ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
The ethical principles and publication policy of our journal have been prepared in accordance with the guidelines and policies published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).
Actions Contrary to Scientific Research and Publication Ethics
• Plagiarism: Presenting the original ideas, methods, data or works of others as one's own work in whole or in part without citation in accordance with scientific rules,
• Forgery: Using non-existent or falsified data in scientific research,
• Distortion: Falsifying research records or data obtained, falsifying devices or materials that were not used in the research, falsifying or shaping the results of the research in line with the interests of the persons and organizations receiving support,
• Republishing: Presenting duplicate publications as separate publications for academic appointments and promotions,
• Slicing: Inappropriately and inappropriately dividing the results of a research into parts in a way that disrupts the integrity of the research and publishing them in more than one issue and presenting these publications as separate publications in academic appointments and promotions,
• Unfair authorship: Including or excluding people who have not actively contributed, changing the author ranking in an unjustified and inappropriate manner, removing the names of active contributors from the work in subsequent editions, using one's influence to have one's name included among the authors even though one has not actively contributed,
Other types of ethical violations include:
a) Failing to acknowledge the individuals, institutions, or organisations that provided support for research conducted with such support, or failing to acknowledge their contributions in publications resulting from such research,
b) Using theses or studies that have not yet been submitted or defended and accepted as a source without the permission of the owner,
c) Sharing information contained in a work assigned for review with others prior to publication without the express permission of the author,
ç) Using resources, premises, facilities, and equipment provided or allocated for scientific research for purposes other than those intended,
d) Making unfounded, inappropriate, and deliberate allegations of ethical violations,
e) Publishing data obtained without the explicit consent of participants in surveys and attitude studies conducted as part of scientific work, or without the additional permission of the institution if the research is to be conducted at an institution,
f) Failure to comply with the obligation to inform and warn those concerned about possible harmful practices related to scientific research conducted by researchers and officials,
g) In scientific studies, failing to use data and information obtained from other persons and institutions to the extent and in the manner authorised, failing to respect the confidentiality of this information and failing to ensure its protection,
h) Making false or misleading statements regarding scientific research and publications in academic appointments and promotions.
Research Ethics Principles
• Scientific integrity, integrity, quality, and transparency should be adopted as fundamental principles in the planning of research, the development of its methodological framework, its ethical evaluation, and the execution of its implementation processes. Every stage of the research process should be documented and open to audit when necessary.
• The research team and participants should be informed in a clear and understandable manner about the purpose, scope, method, data collection tools, how the data will be analyzed, and the possible uses of the findings. The obligations required for participation in the research, possible risks, and expected contributions should be clearly explained to the participants.
• Personal data obtained from participants must be kept confidential; technical and administrative measures must be taken to prevent the disclosure of identity information. The principles of anonymity and privacy must be observed; actions must comply with data protection legislation (e.g., regulations on the protection of personal data). The research design should be structured in a way that protects the autonomy, human dignity, and fundamental rights of participants.
• Participation in the research should be entirely voluntary. Participants should not be subjected to any pressure, coercion, or expectation of benefit. Participants should have the right to withdraw from the study at any stage without facing any repercussions.
• All necessary measures should be taken to ensure that participants do not suffer physical, psychological, social, or economic harm during the research process. A risk analysis should be conducted, and the research should be planned to minimize potential harm. When children, restricted individuals, or persons with limited mental capacity are involved, permission should be obtained from their legal representatives, and relevant ethical committee approvals should be secured.
• Researchers should maintain their scientific independence and clearly declare any conflicts of interest that could influence the design, analysis, or results of the study. Financial support, sponsorship, or institutional affiliations should be transparently disclosed.
• If the research is to be conducted within any public institution, private organization, or university, official permission should be obtained from the relevant institution and, if necessary, ethical committee approval should be secured.
Ethics Committee Approval
Our journal requires that the relevant ethics committee decision must be obtained for all studies in all disciplines that require ethics committee approval. In this context, authors should write the date and number of Ethics Committee approval in the “Sampling and Methods/ Materials and Methods” section.
In line with the regulations implemented by Ulakbim TR Index since 2020, studies that do not have ethics committee permission are not evaluated in our journal.
Studies Requiring Ethics Committee Approval
Studies requiring ethics committee approval in our journal include the following:
• All research conducted using qualitative or quantitative approaches that involve collecting data from participants through methods such as surveys, interviews, focus group studies, observation, and interview techniques.
• Retrospective studies within the framework of the Personal Data Protection Law.
For such studies to be considered for evaluation, the relevant ethics committee approvals must have been obtained and clearly stated in the article text.
Relations with Journal Owner and Publisher
The relationship between the editor and the publisher is based on the principle of editorial independence. In accordance with the written contract between the editor and the publisher, all editorial decisions are independent of the publisher and the journal owner.
Correction, Retraction, Expression of Concern
Editors may consider publishing a correction if minor errors are identified in the published article that do not affect the findings, interpretations and conclusions. In the case of major errors/violations that invalidate findings and conclusions, editors should consider retracting the article. The COPE Principles (1,2,3,4,5,6) shall be taken into account with regard to corrections, retractions or expressions of concern.
Conflicts of interest
Our journal guarantees the independent and impartial completion of the publication process, taking into account the conflicts of interest between the author(s), reviewers and other editors. Our journal acts in accordance with COPE principles (1,2) regarding potential conflicts of interest.
Change of Author
Only the article is processed before acceptance. Authors are required to carefully review the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the exact list of authors at the time of original submission. Our journal acts in accordance with COPE principles (1,2,3,4,5) regarding relevant changes.
Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
Our journal is responsible for protecting the intellectual property rights of all published articles and defending the rights of the journal and authors in case of possible infringements.
Protection of Participants' Personal Data
All personal data submitted to our journal is protected in accordance with legal regulations and ethical rules.
Complaints
If any unethical conduct is identified in our journal, it should be reported to otam.ankara@gmail.com and otam@ankara.edu.tr. Our journal follows the procedure outlined in the COPE principles (1,2) regarding complaints.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF STAKEHOLDERS
Responsibilities of Editors
• Evaluate all submitted manuscripts impartially based on their scientific quality, originality, and relevance to the journal’s scope.
• Ensure that the peer review process is conducted in accordance with the principles of double-blind peer review.
• Select reviewers by considering their expertise, impartiality, and any potential conflicts of interest.
• Maintain the confidentiality of all information shared among authors, reviewers, and editors throughout the editorial process.
• Take appropriate action in accordance with the COPE guidelines when there is a suspicion of ethical misconduct.
• Make publication decisions solely on the basis of academic merit and ethical standards.
• Ensure that the editorial and peer review process is conducted in a timely and efficient manner.
Responsibilities of Authors
• Declare that the submitted manuscript is original and has not been published or submitted for evaluation elsewhere.
• Ensure that the research has been conducted in accordance with scientific and ethical principles.
• Obtain the necessary ethics committee approval for studies requiring ethical approval and clearly state this information in the manuscript.
• Comply with citation and referencing standards and refrain from plagiarism, data fabrication, and data falsification.
• Include as authors only those individuals who have made a significant scientific contribution to the study.
• Disclose any potential conflicts of interest and, where applicable, sources of financial support.
• Respond to editors’ and reviewers’ comments and revision requests in a timely and well-reasoned manner during the review process.
Responsibilities of Reviewers
• Conduct reviews objectively, constructively, and in accordance with accepted scientific standards.
• Maintain the confidentiality of all manuscripts and related documents received during the review process.
• Decline to review manuscripts that fall outside their area of expertise or involve a conflict of interest.
• Provide clear, well-reasoned, and constructive feedback to support their evaluations.
• Inform the editor promptly if they identify any suspected ethical misconduct, plagiarism, or other forms of scientific malpractice.
• Complete their reviews within the specified review period whenever possible.
• Avoid including any information that could reveal their identity and adhere to the principles of the double-blind peer review process.
PUBLICATION POLICY
A. Article Review Process
In our journal, the article review process consists of four main stages: preliminary review, peer review, revision, and publication.
1. Preliminary Review
Submitted manuscripts are first evaluated by the editor for compliance with the journal’s publication policies, academic writing guidelines, and the Chicago Citation System. At this stage, a similarity check is conducted using the İntihal.net software. The similarity rate is expected to be below 20%; manuscripts that exceed this limit are returned to the author with an explanation. Our journal reserves the right to exclude from consideration any manuscripts suspected of ethical violations, even if the similarity rate is low.
If plagiarism is detected in an article submitted or published in our journal, our journal acts in accordance with the COPE principles (Plagiarism in a submitted manuscript - Plagiarism in a published article).
NOTE: In cases where there is a conflict of interest among the editor, reviewers, or members of the Editorial Board, the individuals involved will not participate in the review and decision-making process. In such cases, the process will be conducted by another editor or an authorized editor.
B. Peer Review Process
For works that meet the preliminary review criteria, a double-blind peer review process is initiated. The article is sent to two independent reviewers who are experts in the field. Both the author's and the reviewers' identities are kept confidential throughout the review process, which is conducted in accordance with ethical principles and confidentiality guidelines.
If both reviewers submit positive reports, the work is accepted for publication.
If one of the reviewers submits a negative report, the article is referred to a third reviewer, and the decision is made based on that reviewer's decision.
3. Revision Process
If the reviewers request revisions, authors must submit their revised manuscript with the suggested corrections highlighted in a different color (e.g., red). The changes made are first reviewed by the editor and then re-evaluated by the relevant reviewers. To ensure consistency in format and style, our journal reserves the right to make minor changes to manuscripts regarding spelling and formatting. Manuscripts that have completed the peer review process are also reviewed by the journal’s language editors.
When deemed necessary in terms of language and spelling, authors are asked to make additional revisions. The linguistic revisions made are reviewed again and approved.
4. Publication Process
Articles that have completed all scientific, technical, and linguistic processes are prepared for publication following typesetting and layout. Approved articles are published in the next issue.
NOTE: The final decision regarding the acceptance or rejection of all manuscripts submitted to our journal is made by the Editor-in-Chief.
B-Copyright and Open Access Policy
OTAM Journal is an open access journal. Based on the principle of dissemination of knowledge, it provides free access to all articles, including archives. The copyright of the works published in our journal belongs to the authors and is published as open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Click here for more information. 📄 OTAM Journal - Copyright Notice.pdf
C-Archive Policy
Articles published in our journal are digitally archived in DSpace and LOCKSS. In addition, published articles can be accessed by the author in the institutional archive of the university where the author works, in thematic archives or in any other archive without an embargo period. Thus, anyone can immediately access this publication free of charge. Articles published in our journal can be accessed free of charge at https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/otam/archive.
Version Published in the Journal
Publication Type: Open Access
DSpace: https://dspace.ankara.edu.tr/communities/fe4f83a2-e6a7-4bc4-95ff-4c68c4fd5687/search
LOCKSS: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/otam/lockss-manifest
RSS: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/otam/rss
Embargo Period: No embargo period.
Open Access License: CC BY 4.0
Copyright Holder: The author(s) retain copyright.
Archive Locations: Institutional Repository, Crossref, Journal Website, Institutional Website, Author’s Personal Website, Public and/or Commercial Subject-Based Repositories.
Policy Conditions: The journal must be cited in accordance with citation and referencing standards. It must be linked to the publisher’s version via a DOI.
Version Accepted After Peer Review
Embargo Period: None
Archive Locations: Journal Website, Institutional Site, Author’s Personal Website.
Copyright Holder: The author(s) retain copyright.
Initial Manuscript Submitted to the Journal
Embargo Period: None
Archive Location: Journal Website, Institutional Website, Author’s Personal Website.
D-Special Issue Policy
With the decision of the Editorial Board, a special issue may be published once a year. For articles to be published in the special issue, the publication and evaluation principles are applied as applied in the planned issues.
E. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage Policy
Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted tools can support researchers in various stages of the research process, including text development, language editing, translation, summarization, and research planning. However, since these tools may generate inaccurate, incomplete, or biased content, the accuracy, reliability, and ethical compliance of any AI-generated or AI-assisted content remain the sole responsibility of the user. In line with the principles of scientific integrity, transparency, and publication ethics, our journal adopts the following policy regarding the use of AI.
Responsibilities of Editors
• Editors must not upload manuscripts, peer review reports, or any confidential documents related to the editorial process to publicly accessible AI platforms.
• AI tools may only be used to support language editing, proofreading, and editorial workflow.
• All decisions regarding manuscript evaluation, peer review, acceptance, or rejection remain the sole scientific and ethical responsibility of the editors.
Responsibilities of Authors
• Generative AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors and cannot claim authorship.
• If AI tools are used during the preparation of a manuscript, the specific tool used and the purpose of its use must be clearly disclosed in the appropriate section of the manuscript.
• Confidential information, personal data, and unpublished research data must not be shared with publicly accessible AI systems.
• Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, proper citation of sources, and ethical compliance of any content generated or modified with the assistance of AI.
Responsibilities of Reviewers
• Reviewers must not upload or share manuscripts, supplementary files, or any information related to the peer review process with publicly accessible AI platforms.
• If AI tools are used in any capacity, any suggestions or outputs generated by such tools must be carefully verified before being incorporated into the review report.
• Reviewers bear full responsibility for the scientific quality, objectivity, and ethical integrity of their review reports.
F-Price Policy
Article submission, evaluation and publication processes in our journal are completely free of charge. No fee is charged for articles submitted or accepted for publication. In accordance with our publication policy, sponsorship and advertising are not accepted and all expenses of our journal are covered by Ankara University.