Ethical Principles 

The Responsibilities of the Editors Council of The Journal of Ottoman Civilization Studies

• The Editors Council of the Journal is responsible for all of the articles submitted to The Journal of Ottoman Civilization Studies, in fact, from all of the processes after its publication, and the Editors' Council is aware of this responsibility. This responsibility requires independent decision-making, without personal gain, and only with public welfare in mind when making decisions about the journal. The relationship between the publisher and the Editors Council is based on the principle of independence, and all decisions made by the editors are independent of the publisher and other persons and establishments.
• The Editors Council of the Journal of Ottoman Civilization Studies strives to continually develop the journal and elevate its publication quality.
• The Editors Council of The Journal of Ottoman Civilization Studies ensures the determination and implementation of journal policies, including publication, blind review, the assessment process, and ethical principles.
• The Editors Council of The Journal of Ottoman Civilization Studies protects the copyright of the article author published in the journal.
• The Editors Council of the Journal of Ottoman Civilization Studies is responsible for taking precautions regarding intellectual property rights, non-scientific-ethical behaviors, plagiarism, and reference (attribution) gangsterism in the article and journal publication process.
• The Editors Council of the Journal of Ottoman Civilization Studies keeps records of every article and correspondence about the journal, written or printed, through Dergipark and its means.
• The Ethical Responsibilities of the Editors, Editors Facilitators, and Field Editors
• Editors try to accommodate the information needs of the referees, author(s), researchers, and readers, provide feedback when necessary, manage the publishing process, and make corrections according to the principle of clarity in subjects where an explanation is needed.
• Editors are attentive to the article's authenticity and its contributions to the scientific literature, readers, researchers, and operators when deciding whether to publish the article.
• Editors consider the authentic value of the article, its contribution to the field, the validity and trustworthiness of its research method, the clarity of its verbalism, and the purpose and extent of the journal while making a positive or negative decision about the article.
• Editors, if the submitted articles do not have a significant issue, consider them in the pre-evaluation stage, be attentive to the positive referee suggestions, and, if they do not have a severe problem, won't change the decisions taken by the previous editor(s).
• Editors perform the blind review and evaluation process, following the journal's publication policies, keep referees' identities confidential, and ensure that every article is assessed in a non-biased way and within its time.
• Editors send articles with attention to the professionalism of field editors and referees, and they support unbiased, independent evaluations.
• Editors, for a non-biased evaluation of the article, consider the conflict of interest—united interest—between the referees and the author(s).
• Editors are searching for the creation of a wide range of references that are constantly updated.
• Editors, block evaluations that are not aligned with academic etiquette and are non-scientific.
• Editors make sure that journal publication processes are aligned with publishing policies and guides, inform those whore are involved in the process about the developments of the publishing policies, and prepare a training program if necessary.
• Editors communicate effectively with everyone involved in the publication process and schedule periodic meetings.
• Editors ensure that personal data is protected in the evaluated journals; they protect the personal data of authors, referees, and readers.
• Editors are attentive to the protection of human and animal rights in the article; they care about documenting the open confirmation of the article's participants; and if the ethical council approval for the journal's participants indicates that they are not allowed in experimental research, they reject the article.
• Editors take precautions for malpractice. If it is suspected that malpractice may be the case, they share the data about the subject through an objective investigation.
• Editors ensure that the errors, omissions, or misleadings in the articles are corrected.
• Editors protect the intellectual property rights of published articles and, in the event of a breach, defend the rights of the journal and the author(s). Also, they take necessary precautions regarding the articles' contents and whether they breach other publications' intellectual property rights; they conduct an originality-similarity audit.
• Editors are attentive to the criticisms intended for articles published in the journal, and they give the right to respond to the author(s) of the criticized articles.
• Editors consider the works that contain adverse outcomes as well.
• Editors analyze the remonstrances related to the Journal and make the necessary explanations.

The Ethical Responsibilities of the Referees

• Referees should only accept and evaluate articles related to their specialty.
• Referees should evaluate in a non-biased, confidential manner. By this principle, they should dispel the articles they analyze after the evaluation process and use them after publication. Nationality, gender, religious beliefs, political beliefs, and commercial concerns should not compromise the neutrality of the evaluation.
• When referees recognize a conflict of interest—unity of interest—they should not evaluate the article and should inform the editors.
• Referees should evaluate in accordance with academic etiquette, using constructive language, and avoid personal commentary that could be defamatory or incite enmity.
• Referees should evaluate the article they accepted within the given time.

The Ethical Responsibilities of the Authors

• Author(s) should not submit an article that they have published or submitted to be published in another place; they should not submit more than one article of their own at the same time to The Journal of Ottoman Civilization Studies.
• Author(s) should submit authentic articles to The Journal of Ottoman Civilization Studies.
• Author(s) should attribute (reference) to the resources that they benefited from while writing the article correctly and in accordance with ethical principles.
• Author(s) who did the article should not be listed, and the processes of changing them, omitting an author, and supplementing an author's position should not be suggested in a non-contribution.
• They should inform the editors of any individuals with conflicts of interest or unity of interest in an article submitted for publication.
• If information or crude data is requested from the author(s) related to their articles during the evaluation process, they should present the expected information to the Editors.
• Author(s) should document the verification of the right of use of the data they used in their articles, the allowances related to research analysis, or the confirmation of the participants they researched.
• Author(s) should communicate with the editor when they realize an error in the evaluation or early appearance of their article, published in a digital setting, that is in the process of informing, correcting, or retracting.
• The author(s) should obtain the ethics committee approval for studies that require data collection through quantitative or qualitative methods such as experiments, questionnaires, scales, interviews, observations, and focus group studies, which require an ethics committee decision; ethics committee name, decision date, and number should be stated on the first and last page of the article and in the method section, and the document showing the ethics committee decision should be uploaded to the system with the application of the article. In addition, the article should include information on obtaining the informed consent/approval form in the case reports.
• The author(s) should present evidence within the article related to their being attentive to the ethical principles in the data gathering process (for example, getting approval from someone to use their documents, such as a scale, survey, or photograph). The article should state that it aligns with the regulations on research and publication ethics and on the copyright of intellectual and artistic products. If the research is conducted on human or animal subjects, it should be noted that it is performed in accordance with the International Alliance's notices and guides.
• Ethical council approval is not required from the author(s) for compilation articles. With that, in articles that do not need an ethical council decision, the absence of a requested ethical council decision should also be included on the journal's first page and in the methods section.

Misconduct, Correction, and Retraction Policy

In cases of misconduct, The Journal of Ottoman Civilization Studies adopts a rigorous approach to investigation and transparency, issuing article retractions or corrections when necessary. The primary measures the journal implements to address ethical issues and misconduct include: thorough evaluation; investigation of allegations (following established protocols based on COPE guidelines); confidentiality and impartiality; and clear, transparent communication.

Article retraction is considered an extreme measure and is only taken when it is confirmed that a published article contains incorrect information or has been affected by ethical misconduct, such as plagiarism, data manipulation, or serious errors that compromise the credibility of the study. The journal's retraction policy follows best practices as recommended by OSMED and COPE, ensuring the integrity of scientific publication and preserving the trust of readers and the academic community.

The journal also adopts other forms of correction when necessary, in accordance with OSMED guidelines for issuing errata and addenda, to ensure that errors are corrected transparently and responsibly. If an article contains minor or non-compromising errors, the journal will publish an erratum to correct the information. When it is necessary to add relevant details to content already published, without modifying the original content, the journal may publish an addendum.

Informing the Editor of the Situation That Does Not Comply with the Ethical Principles: