Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

Medialog TR adheres to the principles, standards, and recommendations on publication ethics established by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics). 

Manuscripts submitted to the journal must be accompanied by the following documents:

• 📝 Author Decleration Form.docx  signed by all authors
• In necessary cases, the Ethics Committee Approval Form must be submitted along with the manuscript.

Research Requiring Ethics Committee Approval

• Any research conducted using qualitative or quantitative approaches that involves collecting data from participants through surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation, experiments, or other interview techniques,
• The use of humans and animals for experimental or other scientific purposes,
• Clinical research conducted on humans,
• Research conducted on animals,
• Retrospective studies as required by the Personal Data Protection Law.

In addition:

• It must be stated in case presentations that an “informed consent form” has been obtained;
• Permission must be obtained from the owners and cited for the use of scales, questionnaires, and photographs belonging to others;
• It must be stated that copyright regulations have been complied with regarding the use of literary and artistic works.

Authors’ Ethical Responsibilities

Authors submitting manuscripts to the Medialog TR Journal are expected to adhere to the following ethical responsibilities:

• Authors are expected to ensure that the manuscripts they submit are original and up-to-date.
• Authors must cite and reference all works they have utilized in a complete and accurate manner.
• Individuals who have not contributed to the content of the article should not be listed as authors. Any potential conflicts of interest or relationships must be disclosed.
• Authors may be requested to provide raw data related to their work during the review process. Authors must submit the requested data and information to the editorial board or the scientific committee.
• If authors discover an error in their published or under-review work, they are obligated to inform the journal editor and cooperate with the editor in correcting or retracting the article.
• Once the review process has begun, authors may not request changes such as adding or removing authors or altering the order of authors.

General Duties and Responsibilities;

Editors 

• Ensure the journal’s development at the national and international levels,
• Manage processes aimed at improving the quality of published works,
• Oversee the implementation of ethical guidelines for all journal stakeholders,
• Publish updates and revise ethical policies to contribute to the journal’s development,
• Are responsible for maintaining and updating the journal’s website.

In their interactions with readers, editors are responsible for:

• Taking into account readers’ feedback regarding journal publication, scope, and ethics;
• Improving the works published in Medialog TR while also considering readers’ interests and needs;
• Answering questions from readers, provided that they remain within the framework of ethical guidelines.

In their interactions with authors, editors must:

• Forward manuscripts submitted to the journal to the editorial board, which decides whether to send them to reviewers,
• Inform authors about publication and ethical policies,
• Prevent potential conflicts between authors and reviewers,
• Ensure impartial evaluation by properly implementing the concept of “blind peer review,”
• Evaluating authors’ requests—supported by appropriate justifications—to exclude specific reviewers if they declare a conflict of interest,
• Accommodating authors’ requests to withdraw their manuscripts while they are still under review,
• Reviewing authors’ objections to reviewers’ and editors’ decisions/reports and, if deemed appropriate, initiating a new review process.

In their interactions with reviewers, editors must:

• Identify a reviewer appropriate for the topic of the submitted manuscript,
• Provide reviewers with the information and guidance they will need during the review process,
• Ensure there are no conflicts of interest between authors and reviewers,
• Keep information regarding the reviewing reviewer confidential,
• Encourage reviewers to remain impartial,
• Answering reviewers’ questions regarding publication and ethical policies,
• Making updates to enhance the reviewer pool,
• Sending reminders to reviewers regarding review deadlines,
• Encouraging reviewers to conduct evaluations in a constructive, polite, and appropriate manner.

In their interactions with the Editorial Board, editors shall:

• Hold meetings with the Editorial Board at regular intervals,
• Provide the Board with the information and guidance it requires regarding Medialog TR’s publication and ethical policies,
• Provide training to the Board regarding Medialog TR’s publication and ethical policies as needed,
• Develop the journal by taking into account feedback from the Board,
• Ensure the impartiality of Board members,
• Encourage the Board to evaluate its work within the framework of scientific criteria,
• And are responsible for communicating with the relevant Board member regarding the evaluation based on the subject of the submitted manuscript.

Authors’ Rights

Authors may:

• Specify reviewers they wish to exclude due to conflicts of interest or ethical considerations.
• Withdraw their unpublished manuscripts during the review process.
• Have the right to appeal against reviewer reports and editorial decisions.
• They may request corrections for errors arising during the publication process, for problematic sections in their work in the first issue to be published, or for factual errors originating from themselves.

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

Manuscripts submitted to Medialog TR are sent anonymously to at least two reviewers in the relevant field for evaluation. In the event of a tie between positive and negative reviews, the opinion of the editor or a third reviewer is sought.

Medialog TR employs a double-blind peer review process. Authors and reviewers are unaware of each other’s identities. In this context, reviewers are expected to adhere to the following ethical responsibilities:

• Read Medialog TR’s publication policies.
• Agree to review only works related to their area of expertise.
• Refuse to review a manuscript if they realize they cannot remain impartial during the review process.
• To complete the review process within a specified timeframe.
• To conduct the review in accordance with principles of impartiality and confidentiality.
• To decline to review a manuscript if a conflict of interest arises and to notify the editor of such a situation.
• To notify the editor if they discover that the manuscript under review has been simultaneously submitted to another journal.
• To conduct the review in a constructive and courteous manner. To avoid using hostile, insulting, or defamatory language and to refrain from making personal comments.
• To ensure that reviews are strictly related to the content of the work.
• To be mindful that factors such as religion, denomination, race, gender, or political views must not influence the review process in any way.

Plagiarism Check

All submitted manuscripts must be screened using software such as intihal.net, iThenticate©, and Turnitin© before submission. For a manuscript to be published in Medialog TR, the maximum similarity rate—excluding the reference list—is 20%.

Open Access Policy

Medialog TR is a journal that adopts and implements the Open Access principle. The journal adheres to the “Open Access” policy and definition of the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI). Medialog TR publishes all academic articles under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.

Artificial Intelligence Policy

Medialog TR Journal places great importance on ethical principles regarding the use of artificial intelligence tools in the academic writing process. At the same time, practices surrounding the use of artificial intelligence tools in academic work continue to evolve.

According to COPE’s February 2023 position statement, it is inappropriate to list artificial intelligence tools as authors. All content—including sections generated by artificial intelligence—remains the responsibility of the author(s). The originality, accuracy, and compliance with publication ethics of the generated content must be ensured by the author(s). When researchers use AI tools, full transparency and clear disclosure are required.

The Ethics Guide on the use of AI prepared by the Higher Education Council also provides important warnings regarding how AI tools should be used in research.

If researcher(s) have utilized any artificial intelligence tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Grammarly, DeepL, etc.) during the preparation process of study, they must disclose this in the “Author Declaration Form.”