ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

The Talim Ethical Principles have been established to ensure high-quality scientific publications, uphold ethical standards, and foster trust in scientific knowledge for authors, reviewers, and publishers. Our journal’s ethical principles have been developed 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 others’ original ideas, methods, data, or works—in whole or in part—as one’s own without proper citation in accordance with scientific norms,
• Fabrication: Using data that does not actually exist or has been falsified in scientific research,
• Falsification: Altering research records or obtained data; presenting equipment or materials not used in the research as if they were used; or distorting or manipulating research results to align with the interests of individuals or institutions providing support,
• Duplicate Publication: Presenting duplicate publications as separate publications in academic appointments and promotions,
• Salami Slicing: Dividing the results of a single study into multiple publications in a manner that compromises the integrity of the research and presents these publications as separate works for academic appointments and promotions,
• Unjustified authorship: Including individuals who did not make an active contribution as authors or excluding those who did; altering the author order without justification or in an inappropriate manner; removing the names of those who made active contributions from subsequent editions; or using one’s influence to have one’s name included among the authors despite lacking an active contribution,

Other types of ethical violations include:
a) Failing to acknowledge the individuals, institutions, or organizations that provided support, or their contributions, in publications resulting from research conducted with such support,
b) Using theses or works that have not yet been submitted or defended and accepted as sources without the owner’s permission,
c) Sharing information contained in a work assigned for review with others prior to publication without the explicit permission of the work’s author,
d) Misusing resources, facilities, opportunities, and equipment provided or allocated for scientific research,
e) Making unfounded, baseless, or malicious allegations of ethical violations,
e) Publishing data obtained from surveys and attitude studies conducted as part of a scientific study without the participants’ explicit consent, or without the institution’s permission if the research is to be conducted at an institution,
f) Failing to comply with the obligation to inform and warn relevant parties about potential harmful practices related to the scientific research being conducted,
g) In scientific studies, failing to use data and information obtained from other individuals or institutions only to the extent and in the manner permitted, failing to respect the confidentiality of such information, and failing to ensure its protection,
h) Making false or misleading statements regarding scientific research and publications in the context of academic appointments and promotions,

The Publisher’s Ethical Responsibilities
The Önder Imam Hatip Association, the publisher of Talim Journal, is a non-profit civil society organization dedicated to the public good.
The Editorial Board consists of an editor-in-chief, one or more associate editors as needed, and subject editors. The Editor may, depending on the article’s subject matter, forward the article to a subject editor for review when necessary.

Responsibilities of the Talim Journal Editorial Board
• The Talim Journal Editorial Board is responsible for every article submitted to Talim Journal, as well as all subsequent processes following its publication. This responsibility requires making decisions regarding journal matters solely in the public interest, without considering personal gain, and acting independently. The relationship between the publisher and the Editorial Board is based on the principle of independence; all decisions made by the editors are independent of the publisher and other individuals or organizations.
• The Editorial Board of Talim Journal strives to continuously improve the journal and enhance the quality of its publications.
• The Editorial Board of Talim Journal ensures the establishment and implementation of journal policies regarding publication, double-blind peer review, the evaluation process, and ethical principles.
• The Editorial Board of Talim Journal protects the copyright of authors whose articles have been published in Talim Journal.
• The Editorial Board of Talim Journal is responsible for taking measures regarding intellectual property rights, unethical scientific conduct, and plagiarism during the article and journal publication process.
• The Board prepares an “Author Guidelines” document containing information required by authors and a “Reviewer Guidelines” document containing information needed by reviewers during the evaluation process, and updates them as necessary.
• The Editorial Board of Talim Journal retains records of each article and correspondence related to the journal in electronic or printed form.

Ethical Responsibilities of the Editor-in-Chief, Editors, and Subject Editors
• Editors strive to meet the information needs of reviewers, authors, researchers, practitioners, and readers; provide feedback when necessary; and act in accordance with principles of transparency regarding issues requiring correction or clarification during the publication process.
• When deciding whether to publish articles, editors ensure that the articles are original, contribute to the scientific literature, and benefit readers, researchers, and practitioners.
• When making positive or negative decisions regarding articles, editors consider the article’s originality, contribution to the field, the validity and reliability of the research methods, the clarity of the presentation, and the journal’s objectives and scope.
• Editors implement the journal’s policies on double-blind peer review and the evaluation process, keep reviewers’ identities confidential, and ensure that each article is evaluated impartially and within a reasonable timeframe.
• Editors assign articles to subject editors and reviewers based on their areas of expertise and support the conduct of impartial and independent evaluations.
• Editors consider whether there are any conflicts of interest or common interests among editors, reviewers, and authors to ensure the impartial evaluation of the article.
• Editors prevent evaluations that do not comply with academic etiquette or are unscientific.
• Editors ensure that journal publication processes are conducted in accordance with publication policies and guidelines.
• Editors protect the personal data of authors, reviewers, and readers.
• Editors ensure that errors, inconsistencies, or misleading information in articles are corrected.
• Editors protect the intellectual property rights of published articles and defend the rights of the journal and the author(s) in case of infringement.
• Editors consider constructive criticism of articles published in the journal and grant authors the right to respond to such criticism.
• Editors also consider studies with negative results.
• Editors review complaints submitted to the journal and provide necessary explanations.

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers
In the article review process of Talim Journal, the principle of double-blind peer review is applied, meaning that reviewers do not know the authors and authors do not know the reviewers; reviewers may not communicate directly with authors. Review forms, comments on the text, and requests for revisions are communicated to the author(s) by the editors through the journal management system. Reviewers evaluating articles submitted to Talim Journal must adhere to the following ethical responsibilities:
• Reviewers should only agree to evaluate articles within their area of expertise.
• Reviewers must conduct their evaluations impartially and confidentially.
• Nationality, gender, religious beliefs, political beliefs, and commercial interests must not compromise the impartiality of the review.
• If reviewers become aware of a conflict of interest or a conflict of interest, they must decline to review the article and inform the editors.
• Reviewers should conduct their evaluations in accordance with academic etiquette and in a constructive manner; they should avoid personal comments that are insulting or hostile.
• Reviewers must evaluate the articles they have agreed to review within the specified timeframe.

Authors’ Ethical Responsibilities
The ethical responsibilities of authors submitting articles to Talim Journal can be summarized as follows:
• Authors should not submit to Talim Dergisi an article that has been published elsewhere or is currently under consideration for publication.
• Authors must properly cite the sources they used during the writing of the article in accordance with ethical principles.
• The names of individuals who did not contribute to the article should not be listed as authors.
• Authors must inform the editors of any individuals with a conflict of interest or a conflict of interest regarding the article submitted for publication.
• If the authors are asked to provide information about their article or raw data during the review process, they must submit the requested information to the editors.
• The authors must document that they have obtained the rights to use the data in their article, as well as any necessary permissions for research and analysis, and the consent of the participants involved in their research.
• Authors should contact the editor to report, correct, or retract any errors they discover in their manuscript during the review or early-access phase, or after it has been published online.
• Authors must state that they have obtained ethics committee approval for studies involving data collection through quantitative or qualitative methods—such as surveys, scales, interviews, observations, or focus group discussions—that require such approval; the name of the ethics committee, the date of the decision, and the decision number must be indicated on the first and last pages of the manuscript and in the Methods section, and the document evidencing the ethics committee’s decision must be uploaded to the system along with the manuscript submission.
• Ethics committee approval is not required for review articles authored by one or more authors. However, even for articles that do not require an ethics committee decision, it must be stated on the first and last pages of the article and in the Methods section that an ethics committee decision is not required.

Principles of Research Ethics and Scientific Responsibility
• Scientific integrity, impartiality, reliability, and transparency must be the guiding principles in the planning, conduct, reporting, and publication of research. Researchers must avoid misleading, incomplete, or manipulative practices during data generation, analysis, and interpretation; they must document all processes in a manner that allows for verification when necessary.
• Individuals participating in the research and the research team must be informed in a clear and understandable manner regarding the study’s purpose, method, scope, duration, data collection tools, and the intended uses of the data obtained. Sufficient explanations must be provided for all questions participants may have regarding the research, and the informed consent process must be carried out in its entirety.
• Personal data and sensitive information obtained from participants must be protected in accordance with the principle of confidentiality. During the processes of storing, processing, and sharing data, actions must comply with national and international data protection regulations; the principles of anonymity and privacy must be upheld. Any information that could lead to the disclosure of participants’ identities must be securely protected.
• Participation in research must be entirely voluntary. No pressure, coercion, threats, or material or emotional coercive elements should be imposed on participants. Participants must be clearly informed that they may withdraw from the study at any time without providing a reason.
• All necessary measures must be taken to ensure that individuals do not suffer physical, psychological, social, cultural, or economic harm during the research process. Potential risks must be assessed in advance, and strategies to mitigate harm must be developed. Studies involving children, individuals with disabilities, the elderly, or groups with limited decision-making capacity require additional ethical sensitivity; where necessary, consent from a legal representative must be obtained.
• Researchers must maintain their scientific independence and transparently disclose any conflicts of interest that could influence the study’s results. Financial support, sponsorship relationships, institutional affiliations, and project funding must be clearly disclosed. Research results must not be altered to serve the interests of any individual, institution, or organization.
• Conduct must adhere to the principles of scientific publication ethics; ethical violations such as plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, salami slicing, and unfair authorship must be avoided. Citations must be made in accordance with academic standards, and all scientific contributions used must be properly referenced.
• Research results must be evaluated with the public interest in mind. Incomplete or misleading statements that could lead to the misinterpretation of scientific knowledge or the misrepresentation of the public must be avoided. Researchers must act with a sense of academic responsibility in scientific communication processes.
• In research utilizing artificial intelligence, digital analysis tools, or automated data processing systems, the role of these technologies within the scope of the study must be clearly stated; data security, accuracy, and ethical usage principles must be taken into account.

Reporting Ethical Violations to the Editor
If any unethical behavior by editors, reviewers, or authors, or any unethical situation regarding a manuscript under review, in early view, or already published is encountered in Talim Journal, it must be reported via email to talimdergisi@gmail.com.