The Selçuk Tourism and Information Technology Research Journal (STBAD) observes the highest international ethical standards in its publication processes to contribute high-quality, reliable, and original works to the scientific literature. Our journal adopts the "Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing" established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

At the national level, it pledges full compliance with the Press Law, the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works, the Higher Education Council (YÖK) Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive, and the TR Dizin criteria (Decisions of the Turkish Editors' Workshop).

1. Open Access and Free Publication Policy (Diamond Open Access)

STBAD is a fully open-access journal that supports the free circulation of knowledge on a global scale.

• Our journal is completely free of charge.
• No Article Processing Charges (APC) or fees under any other name are requested from the authors at any stage of manuscript submission, editorial processing, peer review, typesetting, or publication.
• All published articles are made available to readers free of charge and without interruption.

2. Authorship Criteria and Contribution Statement

STBAD requires that only individuals who have made a concrete scientific contribution to the research be included in the author list.

• Gift or Ghost Authorship: Adding individuals who have not made an actual contribution (gift authorship) or hiding those who have (ghost authorship) is strictly prohibited.
• Statement of Contribution Rates: In multi-authored studies, the extent and stage (conceptualization, data collection, analysis, writing, etc.) of each author's contribution must be clearly stated in the "Author Contribution Statement" section at the end of the article. The corresponding author guarantees that all authors have approved the final version of the manuscript.

3. Conflict of Interest and Funding Statement

Any potential financial gain, personal competition, or institutional affiliation that may affect the objectivity of the research must be clearly declared.

• Conflict of Interest Statement: Authors must explicitly state at the end of the manuscript whether there is any conflict of interest with any person or institution.
• Funding/Support Statement: All financial support (grants, project funds, etc.) received during the conduct of the research or the preparation of the manuscript, and the role of sponsors, must be reported. If there is no funding source, this must also be explicitly stated in the text.

4. Research Ethics and TR Dizin Criteria

The principles of integrity, quality, and transparency are essential in all research submitted to the journal.

• Ethics Committee Approval: In accordance with TR Dizin criteria, official "Ethics Committee Approval" is strictly required for all research involving human participants that necessitates data collection through methods such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, and experiments. The ethics committee document must be uploaded to the system, and its details (committee name, date, decision number) must be explained in the methodology section of the manuscript.
• In studies involving human subjects, it must be stated that "informed consent" was obtained from the participants, and the privacy of personal data must be legally guaranteed.

5. Plagiarism and Originality Policy

STBAD subjects every submitted manuscript to a similarity check using Turnitin or iThenticate software prior to the evaluation phase.

• The overall similarity rate is expected to be below 20%.
• However, even if the similarity rate is low, failure to cite properly in accordance with APA 7 rules is considered "plagiarism."
• Studies found to contain plagiarism, salami slicing, duplication (redundant publication), or data fabrication are immediately rejected, and an embargo may be imposed on their authors.

6. Simultaneous Submission and Editorial Confidentiality

• Simultaneous Submission: Authors cannot simultaneously submit a manuscript to another journal while it is under review at STBAD.
• Confidentiality: All data regarding manuscripts are kept strictly confidential (except for potential ethical violation investigations, which do not require author permission). Manuscripts submitted by the journal's editorial team undergo a standard external peer-review process, and the relevant person's access to the decision process of their own manuscript is blocked via the system.

7. Allegations of Scientific Misconduct and Violation Reports

STBAD editors follow COPE flowcharts step-by-step in the event of a suspicion or allegation of scientific misconduct. No ethical violation is knowingly overlooked. Readers, reviewers, or researchers can immediately file a complaint via ethics.stbad@selcuk.edu.tr when they notice a significant error, plagiarism, or unethical situation in a published or under-review study. All notifications are handled confidentially and resolved promptly.

8. Correction, Retraction, and Appeal Processes

• Correction: Published for minor errors that do not affect the main findings.
• Retraction: When serious errors or violations that invalidate the main findings of the study are detected, the manuscript is retracted in accordance with COPE guidelines.
• Appeal: Authors can appeal editorial decisions regarding their manuscripts with a reasoned letter to ethics.stbad@selcuk.edu.tr. Only one appeal is allowed per manuscript, and the final decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief.