1. Publication Ethics Statement
Turkish Journal of Geographic Information Systems (TUCBS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and integrity in scholarly publishing.
The journal follows internationally recognized ethical publishing principles and adheres to the guidelines and best practices established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
These ethical principles apply to all participants in the publication process, including editors, reviewers, authors, and the publisher.
2. Editorial Responsibilities
Editorial Independence
Editors make publication decisions independently based on:
- scientific quality
- originality
- methodological rigor
- relevance to journal scope
- ethical compliance
Confidentiality
Editors must treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents.
Information about submissions may only be shared with:
- corresponding authors
- reviewers
- editorial staff
- publisher (when necessary)
Conflict of Interest
Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where conflicts exist.
Examples:
- collaboration with authors
- institutional relationships
- financial conflicts
- personal relationships
Ethical Complaints
Editors will investigate allegations involving:
- plagiarism
- duplicate publication
- authorship disputes
- data fabrication
- data falsification
- citation manipulation
- peer review manipulation
- ethical misconduct
Appropriate actions may include:
- manuscript rejection
- correction publication
- expression of concern
- article retraction
- institutional notification
3. Peer Review Policy
TUCBS applies a double-blind peer review process.
- minimum two independent reviewers
- editor screening before review
- confidential evaluation
- objective assessment
Reviewers are selected according to subject expertise.
4. Responsibilities of Authors
Originality
Authors must submit original work.
Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, and unattributed reuse are prohibited.
Multiple Submission
Manuscripts must not be:
- previously published
- simultaneously submitted elsewhere
Authorship
Authorship must be limited to contributors who made substantial scholarly contributions.
All authors must:
- approve the final manuscript
- agree to submission
- approve authorship order
Data Integrity
Authors must ensure:
- accurate reporting
- no fabrication
- no falsification
- transparency of methods
Editors may request raw data when necessary.
Ethical Approval
Studies involving:
- humans
- animals
- surveys
- interviews
- personal data
must include ethics approval details.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure
Authors must disclose:
- financial conflicts
- employment relationships
- consultancy roles
- grants
- patents
- competing interests
Funding Disclosure
All funding sources must be declared.
AI Use Disclosure
Authors must disclose the substantive use of generative AI tools in:
- writing assistance
- data analysis
- figure generation
- code generation
- content development
AI tools cannot be listed as authors.
5. Reviewer Responsibilities
Confidentiality
Reviewers must treat manuscripts confidentially.
Objectivity
Reviews must be:
- objective
- evidence-based
- constructive
Personal criticism is unacceptable.
Conflict of Interest
Reviewers must decline review if conflicts exist.
Timeliness
Reviewers should complete reviews within the requested timeframe.
Citation Ethics
Reviewers must not request unnecessary self-citations.
6. Research Misconduct
The journal considers the following as misconduct:
- plagiarism
- self-plagiarism
- duplicate submission
- fabricated data
- falsified data
- manipulated images
- citation manipulation
- authorship manipulation
- reviewer identity fraud
- peer review manipulation
7. Corrections, Retractions, and Withdrawal
The journal may publish:
- corrections
- errata
- expressions of concern
- retractions
according to COPE guidance.