Principles of Publication Ethics
Publication Ethics can be defined as a self-regulation mechanism that insists on honesty on behalf of authors, reviewers, and publishers to establish higher standards for editorial processing. Ethical standards for publication are in place to ensure high-quality scientific publications, public confidence in scientific findings, and respect for people's ideas.
• Honest researchers do not commit plagiarism.
• They do not misrepresent references.
• They do not hide objections that cannot be refuted.
• They do not distort opposing views.
• They do not destroy or hide data.
Peer-reviewed studies support and implement the scientific method. It is of great importance for all parties in the publication process (authors, readers, researchers, publishers, reviewers, and editors) to adhere to ethical principles. The Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences adheres to national and international standards in research and publication ethics. It complies with the Press Law, the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works, and the Higher Education Institutions Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive. The Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences has adopted the International Principles of Ethical Publishing published 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). It also commits to the Decisions of the Turkish Editors Workshop.
• Press Law (National Legislation)
• Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works (National Legislation)
• Higher Education Institutions Directive on Scientific Research and Publication Ethics (National Legislation)
• Transparency in Academic Publishing and Best Practice Principles (International Criteria)
• Decisions of the Turkish Editors Workshop (National Criteria)
Republication
Republication is the publication of the same article or similar articles in multiple journals. The editor returns such articles without review. Subsequently, the editor may impose an embargo on the author attempting to republish, inform the public (perhaps simultaneously with the editor of the previous journal that published the article), or apply all of these measures together.
Simultaneous Submission of the Same Study
Authors cannot submit the same article to multiple journals simultaneously. If the editor learns of possible simultaneous submissions, they reserve the right to consult the other editor(s) who received the article. Additionally, the editor can return the article without review or reject it without considering the reviews, or make this decision in consultation with other relevant editor(s), and may decide to not accept article submissions from certain authors for a certain period. The editor can also write to the authors or implement all of these measures together.
Control to Prevent Plagiarism
Plagarism is the practice of presenting the ideas, methods, data, practices, writings, figures, or works of others as one’s own, in whole or in part, without proper attribution in accordance with scientific rules. The Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences scans all submitted articles to prevent plagiarism. The studies submitted for review are checked for plagiarism using Turnitin & Ithenticate software. A similarity rate of less than 20% is expected. However, the primary measure in the similarity rate is the author's compliance with citation and referencing rules. If the similarity rate appears to be 1%, but citation and quotation are not done properly, plagiarism may still be present. In this regard, authors should be aware of the rules for citing and referencing and apply them carefully:
Plagiarism, duplication, false authorship/denied authorship, fabrication of research/data, self-plagiarism, copyright infringement, and concealment of conflicts of interest are considered unethical behavior. All articles that do not meet accepted ethical standards will be removed from publication. This includes articles with possible rule violations that are discovered after publication.
Fabrication
Fabrication is creating data not based on research, modifying or altering a submitted or published work based on fictitious data and reporting or publishing it, or making an unfinished study appear as if it has been done.
Tampering with research records and obtained data, using methods, equipment, and materials not used in the research, ignoring data that do not fit the research hypothesis, falsifying data and/or results to fit relevant theories or assumptions, distorting or shaping research results to suit the interests of supporting individuals and organisations are considered unethical behaviours.
Protection of Participants' Personal Data
Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences requires that all research involving personal or sensitive data or materials relating to non-public human participants be subject to an official and ethical review for the protection of participants' personal data.
Addressing the Allegations of Research Misconduct
Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences adheres to the Successful Practices for Ethical Journal Operations guide by COPE. Editors of Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences will take measures to prevent the publication of articles where plagiarism, citation manipulation, data falsification, data fabrication, and other research misconduct have occurred. Under no circumstances will Ereğli Journal of Agricultural Sciences or its editors knowingly allow such misconduct to occur. Editors of Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences will follow COPE's guidelines regarding any allegations of research misconduct concerning an article published in their journal. Reviewers must inform the editor if they suspect research or publication misconduct. The Editor is responsible for initiating an appropriate process according to COPE recommendations when ethics concerns are raised.
Ethics Violation Reports
Readers may send reports by email to
[email protected] if they notice a significant error or mistake in an article published in the Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences or if they have complaints related to editorial content (plagiarism, duplicate articles, etc.). We welcome such reports as they provide an opportunity for improvement and encourage quick, polite, and constructive responses.
Correction, Retraction, and Expression of Concern
Editors may publish corrections if minor errors are detected in a published article that do not affect the findings, interpretations, or conclusions. When major errors or violations that affect the findings and results occur, editors should retract the paper. In cases where there is a possibility of research or publication abuse by the authors, if there is evidence that the findings are not reliable and the author's institution has not investigated the incident or if the possible investigation appears unfair or inconclusive, editors should consider expressing concern. COPE and ICMJE guidelines will be considered for correction, retraction, or expression of concern.
Publication of Studies Based on Surveys and Interviews
The Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences adopts the "Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" and the "Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers" of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) to ensure ethical assurance in scientific publishing. In this context, the following points should be observed in the studies submitted to the journal:
- Ethics committee approval must be obtained for all research conducted in all fields, and this approval should be documented and stated in the article's methodology section.
- In case of research that requires ethics committee approval, information about the approval (committee name, date, and number) should be included in the methodology section and on one of the first/last pages of the article, in addition to the informed voluntary consent form if applicable.
Publication Policy for Special Issue
A special issue may be published in our journal once a year at the request of the Editorial Board. Papers submitted for the special issue are subject to initial editorial review. Then, they are reviewed for compliance with the journal's writing rules and are subjected to similarity control to prevent plagiarism. After these stages, they enter the peer-review process using a double-blind peer-review model.
Editorial Privacy Obligation
The editors of the Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences treat all submitted articles as confidential documents; it means that they will not disclose information about an article to anyone without the author's permission. During the article review process, the following individuals may have access to the article: Editors, Reviewers, and Editorial Board Members. The only situation in which details of a manuscript may be disclosed to a third party without the author's permission is if the editor suspects serious research misconduct.
Scientific Misconduct Allegations-Concerns
There are different definitions of scientific misconduct. At Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences, we deal with these issues on a case-by-case basis following the guidance by major publication ethics institutions. Editors are obligated to take action if they suspect ethics violations or there are allegations of misconduct. This duty encompasses both published and unpublished articles. Editors should not simply reject articles that raise concerns about potential misconduct. Ethics cases should be pursued. Editors should follow COPE flowcharts when appropriate. Editors should first seek a response from individuals suspected of misconduct. If they are not satisfied with the response, they should request an investigation from the relevant employers or institutions. Editors should make every reasonable effort to ensure a proper investigation of alleged misconduct; if this fails, editors should make every reasonable effort to insist on finding a resolution. This is a laborious but essential task.
Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences adheres to the COPE's Ethics Toolkit for Successful Editorial Office. The editors of Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences will take measures to prevent the publication of articles where plagiarism, citation manipulation, data falsification, data fabrication, and other forms of research misconduct have occurred. Under no circumstances will Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences or its editors knowingly allow such misconduct to occur. Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences editors will follow the COPE guidelines in case they become aware of any allegations of research misconduct regarding an article published in their journal.
Reviewers should inform the Editor when they suspect research or publication misconduct. Editors are responsible for carrying out the necessary procedures in line with COPE recommendations.
Eregli Jornal of Agricultural Sciences commit to applying COPE flowcharts when facing allegations of misconduct related to the following or similar issues:
• What to do when suspicions of duplicate publication arise
• What to do when suspicions of plagiarism arise
• What to do when suspicions of fabricated data arise
• What to do when requests for authorship changes arise
• What to do when suspicions of undisclosed conflicts of interest arise
• What to do when suspicions of unjust or gift authorship arise
• What to do when suspicions of ethics problems in a manuscript arise
• What to do when suspicions of ethics violations are reported directly via email, etc.
• What to do when suspicions of ethics violations are announced through social media.
Complaints Procedure
This procedure applies to complaints related to content, procedures, or policies within the responsibility of Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences or our editorial team. We consider complaints as an opportunity for improvement and aim to respond promptly, courteously, and constructively.
Complaints should pertain to content, procedures, or policies within the responsibility of Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences or our editorial team. Complaints should be sent directly via email to
[email protected] and will be treated confidentially. The editor will respond to complaints immediately and follow the procedure outlined in the COPE flowchart for handling complaints.
Complaints will be reviewed by a relevant member of the editorial team, and if they remain unresolved, the following processes will be followed:
• If the initial response is deemed inadequate, the complainant may request that their complaint be escalated to a more senior member of the journal.
• If the complainant is not satisfied, complaints can be referred to the chief editor.
• A complete response will be provided within two weeks if possible.
COPE publishes a code of conduct for editors of scientific journals. This code will facilitate the resolution of disputes between editors and journals/publishers but can only be sought after exhausting the journal's own complaint procedures.
Appeal Process
We welcome serious appeals regarding evaluations made by editors and reviewers. If you believe that we have rejected your article due to a misunderstanding of its scientific content, please send an appeal message to our editorial team at
[email protected]. At this stage, please refrain from attempting to submit a revised version of your article. If we consider your appeal to be valid after reading your appeal letter, we may ask you to submit a revised version of your paper, and your paper will be re-entered into the external peer review process. Please include as much detail as possible in your appeal letter. Finally, please note that we can only consider one appeal per article, so make sure to invest time and effort in clearly presenting your appeal – you have one chance, so make it count. As we have found that extended debates over rejected articles are generally unsatisfactory for both authors and editors, we do not process multiple appeals for the same work.
Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest arises when a professional judgment related to a primary interest may be influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain or personal competition). We believe that in order to make the best decision about how to deal with an article, it is necessary for us to be aware of the competing interests of authors and for readers to be informed of them if we decide to publish the article.
Any financial or other interests that could lead to a conflict, cause a significant compromise of objectivity in one's work, or provide an unfair advantage to any individual or organization, should be disclosed. All sources of financial support for conducting the research and preparing the article should be disclosed, as well as the role of sponsors in the study. If there is no source of funding, this should also be stated. Examples of potential conflicts of interest that need to be disclosed include consultancy, salary, grants, etc. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed as early as possible.
Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences has established a process to handle submissions from editors, staff, or editorial board members to ensure impartial review. Such submissions are primarily directed to other journals. If this is not possible, the submitter's role within the journal is suspended. These submissions are reviewed through a double-blind peer review process.
Editors should not be involved in decisions regarding articles authored by themselves or their family members. Furthermore, such a study should be subject to all regular procedures of the journal. Editors should follow the ICMJE guidelines regarding the disclosure of potential conflicts of interest by authors and reviewers."
Research Ethics Principles
Eregli Journal of Agricultural Sciences upholds the highest standards of research ethics and adheres to the following international research ethics principles. Authors are responsible for the ethical compliance of their articles.
• The principles of integrity, quality, and transparency should be ensured in the design, review, and conduct of research.
• The research team and participants should be fully informed about the purpose of the research, its methods, and the anticipated uses; the requirements and, if any, the risks of participating in the research.
• The confidentiality of information provided by research participants and the privacy of respondents should be ensured. The research should be designed to preserve the autonomy and dignity of research participants.
• Research participants should voluntarily participate in the research and should not be under any form of coercion.
• Harm to participants should be avoided. The research should be planned in a way that does not endanger the participants.
• Independence in research should be transparent and clear; any conflicts of interest should be disclosed.
• In experimental studies with human subjects, written informed consent should be obtained from participants who decide to participate in the research. Consent from legal guardians should be obtained for children, the wards of the court, or individuals with mental illness.
• If the study is to be conducted in any institution or organization, approval should be obtained from that institution or organization.
• In studies with human subjects, the "method" section should indicate that "informed consent" has been obtained from the participants and that ethics approval has been obtained from the institution where the study was conducted.
