Karadeniz International Scientific Journal adopts the highest standards of publication ethics and requires all stakeholders, including authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher, to act in accordance with ethical principles.
The journal?s ethical policies are based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and related international guidelines.
All submissions are subject to double-blind peer review.
1. Importance of Peer-Reviewed Publishing
Peer review is a fundamental mechanism that safeguards the accuracy, originality, and academic quality of scholarly research. All parties are expected to fulfill their ethical responsibilities throughout this process.
2. Ethical Responsibilities of Authors
Authors are expected to:
- declare that the submitted work is original, has not been published previously, and is not under simultaneous review elsewhere;
- provide accurate, complete, and appropriate citation to all sources used;
- disclose any financial, institutional, or personal conflicts of interest;
- obtain ethics committee approval, data-use permissions, and copyright permissions where required;
- provide raw data and analyses when requested by reviewers or editors;
- ensure that the study does not involve plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, salami slicing, or duplicate publication;
- cooperate with the editor in issuing a corrigendum or retraction if a significant error is identified after publication.
All submissions are screened with similarity-detection software.
3. Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers
Reviewers are expected to:
- evaluate only manuscripts within their field of expertise;
- conduct their reviews with impartiality, objectivity, and confidentiality;
- withdraw from review in cases of conflict of interest;
- keep the manuscript confidential and not share it with third parties;
- provide scholarly, constructive, and respectful comments;
- complete the review within the allocated period.
Any incentive or payment provided to reviewers, if applicable, does not compromise the independence of the review process.
4. Ethical Responsibilities of Editors
Editors are expected to:
- conduct an initial assessment of submissions in terms of scientific scope and quality;
- manage the evaluation process fairly, impartially, and transparently;
- base editorial decisions solely on academic merit;
- maintain confidentiality at every stage;
- declare their own conflicts of interest and delegate the process when necessary;
- initiate investigations in accordance with COPE guidance when ethical misconduct is suspected;
- publish corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern when required.
5. Authorship and Contribution Policy
- Authorship is limited to those who have made a substantial academic contribution to the work.
- All authors must approve the final version of the manuscript.
- Author contributions, for example in line with the CRediT taxonomy, should be stated clearly.
- Gift authorship and ghost authorship are not accepted.
- Funding and support sources must be disclosed in full.
6. Retraction Policy
An article may be retracted in cases involving:
- serious ethical misconduct;
- data errors or findings that undermine reliability;
- plagiarism or duplicate publication.
Retraction decisions are taken in accordance with COPE guidance and announced publicly.
7. Correction Policy
Errors identified in published articles are handled as follows:
- published as Erratum / Corrigendum where appropriate;
- linked to the original version of the article;
- communicated clearly to readers.
8. Ethical Misconduct and Investigation Procedure
In cases of suspected ethical misconduct:
- editors act in accordance with COPE flowcharts;
- the parties concerned may be asked to provide a written response;
- institutions may be notified when necessary;
- the process is conducted transparently and documented carefully.
9. Publisher Neutrality and Editorial Independence
The publisher of the journal, K?lt?r Ajans, does not interfere with editorial processes.
All decisions are taken by:
- the editorial board;
- independent reviewers,
on the basis of scholarly criteria. Editorial processes are conducted in accordance with the principle of editorial independence.
10. References
The publication ethics policy of Karadeniz International Scientific Journal is grounded in international ethical standards, foremost among them the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices.
The journal is committed to full compliance with COPE principles and takes COPE guidance as a primary reference in all publication ethics procedures.
COPE ethical guidance and related documents are available at the following link:
https://publicationethics.org/guidance