The articles to be published in the Journal of Yıldız Educational Research should follow the guidelines below:

1. Manuscripts should be original and written, considering the academic and ethical rules. They should not be previously published or should not be under review elsewhere. Authors should consult APA Manual 6th (http://www.apa.org) while writing the manuscript.
2. Manuscripts can be submitted in Turkish or English. The title of the article should be short and should not exceed 15 words. The abstract should not be more than 250 words. Furthermore, 3 to 5 keywords should be included.
3. The problem of the study should be clearly stated in the Introduction, followed by methods, findings, discussion, and conclusion.
4. Articles should not exceed 7000 words.

5. The manuscripts to be submitted should be formatted using the YJER template, which can be downloaded from the link below. Author names any other information indicating the identity of the author should be removed from the manuscript.

6.For formatting, authors are encouraged to use the manuscript template available for download at  https://yjer.yildiz.edu.tr/assets/files/YJER_Template.docx

Article processing charges (APC)
Yıldız Journal of Educational Research is open access. This journal assesses no submission fees, publication fees (article processing charges), or page charges.

Appeals
Authors may appeal if they feel that the decision to reject was based on: i) a major misunderstanding over a technical aspect of the manuscript; or ii) a failure to understand the scientific advance shown by the manuscript. Appeals requesting a second opinion without sufficient justification will not be considered. To lodge an appeal, please contact the journal by email, quoting your manuscript number. Appeals will only be considered from the original submitting author.

Copyright and permissions
Authors retain the copyright of their manuscripts, and all open access articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY-NC, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.

The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, and so forth in this publication, even if not specifically identified, does not imply that these names are not protected by the relevant laws and regulations. The submitting author is responsible for securing any permissions needed for the reuse of copyrighted materials included in the manuscript.

While the advice and information in this journal are believed to be true and accurate on the date of its going to press, neither the authors, the editors, nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.

Ethical guidelines
In any studies on human or animal subjects, the following ethical guidelines must be observed. For any experiments on humans, all work must be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (1964). Manuscripts describing experimental work that carries a risk of harm to human subjects must include a statement that the experiment was conducted with the human subjects’ understanding and consent, as well as a statement that the responsible ethics committee has approved the experiments. In the case of any animal experiments, the authors must provide a full description of any anesthetic or surgical procedure used, as well as evidence that all possible steps were taken to avoid animal suffering at each stage of the experiment.

Manuscript Preperation
Article Types
Yıldız Journal of Educational Research accepts manuscript in Turkish and English.

The journal will consider the following article types:

Research Articles
Research articles should present the results of an original research study. These manuscripts should describe how the research project was conducted and provide a thorough analysis of the results. Systematic reviews may be submitted as research articles. Articles should not exceed 7,000 words.
Reviews
A review article provides an overview of the published literature in a particular subject area.
Formatting
An optional research article manuscript template can be downloaded here: YJER Template. We recommend that all manuscripts include line numbers and follow the structure below:

Title and Authorship Information
The following information should be included in the Title Page:

Manuscript title
Full author names
Full institutional mailing addresses
E-mail addresses
ORCID
Prior to publication, an ORCID iD must be provided for the author(s). If you already have an ORCID iD, you will be asked to provide it. The ORCID is not required for submission or peer review, but we will not be able to publish your article online until an ORCID iD is provided.

Title, Abstract and Keywords
The manuscript should contain a title, abstract and keywords. The title of the article should be short and should not exceed 15 words. The abstract should be self-contained, citation-free, and should not exceed 250 words. Furthermore, 3 to 5 keywords should be included.

Introduction
This section should be succinct, with no subheadings. The problem of the study should be clearly stated in the Introduction, followed by methods, findings, discussion, and conclusion.

Materials and Methods
The methods section should provide enough detail for others to replicate the study. If you have more than one method, use subsections with relevant headings (e.g., different models, in vitro and in vivo studies, statistics, materials, and reagents).
Detailed descriptions of the methods (including protocols or project descriptions) and algorithms may also be uploaded as supplementary information, or a previous publication that provides more details may be cited. If a method from a previous article is used, this article must be cited and discussed.
If a method or tool is introduced in the study (including software, questionnaires, and scales), the license under which it is available and any requirements for permission for use should be stated. If an existing method or tool is used in the research, the authors are responsible for checking the license and obtaining any necessary permissions. If permission was required, a statement confirming permission was granted should be included in the materials and methods section.

Results and Discussion
This section may be divided into subsections or may be combined.

Conclusions
This should clearly explain the main conclusions of the article, highlighting its importance and relevance.

References
Authors are responsible for ensuring that the information in each reference is complete and accurate. Authors should consult APA Manual 6th (http://www.apa.org).
Citation Standards: All data, program code, and other methods should be appropriately cited. Such materials should be recognized as original intellectual contributions and given recognition through citation.

The reference styles for different types of publications are presented in the following examples.

Journal article: Grady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelinek, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and racial groups in the United States. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185

Book Section: Aron, L., Botella, M., & Lubart, T. (2019). Culinary arts: Talent and their development. In R. F. Subotnik, P. Olszewski-Kubilius, & F. C. Worrell (Eds.), The psychology of high performance: Developing human potential into domain-specific talent (pp. 345–359). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000120-016

Books with a Single Author: Jackson, L. M. (2019). The psychology of prejudice: From attitudes to social action (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000168-000

Editor(s) as Author: Hygum, E., & Pedersen, P. M. (Eds.). (2010). Early childhood education: Values and practices in Denmark. Hans Reitzels Forlag. https://earlychildhoodeducation.digi.hansreitzel.dk/

Conference Proceedings: Duckworth, A. L., Quirk, A., Gallop, R., Hoyle, R. H., Kelly, D. R., & Matthews, M. D. (2019). Cognitive and noncognitive predictors of success. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 116(47), 23499–23504. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1910510116

Published Thesis: Kabir, J. M. (2016). Factors influencing customer satisfaction at a fast food hamburger chain: The relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty (Publication No. 10169573) [Doctoral dissertation, Wilmington University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

Unpublished Thesis: Harris, L. (2014). Instructional leadership perceptions and practices of elementary school leaders [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Virginia.

Websites: Bologna, C. (2019, October 31). Why some people with anxiety love watching horror movies. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anxiety-love-watching-horror-movies_l_5d277587e4b02a5a5d57b59e

Date Formatting
YJER recommends writing dates in full to avoid confusion with different all-numeral date styles. For example, 15/12/2020 could be either 15 December 2020 or December 15, 2020 depending on the reader, so the date should be written in full.

Units of Measurement
Units of measurement should be presented simply and concisely using the International System of Units (SI).

Preparation of Figures
Upon submission of an article, authors should include all figures and tables in the PDF file of the manuscript. Figures and tables should not be submitted in separate files. If the article is accepted, authors will be asked to provide the source files of the figures. Each figure should be supplied in a separate electronic file. All figures should be cited in the manuscript in consecutive order. Figures should be supplied in either vector art formats (Illustrator, EPS, WMF, FreeHand, CorelDraw, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.) or bitmap formats (Photoshop, TIFF, GIF, JPEG, etc.). Bitmap images should have a resolution of at least 300 dpi unless the resolution is intentionally set to a lower level for scientific reasons. If a bitmap image has labels, the image and labels should be embedded in separate layers.

Maps
Responsibility for maps rests with the author, and it is their responsibility to provide any copyright or license information when using maps that are not owned or created by the author (e.g., Google Maps, etc.).

Preparation of Tables
Tables should be cited consecutively in the text. Every table must have a descriptive title, and if numerical measurements are given, the units should be included in the column heading. Vertical rules should not be used.

Statements
The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring the accurate provision of the following information:

Acknowledgments

All acknowledgments (if any) should be included at the very end of the manuscript before the references. Anyone who made a contribution to the research or manuscript, but who is not a listed author, should be acknowledged (with their permission).

Artificial Intelligence (AI)–Assısted Technology

At submission, the journal should require authors to disclose whether they used artificial intelligence (AI)– assisted technologies (such as Large Language Models [LLMs], chatbots, or image creators) in the production of submitted work. Authors who use such technology should describe, in both the cover letter and the submitted work, how they used it. Use of AI for writing assistance should be reported in the acknowledgment section. Authors who used AI technology to conduct the study should describe its use in the methods section in sufficient detail to enable replication to the approach, including the tool used, version, and prompts where applicable. Chatbots (such as ChatGPT) should not be listed as authors because they cannot be responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work, and these responsibilities are required for authorship. Therefore, humans are responsible for any submitted material that included the use of AI-assisted technologies. Authors should carefully review and edit the result because AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete, or biased. Authors should not list AI and AIassisted technologies as an author or co-author, nor cite AI as an author. Authors should be able to assert that there is no plagiarism in their paper, including in text and images produced by the AI. Humans must ensure there is appropriate attribution of all quoted material, including full citations.

Conflicts of interest

Authors must declare all relevant interests that could be perceived as conflicting. Authors should explain why each interest may represent a conflict. If no conflicts exist, the authors should state this. Submitting authors are responsible for coauthors declaring their interests.

Conflicts of interest (COIs, also known as ‘competing interests’) occur when issues outside research could be reasonably perceived to affect the neutrality or objectivity of the work or its assessment. For more information, see our publication ethics policy. Authors must declare all potential interests – whether or not they actually had an influence – in the conflicts of interest section, which should explain why the interest may be a conflict. If there are none, the authors should state: “The author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this article”. Submitting authors are responsible for coauthors declaring their interests. Declared conflicts of interest will be considered by the editor and reviewers, and included in the published article.

Authors must declare current or recent funding (including for article processing charges) and other payments, goods or services that might influence the work. All funding, whether a conflict or not, must be declared in the funding statement. The involvement of anyone other than the authors who: i) has an interest in the outcome of the work; ii) is affiliated to an organization with such an interest; or iii) was employed or paid by a funder, in the commissioning, conception, planning, design, conduct, or analysis of the work, the preparation or editing of the manuscript, or the decision to publish must be declared.

You may be asked to make certain changes to your manuscript as a result of your declaration. These requests are not an accusation of impropriety. The editor or reviewer is helping you to protect your work against potential criticisms.

If you are in any doubt about declaring a potential conflict, remember that if it is revealed later – especially after publication – it could cause more problems than simply declaring it at the time of submission. Undeclared conflicts of interest could lead to a corrigendum or, in the most serious cases, a retraction.

Data availability

This statement should describe how readers can access the data supporting the conclusions of the study and clearly outline the reasons why unavailable data cannot be released.

Funding statement

Authors must state how the research and publication of their article was funded, by naming financially supporting body(s) (written out in full) followed by associated grant number(s) in square brackets (if applicable), for example: “This work was supported by the Engineering Research Council [grant numbers aaa, bbb]; the National Science Association [grant number bbb]; and a Wain Trust Research Project Grant”.

If the research did not receive specific funding, but was performed as part of the employment of the authors, please name this employer. If the funder was involved in the manuscript writing, editing, approval, or decision to publish, please declare this.

Peer Review
Only manuscripts that have been approved by every individual author and have not been previously published or submitted to another journal are accepted for evaluation.
Submitted manuscripts that pass preliminary control are scanned for plagiarism using iThenticate software. After the plagiarism check, eligible manuscripts are evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief for their originality, methodology, subject significance, and compliance with the journal’s scope. The Editor-in-Chief evaluates manuscripts based on their scientific content without regard to the authors' ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship, religious beliefs, or political philosophy, ensuring a fair double-blind peer review process. (Yıldız Journal of Educational Research utilizes a double-blind peer review process where both reviewers' and authors' identities remain anonymous.)
Selected manuscripts are sent to at least two national or international referees for evaluation, and the publication decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief after the authors revise the manuscript according to the referees' feedback.
The Editor-in-Chief does not allow any conflicts of interest between the authors, editors, and reviewers and is responsible for the final decision regarding the publication of the manuscript in the journal.

Reviewers’ judgments must be objective. Reviewers are expected to comment on the following aspects during the review process:

* Does the manuscript contain new and significant information?
* Does the abstract clearly and accurately describe the content of the manuscript?
* Is the problem significant and concisely stated?
* Are the methods described comprehensively?
* Are the interpretations and conclusions justified by the results?
* Are adequate references made to other works in the field?
* Is the language acceptable?

Reviewers must ensure that all information related to submitted manuscripts is kept confidential and must report any instances of copyright infringement or plagiarism on the author's part to the editor.
A reviewer who feels unqualified to review a manuscript or knows that a timely review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse themselves from the review process.
The editor informs the reviewers that the manuscripts are confidential information and that this is a privileged interaction. Reviewers and the editorial board cannot discuss manuscripts with others. The anonymity of referees must be maintained.
Reviewers who seek assistance from a trainee or colleague in performing a review should acknowledge these individuals' contributions in their written comments to the editor. Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of the manuscript, which prohibits uploading it to software or AI technologies where confidentiality cannot be assured. Reviewers must request permission from the journal before using AI technology to assist with their review.

Review Process
Yıldız Educational Research Journal ensures that selected articles undergo a fair, double-blind peer review process. Submitted articles are initially subject to a pre-evaluation before the review process begins. This pre-evaluation ensures that the manuscript adheres to the journal's formatting guidelines and that all required documents have been submitted. Relevant guidelines for this pre-evaluation are provided on the Instructions for Authors page.
Articles that pass the pre-evaluation are forwarded to the Chief Editor, who conducts an initial scientific assessment of the manuscript before assigning it to a section editor.

The section editor seeks feedback from at least two reviewers with expertise in the relevant field. If necessary, the ethics and statistics editors will also be consulted. If one of the two assigned reviewers provides a positive recommendation and the other a negative one, a third reviewer will be appointed.

Based on the feedback from the reviewers, the Chief Editor and section editor will make a joint decision regarding the acceptance, revision, or rejection of the manuscript.

Authors are required to address the revision requests and upload the revised manuscript files to the system. These updated files will then be sent for peer review. The final decision will be made by the Editor-in-Chief and section editor, based on the reviewers' feedback.

Once a manuscript is accepted for publication, it will be forwarded to the publisher for the typesetting process. The publisher will send the PDF proof of the accepted manuscript to the corresponding author and request publication approval within 2 days of receiving the proof.

Preregistration and Reporting Guidelines
Preregistration of Studies
Authors are encouraged to indicate whether the conducted research was preregistered in an independent institutional registry (e.g., http://clinicaltrials.gov/, https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/, http://osf.io/, https://egap.org/registry/, http://ridie.3ieimpact.org/). Preregistration involves registering the study design, variables, and treatment conditions prior to conducting the research.

Preregistration of Analysis Plans
Authors are encouraged to indicate whether the conducted research was preregistered with an analysis plan in an independent institutional registry (e.g., http://clinicaltrials.gov/, https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/, http://osf.io/, https://egap.org/registry/, http://ridie.3ieimpact.org/). Preregistration of studies involves registering the study design, variables, and treatment conditions. Including an analysis plan involves specifying the sequence of analyses or the statistical model that will be reported.

Reporting Guidelines

Authors are strongly encouraged to use appropriate reporting guidelines when preparing and submitting manuscripts to maximize transparency and reproducibility. Our editors and reviewers are also encouraged to utilize these guidelines during the review process. Completed checklists should be provided in the supplementary files upon submission. We particularly encourage the use of the following guidelines:

CONSORT for randomized controlled trials

TREND for non-randomized trials

PRISMA for systematic review and meta-analyses

CARE for case reports

STROBE for observational studies

STREGA for genetic association studies

SPQR for qualitative studies

STARD for diagnostic accuracy studies

ARRIVE for animal experiments

Submission
Manuscripts should be submitted by one of the authors of the manuscript through DergiPark the manuscript submission system. Only electronic PDF (.pdf) or Word (.doc, .docx, .odt, .rtf, .txt) files can be submitted through the manuscript submission system. Special characters should not be included in the file name of the main manuscript file. Submissions by anyone other than one of the authors will not be accepted. The submitting author takes responsibility for the manuscript during submission and peer review. For technical help, please contact kare@karepb.com

Terms of submission

Manuscripts must be submitted on the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere and are only being considered by this journal. The submitting author is responsible for ensuring that the article’s publication has been approved by all the other coauthors. It is also the submitting author’s responsibility to ensure that the article has all necessary institutional approvals. Only an acknowledgment from the editorial office officially establishes the date of receipt. Further correspondence and proofs will be sent to the author(s) before publication, unless otherwise indicated. It is a condition of submission that the authors permit editing of the manuscript for readability. All inquiries concerning the publication of accepted manuscripts should be addressed to kare@karepb.com All submissions are bound by Kare Publishing terms of service.

Acknowledgment
Individuals who have contributed to the article—such as through general supervision, funding acquisition, study design, data collection or analysis, technical assistance, formatting or writing support, or scholarly discussions that significantly informed the development of the article—but who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed by name and affiliation in the Acknowledgments section. It is the responsibility of the authors to inform these individuals and obtain their permission prior to inclusion. This process should involve sharing the manuscript to allow individuals to verify the context in which their contributions are acknowledged.
Groups of individuals who have made material contributions that do not justify authorship may be listed under collective headings such as “clinical investigators” or “participating investigators,” with a description of their role—for example, “served as scientific advisors,” “critically reviewed the study proposal,” “collected data,” or “provided and cared for study patients.” Since readers may infer endorsement of the data and conclusions, written permission from these individuals is required for acknowledgment.
Any use of AI tools for content generation (e.g., large language models) or similar technologies must be explicitly acknowledged in the manuscript. Authors are responsible for ensuring the validity, originality, and integrity of the content produced, and must use such tools responsibly and in accordance with the journal’s editorial policies regarding authorship and publication ethics.

Advertisements
This journal does not accept advertising from external or third-party sources.

Affiliations
Authors must disclose all relevant institutional affiliations to accurately reflect where the research was approved, supported, and/or conducted. For non-research articles, authors should indicate their current institutional affiliation.
If an author has changed institutions prior to publication, they must list the affiliation associated with the work conducted and include their current affiliation and contact information in the Acknowledgments section.
A change in affiliation alone does not constitute a valid reason for the removal of an author from the publication, provided the individual continues to meet the established authorship criteria.

Appeals and Complaints
The editorial board of the journal is responsible for handling appeals and complaints in accordance with the guidelines and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Authors who wish to file an appeal or complaint should contact the editorial office directly to express their concerns. Each case will be reviewed by the editorial board, and a decision will be made in line with COPE principles.
The editor-in-chief holds the final authority in all decisions regarding appeals and complaints. In certain cases, an ombudsperson may be appointed to address issues that cannot be resolved internally.
The journal is committed to a fair and transparent process in managing appeals and complaints, with the primary objective of upholding the integrity of the scientific record.

Authorship
Authorship of a scientific article signifies a substantial contribution to the work and shared responsibility and accountability for its content. To qualify for authorship, individuals must meet all of the following criteria:
· Made a significant contribution to one or more of the following aspects: conception or design of the study, data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation.
· Participated in drafting, writing, or critically revising the manuscript.
· Approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission to the journal.
· Accepted responsibility and accountability for the integrity and accuracy of the article.
Contributions that do not meet these criteria should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgments section.
Authors should not only take responsibility for their own contributions but also be able to identify which co-authors are responsible for specific aspects of the work. This ensures transparency and proper attribution of contributions. Authors are encouraged to use the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) system to describe individual contributions during submission. The contribution statement, agreed upon by all authors and communicated by the corresponding author, will be published with the article and must accurately reflect each author’s role.
Authors should also have confidence in the integrity and ethical conduct of their co-authors. This includes trust in the accuracy and reliability of the data and findings presented in the manuscript.
Individuals who do not fulfill all four criteria should not be listed as authors. However, their contributions may be acknowledged on the title page or in the Acknowledgments section to maintain transparency.
If the editorial board suspects ghost, honorary, or gift authorship, the submission process will be suspended. The journal will follow the relevant COPE flowcharts and policies on authorship and contributorship in addressing such cases.

Change of Authorship
Requests to change authorship—including the addition or removal of authors or a change in author order—must be submitted to the editorial office with a written explanation signed by all listed authors, including those being added or removed.
The journal’s editorial board will address such requests in accordance with COPE guidelines, applying a consistent and transparent approach to ensure the integrity of the scholarly record and protect the reputations of all contributors.

Citations
Both research and non-research articles must include citations to relevant, timely, and verifiable literature—preferably peer-reviewed—to substantiate any claims made within the manuscript.
Authors should avoid excessive or inappropriate self-citation and must not engage in prearranged citation practices with other author groups. Such actions may constitute citation manipulation, a form of publication misconduct. Authors are encouraged to consult the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines on citation manipulation for further clarification.
For non-research articles, such as reviews or opinion pieces, references must be carefully selected to provide a fair, balanced, and comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge on the topic. Citations should not disproportionately favor any specific research group, institution, or journal.
If there is any uncertainty regarding the appropriateness of a citation, authors are advised to consult the journal’s editorial office for guidance.

Confidentiality
All submitted manuscripts are considered confidential material. The YILDIZ Journal of Educational Research will not disclose the content of any submission to individuals other than those directly involved in the editorial and publication process, including editorial staff, corresponding authors, potential and invited reviewers, and editors.
In cases where misconduct is suspected, the journal reserves the right to share the manuscript with members of relevant ethics committees or with institutions and organizations as necessary to facilitate the investigation and resolution of the alleged misconduct.

Copyright Policy
A Copyright Agreement, which includes an Acknowledgment of Authorship, must be submitted alongside all manuscript submissions. By signing this agreement, authors consent that, if accepted for publication by the YILDIZ Journal of Educational Research, their work will be published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). This license permits third parties to share and adapt the content for non-commercial purposes, provided appropriate credit is given to the original work.
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission from copyright holders to reproduce any previously published material—such as figures, tables, or other content—regardless of whether it appears in print or electronic formats. Authors bear full legal, financial, and ethical responsibility for any copyright infringements.
The copyright of articles published in the YILDIZ Journal of Educational Research remains with the authors. However, by submitting to the journal, authors transfer the commercial usage rights exclusively to the journal. All articles are published under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license.

Authors are permitted to use copies of their published articles for academic and research purposes, including posting on personal, institutional, or funder websites, provided full citation to the version published in the YILDIZ Journal of Educational Research is included. Authors may also share, transmit, or print the submitted version of their manuscripts with colleagues, in professional settings, or for career development, again with appropriate citation of the journal publication.

Declaration of Interests
Authors are required to disclose any relationships, affiliations, or financial interests that could potentially influence or bias the content of their work. This disclosure must be completed during the manuscript submission process via the journal’s online submission system.

The YILDIZ Journal of Educational Research also expects and encourages all individuals involved in the peer review process—including editors and reviewers—to declare any actual or potential conflicts of interest that may affect their objectivity.
Any cases involving potential conflicts of interest among authors, reviewers, or editorial staff will be managed by the Editorial Board in accordance with the relevant COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) flowcharts and best practice guidelines.

Desk Rejection Policy
1. The topic / scope of the study is not relevant to the field of the Journal.
2. There are publication ethics problems, non-adherence to international standard guidelines, and plagiarism (set at a similarity index of higher than 20 percent).
3. The topic does not have a sufficient impact, nor does it sufficiently contribute new knowledge to the field.
4. There are flaws in the study design.
5. The objective of the study is not clearly stated.
6. The study of the organization is problematic and/or certain components are missing.
7. There are problems in writing or series infelicities of in the style of grammar.
8. The manuscript does not follow the submission guideline of the Journal.

Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in the manuscripts published in this journal are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors, editorial board, or publisher. The editors, editorial board, and publisher accept no responsibility for the content of the manuscripts and do not endorse the views expressed therein.
It is the sole responsibility of the authors to ensure the accuracy, validity, and integrity of their work. The journal provides a platform for authors to disseminate their research to the scientific community; however, responsibility for the content remains with the authors.

Duplicate Submission/Publication
Authors must confirm at the time of submission that the manuscript has not been submitted to or is not under consideration by another journal. The identification of duplicate submission or publication is typically regarded as a deliberate breach of ethical standards. This includes manuscripts previously published in another language.
In accordance with the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), certain secondary publications (e.g., a translated version of an article) may be considered acceptable. In such cases, authors must obtain permission from the original publisher and copyright holder and inform the Editor of the receiving journal about the full publication history of the original work.
Furthermore, the translated article must clearly indicate that it is a version of a previously published work, and a full citation to the original article must be included to ensure transparency for readers.

Financial Disclosure
The YILDIZ Journal of Educational Research requires authors to disclose all sources of financial support received in the course of conducting their research. This information must be included in a funding statement submitted with the manuscript.
The funding statement should clearly identify the names of all funding agencies, associated grant numbers, and specify the role of each funder in the design, execution, analysis, or reporting of the research. If a funder had no involvement in any aspect of the study, this should be explicitly stated.
Providing this information is essential to ensure transparency and to help readers assess any potential biases or conflicts of interest related to the research.

Funding
Authors are required to disclose all sources of funding, including any financial support received for the research. The role of the sponsor(s), if applicable, must be clearly described—whether in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. If the sponsor(s) had no involvement in any of these stages, this should also be explicitly stated.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that the funding information is complete, accurate, and compliant with the requirements of the funding agency.

Open Access Policy
The YILDIZ Journal of Educational Research is an open access journal, meaning that all content is freely accessible to users and their institutions without any subscription or payment. Users are permitted to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, and link to the full texts of articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without requiring prior permission from the publisher or the author.
All content is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). This license allows use, sharing, and adaptation of the material for non-commercial purposes, provided appropriate credit is given to the original source.
All published articles are available free of charge at: https://yjer.yildiz.edu.tr

Peer Review Policy
Submissions that comply with the journal’s guidelines are first evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief, who assesses their suitability in terms of scope, quality, and originality. Manuscripts deemed unsuitable may be rejected without external review at this initial stage.
For submissions considered appropriate, the Editor-in-Chief assigns the manuscript to an Associate Editor, who oversees the peer review process. Associate Editors are responsible for selecting qualified peer reviewers and may, at their discretion, reject the manuscript, initiate peer review, or request initial revisions prior to external evaluation.
Based on reviewers' reports, the Associate Editor makes a recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief. Revised manuscripts are re-evaluated—preferably by the original reviewers—and a new recommendation is submitted. The Editor-in-Chief holds the final decision-making authority for all manuscripts.
In cases of editorial delays, authors will be notified of the cause and given the option to withdraw their manuscript. Following completion of the review process, authors receive the editorial decision along with anonymous reviewer reports. These reports are confidential and will not be made publicly available.
All submitted materials are treated as confidential and must not be used or disclosed prior to publication. In suspected cases of reviewer misconduct, such as misappropriation of ideas or data, the Editorial Board will take appropriate action in accordance with COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines.
Authors may recommend potential peer reviewers during submission; however, the final decision on whether to invite them rests solely with the handling editor.
Peer reviewers are expected to adhere to COPE’s Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers, ensuring a fair, objective, and confidential review process. The Editorial Board also follows COPE flowcharts to detect and manage peer review manipulation. If manipulation is suspected after publication, the journal will follow the corresponding COPE protocol.
Potential reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest before accepting an invitation. Disclosure enables editors to make informed decisions and supports the integrity of the peer review process.
All communications between editors and reviewers are confidential and must not be shared with third parties.
To ensure impartiality, submissions from members of the journal’s Editorial Board are handled by external editors, selected based on academic credentials and peer review expertise. The identities of external editors and reviewers are kept confidential to maintain objectivity. They are also required to declare any potential conflicts of interest.

Plagiarism and Ethical Misconduct
All submissions are subject to multiple rounds of similarity checks throughout the peer-review and production processes, using plagiarism detection software (Crossref Similarity Check powered by iThenticate).
When referencing prior work—whether by other authors or the submitting authors themselves—it is imperative to provide accurate and consistent citation in all instances.
Authors are strictly expected to avoid all forms of plagiarism and ethical misconduct. The following practices are considered serious violations of publication ethics:
· Citation Manipulation: Intentionally inflating citation counts through excessive self-citation, citation of articles from the same journal, or inclusion of irrelevant or honorary citations.
· Self-Plagiarism (Text Recycling): Reusing portions of one's previously published work without appropriate citation. Even if the reused text is the author's own, failing to acknowledge its prior publication constitutes plagiarism.
· Salami Slicing: Fragmenting a single substantial research study into multiple smaller publications, potentially misleading readers regarding the novelty and impact of the work.
· Data Fabrication: Creating fictitious data or results that were never actually observed or collected. This is a serious breach of research integrity.
· Data Falsification or Manipulation: Deliberately modifying or omitting research data to misrepresent the outcomes. This includes altering figures, manipulating images, and excluding unfavorable results.
In cases of alleged or suspected ethical misconduct—including but not limited to plagiarism, citation manipulation, or data falsification—the Editorial Board will handle the matter in accordance with the relevant COPE flowcharts, ensuring that all investigations are conducted fairly, transparently, and consistently.

Post-Publication Corrections and Ethical Misconduct Handling
All requests for post-publication corrections are subject to editorial evaluation. The Editorial Board will assess whether a correction is warranted based on the nature of the error, its potential impact on the integrity of the article, and the availability of supporting documentation. The board may consult with the authors, reviewers, or external experts before making a final decision. If approved, the correction will be made in the journal’s online archive, and the updated version will be clearly marked.
The journal follows its internal editorial policies and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines in handling such matters.
In cases where ethical concerns are raised—either by readers, reviewers, or whistleblowers—the Editorial Board will respond according to the relevant COPE flowcharts, including those that address allegations made via social media or public platforms. If concerns cannot be resolved internally, an ombudsperson may be appointed to mediate the case.
To ensure a thorough and efficient investigation, the Editorial Board may share information with editors-in-chief of other journals or stakeholders involved. When doing so, all communications will adhere to COPE’s recommendations regarding editor-to-editor cooperation.
In serious cases of suspected ethical misconduct, the journal may contact the authors’ affiliated institutions, providing documented evidence to support the allegations, again following COPE guidelines.
If an investigation confirms the presence of misconduct, the Editorial Board may issue a retraction notice. This notice will be published in the journal and the article’s online version will be updated to clearly indicate its retracted status. While retracted articles will remain accessible in the journal's archive for the scholarly record, they will be distinctly labeled as retracted. The retraction will also be reflected in all relevant indexing databases.

Preprint Policy
The YILDIZ Journal of Educational Research does not consider the posting of manuscripts on non-commercial preprint servers as prior publication. Authors are permitted to share and discuss their findings via such platforms prior to formal submission to the journal.
However, authors must disclose the existence of the preprint during the initial submission process, including the name of the preprint server and the corresponding DOI or persistent link.
If the manuscript is accepted and published by the journal, it is the authors’ responsibility to update the preprint record by linking it to the final, published version of the article. This practice ensures transparency and allows readers to access the most reliable and up-to-date version of the work.

Publication Ethics
The YILDIZ Journal of Educational Research is firmly committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics, as outlined by leading international organizations, including the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, a joint statement issued by COPE, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).
These guidelines provide a comprehensive framework to ensure transparency, integrity, and accountability in all aspects of scholarly publishing.
COPE offers detailed guidance on key ethical concerns such as authorship disputes, plagiarism, and conflicts of interest. By adhering to COPE’s best practices, the journal ensures that all submitted and published research meets ethical standards, thereby maintaining the trust of the academic community and the public.
The Principles of Transparency and Best Practice emphasize essential components of journal operations, including editorial oversight, peer review processes, and research data handling. These principles advocate for clarity and openness in journal policies and workflows, fostering an environment of fairness and scholarly rigor.
By fully aligning with these standards, the YILDIZ Journal of Educational Research ensures that its publications are ethically sound, scientifically robust, and contribute reliably to the advancement of knowledge. This commitment enhances the journal’s credibility and supports reproducibility and integrity in scientific communication.

Responsibilities of Editors
Our editorial board carefully evaluates submitted articles based on their quality and merit, considering reviewer feedback and ensuring compliance with legal standards to avoid libel, copyright violations, and plagiarism, without bias towards the authors' background, nationality, political views, race, or religion. Editors maintain strict confidentiality, sharing manuscript details only with relevant parties, and unpublished content cannot be used without the author's permission. Transparency is ensured by disclosing funding sources and potential influences on the research. We strive for unbiased, fair, and efficient peer review, with special policies for submissions from editorial board members, and provide clear authorship guidelines. Reviewers are encouraged to flag ethical concerns, and their comments are shared with authors unless offensive. We appreciate our reviewers' contributions and discontinue collaboration with those providing poor, disrespectful, or delayed feedback. Editors uphold journal standards by verifying ethical approvals and addressing intellectual property issues, making prompt corrections when necessary. Reviewers assist in shaping the publication with objective, constructive critiques supported by evidence, avoiding personal attacks. They should decline reviews if lacking expertise or facing conflicts of interest, maintain confidentiality, and not use unpublished ideas or data for personal benefit, while ensuring proper attribution and identifying significant overlaps with other works.

Responsibilities of Reviewers
Our editorial board carefully evaluates submitted articles based on their quality and merit, considering reviewer feedback and ensuring compliance with legal standards to prevent libel, copyright violations, and plagiarism, without bias regarding authors’ background, nationality, political views, race, or religion. Editors maintain strict confidentiality, sharing manuscript details only with relevant parties, and unpublished content must not be used without the author’s permission. Transparency is ensured by disclosing funding sources and any potential influences on the research. We strive for an unbiased, fair, and efficient peer review process, applying special policies for submissions from editorial board members, and providing clear authorship guidelines. Reviewers are encouraged to report any ethical concerns; their comments are shared with authors unless deemed offensive. We appreciate our reviewers’ contributions and discontinue collaboration with those who provide poor-quality, disrespectful, or delayed feedback. Editors uphold journal standards by verifying ethical approvals and addressing intellectual property issues, making prompt corrections when necessary. Reviewers assist in shaping the publication through objective, constructive critiques supported by evidence, avoiding personal attacks. They should decline review invitations if lacking expertise or facing conflicts of interest, maintain confidentiality, and refrain from using unpublished ideas or data for personal benefit. Proper attribution must be ensured, and significant overlaps with other works should be identified.

Responsibilities of Authors
Authors must present their research truthfully, providing accurate data and a balanced discussion of its significance. Raw data should be available upon request and retained for at least two years after publication, as deliberately falsifying data or claims is unethical and unacceptable. Submissions must be original; proper credit must be given to others’ work, and plagiarism in any form, as well as submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously, is strictly prohibited. Authors are required to disclose any financial or personal conflicts of interest that could influence their work, and all funding sources must be acknowledged.

Authorship and Corrections
All listed co-authors must have made significant contributions to the work and approved the final manuscript. If major errors are discovered after publication, authors must promptly notify the journal to facilitate corrections or retractions.

Peer Review Process
Manuscripts submitted to the YILDIZ Journal of Educational Research undergo a double-anonymized peer review process, in which both authors and reviewers remain anonymous to each other. Each submission is reviewed by at least two external, independent experts to ensure an unbiased evaluation.
Initially, submissions undergo a technical evaluation by the editorial office to verify compliance with the journal’s guidelines. Manuscripts that do not conform will be returned to the authors for technical corrections.
Submissions meeting the guidelines are assigned to the Editor-in-Chief, who assesses their suitability based on scope and quality. Manuscripts deemed unsuitable may be rejected at this stage.
For manuscripts suitable for the journal, the Editor-in-Chief collaborates with Associate Editors, who recruit reviewers. Associate Editors may decide to reject a manuscript, proceed with peer review, or request revisions before further evaluation.
Based on reviewers’ reports, Associate Editors submit recommendations to the Editor-in-Chief. Revised manuscripts are reassessed by Associate Editors, who typically consult the original reviewers for further input.
The Editor-in-Chief holds the final decision-making authority for all submissions.
If delays occur during the review process, authors will be informed of the reasons and given the option to withdraw their manuscripts.
Upon completion of peer review, authors receive anonymized reviewer reports alongside the editorial decision. Peer review reports remain confidential and are not publicly disclosed. Submitted material is considered confidential and must not be used prior to publication. Suspected appropriation of authors’ ideas or data by reviewers will be addressed by the Editorial Board according to COPE guidelines.
Authors may recommend potential peer reviewers during submission; however, the handling editor retains sole discretion over inviting these reviewers.
Reviewers must adhere to COPE’s Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers, which provide a framework to ensure integrity and fairness. The Editorial Board follows COPE flowcharts to minimize and address peer review manipulation both pre- and post-publication.
Potential reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest to the editor before accepting an invitation, enabling informed decisions that preserve review integrity and transparency.
Communications between editors and reviewers contain confidential information and must not be shared with third parties.
To ensure fairness, manuscripts submitted by editorial board members are handled by external editors selected based on academic qualifications and peer review experience. The confidentiality of external editors and reviewers is strictly maintained to preserve impartiality. Both are required to disclose any conflicts of interest to promote transparency and reliability in the evaluation process.

Plagiarism Policy
The journal maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism. Submissions that present another person’s ideas, words, or work without proper credit are not accepted. This includes:
· Full or partial plagiarism: Copying content from other sources without appropriate attribution.
· Duplicate or redundant publication: Submitting the same work to multiple journals simultaneously.
· Self-plagiarism: Reusing one’s own previously published work (including in a different language) without proper acknowledgment.
Exceptions: Preprints shared in public archives prior to submission are not considered duplicate publications.

Author Responsibilities
• The corresponding author is responsible for the manuscript throughout the review and publication process and has the authority to act on behalf of all co-authors.
• All submitted manuscripts are screened using professional plagiarism-detection software.
• Manuscripts with an unacceptable similarity index due to plagiarism will be rejected immediately.

Publication Fee Policy
The YILDIZ Journal of Educational Research is funded by Yıldız Technical University. Authors are not required to pay any fees during the evaluation or publication process.

Publication Timing & Review Process
Submissions to the YILDIZ Journal of Educational Research are accepted on a rolling basis. Manuscripts should conform to the requested submission types and fully adhere to the author guidelines provided. The journal publishes two issues annually—in June and December.
Submissions are considered for publication in the issue following their acceptance and readiness for publication, rather than based on the submission date. All issues follow the same editorial and peer review processes as outlined in these guidelines.
We encourage and welcome your submissions.

Research Data Policy and Data Availability Guidelines for Authors
The YILDIZ Journal of Educational Research encourages authors to share their research data to promote transparency, reproducibility, and the advancement of knowledge within the academic community. We acknowledge the importance of making data accessible to other researchers, while respecting ethical and legal constraints.
Authors are encouraged to make their data publicly available whenever possible, except in cases where privacy, confidentiality, or legal restrictions apply. Data should be shared in a way that allows verification of results and facilitates reuse for further research.

Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Manuscript Preparation
The YILDIZ Journal of Educational Research follows the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) regarding the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation. Authorship entails responsibilities and tasks that can only be fulfilled by humans. Authors are accountable for ensuring the originality of their work and for meeting the qualifications for authorship.
While AI tools may be employed for language correction and improvement during the writing process, such usage must be explicitly disclosed in the manuscript. AI cannot be credited as an author, as maintaining the originality and quality of the article is essential.

Self-Archiving Policy
Authors retain the right to self-archive their work on institutional or personal websites, as well as in open access repositories, following publication. Authors are expected to appropriately acknowledge the original publication and include the DOI when sharing their articles. Additionally, authors should provide a link from the deposited version to the publisher’s website URL. This practice ensures that the online version published by the publisher is recognized as the definitive version of record, thereby maintaining the integrity and authenticity of the scientific record.

Withdrawal Requests
Withdrawal requests for an article are reviewed by the journal’s editorial board. To initiate a withdrawal, authors must submit a letter signed by all co-authors detailing the request and the reasons for withdrawal to the journal editor. The editorial board will evaluate the request and make a decision based on the authors’ justification.
If approved, the article will be withdrawn from the journal, and the authors will be notified accordingly. Authors are advised not to submit their work to another journal until the withdrawal request has been officially approved, in order to avoid potential conflicts of interest or duplicate publication.

https://yjer.yildiz.edu.tr