Ethical Principles and Publication Policy
Principles published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) are adopted as open access in ethical duties and responsibilities in Turkish Journal of Health Science and Life. For this reason, authors, referees, and editors are expected to follow the ethical behavior guidelines below to conduct, report, organize and publish studies.
The Ethical Responsibilities of the Authors
It is expected that the author (s) who submit the study to the Turkish Journal of Health Science and Life comply with the following ethical responsibilities:
● The works submitted by the author (s) are expected to be original.
● If the author (s) benefit from other studies or use other studies, they must cite completely and accurately.
● People who do not contribute to the content intellectually in the creation of the study should not be specified as an author.
● If the study sent for publication has situations and relations that may constitute a conflict of interest, it should be explained.
● The raw data regarding the articles can be requested from the author (s) within the framework of the evaluation processes, in such a case the author (s) must be ready to present the expected data and information to the editorial board and the scientific board
● If the author (s) notices a mistake or error related to the published, early-view or evaluation phase, there is an obligation to inform the editor of the journal or the publisher, to cooperate with the editor in correction or withdrawal.
● Authors cannot submit their work to the evaluation process of more than one journal at the same time.
Duties and Responsibilities of The Editor
General Duties and Responsibilities: Editors are responsible for each study published in Turkish Journal of Health Science and Life. In this respect, the editors have the following roles and responsibilities:
● Making efforts to meet the demand for knowledge from readers and authors,
● Ensuring the continuous development of the journal,
● Managing the procedures aimed to improve the quality of the studies published in the journal,
● Supporting freedom of expression,
● Ensuring academic integrity,
● Following the procedures without making concessions on intellectual property rights and ethical standards,
● Being transparent and clear in issues that require correction or explanation.
Editorial Independence
The Editor evaluates submitted articles solely based on their academic merit (significance, originality, validity, clarity of the work) and relevance to the scope of the journal, regardless of the authors' gender, ethnicity, citizenship, religious belief, political philosophy, or institutional affiliation. The editor has full authority over all the editorial content of the journal and the timing of its publication.
Privacy
The editors and editorial board do not disclose information about a submitted article to anyone.
Publication Decisions
The editor ensures that all articles considered for publication are subject to peer review by at least two referees who are experts in their fields. The editor is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal will be published, based on the validity of the work in question, its importance for researchers and readers, the comments of the reviewers, and applicable legal requirements such as libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor can discuss with the editorial board or the referees while deciding.
Participation and Collaboration in Investigations
The editor will take sensible action when ethical concerns arise regarding a submitted article or published article. Any reported unethical publishing behavior will be reviewed, even if discovered years after publication. Upon investigation, if ethical concern has a solid foundation; correction, retraction, or any other note that may be relevant will be published in the journal.
Conflicts of interest
The editor and editorial board members do not use unpublished information disclosed in a submitted article for their own research purposes without the express written consent of the authors. Privileged information or ideas obtained by the editors regarding the article will be kept confidential and will not be used for personal interests. The editor will not evaluate the articles in which he has a competitive or collaborative conflict of interest with the author, company, or any of the institutions, and will ask another member of the editorial board to evaluate the article.
Duties And Responsibilities of Referees
Peer review
Authors are obliged to participate in the peer review process and cooperate fully by responding promptly to editor’s requests for raw data, clarifications, and proof of ethics approval and copyright permissions.
Contribution to editorial decisions
Peer review assists editors in making editorial decisions and can assist authors in improving their manuscripts through editorial communication. Peer review is an important component of official scientific communication and is central to the scientific effort.
Promptness Invited
Reviewers who do not feel competent to review research reported in a paper or know that it will be impossible to make an immediate review should notify the editors immediately and decline the invitation to review so that alternative reviewers can be contacted.
Confidentiality
Articles received for review are confidential and should be treated as such. It should not be shown to others or discussed with others. This also applies to referees who were invited to referee but declined the invitation to review.
Standards
Of objectivity Criticism should be conducted in an objective way and assessments should be clearly supported by literature findings so that authors can use them to improve the article. Subjective evaluation of publications is inappropriate.
Confirmation of sources
A reviewer should notify the editors of any significant similarity or overlap between the reviewed article and any other article (published or unpublished) of which he or she has personal knowledge.
Conflicts of interest
Any reviewer who has a conflict of interest arising from a competitive, collaborative, or other relationship or affiliation with the author, company, or institution associated with the article must declare a conflict of interest and notify the editor and decline the invitation to review so that alternative reviewers can be contacted. Unpublished material cited in a submitted article should not be used in a referee's own research without the express written consent of the authors. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review should be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage of the reviewer. This also applies to referees who decline an invitation to review.
Publisher's Duties and Responsibilities
The publisher is committed to the permanent availability and preservation of scientific research. It protects the property and copyright of every article published in Turkish Journal of Health Science and Life and undertakes to keep a record of every published copy.
The relationship between the editor and the publisher is based on the principle of editorial independence. All decisions taken by the editor are independent of the publisher and the journal owner.