Ethics

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Journal of Turkish World Studies is firmly committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and adheres to the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing as outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), available at: https://publicationethics.org/guidance/guideline/principles-transparency-and-best-practice-scholarly-publishing

Manuscripts submitted for consideration must be original works that have not been previously published in any format, including full-text conference proceedings, and must not be under review by any other journal or publication concurrently.

All submissions undergo an initial editorial review followed by a rigorous double-blind peer review process conducted by at least two independent referees.

The journal considers the following acts to constitute unethical behavior: plagiarism, duplication, fraudulent authorship or denial of authorship, fabrication or falsification of research data, “salami slicing” (i.e., segmenting research to publish multiple papers), copyright infringement, and failure to disclose conflicts of interest.

Manuscripts found to be in violation of these ethical standards, whether before or after publication, will be subject to withdrawal or retraction. In accordance with COPE guidelines, any suspected cases of plagiarism, duplicate publication, or other forms of academic misconduct will be formally investigated and reported to the relevant authorities where appropriate.

Research Ethics

The Journal of Turkish World Studies adopts the aforementioned highest standards of research ethics, is based on compliance with internationally recognized ethical research principles and is in full compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki published by the World Medical Association. All responsibility for the compliance of the articles submitted to the journal with ethical rules belongs to the authors.

The following core principles must be observed in all research submitted to the journal:

• Research must be designed, reviewed, and conducted in accordance with the principles of integrity, quality, and transparency.
• Researchers and participants must be fully informed about the objectives, methodology, potential applications, requirements, and any foreseeable risks associated with participation in the study.
• The confidentiality of data provided by participants, as well as the anonymity of respondents, must be preserved. The research design must respect the autonomy and dignity of all participants.
• Participation in research must be entirely voluntary, with no element of coercion or undue influence.
• The study must be planned to avoid any potential harm to participants. Researchers are obligated to minimize risk and protect the welfare of participants at all stages.
• Research must be conducted independently, and any actual or potential conflicts of interest must be fully disclosed.
• For experimental studies involving human subjects, written informed consent must be obtained from all participants. In the case of minors, individuals under guardianship, or persons with diminished capacity, consent must be obtained from their legal guardians.
• If the research is to be conducted within the framework of an institution or organization, prior approval from the relevant institution must be secured.
• For all studies involving human subjects, the manuscript must include a clear statement in the Methods section confirming that ethics committee approval was obtained from the relevant institution and that informed consent was received from all participants.

Author’s Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of the authors to ensure that their submitted manuscript complies with established scientific and ethical standards. Authors must guarantee that their submission is original, has not been previously published in any form, and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, in any language. All applicable copyright laws and conventions must be observed. Any copyrighted material—such as tables, figures, or extensive quotations—may only be used with proper authorization and must be appropriately cited. All sources, including the ideas, data, and text of others, must be fully credited and referenced in accordance with academic conventions.

Each listed author must have made a direct and substantial academic contribution to the manuscript. Authorship credit should be based on all of the following criteria:

• Significant involvement in the conceptualization and design of the study,
• Active participation in data collection,
• Contribution to data analysis and interpretation,
• Involvement in drafting or critically revising the manuscript,
• Participation in the planning, execution, and/or substantive revision of the work.

Tasks such as securing funding, data collection, or general supervision of the research team, while important, are not sufficient to qualify for authorship.

The sequence of authors in the byline should reflect a joint decision of all co-authors and must be clearly stated in the Copyright Agreement and Corresponding Author Statement Form. Individuals who have contributed to the research but do not meet the authorship criteria—such as those providing technical support, editorial assistance, or financial/material resources—should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgements section.

All authors are required to disclose any financial relationships, conflicts of interest, or competing interests that could in any way influence the research outcomes or the interpretation of findings.

If an author identifies a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, it is their duty to promptly inform the Editor-in-Chief and to cooperate in issuing a correction or retraction as appropriate.

Responsibility for the Editor and Reviewers

The Editor-in-Chief evaluates all submitted manuscripts based solely on their scholarly merit, without regard to the authors’ ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship, religious beliefs, or political views. The Editor-in-Chief ensures the implementation of a fair and impartial double-blind peer review process and guarantees that all information regarding submitted manuscripts is treated with strict confidentiality prior to publication.

The Editor-in-Chief holds full responsibility for the content and overall academic quality of the journal. When necessary, errata will be published and corrections made to preserve the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record.

To avoid conflicts of interest, the Editor-in-Chief must ensure that no such conflicts arise among authors, reviewers, or editorial board members. The authority to assign reviewers and to make final publication decisions lies solely with the Editor-in-Chief.

Peer reviewers are expected to be free of any conflicts of interest related to the manuscript’s subject, its authors, or its sources of funding. They must conduct their reviews objectively and constructively, providing academic evaluations grounded in expertise and scholarly standards.

Reviewers are obligated to maintain the confidentiality of all information contained in the manuscripts they review. They must not share or use the content in any form prior to publication. Any suspected instances of plagiarism or copyright infringement must be reported immediately to the Editor-in-Chief.

If a reviewer feels unqualified to evaluate a manuscript or cannot provide a timely review, they must inform the Editor-in-Chief and withdraw from the review process.

The Editor-in-Chief shall remind reviewers that all manuscripts are confidential documents and that reviewing them is a privileged interaction. Reviewers and members of the editorial board are prohibited from discussing manuscripts with any third parties. The anonymity of reviewers will be strictly maintained. In exceptional cases, the Editor-in-Chief may share one reviewer’s comments with another reviewer to clarify specific points—always with care to preserve anonymity.