Turkish Studies-Comparative Religious Studies

Publication Policy & Ethics

Publication Policy

Turkish Studies publishes academic studies in the field of Arts and Humanities (Area Studies, Archaeology, Architecture, Art, Cultural Studies, Film, Radio, Television, Folklore, Music, Philosophy, Theater).
The journal of Turkish Studies publishes seven issues per year (February, April, June, August, October, December, Special Issue).
Articles contain an English title, an abstract (at least 200 words), keywords (at least 5 concepts), a summary (at least 750 words), and a bibliography prepared with the APA Style.
The aim of Turkish Studies is to provide an open-access academic ground where researchers working in the field of Arts and Humanities.can share and disseminate their findings.
Turkish Studies publishes studies such as research article, review article, theoretical article, opinion article, case report, opinion letter, teaching practice, translation), meeting abstract, book review, legislation review, decision review, film review, conference paper, and short communication.
Scientific, intellectual, and literary responsibilities of published articles belong to their author.
Turkish Studies reserves the right to make corrections, to publish or not to publish articles.
Turkish Studies uses a double-sided blind review system. Submissions found suitable are referred to three referees working in relevant fields. The names of the referees are kept confidential and referee reports are archived for five years. If one of the referee reports is positive and the other is negative, the article may be forwarded to a third referee for further assessment or alternatively, the Editorial Board may make a final decision based on the nature of the three reports. The authors are responsible for revising their articles in line with the criticism and suggestions made by the referees and the Editorial Board. If they disagree with any issues, they may make an objection by providing clearly-stated reasons. The referee list is published on the web page at the end of each year.[1]
Turkish Studies publishes seven issues (February, April, June, August, October, December, Special Issue) per year. The Journal publishes a maximum of 50 articles in each issue.
The publication language of the journal is Turkish and English. Studies written in other languages can also be published with the decision of the Editorial Board.
The journal does not charge an Article Processing Fee (APC), regardless of the acceptance/rejection condition.
The unpublished article is archived in the journal system. The scanning price of the unpublished article is deducted by intihal.net and the remaining amount is returned to the author.
Turkish Studies is the first journal that started to use DOI in Turkey.
Turkish Studies is an Open Access (CC BY-NC).
APA 7 should be used as the citation system in the article. There must be a bibliography at the end of the article.

Publication Ethics

“Publication Ethics may be defined as a self-regulatory mechanism insisting on integrity on the part of authors, peer reviewers and publishers to establish higher standards of editorial processing”.^[1] Ethical standards for publication exist to ensure high-quality scientific publications, public trust in scientific findings, and that people receive credit for their ideas.

“Ethical researchers do not plagiarize or claim credit for the results of others.
They do not misreport sources or invent results.
They do not submit data whose accuracy they have reason to question, unless they raise the questions.
They do not conceal objections that they cannot rebut.
They do not caricature or distort opposing views.
They do not destroy or conceal sources and data important for those who follow”. ^[2]

The journal is a refereed journal that publishes academic, scientific, and research-oriented articles. It publishes only articles that have not been published elsewhere. Articles are being checked in terms of originality by CrossCheck.

The publication process at the journal is the basis of the improvement and dissemination of information objectively and respectfully. Therefore, the procedures in this process improve the quality of the studies. Peer-reviewed studies are the ones that support and materialize the scientific method. At this point, it is of utmost importance that all parties included in the publication process (authors, readers and researchers, publisher, reviewers and editors) comply with the standards of ethical considerations.

Violations of Publication Ethics

“Violation of publication ethics is a global problem which includes duplicate submission, multiple submissions, plagiarism, gift authorship, fake affiliation, ghost authorship, pressured authorship, salami publication and fraud (fabrication and falsification) but excludes the honest errors committed by the authors.”^[3]

Data fabrication and falsification: “Data fabrication means the researcher did not actually do the study but made up data. Data falsification means the researcher did the experiment, but then changed some of the data. Both of these practices make people distrust scientists. If the public is mistrustful of science, then it will be less willing to provide funding support”.^[4]

Plagiarism: “In an instructional setting, plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source.”^[5]

“Students plagiarise in four main ways;

Stealing material from another source and passing it off as their own, e.g.

(a) buying a paper from a research service, essay bank or term paper mill (either

pre-written or specially written),

(b) copying a whole paper from a source text without proper acknowledgement,

Submitting a paper written by someone else (e.g. a peer or relative) and passing it off as their own.
Copying sections of material from one or more source texts, supplying proper documentation (including the full reference) but leaving out quotation marks, thus giving the impression that the material has been paraphrased rather than directly quoted.
Paraphrasing material from one or more source texts without supplying appropriate documentation”.^[6]

Multiple submissions of a paper: “It is unethical to submit the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time. This is also a waste of time for editors and peer reviewers and can give rise to prejudices at the reputation of journals if published in more than one”.^[7]

Redundant publications (or 'salami' publications): “This means publishing many very similar manuscripts based on the same experiment. It can make readers less likely to pay attention to your manuscripts”.^[8]

Improper author contribution or attribution: “All listed authors must have made a significant scientific contribution to the research in the manuscript and approved all its claims. Don't forget to list everyone who made a significant scientific contribution”.^[9]

The following ethical duties and responsibilities are written in the light of the guide and policies made by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

The authors who submit their manuscripts to Turkish Studies are expected to comply with the following ethical responsibilities:

Author(s) must submit original studies to the journal. If they utilize or use other studies, they must make the in-text and end-text references accurately and completely.
People who have not contributed to the study at the intellectual level should not be indicated as author.
If the manuscripts submitted to be published are subject of conflicting interests or relations, these must be explained.
During the review process of their manuscripts, author(s) may be asked to supply raw data. In such a case, author(s) should be ready to submit such data and information to the editorial board.
Author(s) should document that they have the participants' consent and the necessary permissions related with the sharing and research/analysis of the data that are used.
Author(s) bears the responsibility to inform the editor of the journal or publisher if they happen to notice a mistake in their study which is in early release or publication process and to cooperate with the editors during the correction or withdrawal process.
Authors cannot submit their studies to multiple journals simultaneously. Each submission can be made only after the previous one is completed. A study published in another journal cannot be submitted to Turkish Studies.
Author responsibilities given in a study (e.g., adding an author, reordering of author names) cannot be changed if the review process has begun. See. EASE Ethics Checklist for Authors

Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

The editors of Turkish Studies should hold the following ethical responsibilities that are based on the guides "COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" and "COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" published as open Access by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

General duties and responsibilities

Editors are responsible for each study published in Turkish Studies. In this respect, the editors have the following roles and responsibilities:

Making efforts to meet the demand for knowledge from readers and authors,
Ensuring the continuous development of the journal,
Managing the procedures aimed to improve the quality of the studies published in the journal,
Supporting intellectual freedom,
Ensuring academic integrity,
Following the procedures without making concessions on intellectual property rights and ethical standards,
Being transparent and clear in issues that require correction or explanation.

Relationships with Readers

Editors must make decisions taking into consideration the knowledge, skills and expectations of all readers, researchers and practitioners that they need. Editors must also ensure that the published studies should contribute to literature and be original. Moreover, they must take notice of the feedback received from readers, researchers and practitioners and provide explanatory and informative feedback.

Relationships with Authors

Editors have the following duties and responsibilities in their relations with authors:

Editors must make positive or negative decisions about the studies' importance, originality, validity, clarity in wording and suitability with the journal's aims and objectives.
Editors must take the studies that are within the scope of publication into pre-review process unless there are serious problems with the study.
Editors must not ignore positive suggestions made by reviewers unless there are serious problems with the study.
New editors, unless there are serious issues, must not change the previous editor's decisions about the studies.
"Blind Review and Review Process" must be published and editors must prevent possible diversions from the defined processes.
Editors must publish an "Author's Guide" that is comprehensive enough in answering queries by authors. This guide must be updated regularly.
Authors should be provided with explanatory and informative feedback.

Relationships with Reviewers

Editors have the following duties and responsibilities in their relations with reviewers:

Editors must

choose reviewers according to the subject of the study.
provide the information and guidance reviewers may need during the review process.
observe whether there are conflicting interests between reviewers and authors.
keep the identities of reviewers confidential in blind review.
encourage the reviewers to review the manuscript in an unbiased, scientific and objective tone.
evaluate reviewers regularly based on criteria like performance and timing.
develop practices and policies that increase the performance of reviewers.
take necessary steps to update the reviewer pool dynamically.
prevent unkind and unscientific reviews.
make effort to ensure the reviewer pool has a wide range.

Relationships with the Editorial Board

Editors must make sure that the members of the editorial board follow the procedures in accordance with the publication policies and guidelines, and must inform the members about the publication policies and developments. The editors must also train new members of the editorial board and provide the information they need.

Moreover, editors must

ensure that the members of the editorial board review the manuscripts in an unbiased and independent manner.
select the new members of the editorial board from those who can contribute to the journal and are qualified enough.
send manuscripts for review based on the subject of expertise of the editorial board members.
regularly communicate with the editorial board.
arrange regular meetings with the editorial board for the development of publication policies and the journal.

Relationships with the Journal's Owner and Publisher

The relationship between the editors and publisher is based on the principle of the independency of editors.

Editorial and Blind Review Processes

Editors are obliged to comply with the policies of "Blind Review and Review Process" stated in the journal's publication policies. Therefore, the editors ensure that each manuscript is reviewed in an unbiased, fair and timely manner.

Quality Assurance

Editors must make sure that articles in the journal are published in accordance with the publication policies of the journal and international standards.

Protection of Personal Information

Editors are supposed to protect the personal information related with the subjects or visuals in the studies being reviewed, and to reject the study if there is no documentation of the subjects' consent. Furthermore, editors are supposed to protect the personal information of the authors, reviewers and readers.

Encouraging Ethical Rules and Protection of Human and Animal Rights

Editors are supposed to protect human and animal rights in the studies being reviewed and must reject the experimental studies which do not have ethical and related committee’s approval about the population given in such studies.

Precautions against possible Abuse and Malpractice

Editors are supposed to take precautions against possible abuse and malpractice. They must conduct investigations meticulously and objectively in determining and evaluating complaints about such situations. They must also share the results of the investigation.

Ensuring Academic Integrity

Editors must make sure that the mistakes, inconsistencies or misdirections in studies are corrected quickly.

Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

Editors are responsible for protecting the intellectual property rights of all the articles published in the journal and the rights of the journal and author(s) in cases where these rights are violated. Also, editors must take the necessary precautions in order to prevent the content of all published articles from violating the intellectual property rights of other publications.

Constructiveness and Openness to Discussion

Editors must

pay attention to the convincing criticism about studies published in the journal and must have a constructive attitude towards such criticism.
grant the right of reply to the author(s) of the criticized study.
not ignore or exclude the study that include negative results.

Complaints

Editors must examine the complaints from authors, reviewers or readers and respond to them in an explanatory and enlightening manner.

Political and Economic Apprehensions

Neither the owner of the journal, publisher or any other political or economical factor can influence the independent decision taking of the editors.

Conflicting Interests

Editors, acknowledging that there may be conflicting interests between reviewers and other editors, guarantee that the publication process of the manuscripts will be completed in an independent and unbiased manner.

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

The fact that all manuscripts are reviewed through “Blind Review” has a direct influence on the publication quality. This process ensures confidentiality by objective and independent review. The review process at Turkish Studies is carried out on the principle of double blind review. Reviewers do not contact the authors directly, and the reviews and comments are conveyed through the journal management system. In this process, the reviewer comments on the evaluation forms and full texts are assigned to the author(s) by the editor. In this context, the reviewers doing review work for Turkish Studies are supposed to bear the following ethical responsibilities:

Reviewers must

agree to review only in their subject of expertise.
review in an unbiased and confidential manner.
inform the editor of the journal if they think that they encounter conflict of interests and decline to review the manuscript during the review process.
dispose the manuscripts they have reviewed in accordance with the principle of confidentiality after the review process. Reviewers can use the final versions of the manuscripts they have reviewed only after publication.
review the manuscript objectively and only in terms of its content and ensure that nationality, gender, religious and political beliefs, and economic apprehension do not influence the review.
review the manuscript in a constructive and kind tone, avoid making personal comments including hostility, slander, and insult.
review the manuscript they have agreed to review on time and in accordance with the ethical rules stated above.

Ethical Responsibilities of Publisher

The Board of Turkish Studies conscious of the fact that they must observe the ethical responsibilities below and act accordingly:

Editors are responsible for all the processes that the manuscripts submitted to Turkish Studies will go through. Within this framework, ignoring the economic or political interests, the decision-makers are the editors.
The publisher undertakes to have an independent editorial decision made.
The publisher bears all the responsibility to take precautions against scientific abuse, fraud, and plagiarism.

Unethical Behavior

Should you encounter any unethical act or content in the journal apart from the ethical responsibilities listed above, please notify the journal by e-mail at turkishstudiesbaski@gmail.com

[1] K. K. Mueen Ahmed vd., “Violation of publication ethics in manuscripts: Analysis and perspectives”, Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics 6/2 (2015), 94.

[2] Wayne C. Booth vd., The Craft of Research The University of Chicago Press, 2003), 286.

[3] Mueen Ahmed vd., “Violation of publication ethics in manuscripts”, 94.

[4] Springer (Springer Nature), “Publication ethics” (9 May 2020).

[5] The Council of Writing Program Administrators (WPA), “Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices” (30 December 2019).

[6] Chris Park, “In Other (People's) Words: Plagiarism by university students--literature and lessons”, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 28/5 (2003), 475.

[7] Nature, “Publication ethics”.

[8] Nature, “Publication ethics”.

[9] Nature, “Publication ethics”.

[10] http://www.turkishstudies.net/turkishstudies?mod=sayfabilgi&sayfa_alias=Hakem%20Listesi

Publication Policy & Ethics

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