Publication Ethics Principles
The ethical principles and publication policy of the Turkish Journal of Religious Education Studies have been prepared in accordance with the guidelines and policies published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Actions Contrary to Scientific Research and Publication Ethics
• Plagiarism: Representing the original ideas, methods, data or works of others as one's own work in whole or in part without citation in accordance with scientific rules,
• Forgery: Using non-existent or falsified data in scientific research,
• Distortion: Falsifying research records or data obtained, falsifying devices or materials that were not used in the research, falsifying or shaping the results of the research in line with the interests of the persons and organizations receiving support,
• Republishing: Presenting duplicate publications as separate publications for academic appointments and promotions,
• Slicing: Inappropriately and inappropriately dividing the results of a research into parts in a way that disrupts the integrity of the research and publishing them in more than one issue and presenting these publications as separate publications in academic appointments and promotions,
• Unfair authorship: Including or excluding people who have not actively contributed, changing the author ranking in an unjustified and inappropriate manner, removing the names of active contributors from the work in subsequent editions, using one's influence to have one's name included among the authors even though one has not actively contributed,

Other types of ethical violations include:
a) Failing to acknowledge the individuals, institutions, or organisations that provided support, or their contributions, in publications resulting from research conducted with such support,
b) Using theses or studies that have not yet been submitted or defended and accepted as a source without the owner's permission,
c) Sharing information contained in a work assigned for review with others prior to publication without the express permission of the author,
ç) Using resources, premises, facilities, and equipment provided or allocated for scientific research for purposes other than those intended,
d) Making unfounded, inappropriate, and deliberate allegations of ethical violations,
e) Publishing data obtained without the explicit consent of participants in surveys and attitude studies conducted as part of scientific work, or without the additional permission of the institution if the research is to be conducted at an institution,
f) Failure to comply with the obligation to inform and warn those concerned about possible harmful practices related to scientific research conducted by researchers and officials,
g) In scientific studies, failing to use data and information obtained from other persons and institutions to the extent and in the manner permitted, failing to respect the confidentiality of this information and failing to ensure its protection,
h) Making false or misleading statements regarding scientific research and publications in academic appointments and promotions,

Principles of Research Ethics
• Integrity, quality, and transparency must be ensured in the design, review, and conduct of research.
• The research team and participants must be fully informed about the purpose, methods, and anticipated uses of the research; the requirements for participation in the research; and any risks involved.
• The confidentiality of the information provided by research participants and the anonymity of respondents must be ensured. Research must be designed in a way that protects the autonomy and dignity of participants.
• Research participants must participate voluntarily and not be coerced in any way.
• Harm to participants must be avoided. The research should be planned in a way that does not put participants at risk. The consent of the legal guardian should be obtained for children, those under guardianship, or those with certified mental illness.
• Research independence should be clear and transparent; any conflict of interest should be disclosed.
• If the study is to be conducted at any institution or organization, approval should be obtained from that institution or organization to conduct the study.

Ethics Committee Approval
Our journal requires that all studies in scientific fields requiring ethics committee approval have obtained the relevant ethics committee decision. In this context, information regarding ethical committee approval (committee name, date, and decision number) must be clearly stated in the article text.
In line with the regulations implemented by Ulakbim TR Index since 2020, studies without ethical committee approval are not considered for publication in our journal.
Research Requiring Ethics Committee Approval
In our journal, research requiring ethics committee approval includes the following studies:
• All research conducted using qualitative or quantitative approaches involving data collection from participants through methods such as surveys, interviews, focus group studies, observation, and interview techniques.
• Retrospective studies within the framework of the Personal Data Protection Law.
For such studies to be considered for evaluation, the relevant ethics committee approvals must have been obtained and these approvals must be clearly stated in the article text.

Control to Prevent Plagiarism
Plagiarism is presenting the ideas, methods, data, applications, writings, figures or works of others as one's own work, in whole or in part, without citing the authors in accordance with scientific rules.
TUDEAR screens all submitted articles to prevent plagiarism. Studies submitted for review are checked for plagiarism using Ithenticate software. The similarity rate is expected to be less than 15%. The main measure of similarity is the author's compliance with the citation and citation rules. If the similarity rate appears to be 1%, but the citation and quotation are not done properly, plagiarism may still be in question. In this respect, citation and quotation rules should be known and carefully applied by the author.

If plagiarism is detected in an article submitted or published in our journal, our journal will act in accordance with the COPE principles (Plagiarism in a submitted manuscript - Plagiarism in a published article).

Protection of Participants' Personal Data
TUDEAR requires that all research involving human participants that contains personal or sensitive data or materials not legally in the public domain be subject to formal ethical review.

Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
Our journal is responsible for protecting the intellectual property rights of all published articles and defending the rights of the journal and author(s) in the event of possible infringements.

Ethical Violation Reports
Readers may report any significant errors or inaccuracies they notice in an article published in our journal, or any complaints regarding editorial content (plagiarism, duplicate articles, etc.), by sending an email to tudearjournal@gmail.com. We welcome submissions as they provide us with an opportunity to improve, and we will respond promptly and constructively. Our journal follows the COPE Guidelines (1-2) regarding complaints.

Changes in Author Staff
TUDEAR accepts requests for revisions, additions or deletions of author names before publishing an accepted manuscript. Requests for author additions, deletions, and reorganization of author names prior to publication of an accepted manuscript should be submitted to the TUDEAR Secretary by the corresponding author. This request must include:
• The reason for adding, removing or rearranging the name in question,
• Separate written confirmation (by e-mail, fax, or letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, deletion, or reorganization. It should also include the consent of the author being added or removed, as the case may be.
Requests that are not originally sent by the corresponding author will be sent directly by the TUDEAR Secretary to the corresponding author, who should follow the above procedure. It should be noted that (1) the TUDEAR Secretary will inform the editorial board of the journal of such requests, and (2) an accepted manuscript in press will be held in abeyance until the author roster is agreed upon. Requests to add, remove, or revise author names after the manuscript has been published will not be considered.

Correction, Withdrawal, Expression of Concern
Editors may consider issuing a correction if minor errors are identified in the published article that do not affect the findings, interpretations and conclusions. Editors should consider retracting the manuscript if there are major errors/violations that invalidate the findings and conclusions. Editors should consider issuing a statement of concern if there is a possibility of research or publication misconduct by the authors; there is evidence that the findings are unreliable and that the authors' institutions have not investigated the incident; or the potential investigation seems unfair or inconclusive. The COPE Principles (1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8) are taken into account in the processes of correction, retraction or expression of concern.

Special Issue Publication Policy
A special issue may be published once a year upon the request of the Editorial Board. Articles submitted for inclusion in the special issue are first subjected to a preliminary editorial review. Then they are examined for compliance with the journal's spelling rules and similarity screening is performed to prevent plagiarism. After these stages, it is included in the peer review process in which the double-blinding model is used.

Editorial Confidentiality Obligation
TUDEAR editors treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents, which means that they will not disclose information about a manuscript to anyone without the authors' permission. During the manuscript review process, the following people have access to the manuscripts: Editors, Reviewers, Editorial Board Members. The only situation in which details about a manuscript could be passed to a third party without the authors' permission is if the editor suspects serious research misconduct.

Use of Artificial Intelligence
The use of artificial intelligence in processes that do not affect the originality of the article, such as literature review or language control, is acceptable in studies submitted to our journal. However, the use of artificial intelligence should be carried out within the framework of ethical rules and should never be used for unethical purposes such as fabricated data and manipulation.
For studies involving the use of artificial intelligence, it is mandatory to inform our journal about this situation at the article submission stage. All responsibility for the use of artificial intelligence lies with the authors themselves.

Conflicts of Interest
Our journal guarantees the independent and impartial completion of the publication process, taking into account conflicts of interest between the author(s), reviewers and other editors. Our journal takes into account the COPE principles (1-2) regarding potential conflicts of interest.

Duties and Responsibilities of Stakeholders

Ethical Duties and Responsibilities of the Privilege Holder
• TUDEAR does not charge authors in any way.
• TUDEAR is committed to independent editorial judgment.
• Editors are responsible for all processes of the studies submitted to TUDEAR. In this context, editors are the decision makers, regardless of economic or political gains.
• TUDEAR protects the ownership and copyright of each published article and undertakes the obligation to keep a record of each published copy.
• In addition, it keeps the database open to access via the internet.
• It has the responsibility to take precautions against all kinds of scientific misconduct, citation mongering and plagiarism related to the editors.

Ethical Duties and Responsibilities of the Editorial Board
• The Editorial Board of the Turkish Journal of Religious Education Studies (hereinafter, the “Editorial Board”) and the Editors/Assistant Editors are responsible for each article submitted to the Turkish Journal of Religious Education Studies.
• The Editorial Board ensures the determination and implementation of journal policies such as publication, blind refereeing, evaluation process, and ethical principles.
• The refereeing of the article by the Editorial Board does not constitute a commitment to publication. Even if the refereeing process is positive, the decision of the Editorial Board and the Editors/Assistant Editors is required for publication.
• The Editorial Board encourages academic integrity. The Editorial Board ensures the originality of written works by checking them through the iThenticate plagiarism prevention program prior to publication.
• The Editorial Board always investigates allegations of plagiarism and misconduct in published articles. For example, if an author has plagiarized from other works, used third-party copyright material without permission where permission is required or with incomplete notification, the Editorial Board reserves the right to take various actions, including retracting the article, reporting the matter to the head of department, dean, and/or relevant academic institutions at the institution where the author works.

Ethical Duties and Responsibilities of Editors

1. Editors' Relations with the Reader
Editors are obliged to take into account the feedback from readers, researchers and practitioners about the published studies and to take the necessary responses and actions.

2. Editors' relations with Authors
• Editors make their decision about the article based on the original value of the article, the aims of the journal and ethical rules.
• The article should be included in the evaluation process if the article has a high original value and is prepared in accordance with the journal's objectives and ethical rules.
• Unless there is an important justification, the editor and the section editor should take into account the positive opinions of the referees.
• Editors are required to respond to requests and comments from authors with feedback.

3. Editors' Relations with Reviewers
• The referees to be appointed should be selected in accordance with the subject of the article.
• The referee should take care that there is no conflict of interest or relationship of interest between the referee and the authors.
• The editor is responsible for guiding the referees in the article evaluation process and providing the information requested.
• The editor is obliged to conceal the identity information of the author and the referee through blinded refereeing.
• The referees should take the necessary warnings and precautions to evaluate the article in a timely, impartial and scientific manner.
• They should endeavor to increase the number of referees for our journal.

4. Relations with the Advisory Board of Editors
Editors are required to take into account the opinions and suggestions of the advisory board about the articles.

5. Editors' relations with the journal owner and publisher
Editors' decisions about the article should be independent of the journal owner and the publishing organization.

6. Editors' decision to publish the article
Editors are responsible for observing the journal's editorial principles, journal objectives and international standards in the articles to be published in the journal.

7. Preservation of personal data
Editors are responsible for not transferring the personal information of article authors to third parties except with their consent.

8. Protection of intellectual property rights
The editors are responsible for protecting the intellectual property rights of all articles submitted and published in the journal.

9. Complaints to the Editors
Editors are responsible for responding to complaints from reviewers, authors and readers in a clear and informative manner.

10. Conflicts of interest and relationships
Editors are responsible for taking precautions against conflicts of interest and conflicts of interest that may arise between authors, referees and third parties in order to complete the evaluation processes of the articles impartially and independently.

Ethical Duties and Responsibilities of Referees
• Reviewers evaluate manuscripts without regard to the origin, gender, sexual orientation or political philosophy of the authors. Reviewers also ensure a fair blind review process for the evaluation of manuscripts submitted to the journal.
• All information regarding manuscripts submitted to the journal is kept confidential. Reviewers should not negotiate with anyone other than those authorized by the editor.
• Reviewers have no conflict of interest with parties such as authors, funders, editors, etc.
• Reviewers assist editors in decision-making and may also assist authors in improving manuscripts.
• An objective judgment is always made by the reviewers. Reviewers express their views clearly, with appropriate supporting arguments.
• Reviewers should also inform the editor of any significant similarities or overlaps between the submitted manuscript and any other published manuscript within their knowledge.

Ethical Duties and Responsibilities of Authors
• Authors prepare and submit their work as original.
• Authors ensure that the citations and quotations made in their submitted articles are accurate and complete.
• Authors are required to indicate and explain the situations that may be a conflict of interest in the articles they submit.
• The editor, referee and section editor may request raw data of the article from the author. Therefore, the author should have the raw data of his/her article ready for submission.
• Authors should not submit the same manuscript for publication in any other journal. Simultaneous submission of the same work to more than one journal constitutes unethical behavior and is unacceptable.
• Appropriate references should be given for the work of others. Authors should refer to publications that have influenced their work. All sources used during the study process should be indicated.
• All sources of financial support should be disclosed. All authors should disclose any conflicts of interest involved in the creation of their work.
• When an author discovers a serious error or inaccuracy in a published article, he/she should promptly notify the journal editorial office. The author is then responsible for cooperating with the journal editorial office in withdrawing or publishing a correction to the article.

PUBLICATION POLICIES
• The Turkish Journal of Religious Education Studies (TUDEAR) is published semi-annually (June-December) and has a structure in which articles in Turkish and English are evaluated by expert academics.
• While TUDEAR is committed to publishing scientific studies in the fields of education and religious education, it also publishes joint/interdisciplinary studies in these fields.
• Articles must not have been previously published or submitted for publication elsewhere.
• All articles are evaluated by two referees in a double blind review process and, if deemed necessary, sent to a third referee. Publication of an article is subject to the approval of the referees. Authors are obliged to make the necessary corrections requested by the referees. The final decision on the manuscripts submitted to our journal is made by the Editor-in-Chief, taking into account the referee evaluation reports. Click here for more information.
• While our journal has the principle of publishing scientific studies produced in the fields of education and religious education, it also publishes joint/interdisciplinary studies in these fields.
• Our journal appeals to all education professionals, especially academics, researchers, teachers and graduate students, who work in the field of educational sciences and want to follow current developments in this field.
• The authors own the copyright of their works published in our journal and their works are licensed as CC BY-NC 4.0. Click here for more information.
• Articles published in our journal are published as open access under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. The full text of all published articles can be accessed free of charge at https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/tudear/archive. Click here for more information.
• All studies published in our journal are digitally archived in LOCKSS. Click here for more information.
• The publication of articles in the journal and the execution of article processes are not subject to any fee. No processing or submission fee is charged for articles submitted to the journal or accepted for publication.
• Our journal does not accept sponsorship and advertising in accordance with its publication policies. All expenses of our journal are covered by our publisher Prof. Dr. Mehmet BAHÇEKAPILI.