Writing Template

All submissions to the journal must be prepared using the template file link specified in the line above. Submissions that do not comply with the formatting and structural rules specified in this template will not be considered.

Due to the double-blind peer-review process, the full text file should not contain the author's name, institutional information, ORCID, personal acknowledgments, or any statement that directly or indirectly identifies the author. A final revision will be provided to add these sections. Author information should only be entered through the journal system.

Title, Abstract, and Keywords

These sections should be provided in both English and Turkish, as specified in the template. Semantic consistency should be maintained in both languages, and the keyword order should be the same. Titles should not exceed 15 words, and the abstract should be between 120-250 words. Abstract titles should not be included in the numbering.

Declaration Section

This section should immediately precede the bibliography and should not be included in the title numbering. The information provided here is a summary and a clear statement of the information also provided in the copyright transfer form. All declarations become valid upon publication of the article.

Citations and Bibliography
In-text citations and bibliography should be formatted according to APA (7th edition) rules. The bibliography title should not be included in the numbering.

Peer Review Process and Revisions
Authors may be asked to make revisions as a result of the peer review. It is mandatory to re-upload the requested revisions to the system within the specified time frame, in accordance with the peer review reports. Works that do not make the necessary revisions based on the peer review opinions will not be published.

Field Suitability
Submitted works must be directly related to the field and sub-topics determined by the journal. Works outside the field will be rejected without being included in the peer review process.

Copyright Transfer Agreement (CTA)

The Mergen Journal of Thought Leaders conducts its publishing activities in accordance with ethical principles, scientific integrity, and transparency in academic publishing. All manuscripts submitted to the journal are evaluated within the framework of the ethical principles and publication policies outlined below.

1. Mandatory Manuscript Template

All submissions to the journal must be prepared using the official manuscript template, which is available via the template download link provided at the top of the page.
Manuscripts submitted without using the specified template are not processed at the preliminary evaluation stage and are returned to the author(s).

The template has been designed to ensure compliance with formatting requirements, double-blind peer review standards, and academic writing conventions.

2. Publication Ethics and Academic Integrity

The journal adopts the principles of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) as the basis for publication ethics.
Authors are required to declare that their submitted work is original, does not contain plagiarism, and has been prepared in accordance with scientific and ethical standards.

In cases where plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate publication, salami publication, or similar ethical violations are detected, the manuscript is rejected at any stage of the evaluation process.

3. Peer Review Process

The journal operates a double-blind peer review system.
The identities of authors and reviewers are kept strictly confidential. Therefore, the full-text manuscript must not contain any information that may reveal the identity of the author(s).

Each manuscript is evaluated by at least two independent reviewers who are experts in the relevant field. Based on the reviewers’ reports, the editors decide to accept, request revisions, or reject the manuscript.

4. Ethics Committee Approval

For studies involving human and/or animal subjects, approval from the relevant Ethics Committee is mandatory.
The name of the Ethics Committee, approval date, and decision number must be clearly stated in the manuscript. Failure to provide this information for studies requiring ethical approval constitutes grounds for rejection.

5. Conflict of Interest and Financial Support

Authors are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest related to their work.
Any institutions, funding bodies, or project numbers supporting the study (if applicable) must be clearly stated in the manuscript.

6. Revisions and Retraction

Authors may be requested to submit revisions based on reviewers’ evaluations.
Manuscripts that fail to address the required revisions within the specified timeframe will not be published.

If an ethical violation is identified in a published article at a later stage, the journal reserves the right to issue a correction, retraction, or public notice, as deemed necessary.

7. Publication Rights and Open Access

All articles published in the journal are open access and are published in accordance with the journal’s licensing policy.
The publication policy is implemented in a manner that protects authors’ rights while promoting academic accessibility.