text to be included in the text should use the formal methods of the Word, doc for textual endings such as pictures and photographs.
ARRANGEMENT of REFERENCES
In-text citation
In-text citation must be made in APA system:
1. All citations in main texts are stated by the in-text referencing system. The method of footnoting at the bottom of the page should be used for explanations which are not deemed suitable to take part within the text and these notes should be lined up as 1, 2, 3 within the text.
2. By opening parentheses at appropriate places in the text, surname of the author, publication date and the cite page numbers must be stated.
a) If citation is made again to the same sources in the text, the same method is applied; abbreviations such as op. cit., ibid etc. should not be used.
For example: (Köprülü, 1966: 71-76)
b) If the cited author name is mentioned in the text, the author’s name must not be used in parentheses.
For example: Boratav (1984: 11) states that the number of these stories is 34.
c) If the reference has two authors, both authors’ surnames must be used.
For example: (Aça and Yolcu, 2017: 72)
d) If authors are more than two, the phrase ‘‘et al.’’ (and others) should be used after the first author’s surname.
For example: (Lvova et al., 2013: 194)
e) If there are more than one reference, citations should be separated by semi colon.
For example: (Kaya, 2000: 180; Artun, 2004: 86)
f) In the text, if archive documents are cited, they must be stated in sequence as Document-1 or Archive-1, and archive document information should be specified in bibliography.
g) Within the text, if information received from oral sources is given place, citations should be stated as (TB-1, TB-2...) standing for Tradition Bearer, and information on each tradition bearer should be stated with citation code within the text, and under the sub-heading of Oral Sources in References chapter.
h) Within the text, if information received from internet sources have been given place, citations should be stated as (URL-1, URL-2 ...) in a way that would stand for internet sources, and information on each internet sources should be stated in a conformable manner with citation code, which is made within the text, under the sub-heading of Internet Sources in References chapter.
ARRANGEMENT of REFERENCES
1. References cited in the manuscript must only be given place in the References and alphabetical order according to author surname.
2. If more than one study by an author is to take part in the references, an order by the publication date from old to new should be followed. For citations of the same year, the phrases “a, b, c…” must be used and these must comply with the references in the text, as well.
Book:
Köprülü, M. F. (1999). Edebiyat araştırmaları. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu.
Translated Book:
Sartre, J. P. (1967). Edebiyat nedir. (Çev.: Bertan Onaran), İstanbul: De.
Lvova, E. L. - Oktyabrskaya, İ. V. - Sagalayev, A. M. (2013). Güney Sibirya Türklerinin geleneksel dünya görüşleri: Simge ve ritüel. (çev.: Metin Ergun), Konya: Kömen.
Book by Two Authors:
Ergun, M. - Aça, M. (2005). Tıva kahramanlık destanları-1. Ankara: Akçağ.
Book by More than Two Authors:
Aça, M. - Gökalp, H. - Kocakaplan, İ. (2009). Başlangıçtan günümüze Türk edebiyatında tür ve şekil bilgisi, İstanbul: Kriter.
Paper:
Aça, M. (2018). Trabzon çevresinde tütün kaçakçıları ve kolcular etrafında oluşan anlatılar. Uluslararası Türkçe Edebiyat Kültür Eğitim (TEKE) Dergisi, 2017, 6 (4), 2545-2565.
Unpublished Dissertation:
Küçük, A. (2015). Giresun yöresi kemençecilik geleneği üzerine bir araştırma, Balıkesir: Balıkesir Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Yayımlanmamış Doktora Tezi.
Proceedings:
Cunbur, M. (2000). Dede Korkut Oğuz-namelerinde İslami unsurlar. Uluslararası Dede Korkut Bilgi Şöleni Bildirileri. (hzl.: A. Kahya-Birgül vd.), 77-108, Ankara: Atatürk Kültür Merkezi Başkanlığı.
Internet Sources:
* URL-1: “Social groups”. http://www.sociologyguide.com/basic-consepts/Social-Groups.php (Date of access: 10.06.2014)
* Hufford, M. (1991). American folklife: A commonwealth of cultures”, http://www.loc.gov/folklife/cwc/ (Date of access: 17.06.2014)
Archive Sources:
Belge-1/Arşiv-1: BOA-Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi [Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives] (BOA, DH.EUM.EMN, no: 3, 19.Ş.1330); BCA: Başbakanlık Cumhuriyet Arşivi (BCA, 1927)
Oral Sources:
KK-1: Mustafa Mutlu, İstanbul-1935, Primary school graduate, Retired. (Interview date: 12.06.2014)

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

Publication processes of Motif Academy Journal of Folklore are based on producing, developing and sharing knowledge evenhandedly within scientific methods.
Refereed articles are studies that employ scientific methods and provide objectivity. All components of publication process (publisher, editors, authors, reviewers and readers) should obey ethical rules for scientific production. Within this context, the policies of ‘publication ethics’ and ‘open access’ also require all components of publication process to obey the ethical principles, in direction of guides and policies of Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), as “Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors” and “COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors”.

In case we identify that author(s) of the manuscript use(s) falsified and fabricated data, then we will report this to the institution of the authors where he/she works and reject the manuscript. Editorial members of the journal and/or the reviewers reserve the right to ask author(s) to provide raw data used in the manuscript.

Ethical Responsibilities of the Publisher and Editorial Board
1. Motif Foundation and editorial board, the publisher of Motif Academy Journal of Folklore, is committed to complying with ethical standards at all stages of the publishing process. The Editorial Board supervises the compliance of the articles in the journal with ethical principles. Manuscripts submitted to the journal should not have been previously published in another journal. The publication of unpublished symposium proceedings is possible provided that symposium participation is indicated in the study. (Additional: A maximum of 20% of total articles can be accepted as such in each issue. (Decision by Editorial Board, dated 15.12.2018).
2. Papers sent to the journal must be checked through similarity (plagiarism) programs such as Turnitin etc. during editorial process. Studies with more than 20% of similarity will not be published.
3. As of 2020, Ethics Committee Certificate is strictly required for researches prepared with qualitative and quantitative approaches that collect data using interview techniques such as surveys, interviews, focus group studies, observations. Information about the approval date and unit of the Ethics Committee Certificate should be specified in the "Explanation" section as an attachment to the document during the article application.
4. Information such as author(s)’ name(s), title(s), institutions, and e-mail address for correspondance etc. must not be added. This information will be added by the editor after peer-reviewing process. Therefore, during submission process, no information about the author must be included in the text.
5. In articles with multiple (more than one) authors, contribution percentage of each author must be added in the end of their title, address and mail information section.
6. The articles whose editorial process is completed are published sequentially based on the dates of inclusion in the evaluation process. The order of publication is not changed with any justification.

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers
The articles in Motif Academy Journal of Folklore are evaluated by double-blind review, where neither the authors know the reviewers nor the reviewers know the authors; reviewers cannot communicate the authors directly; article evaluation forms and proofreading requests are sent to the authors through the website of the journal. Reviewers must bear the ethical responsibilities in Motif Academy Journal of Folklore as below:
* Reviewers should only accept to evaluate the articles related to their fields of study.
* Reviewers should make the evaluation impartially and confidentially. In accordance with this principle, the articles they review should be erased after the evaluation process. Nationality, gender, religious beliefs, political beliefs and commercial concerns must not distort the impartiality of the evaluation.
* When reviewers understand that there is a conflict of interest, they should inform the editors and refuse to evaluate the article.
* Reviewers must evaluate articles with a constructive attitude in accordance with the academic rules; they should refrain from insulting and using hostile personal comments.
* Reviewers should evaluate the articles they agree on during the evaluation.

Ethical Responsibilities of the Authors
The ethical responsibilities of the authors that apply to Motif Academy Journal of Folklore are as follow:
* The authors should not send an article published in or sent to be published in another journal to Motif Academy Journal of Folklore at the same time.
* The authors should send original articles to Motif Academy Journal of Folklore. Authors should make a reference to the sources they use in writing articles in the correct way in line with ethical principles.
* Persons who do not contribute to the articles should not be listed as authors, and it should not be proposed to change the author order of a published article or to add new authors.
* Reviewers must notify the editors of the conflicts of interest and collaborations about the article.
* In the evaluation process of the articles, the authors should provide the editorial staff with information about the articles or the raw data if/when required.
* The authors must document the rights to use the data they use in their articles, the permission for research or the approval of the participants to whom they referred.
* Authors should communicate with the editors to provide information, to correct the article or to withdraw it when they are aware of any error associated with the evaluation and early appearance phase or the published article in electronic form.
* The author(s) must specify that they received the ethics committee approval for the researches that require data collection by using quantitative or qualitative methods such as experiment, survey, scale, interview, observation, focus group work that require ethics committee decision; the author(s) must also specify the name of the ethics committee, the date and the number of the ethics committee decision on the first-last page and in the method section of the article. In addition, the author(s) must include information on the fact that the informed consent form was received for the case reports in the articles. An Ethics Committee Document is definitely requested for researches that collect data using interview techniques such as surveys, interviews, focus group studies, observations and prepared with qualitative and quantitative approaches. The approval date and unit of the Ethics Committee Document should be specified in the "Description" section in addition to the document during the application.

Notification of Ethics Violations to the Editor
In case of encountering an unethical situation in articles or about editors, reviewers and authors or in articles that do not comply with the ethical principles regarding in the Motif Academy Journal of Folklore, it should be reported through motifakademidergisi@gmail.com

PEER REVIEW PROCESS
* All transactions in the journal's publication process are carried out at http://dergipark.org.tr/mahder.
* In the articles sent to the journal, firstly, the compliance of the article with the publication rules is examined. Articles that comply with the rules of publication are primarily evaluated by the editor. The articles that pass the editor's preliminary evaluation are directed to two referees who are experts in their fields. Authors are contacted in accordance with the reports of the referees in the articles that receive the printable report from both referees and requested correction.
* The authors are asked to send the article again by making the corrections requested by the referees. The referee reports, which cannot be published, will be notified to the article owner. Reports that are positive from one of the referees and negative from the other are directed to a third referee. The publication is decided based on the opinions of the third referee.
* The referees are asked to evaluate the articles within 15 days. With the expiration of the 15-day period, a reminder message is sent, which gives an additional period of 7 (seven) days. At the end of this period, another referee is appointed instead of the referee who does not respond to the evaluation.
* Double-blind referee system is applied in the journal. No information about the author(s), institutions etc. is sent to the referees. In this way, unbiased reviews of the referees are provided.

* Copyright Transfer Form and COPE Additional Declarations Form are requested from the authors of the articles whose evaluation process is concluded positively during the publication process.
* This journal has adopted open access policy in light of the rules set by the Budapest Open Access Initiative. Open access increases the global exchange of information and has beneficial consequences for humanity.

License: CC BY-SA

Articles submitted to the journal system upon request for publication are included in the referee evaluation process after the conformity review to be conducted by the Editorial Board. The authors of the articles that are decided to be included in the referee evaluation process are informed about the process. The authors are requested to transfer the process management fee to the Motif Foundation account with this information in order to pay (1500 TL/50 $/40 €) the expertise fee to the referees who will take part in the evaluation process and to cover the printing, printing and postage expenses of the journal. Process management fee is 750 TL for postgraduate students who do not work anywhere. Following the feedback of the article holders, the articles are included in the referee evaluation process. According to the evaluation results of the referees, the process operation fee is returned to the authors of the articles which are not deemed appropriate to be published with 30% deduction. No fee is charged except for the specified process. (Decision by Editorial Board, dated 13.12.2024).
The process management fee: 1500 TRY
The process management fee is 750 TL for postgraduate students who do not work anywhere.