Ethical Principles and Publication Policy
Ethical Standards
SAJ adheres to ethical publishing policies outlined by the Higher Education Institutions Scientific Research and Publication Ethics legislation by Higher Education Council (Yükseköğretim Kurulu – YOK), TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye) policies, and COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) standards. Authors must ensure compliance with these principles and include a statement of adherence to research and publication ethics in their manuscripts.
Specific requirements include:
• Obtaining ethics committee approval for research involving surveys, interviews, focus groups, experiments, or clinical studies.
• Ensuring consent for case studies and respecting intellectual property rights for tools, images, or artistic works.
Research using pre-2020 data, theses, or prior submissions must include clear references and do not require retrospective ethics approval.
Ethical Principles for Authors
Authors submitting to SAJ are expected to adhere to the following principles:
• Possess the necessary expertise for designing and conducting the research.
• Maintain self-criticism, honesty, and transparency during the research and data analysis phases.
• Respect the work of others conducting similar research.
• Approach the research problem with integrity.
• Report findings in an open and honest manner.
• Acknowledge contributions from all participants involved in the research.
• Clearly outline the distribution of roles and rights in the research process.
• Avoid fabricating or falsifying data.
• Use data from others only with permission.
• Provide details on all sources (including electronic) and methods used for data collection and analysis.
• Ensure the content of the publication is accurate, complete, and free from intentional omissions.
• Adhere to "scientific ethics" in producing and developing knowledge.
• Publish only information that is developed systematically and scientifically.
• Ensure the content is unbiased and unaffected by personal interests, concerns, political views, or beliefs.
• Properly cite all sources used in the publication.
• Recognize the contributions of others in producing, compiling, measuring, and preparing the information, either through authorship or acknowledgment.
Ethical Principles for Editors
Experts serving as editors in SAJ must adhere to the following principles:
• Publishing Decisions: Ensure impartiality in decision-making.
• Objectivity: Maintain neutrality and fairness.
• Confidentiality: Safeguard the confidentiality of the editorial process.
• Conflict Resolution: Address disputes and declarations of interest ethically.
• Collaborative Research: Engage in cooperative and ethical research activities.
Ethical Principles for Reviewers
Reviewers are expected to uphold the following principles:
• Adhere to principles of independence, impartiality, honesty, equality, consistency, and confidentiality.
• Provide objective, descriptive, clear, constructive criticism, evaluations, feedback, and recommendations.
• Respect deadlines and avoid unnecessary delays in the review process.
• Refrain from exploiting the review process for personal gain or engaging in plagiarism.
• Accept review requests only within their field of expertise and decline those outside their area.
AI Policy
Purpose: The purpose of this AI policy is to provide clear guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the submission, review, and publication processes. As the use of AI tools becomes more prevalent in academia, we recognize the need to address the ethical implications and ensure that submissions adhere to academic integrity standards.
Scope: This policy applies to all submissions, including peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed articles, across all disciplines within the journal’s scope. It covers the use of AI in data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation, and any other aspect of research and publication.
1. Use of AI in Research
We acknowledge that AI can significantly contribute to educational research, offering insights and analyses that might not be feasible through traditional methods. However, AI-generated content must adhere to the following guidelines:
• Transparency: Authors must disclose any use of AI tools in the research process, including data analysis, writing assistance, and manuscript generation. A detailed description of the AI tools used and how they contributed to the research should be included in the methodology section.
• Originality and Plagiarism: AI-generated content must be original and not replicate or paraphrase content from other sources. Authors are required to ensure that AI-generated text is free from plagiarism. Any instances of AI usage that may lead to unintentional plagiarism should be avoided and acknowledged.
• Data Integrity: AI tools used for data collection, processing, or analysis must follow ethical guidelines related to data integrity, accuracy, and privacy. Authors must ensure that AI algorithms used do not introduce bias, misinterpret data, or violate ethical principles.
2. AI in Manuscript Preparation
AI tools used in manuscript preparation, such as language enhancement, citation generation, or text summarization, should be disclosed in the submission. The authors should:
• Clearly specify the tools used for any writing assistance or text generation.
• Ensure that the final manuscript meets the journal’s standards for academic quality and integrity.
If AI is used for generating parts of the manuscript, authors must clarify whether the content has been reviewed or revised by human experts for accuracy, coherence, and alignment with the research goals.
3. Peer Review Process
AI can also support the peer review process by assisting in manuscript evaluation or enhancing the review process. However, the following should be considered:
• AI-Generated Reviews: If AI is used to assist in writing a review or generating suggestions for improvements, it should not replace the human reviewer. AI should only be used as a supplementary tool.
• Reviewer Guidelines: Reviewers are encouraged to consider whether AI has been appropriately used in the research and manuscript. AI-assisted content should be evaluated for academic integrity and adherence to ethical research standards.
4. Ethical Considerations
All AI-related activities must adhere to the following ethical guidelines:
• Fairness: AI tools must be used in a manner that promotes fairness, ensuring that no group of authors is disadvantaged by the use of AI.
• Confidentiality: The use of AI tools must respect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts. Authors should ensure that any AI tools used do not store, share, or disclose the content of submitted manuscripts without proper consent.
• Accountability: Authors are fully responsible for the content generated with the assistance of AI tools. While AI can aid in generating text, interpreting data, or performing analyses, it remains the author's responsibility to ensure that the content is ethically sound and scientifically valid.
5. Disclosure and Acknowledgments
• Authors must explicitly disclose any use of AI in their submission, including which parts of the manuscript were generated with the help of AI tools (e.g., writing, analysis, literature review).
• If AI tools were used to aid in research, data analysis, or manuscript preparation, authors should mention the tools used in an acknowledgment section or methodology section.
6. Non-Compliance
Failure to comply with the AI policy may result in the rejection of the manuscript, retraction of published work, or other actions deemed necessary to maintain the journal's academic standards and ethical integrity.
7. Updates to the Policy
This policy will be periodically reviewed and updated to adapt to the evolving role of AI in academic research and publishing. Authors and reviewers will be informed of any updates to ensure compliance.
