Ethics Committee Approval
Stratium: International Journal of Migration and Security Studies attaches great importance to ensuring compliance with ethical principles in scientific research and maintaining ethical standards throughout the research process.
As of 2020, the TR Index Journal Evaluation Criteria were updated, and detailed regulations regarding the requirement for ethics committee approval in scientific research were introduced. Within this framework, the types of studies requiring ethics committee approval are listed below.
During manuscript submission to the journal, researchers are required to upload the ethics committee approval document together with the manuscript files for studies that require such approval. If a study falls within the scope of research that does not require ethics committee approval, the relevant declaration form must be signed and submitted, and this situation must be explicitly stated in the manuscript.
Research Requiring Ethics Committee Approval
Ethics committee approval is required for the following types of research:
- Qualitative or quantitative studies conducted using data collection methods such as surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, observations, experiments, and questionnaires,
- Studies involving the experimental or scientific use of humans or animals (including materials or data),
- Clinical studies conducted on humans,
- Scientific studies conducted on animals,
- Retrospective studies conducted within the scope of the Personal Data Protection Law.
Important Considerations Regarding Ethics Committee Approval
- In case reports, it must be stated that Informed Consent Forms were obtained from the participants.
- Permission must be obtained from the owners for the use of scales, surveys, photographs, images, or similar materials belonging to others, and this permission must be clearly stated in the manuscript.
- It must be stated that copyright regulations regarding intellectual and artistic works used in the study have been complied with.
- Retrospective ethics committee approval is not required for studies using research data collected before 2020, studies derived from master's or doctoral theses (provided that this is clearly indicated in the manuscript), or manuscripts that were submitted to the journal in the previous year, accepted, but not yet published.
- Researchers who are not affiliated with a university may also apply to Ethics Committees located in their respective regions and obtain the necessary approvals.
- Manuscripts submitted for publication must clearly indicate whether ethics committee approval and/or legal or special permissions are required. If approval is required, the name of the institution granting the approval, the approval date, and the decision/reference number must be clearly provided.
- For studies involving human or animal subjects, it must be declared that the research was conducted in accordance with relevant international declarations, standards, and guidelines.
Studies Requiring Ethics Committee Approval and Accepted for Publication
For studies requiring ethics committee approval and accepted for publication, the ethics committee information (name of the ethics committee, approval date, and decision/reference number) must be stated in the Methods section of the manuscript and must also be included on the first or last page of the article.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question 1: Is ethics committee approval required for all manuscripts?
No. Ethics committee approval is required only for certain types of research. Studies requiring ethics committee approval include:
- Qualitative or quantitative studies conducted using data collection methods such as surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, observations, experiments, and questionnaires,
- Studies involving the experimental or scientific use of humans or animals (including materials or data),
- Clinical studies conducted on humans,
- Scientific studies conducted on animals,
- Retrospective studies conducted within the scope of the Personal Data Protection Law.
In addition:
- It must be stated that Informed Consent Forms were obtained in case reports,
- Necessary permissions must be obtained for the use of scales, surveys, photographs, and similar materials belonging to others,
- Compliance with copyright regulations concerning intellectual and artistic works used in the study must be declared.
Question 2: Is retrospective ethics committee approval required for publications based on previously completed research and theses?
No. Retrospective ethics committee approval is not required for studies using research data collected before 2020, studies derived from master's or doctoral theses (provided that this is stated in the manuscript), or manuscripts that were submitted to the journal in the previous year, accepted, but not yet published.
Question 3: Do TR Index rules regarding ethics committee approval restrict publications conducted outside universities?
No. Researchers who are not affiliated with a university may also apply to Ethics Committees in their respective regions and obtain the required approvals.