Publication Ethics Principles
Publication Ethics can be defined as a self-regulatory mechanism that insists on honesty on behalf of the author(s), reviewers, and publishers, aiming to establish higher editorial standards.

Ethical Rules for Authors:
Authors submitting articles to our journal are required to comply with the specified ethical principles and rules.
Submitted works should not have been previously published or simultaneously submitted to another publication or scientific event.
The work should be original to the author(s). If other research and publications are used, citations/references must be made in accordance with scientific research principles and sources must be clearly indicated.
If data collection tools (such as scales, questionnaires, etc.) are not original to the author(s), necessary permission must be obtained and documented.
In studies with multiple authors, all authors must make a concrete and sufficient contribution to the study in a scientific and academic manner. Individuals who do not contribute to the study in this aspect cannot be included as authors.
Adding or removing authors cannot be done once the evaluation process has started.
The similarity rate of the studies, according to the Turnitin program, which is a plagiarism prevention software, including quotations, should not exceed 15%. Studies that do not meet this requirement will not be evaluated. A low similarity rate does not imply that citations, references, and source attributions are in accordance with scientific research principles and ethical rules.
Translations of other works are not accepted in our journal. Submissions that are sent without indicating that they are translations but are partially or entirely translated will be rejected for plagiarism regardless of the similarity rate.
The research data and findings presented in the studies should be accurate; data should not be manipulated through selection, addition, or removal.
The raw data of the research should be kept by the author(s) and should be provided upon request.
For studies requiring qualitative/quantitative data collection, ethical approval must be obtained, and information about the approval should be provided within the study. The document of the relevant ethical committee approval should be submitted to the journal along with the study.
Authors should declare that they have worked in accordance with scientific research methods and principles and ethical rules in their studies.
The responsibility for unforeseen ethical violations and illegal situations not foreseen in the rules lies with the author(s). Therefore, authors are obliged to comply with nationally and internationally accepted ethical and legal rules.

Ethical Rules for Reviewers:
Reviewers should evaluate studies related to their expertise and competence. Otherwise, they should not conduct the evaluation and should inform the editorial board.
They should evaluate the studies in terms of making a significant contribution to the relevant field, adherence to scientific research methods, and sufficiency.
During the evaluation, they should act in accordance with impartiality, confidentiality, objectivity, and the principles of scientific examination, avoiding personal criteria that may be subjective.
The language used in writing the report should be encouraging to the author, while respecting the author's personal rights.
If they encounter conflicts of interest or pressures that may negatively affect the evaluation process, they should refuse to review the study.
They should not archive the studies they review, personally benefit from their content, or use them before they are published.
Reviewers should be aware of the ethical rules set for authors and pay attention to them during their evaluation. If they notice any violation of ethical rules, they should inform the editorial board.

Ethical Rules for Editors:
Editors are responsible for ensuring that the pre-evaluation, peer review, and publication processes of the studies are carried out in a fair, unbiased, auditable, objective, independent of conflicts of interest, and in compliance with the privacy rights of the parties within the framework of the journal's publication principles and ethical rules.
They should consider works that are suitable for the journal's purpose and scope and do not involve significant violations in terms of publication principles and ethical rules for pre-evaluation.
They should pay maximum attention to authors' and reviewers' compliance with the specified ethical rules, and if necessary, make new arrangements and changes.
During the peer review process, they should ensure that the double-blind peer review system is implemented as intended, keep the identities of the authors and reviewers confidential, and check for any conflicts of interest.
They should determine competent reviewers relevant to the subject of the study and make efforts to involve them in the evaluation process.
They should submit the works sent by the members of the School of Social Sciences to external reviewers for evaluation.
They cannot provide any information or explanations regarding the submitted works to third parties who are not involved in the evaluation and publication processes (this rule also applies if the study is not published after the evaluation process).
In their communication with authors and reviewers, they should be explanatory and informative, provide timely feedback, and maintain mutual interaction.
They should make efforts to ensure the academic development, quality improvement, and contribution to the scientific fields that constitute the scope of the journal.
Authors, reviewers, and readers' opinions, requests, complaints, and criticisms should be taken into account, and explanatory feedback should be provided. The individuals or institutions who have the right to respond should be informed.
They should evaluate the issues raised in the opinions, requests, complaints, and criticisms with the journal boards and make changes in the publication processes accordingly.

Peer-reviewed studies are research works that support and implement the scientific method. In this regard, it is of great importance for all parties involved in the publication process (authors, readers and researchers, publishers, reviewers, and editors) to adhere to ethical principles. Selçuk University Journal of Social Sciences Vocational School is committed to national and international standards in research and publication ethics. It complies with the Press Law, Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works, and the Higher Education Institutions Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive. The journal also adopts the International Ethical Publishing Principles published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). It also commits to comply with the decisions of the Turkish Editors Workshop.

Duplicate Publication:
Duplicate publication refers to the publication of the same article or substantially similar articles in multiple journals. The editor will return such articles without review. Subsequently, the editor may impose an embargo on the author attempting duplicate publication for a certain period, disclose this situation to the public in the journal where the previous article was published (possibly as a simultaneous announcement with the editor of the previous journal), or implement all these measures together.

Simultaneous Submission of the Same Work to Multiple Journals:
Authors cannot submit the same article to multiple journals simultaneously. If the editor becomes aware of a possible simultaneous submission, they reserve the right to consult the other editor(s) who received the article. Additionally, the editor may return the article without review, reject it without considering the reviews, or make this decision through discussion with the relevant editor(s), and decide not to accept article submissions from the author(s) for a certain period. The editor may also contact the authors' employers or implement all these measures together.

Plagiarism Prevention Check:
Presenting others' ideas, methods, data, practices, writings, figures, or works as one's own, in whole or in part, without proper citation according to scientific rules, is considered plagiarism. The Selçuk University Journal of Social Sciences Vocational School scans all submitted articles to prevent plagiarism. The submitted works are checked for plagiarism using the Turnitin software. The expected similarity rate should be less than 15%. The primary measure is the author's compliance with citation and referencing rules. Even if the similarity rate is below 1%, if proper citation and referencing are not followed, plagiarism may still be considered. Therefore, authors should be aware of citation and referencing rules and apply them carefully. Plagiarism, duplication, ghost authorship/denied authorship, research/data fabrication, article slicing, slicing for publication, copyright infringement, and concealing conflicts of interest are considered unethical behaviors. All articles that do not comply with accepted ethical standards are retracted, including those that are detected after publication and contain possible violations or misconduct.

Forgery:

Forgery involves producing non-existent data, manipulating or altering the presented or published work based on unreal data, reporting or publishing them, or presenting an unperformed study as if it had been conducted. It also includes falsifying research records and obtained data, presenting unused methods, devices, and materials as being used in the research, excluding data that does not fit the research hypothesis, manipulating data and/or results to fit relevant theories or assumptions, and distorting or shaping research results in accordance with the interests of supporting individuals and organizations.

Protection of Participants' Personal Data:
Selçuk University Journal of Social Sciences Vocational School requires that all research involving non-public personal or sensitive data or materials related to human participants undergo official ethical review.

Addressing Research Misconduct Allegations:
Selçuk University Journal of Social Sciences Vocational School adheres to COPE's Ethical Toolkit for Successful Journal Publishing. Journal editors will take measures to prevent the publication of articles where plagiarism, citation manipulation, data falsification, data fabrication, and other research misconduct have occurred. Under no circumstances will journal editors knowingly allow such misconduct to take place. If journal editors become aware of any allegations of research misconduct related to a published article, they will follow COPE's guidelines regarding the allegations.

Ethics Violation Reports:
Readers can notify the journal by sending an email to sbmyod@selcuk.edu.tr if they notice a significant error or mistake in an article published in Selçuk University Journal of Social Sciences Vocational School or if they have any complaints regarding editorial content (such as plagiarism, duplicate articles, etc.). We welcome such submissions as they provide an opportunity for improvement, and we will respond promptly and constructively.

Corrigendum, Retraction, Expression of Concern:
Editors may consider publishing a corrigendum if minor errors that do not affect the findings, interpretations, and conclusions are identified in a published article. Editors should consider retracting an article when major errors/violations that invalidate the findings and conclusions occur. If there is a possibility of research or publication misconduct by the author(s); evidence that the findings are not reliable and the authors' institution has not investigated the matter or a potential investigation appears unfair or inconclusive, editors should consider publishing an expression of concern. COPE and ICJME guidelines are taken into account regarding corrigendum, retraction, or expression of concern.

Publication of Studies Based on Surveys and Interviews:

Selçuk University Journal of Social Sciences Vocational School adopts the "Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" and "Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers" principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) to establish ethical assurance in scientific publishing. In this context, the following points should be observed in the submitted works to the journal:

1. For research conducted in all scientific fields that require ethical committee approval (ethical committee approval should be obtained and documented, and this approval should be stated in the article).
2. In research requiring ethical committee approval, information regarding the permission (committee name, date, and number) should be included in the methodology section and also on the first/last pages of the article; in case studies, information should be provided that informed voluntary consent forms were signed.

Special Issue Publication Policy:
Upon request of the Journal's Editorial Board, a special issue may be published once a year. Articles submitted for inclusion in the special issue are first subjected to Editorial preliminary review. Then they are examined for compliance with the journal's writing guidelines and checked for similarity to prevent plagiarism. After these stages, they undergo a peer-review process that uses a double-blind review model.

Editorial Confidentiality Obligation:
The editors of Selçuk University Journal of Social Sciences Vocational School treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents, which means they will not disclose information about a manuscript to anyone without the author(s)' permission. During the manuscript review process, the following individuals may have access to the manuscripts: Editors, Reviewers, and Editorial Board Members. The only circumstance where details regarding a manuscript can be communicated to a third party without the author(s)' permission is if the editor suspects serious research misconduct.

Scientific Misconduct Allegations-Suspicions:
Scientific misconduct has different definitions. While following the guidance created by major publishing ethics institutions, Selçuk University Journal of Social Sciences Vocational School addresses these issues on a case-by-case basis. Editors are obligated to take action if they suspect ethical violations or if there are allegations of misconduct. This responsibility applies to both published and unpublished articles. Editors should not simply reject articles that raise concerns about potential misconduct. They are ethically obligated to pursue alleged cases. Editors should follow COPE flowcharts when appropriate. Editors should first request a response from the individuals suspected of misconduct. If they are not satisfied with the response, they should request an investigation from the relevant employer or institution. Editors should make every reasonable effort to ensure that an appropriate investigation is conducted regarding the alleged misconduct; if this is not possible, editors should persist in finding a resolution to the issue. This is a laborious but essential duty.
Selçuk University Journal of Social Sciences Vocational School adheres to COPE's Ethical Toolkit for Successful Journal Publishing. Journal editors will take measures to prevent the publication of articles where plagiarism, citation manipulation, data falsification, data fabrication, and other research misconduct have occurred. Under no circumstances will Selçuk University Journal of Social Sciences Vocational School or its editors knowingly allow such misconduct to take place. If journal editors become aware of any allegations of research misconduct related to a published article, they will follow COPE's guidelines regarding the allegations.
When referees suspect research or publication misconduct, they should communicate the situation to the Editor. The Editor is responsible for following the necessary procedures in accordance with COPE recommendations.

Procedure for Complaints

This procedure applies to complaints regarding the content, procedures, or policies under the responsibility of Selçuk University Journal of Social Sciences Vocational School or our editorial team. Complaints can provide an opportunity and incentive for improvement, and we aim to respond promptly, courteously, and constructively.
Complaints should be related to the content, procedures, or policies under the responsibility of Selçuk University Journal of Social Sciences Vocational School. Complaints should be sent directly to sbmyod@selcuk.edu.tr and will be treated confidentially. The editor will respond to complaints immediately, following the procedure specified in the COPE flowchart.
Complaints will be reviewed by a relevant member of the editorial team, and if they cannot be resolved, the following processes will be followed:
If the initial response is considered inadequate, the complainant may request that their complaint be forwarded to a more senior member of the journal.
If the complainant is still not satisfied, complaints may be escalated to the Editor-in-Chief.
A full response will be provided within two weeks, if possible.
COPE publishes a code of conduct for editors of scientific journals. This will facilitate the resolution of disputes with journals and publishers, but it should only be sought after exhausting the journal's own complaint procedures.

Appeals Process
We welcome serious objections to evaluations made by editors and referees. If you believe that we rejected your article due to a misunderstanding of its scientific content, please send an appeal message to our editorial team at sbmyod@selcuk.edu.tr. At this stage, please refrain from submitting a revised version of your article. If we find your appeal justified after reviewing the appeal letter, we may invite you to submit a revised version of your article, which will be sent back to the external referee process. Please provide as much detail as possible in your appeal letter. Lastly, we can only consider one appeal per article, so please take the time and effort to clearly present your appeal - you have a chance, so make good use of it. We have found that prolonged deliberation on rejected articles is generally unsatisfactory for both the authors and the editors, so we do not process multiple appeals for the same work.

Conflicts of Interest
A conflict of interest arises when primary professional judgment about a primary interest may be unduly influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain or personal competition). We believe that knowing the competing interests of the author(s) is necessary for making the best decision on how to handle an article, and that readers should also be aware of these if we publish the article.
Financial or other interests that could compromise objectivity, substantially distort judgment, or give an unfair advantage to any person or organization involved in the work should be disclosed. All sources of financial support for the conduct of the research and the preparation of the article should be disclosed, including the role of sponsors, if any. If there is no funding source, that should also be stated. Examples of potential conflicts of interest to be disclosed include consultancies, receipt of payment, and grants. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed as early as possible.
Selçuk University Journal of Social Sciences Vocational School has a defined process for handling submissions from editors, employees, or members of the editorial board to ensure unbiased review. Such submissions are primarily referred to other journals. If this is not possible, the submitter's role in the journal is suspended. These submissions are evaluated through a double-blind peer review process.
The editor should not be involved in decisions about papers that they have authored or have been authored by their family members. Additionally, such a work should go through all regular procedures of the journal. The editor should adhere to the ICMJE guidelines regarding the disclosure of potential conflicts of interest by authors and referees.

Research Ethics Principles

Selçuk University Journal of Social Sciences Vocational School adheres to the highest standards of research ethics and adopts the following internationally recognized research ethics principles. The compliance of articles with ethical rules is the responsibility of the author(s).

• The principles of integrity, quality, and transparency should be ensured in the design, review, and conduct of the research.
• The research team and participants should be fully informed about the purpose of the research, methods, and potential uses of the research; the requirements and, if any, risks associated with participating in the research.
• Confidentiality of the information provided by research participants and the anonymity of respondents should be ensured. The research should be designed to preserve the autonomy and dignity of the participants.
• Research participants should participate voluntarily and should not be under any form of coercion.
• Harm to participants should be avoided. The research should be planned in a way that does not put participants at risk.
• Independence in research should be clear and explicit, and any conflicts of interest should be disclosed.
• In experimental studies involving human subjects, written informed consent should be obtained from participants who decide to participate in the research. For children, individuals under guardianship, or those with certified mental illness, the consent of their legal guardian should be obtained.
• If the study is to be conducted in any institution or organization, approval should be obtained from that institution or organization.
• In studies involving human subjects, the "methods" section should state that "informed consent" was obtained from the participants and that ethical approval was obtained from the institution where the study was conducted.