Ethical Principles and Publication Policy
Publication Principles
1. Umde Journal of Religious Inquiries publishes academic studies in the fields of Social Sciences and Humanities, with a primary focus on Religious Sciences.
2. Only studies prepared in Turkish and English are accepted for the journal.
3. Submitted articles must align with the aims and scope of the journal.
4. Only original, unpublished works that are not currently under evaluation in another journal and whose content and submission have been approved by each author are accepted for evaluation.
5. The copyrights and publication rights of the author(s) are reserved.
6. Master’s and PhD students may only submit studies co-authored with their advisors (the student as the first author and the advisor/faculty member as the second author).
7. Studies must be prepared in accordance with the journal’s writing guidelines.
8. Articles must be submitted electronically via the "Submit Article" tab on the journal website.
9. All documents and files must be presented as Word documents (.doc or .docx).
10. Articles that do not utilize the ISNAD 2 Citation System will be rejected directly.
11. Articles exceeding the 8,000-word limit will be rejected directly.
12. Articles must include an abstract of 150-200 words and 5-6 keywords to facilitate electronic searching.
13. All expenses of the journal are covered by the Publisher. Article publication and the processing of papers are free of charge. No processing or submission fees are charged for articles submitted or accepted for publication.
14. Once an article is submitted for publication, no author’s name may be deleted from the author list, no new names may be added, and the order of authors may not be changed without the written permission of all authors.
15. This journal checks submitted works for plagiarism. Plagiarism, duplication, false authorship/denied authorship, research/data fabrication, article slicing (salami-slicing), publishing by slicing, copyright infringement, and concealment of conflict of interest are considered unethical behaviors. All articles that do not comply with accepted ethical standards will be removed from publication. This includes articles containing potential irregularities or non-compliance detected after publication.
16. The journal adheres to national and international standards regarding research and publication ethics. It complies with Press Law (a), Intellectual and Artistic Works Law (b) and Higher Education Institutions Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive (c). It also has adopted the International Principles of Ethical Publishing (d) published by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA).
a) Press Law
b) Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works
c) Higher Education Institutions Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive
d) Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Academic Publishing
Publication Ethics Statement
Correction, Retraction, and Expression of Concern
Editors may consider publishing a correction if minor errors are identified in a published article that do not affect the findings, interpretations, or conclusions. In cases of major errors or violations that invalidate the findings and conclusions, editors should consider retracting the article. If there is a potential for research or publication misconduct by the authors, or if there is evidence that the findings are unreliable and the authors' institutions have not investigated the matter, or if a potential investigation appears unfair or inconclusive, editors should consider publishing an expression of concern. COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines are taken into account regarding corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern.
Plagiarism Action Plan and Journal Measures
The journal respects intellectual property and aims to protect and encourage the original work of its authors. Articles containing plagiarism are contrary to the standards of quality, research, and innovation. Therefore, all authors submitting articles to the journal are expected to comply with ethical standards and avoid plagiarism in any form. In the event that an author is suspected of plagiarism in a submitted or published article, the study is first examined by the journal's Ethics Editor. Subsequently, the work is reviewed by the Editorial Board. The journal then contacts the author(s) to request their explanation within two weeks. If the journal does not receive a response from the author within the specified period, it will contact the author's affiliated university to request an investigation into the claim.
The journal will take the following serious measures against published articles found to contain plagiarism:
1. The journal will immediately contact the author's affiliated university to ensure definitive action is taken regarding the author(s) involved.
2. The journal will remove the PDF copy of the published article from its website and disable all links to the full-text article. The phrase "Plagiarized Article" will be added to the title of the published article.
3. The journal will deactivate the author's account and reject all future submissions from the author for a period of 3 years.
This journal checks submitted works for plagiarism: Articles that pass the preliminary check are scanned for plagiarism using iThenticate software. If plagiarism or self-plagiarism is detected, the authors are informed. Editors may subject the article to plagiarism checks at various stages of the evaluation or prod uction process if necessary. High similarity rates may lead to the rejection of an article before, or even after, acceptance. This rate is expected to be less than 15%.
Publication Ethics Policy
This journal screens all submitted works for plagiarism. The journal is committed to national and international standards regarding research and publication ethics. See: COPE Flowcharts
1. Authorship
• The reference list must be complete.
• No plagiarism or fabricated data should be included.
• Attempting to publish the same research in more than one journal is prohibited; authors must comply with scientific research and publication ethics. Actions contrary to scientific research and publication ethics include:
a) Plagiarism: Presenting the ideas, methods, data, applications, writings, figures, or works of others as one's own, in whole or in part, without citing the owners in accordance with scientific rules.
b) Fabrication: Producing data not based on research; organizing or changing a submitted or published work based on unrealistic data; reporting or publishing these; or presenting unconducted research as if it had been conducted.
c) Falsification: Falsifying research records and obtained data; presenting methods, devices, and materials not used in the research as if they were used; excluding data that do not fit the research hypothesis; manipulating data and/or results to fit relevant theories or assumptions; or distorting/shaping research results in line with the interests of supporting individuals or organizations.
d) Duplicate Publication: Presenting multiple works containing the same results of a single research project as separate works for associate professorship examinations and academic promotions.
e) Salami-Slicing (Segmentation): Dividing the results of a single research project into parts in a way that disrupts the integrity of the research and publishing them as multiple works without cross-referencing, in order to present them as separate works for associate professorship examinations and academic promotions.
f) Unfair Authorship: Including individuals who did not contribute actively among the authors; excluding individuals who did contribute actively; changing the author order without justification and inappropriately; removing the names of active contributors during or after publication; or using influence to be included among the authors despite having no active contribution.
g) Other Types of Ethical Violations: Failing to clearly state the contributing individuals, institutions, or organizations in the publications of supported research; failing to comply with ethical rules in research involving humans and animals; failing to respect patient rights in publications; sharing information contained in a work assigned for peer review with others before publication; using resources, spaces, facilities, and equipment provided or allocated for scientific research for unintended purposes; or making completely baseless, misplaced, and deliberate accusations of ethical violation (HEC/YÖK Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive, Article 8).
2. Responsibilities of the Author
• All authors must have contributed significantly to the research.
• A declaration stating that all data in the article is real and original is required.
• All authors are obliged to provide retractions and ensure the correction of errors.
3. Responsibilities of Reviewers
• Evaluations must be conducted impartially.
• Reviewers must not have any conflicts of interest regarding the research, the authors, and/or the research funders.
• Reviewers should point out relevant published work that has not yet been cited.
• Reviewed articles must be kept confidential.
4. Editorial Responsibilities
• Editors have full responsibility and authority to accept or reject an article.
• Editors must not have any conflicts of interest regarding the articles they accept or reject.
• Only articles that will provide a significant contribution to the field should be accepted.
• When errors are found, editors must support the publication of a correction or a retraction.
• Editors must keep the names of reviewers confidential and prevent plagiarism/fabricated data. The peer-review process is central to the success of scientific publishing. Protecting and improving the peer-review process is part of our commitment; Umde Journal of Religious Inquiries is obliged to assist the scientific community in all matters concerning publication ethics, especially in cases of suspected duplicate publication or plagiarism. If a reader notices a significant error or inaccuracy in an article published in Umde Journal of Religious Inquiries, or has any complaint regarding editorial content (plagiarism, duplicate articles, etc.), they may submit a complaint by emailing umde@nevsehir.edu.tr. We welcome complaints as they provide opportunities for improvement, and we aim to provide a rapid and constructive response.
Detecting Plagiarism: Articles submitted for publication in Umde Journal of Religious Inquiries are subjected to a double-blind peer review process by at least two reviewers. Furthermore, it is confirmed through iThenticate, a tool used for plagiarism detection, that the articles have not been previously published and do not contain plagiarism.
Preliminary Review and Plagiarism Screening: The study is reviewed by the editor for compliance with the journal's publication principles, academic writing rules, and the ISNAD Citation System. The preliminary review is completed within a maximum of 15 days. Authors are required to submit the plagiarism reports of their manuscripts in PDF format to our journal via the DergiPark system. In similarity scans conducted with iThenticate and Turnitin, the maximum acceptable similarity rate is 15%.
Field Editor Review: Studies that pass the Preliminary Review and Plagiarism Screening stage are examined by the relevant field editor in terms of problematic areas and academic language/style. This review is completed within a maximum of 15 days.
Peer Review Process (Academic Evaluation): Following the field editor’s review, the study is submitted for evaluation to at least two reviewers who have a doctoral thesis, book, or articles published in the relevant field. The peer review process is conducted confidentially within the framework of a double-blind peer review system. Reviewers are required to justify their opinions and observations regarding the study, either by providing comments on the manuscript itself or by including a justification of at least 150 words in the online reviewer form. Authors are granted the right to appeal and defend their views if they disagree with the reviewers' opinions. The field editor facilitates mutual communication between the author and the reviewer while maintaining confidentiality. If both reviewer reports are positive, the work is submitted to the Editorial Board with a proposal for publication. If one of the two reviewers expresses a negative opinion, the study is sent to a third reviewer. Studies can only be published with the positive decision of at least two reviewers. Translation Articles: After the translator-author uploads the translated text, the source text, the publication permission document (signed by both the original author and the original publisher stating "may be published in another journal"), and a document demonstrating impact (showing citations from at least five different publications), the work is sent to language and subject matter experts. They evaluate the translation for accuracy relative to the original, appropriate use of field-specific terminology, and linguistic quality. Translations receiving negative opinions from experts will not be published. Decisions regarding the publication of book reviews, symposium reviews, and doctoral thesis abstracts are made based on the evaluation of the relevant field editors. Revision Stage: If reviewers request revisions, the relevant reports are sent to the author for correction. Revisions are requested to be completed within a maximum of 15 days. The author submits the revised manuscript to the field editor, highlighting all changes in red.
Field Editor Review: The field editor checks whether the author has implemented the requested corrections. This control process is completed within a maximum of 5 days.
Reviewer Control: The reviewer who requested revisions checks whether the author has fulfilled the requested corrections. This process is completed within a maximum of 10 days.
Preparation of Detailed Abstract and Summary: For studies approved as "publishable" by two reviewers, authors may be requested to expand the abstract section of the article to 500–600 words.
Turkish Language Review: Studies that have completed the peer review process are examined by the Turkish Language Editor, and revisions are requested from the author if necessary. This process is completed within a maximum of 15 days.
English Language Review: Studies that pass the Turkish language control are then examined by the English Language Editor. If necessary, revisions are requested from the author. This process is completed within a maximum of 15 days.
Editorial Board Review: Articles that have passed technical, academic, and linguistic reviews are evaluated by the Editorial Board to determine the final publication status. In the event of an objection by members, the Board decides by a majority vote.
Typesetting and Layout Stage: Studies approved for publication by the Editorial Board undergo typesetting and layout to be made ready for publication. Data Submission to National and International Indices: Printed copies of the published issue are sent to domestic and international reference libraries within 60 days at the latest; the article metadata is submitted to relevant indices within 15 days.
UMDE Dini Tetkikler Dergisi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY NC).