ETHICS POLICY

Publication Ethics

 The publishing processes applied in TÜRKLAD constitutes the basis for the development and dissemination of information in an impartial and respectable manner. The process applied in this manner is directly reflected in the quality of the work of the authors and the institutions supporting the authors. Peer-reviewed researches are the studies that embody and support the scientific method. At this point, it is important that all participants of the process (authors, readers and researchers, publishers, referees and editors) comply with standards for ethical principles. TÜRKLAD expects all participants to have the following ethical responsibilities within the scope of publication ethics.

The following ethical duties and responsibilities have been prepared by considering guidelines and policies published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) as open access.

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

The author(s) who sent manuscripts to TÜRKLAD are expected to comply with the following ethical responsibilities:

1. The manuscripts sent by author(s) should be original.

The author (s) should give full and accurate references or cite these studies in case they benefit from or use other studies.

2. People who do not contribute intellectually to the content of the study should not be mentioned as authors.

 3. The situations and the relationships that may constitute a conflict of interest, if any, of all the works submitted for publication are explained.

4. The author(s) may be requested raw data related to their articles within the reviewing process; in such cases, the author(s) should be prepared to submit the expected data and information to the editorial board.

5. The author(s) should have the document that show that they have the necessary permissions for the use of data and for research / analysis or that the consent of the test subjects has been obtained.

 6. If the author (s) discovers an error related to the manuscript which is published or in the process of reviewing, the author has an obligation to cooperate with the editor on the matter of informing the editor or publisher, correcting or withdrawing.

7. The authors can not send their manuscripts to more than one journal for the application process.  Each application is started just after the completion of the previous application. Studies published in another journal cannot be sent to TÜRKLAD.

8. Change of author responsibilities (such as adding author, changing author order, removing author name) in an article which is put into reviewing process can not be offered.

Ethical Duties and Responsibilities of Editors

The editors of TÜRKLAD have the following duties and responsibilities published by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) as an open access on the basis of guidelines of “COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors” and “COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors”. 

General Duties and Responsibilities

Editors are responsible for each manuscript published in TÜRKLAD. In this context, editors have the following roles and obligations:

1. They make effort to meet the information needs of readers and authors.

2. They constantly ensure the development of the journal.

3. They carry out processes to improve the quality of the studies published in the journal.

4. They support the freedom of thought.

5. They ensure academic integrity.

6. They maintain business processes without compromising intellectual property rights and ethical standards.

7. They show clarity and transparency in terms of publication in matters requiring correction and clarification.

Relations with Readers

Editors make decisions considering the knowledge, skills and experience expectations of all readers, researches and practitioners. They also take heed of the fact that the published studies contribute to the reader, researcher, practitioner and scientific literature and they are original. In addition, they pay attention in regard to feedbacks from readers, researches and practitioners and provide explanatory and informative feedback.

Relations with Authors

The duties and responsibilities of the editors against the authors are as follows:

1. Editors make positive or negative decisions based on the importance of the study, original value, validity, clarity of expression and the aims of the journal.

2. Editors take the studies that are suitable for the scope of the publication to the pre-evaluation stage unless there is a serious problem.

 3. Editors do not ignore the favorable referee recommendations unless there is a serious problem with the study.

 4. New editors cannot change the decisions made by the previous editor (s) for the manuscripts, unless there is a serious problem.

5. Editors publish the “Blind-Review and Reviewing Process” and prevent any deviations from the defined processes.

6. Editors provide information and feedback for the authors in an explanatory and informative manner.

Relations with Referees

The duties and responsibilities of the editors against the referees are as follows:

1. Editors determine the referees according to the content of the study.

2. Editors provide the information and guidelines that the referees need during the reviewing process.

3. Editors oversee whether there is any conflict of interest between the authors and the referees.

4. Editors, in the context of blind-review, keep the identity of the referees private.

5. Editors encourage the referees to review the studies in a scientific and objective manner.

6. Editors review the referees based on punctuality and performance.

7. Editors determine the practices and policies that improve the performance of the referees.

8. Editors provide the necessary steps to update the referee archive dynamically.

9. Editors hinder discourteous and unscientific reviews.

10. Editors take steps to diversify the referees archive

Relations with the Editorial Board

Editors ensure that Editorial Board members advance processes according to publishing policies, and guidelines. They inform the Editorial Board members about the publication policies and developments. They educate new Editorial Board members on publication policies and provide the information they need.

Also editors:

1. They ensure that the Editorial Board members evaluate the studies objectively and independently.

2. They elect the new Editorial Board members from among the faculty members who are qualified and can contribute.

3. They send the studies to the Editorial Board members to evaluate them according to their profession. 4. They interact regularly with the Editorial Board.

5. They organize regular meeting with Editorial Board for the development of publication policies and the journal.

Relations with The Magazine Owner and Publisher

The relation between the editors and the publisher is based on principle of editorial independence.

Editorial and Blind Review Process

Editors apply the “Blind Review Process” policies in the journal publication policies. In this context, the editors ensure that each work is completed in a fair, objective manner and reviewed in time.

Quality Assurance

Editors publish each article in the journal in accordance with journal publishing policies and international standards.

Protection of Personal Data

Editors ensure the privacy of the personal data related to the test subjects or visuals in the evaluated study. They keep the individual data of authors, referees and readers private.

Ethic Committee, Human and Animal Rights

The editors ensure the protection of human and animal rights in the studies which are under evaluation. When there is no approval of the ethic committee about the text subjects used in the manusicripts, the editors refuse the manuscript.

Potential Abuse and Preventions Against Misconduct

Editors take precautions against possible abuse and misconduct. They carry out a careful and objective research on determining and evaluating the complaints related to this subject and they share their findings.

Ensuring the Integrity of Academic Publication

Editors quickly correct points that include errors, inconsistencies, or misleading.

Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

Editors protect the intellectual property rights of all published articles and defend the rights of the journal and author(s) in case of possible violations. They also take the necessary measures to ensure that the contents of all published articles do not infringe the intellectual property rights of other publications.

Constructiveness and Openness to Discussion

Editors:

1. They consider persuasive criticism of the published studies and take a constructive attitude towards these criticisms. 

2. They give the author(s) the right to reply for the criticized studies.

3. They do not ignore studies with negative results.

Complaints

Editors; they examine the complaints coming from the authors, referees or readers carefully and respond in an illuminating and explanatory manner.

Political and Commercial Concerns

The owner of journal, publisher and any other political and commercial elements do not affect the independent decision-making of the editors.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors; considering any conflicts of interest between the author (s), referees and other editors, they guarantee the independent and impartial completion of the publication process.

Ethical Responsibilities of Referees

Evaluation of all studies with “Blind Review” directly affects the quality of the publication. This process provides confidence through objective and independent evaluation of the publication. TÜRKLAD evaluation process is carried out with the principle of double-sided blind review. Referees cannot contact the authors directly; evaluations and comments are communicated through the journal management system. In this process, evaluation forms and referee comments are transmitted to the author (s) through the editors. In this context, the referees evaluating the articles for TÜRKLAD are expected to have the following ethical responsibilities:

1. The referees accept to evaluate only the studies related to their profession.

2. The referees review with the objectivity and privacy principles.

3. If they think that they are facing a conflict of interest during the reviewing process, they refuse to review the study and inform the journal editor about the issue.

4. In accordance with the principle of privacy, they annihilate the manuscripts they have evaluated after the reviewing process. They only use the final versions of the reviewed manuscripts after they have been published.

5. They review objectively in relation with content of the study.

6. They do not allow national, gender, religious and political beliefs and commercial concerns to influence the evaluation.

7. They evaluate in a constructive and gentle language. They do not make humiliating personal comments that include hostility, slander and insult.

8. They review the study in time and within the framework of the ethical responsibilities above.

   If you encounter any other unethical behavior or content in TÜRKLAD except for the ethical responsibilities mentioned above, please report to uluturklad@gmail.com by e-mail.