The Turkish Journal of Social Work Research (TUSHAD) is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in its publication processes. Our publication ethics policy is based on the guidelines and principles published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), specifically the "Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors." Additionally, the criteria of the Higher Education Council of Turkey and TR Dizin are integral parts of this policy.

The following ethical duties and responsibilities are binding for all stakeholders (authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher).

1. Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Originality: Authors warrant that their submission is entirely original, the data is accurate, and the work has not been published elsewhere.
Authorship: Individuals who have not made a significant intellectual contribution to the study should not be listed as authors. The author order should be determined based on the level of contribution, and all authors must approve the final version.
Citation and Referencing: All sources used must be cited completely and accurately.
Ethics Committee Approval: For quantitative or qualitative research involving human participants (surveys, interviews, focus groups, etc.), Ethics Committee Approval must be obtained. The details of this approval (Committee Name, Date, and Decision Number) must be stated in the "Methodology" section and on the last page of the manuscript.
Informed Consent: Due to the nature of social work research, authors must declare that "Informed Consent" or a "Voluntary Participation Form" was obtained from the participants (or their legal guardians).
Conflict of Interest: Authors are obliged to disclose any financial or personal conflicts of interest that could influence the results of the study.
Data Sharing: Authors may be asked to provide the raw data of their study during the review process; they should be prepared to present this data to the Editor or reviewers.

2. Ethical Duties and Responsibilities of Editors

Impartiality: Editors evaluate manuscripts based solely on their intellectual content and alignment with the journal’s scope, without regard to the authors' race, gender, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy.
Confidentiality: Editors must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, and the publisher.
Double-Blind Review: Editors are responsible for ensuring the integrity of the "Double-Blind Peer Review" process and must ensure that the identities of the authors and reviewers are not revealed to each other.
Conflict of Interest: Editors will not handle manuscripts for which they have a conflict of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors or institutions connected to the papers; instead, they will ask another member of the editorial board to handle the manuscript.
Plagiarism Check: Editors ensure that every submitted manuscript is scanned for plagiarism and that the similarity rate complies with the journal's policy.

3. Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

Scientific Contribution: Reviewers should provide constructive, objective, and scientific feedback to improve the quality of the manuscript. They must avoid personal criticism or hostile language.
Confidentiality: Reviewers must treat the manuscript received for review as a confidential document. They must not share the work with others or use the data in their own research.
Timeliness: Reviewers should only accept manuscripts they can review within the proposed timeframe; if a delay occurs, they must inform the Editor immediately.
Conflict of Interest: Reviewers should decline the invitation to review if they have any conflict of interest (competition, collaboration, etc.) with the authors or the study.
Reporting Ethical Violations: If reviewers suspect plagiarism, data fabrication, or any other ethical violation in the manuscript, they must notify the Editor immediately.

4. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage Policy

AI tools (such as ChatGPT) cannot be listed as "Authors."
If authors use AI tools for writing assistance, language editing, or data analysis, they must transparently declare this usage in the "Methodology" or "Acknowledgments" section (specifying which tool was used and for what purpose).
The author is fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the content generated or assisted by AI.

5. Research Requiring Ethics Committee Approval (Crucial)

In accordance with TR Dizin criteria, Ethics Committee Approval is mandatory and must be documented for the following studies:
All research involving data collection from participants using quantitative or qualitative methods such as surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, observations, and experiments.
Research involving the use of humans or animals (including material/data) for experimental or other scientific purposes.
Retrospective studies in accordance with the Law on the Protection of Personal Data.
(Note: For Case Reports, it must be stated that "Informed Consent" was obtained from the relevant individuals.)

6. Responsibilities of the Publisher

The Publisher of the Turkish Journal of Social Work Research guarantees that:
The decision-making authority belongs to the Editor, and commercial/political concerns will not influence editorial independence.
The property and copyright of the published articles are protected.
Necessary sanctions will be applied in cases of scientific misconduct, plagiarism, and ethical violations, in accordance with COPE guidelines.