1. Introduction

Yalova Medical Journal is committed to the principles of integrity, transparency, impartiality, accountability, and ethical publishing. The journal considers it a fundamental principle that all scientific research be conducted, evaluated, and published in accordance with nationally and internationally accepted ethical standards.

All manuscripts submitted to Yalova Medical Journal are evaluated on the understanding that authors, editors, and reviewers accept and comply with the publication ethics and editorial policies set forth below.

2. International Ethical Standards

Yalova Medical Journal conducts all editorial and publication processes in accordance with the following nationally and internationally recognized ethical principles and guidelines:

• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and Guidelines
• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations
• World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) Recommendations
• Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (developed jointly by COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, and WAME)
• World Medical Association (WMA) Declaration of Helsinki
• ARRIVE Guidelines (Animal Research)
• CONSORT Statement (Randomized Controlled Trials)
• STROBE Statement (Observational Studies)
• PRISMA Statement (Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses)
• CARE Guidelines (Case Reports)

Authors, editors, and reviewers are expected to adhere to these principles and guidelines throughout the publication process.

3. Publication Ethics Principles

All manuscripts submitted to Yalova Medical Journal must:

• Be original,
• Not have been published previously,
• Not be under consideration for publication elsewhere.

The journal does not tolerate any form of scientific misconduct, including but not limited to:

• Plagiarism
• Fabrication
• Falsification
• Duplicate Publication
• Salami Publication
• Gift Authorship
• Citation Manipulation
• Image or Data Manipulation
• Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

Any allegation of publication misconduct is evaluated in accordance with COPE guidelines, and appropriate editorial actions are taken.

4. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for:

• Making editorial decisions solely on scientific merit.
• Acting independently of the authors' nationality, gender, ethnicity, religion, institutional affiliation, or political views.
• Ensuring confidentiality and fairness throughout the peer review process.
• Preventing and managing conflicts of interest.
• Investigating allegations of publication misconduct in accordance with COPE recommendations.
• Issuing corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern when necessary.

5. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to:

• Accept review assignments only within their area of expertise.
• Maintain strict confidentiality throughout the review process.
• Provide objective, constructive, and evidence-based evaluations.
• Decline to review manuscripts when a conflict of interest exists.
• Notify the editor immediately if they suspect ethical misconduct or scientific malpractice.

6. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for:

• Submitting original and scientifically reliable manuscripts.
• Ensuring the accuracy and integrity of all research data.
• Obtaining all required ethics committee approvals.
• Disclosing all conflicts of interest and funding sources.
• Complying with the ICMJE authorship criteria.
• Confirming that the manuscript is not under consideration by another journal.

7. Research Ethics

Research involving human participants must receive approval from an appropriate Ethics Committee and be conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Written informed consent must be obtained whenever required.

Studies involving experimental animals must comply with the ARRIVE Guidelines and include the relevant ethics committee approval.

Patient privacy and confidentiality must be protected, and personal data must be processed and anonymized in accordance with applicable legislation.

8. Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure

All authors are required to disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest as well as all sources of financial support related to their research.

Editors and reviewers are also expected to disclose any circumstances that may affect the impartiality of the editorial or peer review process.

9. Plagiarism Policy

All manuscripts submitted to Yalova Medical Journal are screened using plagiarism detection software such as iThenticate, Turnitin, or equivalent similarity-checking tools.

The overall similarity index is expected to be below 20%, while similarity to any single source should not exceed 5%.

If plagiarism or any other form of scientific misconduct is detected, the manuscript will be rejected or, if already published, retracted.

10. Artificial Intelligence Policy

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools may be used only to support language editing, grammar checking, literature searching, or data analysis.

AI systems cannot be listed as authors and cannot assume responsibility for the scientific content of a manuscript.

Authors are required to disclose clearly and transparently any use of AI-assisted technologies in the preparation of their manuscripts.

11. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

Yalova Medical Journal follows the COPE Retraction Guidelines when handling corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern in order to preserve the integrity of the scientific record.

12. Open Access, Copyright and Licensing

Yalova Medical Journal adopts a full open-access publishing model.

All published articles are freely available in full text immediately upon publication.

Articles published in the journal are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License.

13. Article Processing Charges

Yalova Medical Journal does not charge authors any submission, review, processing, or publication fees at any stage of the editorial process.

The journal does not accept advertising or sponsorship that may compromise its editorial independence.

14. Archiving Policy

All published articles are securely archived through the DergiPark infrastructure to ensure their long-term preservation and accessibility.

The journal is committed to digital preservation and permanent access to the scholarly record.