Publication Ethics
Turkish Journal of Applied Geoinformation Sciences (TJAGS) is committed to adhering to the highest ethical standards and guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) during all stages of the publication process for scientific research. Therefore, it is imperative that the authors, reviewers, and editors of Turkish Journal of Applied Geoinformation Sciences (TJAGS) adhere to the general ethical principles stipulated by the COPE and expected by the global scientific community. Submitted articles are thus expected to be prepared with full consideration for the general ethical principles stipulated by the COPE and align with established rules and guidelines to ensure complete compliance. The publication processes of Turkish Journal of Applied Geoinformation Sciences (TJAGS) are based on the equitable production, development, and sharing of knowledge through scientific methods. In the event that the author(s) of the article are found to have utilized falsified and fabricated data, the institution where these authors are employed will be disclosed, and the article will be rejected. Editorial members of the journal and/or reviewers reserve the right to request that the author(s) submit the raw data used in the submitted article.
Turkish Journal of Applied Geoinformation Sciences (TJAGS) conducts plagiarism screening for all submitted manuscripts prior to the initiation of the peer-review process. If plagiarism or inappropriate textual similarity is identified, the authors will be notified and required to revise the manuscript accordingly. All submissions are evaluated using the plagiarism detection system to ensure originality and compliance with ethical publishing standards. Manuscripts with a similarity index exceeding 25% are rejected, and the authors are formally informed of this decision. Authors are strongly encouraged to perform a similarity check before submission. While freely accessible plagiarism checking tools may not provide results as robust or reliable as professional software, their preliminary use is recommended to identify potential issues before formal submission.

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors
Author(s) submitting an article to Turkish Journal of Applied Geoinformation Sciences (TJAGS) are expected to adhere to the following guidelines:

• Author(s) must ascertain that the submitted work is original, devoid of any instances of plagiarism, and has not been previously published elsewhere.
• Author(s) must provide accurate and honest reporting of their research, including proper attribution of all sources.
• Author(s) must disclose any conflicts of interest that may potentially compromise the integrity of the presented research.
• Author(s) are required to secure all relevant institutional permissions and ethical approvals for data collected throughout all stages of the research process, including data obtained from external or third party sources, in strict accordance with COPE’s guidelines for responsible research conduct and data governance.
• Author(s) must ensure that all copyright regulations pertaining to research and publication ethics, as well as the use of intellectual and artistic works, have been fully observed and duly complied with.
• Author(s) must adhere to established best practices for data management, ensuring that all research data is handled responsibly and made available upon request for verification purposes.
• Individuals who have not made a substantive scholarly contribution to the research should not be designated as authors, and no revisions to the established author order or inclusion of additional authors should be proposed after the article has been published.
• Author(s) should notify the editorial office to provide necessary clarifications, request corrections, or initiate withdrawal procedures upon identifying any errors related to the evaluation process, early view dissemination, or the electronically published version of their manuscript.

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers
Peer reviewers constitute an essential component of the scholarly publishing process, ensuring the methodological rigor, scientific validity, and overall integrity and quality of the research disseminated by Turkish Journal of Applied Geoinformation Sciences (TJAGS). The manuscripts submitted to Turkish Journal of Applied Geoinformation Sciences (TJAGS) are assessed through a double-blind peer-review process in which the identities of both authors and reviewers remain mutually concealed. Direct communication between reviewers and authors is strictly prohibited, and all evaluation materials—including review reports, assessment forms, and proofreading requests—are transmitted exclusively via the journal’s online submission and management system. The following guidelines must be rigorously observed by reviewers to ensure the integrity, objectivity, and methodological soundness of the peer-review process:

• Reviewers are expected to conduct objective and unbiased evaluations of submitted manuscripts, employing scholarly rigor and providing constructive, evidence‑based feedback aimed at enhancing the scientific quality and clarity of the work.
• Reviewers are required to uphold strict confidentiality by treating all submitted manuscripts as privileged scholarly documents and refraining from any form of discussion, distribution, or disclosure beyond the formal peer-review process.
• Reviewers are required to conduct their evaluations with strict impartiality. Under no circumstances should factors such as nationality, gender, religious or political beliefs, or commercial interests influence or compromise the objectivity of the review process.
• Reviewers must transparently disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that could compromise the objectivity or integrity of their evaluation, including but not limited to financial, professional, institutional, or personal associations with the authors.
• Reviewers who agree to evaluate a manuscript are obligated to complete their assessments within the timeframe specified by the journal, thereby ensuring the efficiency, continuity, and integrity of the peer-review process.

Ethical Responsibilities of Editors
Editors of Turkish Journal of Applied Geoinformation Sciences (TJAGS) are responsible for ensuring that all editorial decisions and processes adhere to the highest ethical and professional standards consistent with COPE recommendations. Their responsibilities include the following:

• Impartial Evaluation: Editors must evaluate all submitted manuscripts exclusively on their scholarly merit, without regard to authors’ personal characteristics such as race, gender, religious beliefs, political views, or any other non academic attributes.
• Confidentiality: Editors are required to maintain strict confidentiality of all manuscript materials and ensure that these documents are disclosed only to individuals directly involved in the editorial and peer-review workflow, in accordance with COPE’s confidentiality principles.
• Final Decision-Making: While reviewers’ reports constitute an essential component of the assessment process, the Editor-in-Chief holds the ultimate responsibility for making publication decisions—acceptance, revision, or rejection—ensuring that such decisions are made independently, transparently, and in accordance with COPE’s standards for editorial integrity.
• Addressing Ethical Concerns: Editors must rigorously investigate all allegations or suspicions of ethical misconduct—such as plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, or breaches of ethical approval—by following COPE’s procedural flowcharts and recommended best practices for ethical investigation and resolution.
• Post‑Publication Discussion Process: Editors evaluate substantive, evidence based critiques of published articles—including formal Comment submissions—and ensure that authors are provided with a fair opportunity to respond through an appropriate Reply article, in accordance with COPE’s principles of transparency, fairness, and constructive scholarly dialogue.

Ethical Responsibilities of the Publisher
Mersin University, as the publisher of Turkish Journal of Applied Geoinformation Sciences (TJAGS), operates as a nonprofit public academic institution and is responsible for supporting the journal’s adherence to the highest standards of publication ethics. Turkish Journal of Applied Geoinformation Sciences (TJAGS)—formerly known as the Turkish Photogrammetry Journal—is a long established scholarly publication managed by its Editorial Board, with administrative support provided by the Mersin University Scientific Journals Coordination Office. The Editor-in-Chief, appointed directly by the Rector of Mersin University, is responsible for overseeing the editorial workflow, including the appointment of Co-Editors and Editorial Board members through the journal’s online management system, ensuring that all selections reflect relevant disciplinary expertise and uphold COPE’s principles of independence and editorial integrity.
Any suspected unethical conduct involving editors, reviewers, or authors— including concerns regarding non compliance with the journal’s ethical principles—should be reported directly to the editorial office at cguler@mersin.edu.tr for formal evaluation in accordance with COPE guidelines.

Post-Publication Corrections and Ethical Misconduct Handling
All applications for post-publication corrections are evaluated by the Editors and Editorial Board to determine whether the request is necessary and appropriate, taking into account COPE guidelines, the nature and severity of the error, its potential impact on the scholarly record, and the supporting evidence submitted by the authors or other parties. When needed, the Editorial Board may seek input from authors, reviewers, or relevant subject matter experts. If the correction request is approved, the correction is implemented in the journal’s archive to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the published record. In cases of alleged ethical misconduct, the Editor and Editorial Board will act in accordance with the relevant COPE flowcharts and procedural recommendations. These procedures apply when misconduct allegations are submitted directly by whistleblowers, concerns about a published article arise on social media platforms, or external institutions report suspected ethical violations and provide supporting evidence. The Editorial Board may also collaborate with editors in chief of other journals when doing so facilitates a more efficient and comprehensive assessment of potential misconduct. In all cases, the Editorial Board follows the appropriate COPE recommendations throughout the investigative process. If ethical misconduct is confirmed, the Editor-in-Chief will issue a formal retraction notice. This notice is published in the journal, and the article’s record is updated—including in relevant indexing databases—to clearly reflect the retraction. The retracted article remains accessible in the journal’s archive in accordance with best practices for maintaining transparency but is unmistakably marked as “Withdrawn”.

Appeals and Complaint
To submit an appeal or complaint, authors or other parties should contact the journal’s editorial office directly via e mail at cguler@mersin.edu.tr. Appeals and complaints are evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board, who review each submission in accordance with COPE’s directives, guidelines, and recommended best practices. Following this assessment, the Editorial Board issues a final decision, ensuring that the process is conducted transparently, fairly, and in alignment with COPE’s standards for editorial integrity and responsible complaint handling.

Withdrawal Requests
If a withdrawal (retraction) request is to be made, authors must contact the journal’s editorial office directly via e mail at cguler@mersin.edu.tr. Withdrawal applications are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board, who assess the request in accordance with COPE principles and the reasons provided by the authors. To initiate a withdrawal, authors are required to submit a formally completed withdrawal form, signed by all co authors, clearly stating the withdrawal request and the justification for the decision. The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board evaluate the request and make a decision based on the validity and adequacy of the authors’ stated reasons. If the application is approved, the manuscript is withdrawn from the journal, and the authors are formally notified of the decision. Until the withdrawal process is fully completed, authors are advised not to submit the manuscript to another journal, in order to avoid duplicate submission, publication conflicts, or breaches of publication ethics.

Publication Integrity
Turkish Journal of Applied Geoinformation Sciences (TJAGS) adheres to the following practices to ensure the integrity and transparency of its publication processes:

• Corrections and Retractions: If a significant error or ethical breach is identified in a published article, the journal will issue a correction or, when warranted, a withdrawal (retraction), in full accordance with COPE’s retraction guidelines.
• Conflict of Interest Disclosure: Authors and reviewers are required to disclose any financial or personal conflicts of interest that may influence the research, its presentation, or the objectivity of the review process.
• Open Access Policy: The journal is committed to open access principles and provides free and unrestricted access to all published articles, in line with the Budapest Open Access Initiative.

Publication Period of the Journal
Turkish Journal of Applied Geoinformation Sciences (TJAGS) is a double-blind peer-reviewed journal published biannually, with issues released in March and September.