“Research and Publication Ethics”

Ethical Principles and Publication Policy
Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University Journal of Education Faculty (MSKU Journal of Education Faculty) has been publishing since November 2014. Our journal has started to be scanned in the TR index since 2019. With the decision taken by the ULAKBİM on February 25, 2020  “ETHICS COMMITTEE APPROVAL" must be obtained separately for all branches of science, clinical and experimental studies on humans and animals that require an ethics committee decision, this approval must be stated and documented in the article. Authors who send articles to the journal are kindly requested to pay attention to this issue. Articles that require ETHICS COMMITTEE APPROVAL will not be accepted if they do not meet this requirement.

The authors  who send articles to the journal must comply with all the rules that must be followed within the scope of the "Higher Education Institutions Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive". None of the actions specified under the title of "Actions Contrary to Scientific Research and Publication Ethics" of the aforementioned directive should be taken. In addition, as MSKU Journal of the Faculty of Education, the ethical principles of the following organizations are taken as basis:
a) Higher Education Institutions Ethical Behavior Principles
b) TÜBİTAK - Research and Publication Ethics Committee Regulation
In studies that require ethics committee permission, information about the permission (name of the committee, date and number) should be included in the method section and also on the last page of the article. In case reports, it is necessary to include information that the informed consent/consent form was signed in the article. It is necessary to comply with the copyright regulations for the intellectual and artistic works used.
MSKU Journal of the Faculty of Education is a peer-reviewed journal established to publish research articles, short papers, case reports, review articles and letters to the editor in the field of education in general. The ethical principles and rules used for the journal have been determined according to the ethical guidelines specified above and adaptations continue in this direction. The following features are included in the regulation of the rules according to the journal components.

Ethical Practices Regarding Authors

The authors may submit their original studies in the field of educational sciences and field education as specified on the journal web page.
While arranging the bibliography of the articles, the authors pay attention to the correct references according to the rules (APA-7) as described on the main page of the journal. Articles sent to the journal should not be sent to another journal at the same time, and the author should send the "Copyright Transfer Form" along with the work.
People who will take place as authors in the studies must have contributed to the article. People who do not have academic support for the study and are not related to the subject cannot be registered as authors.
If requested by the referees, authors may be asked to provide reports, statistical results, observation data, etc. That can provide evidence. The storage period for additional evidence is at least 5 years.
If the authors realize that there is an error in their work, they inform the journal editor or the deputy editor of the journal, either requesting the right of correction or withdrawing the publication.
When a conflict of interest regarding the work submitted for publication is noticed, all responsibility belongs to the author and the legal and administrative liability belongs to the author(s) within the framework of the above-mentioned regulation.

Ethical Practices Regarding Referees
In the journal, refereeing is applied according to the double-blind system. The authors are prevented from being aware of the referees and the referees from being aware of the authors. All correspondence is done through the Dergipark system. Referee reports are sent through the same system and referees who want correction have the opportunity to see the work again.
When the referees are appointed, it is sent to the experts directly associated with the submitted article or study.
In order to be objective, referee assignments in interdisciplinary studies are sent to referees of the different study areas (at least two referees) according to the nature of the subject. In addition, objectivity is preserved by giving priority to the appointment of external referees in the articles coming from the home institution.
The author has no knowledge of who the appointed referee board will consist of. Appointed referees can be selected from abroad, domestic, public, or foundation universities as well as retired faculty members who have become an authority in the field. In this selection, care is taken that the referees have received at least doctoral education.
In cases where a decision cannot be made in the evaluations submitted by two of the referees, a third referee is appointed. Appointing more than two referees can speed up the process.
Like the authors, the referees are also responsible for warning the management of the journal when they realize a conflict of interest.
Comments should be clearly stated in the peer-review forms, the justifications should be well-defined and clear feedback should be given to the authors. For this purpose, care is taken to ensure that the reports of the referees are explanatory.
Referees declare their criticisms according to literary rules. In case of any stylistic defect, the relevant referee is warned and asked to correct his behavior. In case of repetition of unwanted style of criticism, it is at the discretion of the journal management to take the necessary precautions.
The referees are required to complete their evaluations within the time given to them and are expected to comply with the ethical responsibilities set forth herein.

Ethical practices for editors and assistant editors:
Ethical Behaviors of Journal Editors are regulated within the framework of the regulations mentioned above.
Editors must consider all ethical principles and responsibilities and adhere to these principles. Provided that the author is responsible for the content of the article, the editor, assistant editor, and field editors are responsible for all articles published in the journal.
The ethical duties and responsibilities of the editor and assistant editor are to strive for the journal to reach contemporary qualifications and contribute to the field. In this regard, development works with field editors are provided under the control of the editor.
The editor, assistant editor should not create a hierarchical distance with the authors and should guide the authors in all matters.

Editor-Reader Interaction
The editor ensures that it is clearly stated that peer review is not required in letters to the editor, invitations, conference announcements, and similar articles.
The editor carries out the necessary work to ensure that the published articles are compatible with the knowledge and skills of the journal readers.

Editor-Review Relations
The editor, assistant editor, and field editors provide the necessary control for sending the submitted articles and studies to the right referees.
The editor, assistant editors, and field editors make sure that the referee evaluation process is carried out with double blinding and never declare the referees to the authors and the authors to the referees.
The editor, assistant editor, and field editors ensure that the reviewers do their work promptly and provide feedback on deficiencies.
The editor, assistant editors, and field editors periodically collect data for a better evaluation process by taking the opinions of the referees.
The editor, assistant editors, and field editors are obliged to warn the referees who violate the courtesy rules and take other precautions.
The editor, assistant editors, and field editors should always try to expand the peer-review board and try to keep it up-to-date.

Editor-Author Relationships
The journal has certain instructions for authors and these writing rules are clearly stated on the main page. The editor, assistant editor, and field editors notify the authors of the changes made in the writing rules and refresh the instructions for authors page.
The editor and assistant editor examine the submitted article and forward it to the relevant field editor. Field editors review this article and enter the review phase or reject it. The reason for the rejected article is reported to the author objectively. In the evaluation phase, the selection of the referee for the field, compliance with the writing rules, and the accuracy of the bibliography are checked. After these evaluations are over, the status of the article is conveyed to the editor and the process begins.
The dates of submission and the acceptance of the articles for publication are written by the editor in the title of the article.
The editor, assistant editor, and field editors are obliged to answer the questions of the authors about the article. Questions about the status of the article are answered by the editor.

Editor-Editor Board Relations
Editors and assistant editors select people who are experts and contribute to the field while assigning duties to field editors.
The editor expects and controls the field editors he has assigned to carry out their duties seriously, such as supporting the development of the journal, being sensitive in the appointment of correct referees, never exceeding the objective principles, and implementing the absolute rules determined in the instructions for authors.

Plagiarism and Unethical Behaviors
Submitted articles are scanned with the iThendicate program and the rate of 20% which is the generally accepted rate in academic theses is set as the upper limit. It may be possible for the journal to reduce this rate to lower values with the decision of the editor and the editorial board. Articles with more than 20% similarity are sent back to the author and corrections are requested. Articles that are not corrected within a week will not be re-evaluated.
If plagiarism is detected in the articles, either by the editor or the editorial board or due to complaints, the article is sent back before it is published.
In the journal, unethical behaviors were determined as follows:
Unfair authorship in the form of not writing the people who contributed to the work or writing the people who did not contribute to the work,
Not specifying it when the article is derived from theses or made within the scope of the project
Slicing to convert a study into multiple studies with the aim of numerical multiplicity,
Not reporting conflicts of interest regarding submitted works,
Disruption of the double blinding process,
Publishing the work in different journals in different languages.

Peer Review Process
It is required that the works sent to the journal must be related to the field of education. The referee process is carried out under the control of the editor and the assistant editor. A publication that is not approved or accepted by the editor, assistant editor, and field editor does not enter the referee process in the journal. In this regard, the author or authors cannot create an obligation on the journal and other organs.
Each article uploaded to the journal system is first evaluated by the journal secretariat in terms of its suitability. As a result of this evaluation, if there are corrections to be made by the author, the manuscript is returned to the author with a correction request. After the corrections, the referee process begins. Manuscripts found suitable for evaluation in terms of writing and publication principles are directed to the referees. The referees are selected from among the academicians who have expertise in the field represented by the article.
The article that receives two positive referee reports from the field evaluation is entitled to be published. The article, which receives a positive and negative referee report, is sent to a third referee. The decision on whether to publish the article is made in line with the report of the third referee. The referees may find the study positive and may want to re-examine the manuscript after corrections. In this case, the articles are submitted to the same referee for review again. If the relevant referee does not respond or does not accept to evaluate, a different referee can be applied for this second evaluation, or this second review can be done by the field editor. In this way, the field editor can decide whether the work will be published or not.
Corrections can be requested in two ways; minor corrections may be given or major changes suggested. The author is obliged to make the requested changes and to indicate the changes made in a separate file; If it has not made the requested changes, it should justify them. At the typesetting stage, after the work is deemed to be in a publishable condition, the author is requested for final control correction.
The “peer-review report” regarding the evaluation of the publication is sent to the responsible author. The evaluation period of the manuscript sent to the referees can be extended by 10 days. According to the recommendations of the reviewers, the field editor follows one of the following paths:
-Can publish the work.
-Can accept the modified and improved work for publication.
-Can start a new evaluation process by asking the author(s) to edit the work following the referee's opinions.
-Can refuse to publish the work.