The following ethical duties and responsibilities have been prepared in accordance with the principles, standards and policies of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE - Committee on Publication Ethics, https://publicationethics.org) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE - International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, http://www.icmje.org).
 
ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF AUTHORS

• Articles submitted for publication must be prepared in accordance with the journal's spelling rules.
• The author(s) must confirm that the submitted work is original. The author(s) should avoid acts contrary to scientific research and publication ethics (plagiarism, forgery, distortion, slicing, etc.).
• In case the author(s) benefit from the works of others, they must correctly cite and/or quote the sources they use in accordance with ethical principles.
• All authors involved in the study should have made significant contributions to the content, design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of the study, critically reviewed the study and approved the final version of the article to be published.
• The author(s) must accept full responsibility for ensuring that questions about the accuracy or completeness of any part of the study are appropriately investigated.
• The names of authors who did not contribute to the study should not be written as authors. All other individuals who do not meet the criteria for authorship but contributed to the study to a lesser extent should be included in the acknowledgement section.
• Authors should declare all material (such as grants, share ownership, consultancy, patent-licence agreements) or immaterial (such as memberships, information and opinions about the study, professional connections) situations that may constitute a conflict of interest that may affect the outcome or interpretation of their work submitted for publication.
• All data in the article must be real and original. The author(s) may be requested to provide raw data about their article during the evaluation process, in which case the author(s) should be ready to provide the requested information to the editors.
• If the author(s) detects an error or inaccuracy in the manuscript during the evaluation process and in the appearance stage or electronically published manuscript, the author(s) should notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to withdraw or correct the manuscript.
• The author(s) should not submit to Tarsus University Journal of Faculty of Applied Sciences articles that they have published or submitted for publication elsewhere.
•  If the study is supported by any institution or derived from a thesis, this explanation should be included on the first page of the article file containing author information.
• For the use of data such as scales, questionnaires, photographs, etc. belonging to other authors, permission should be obtained from the owners and this should be stated in the article.
• The iThenticate similarity report for each submitted article should not exceed 20%.

 
ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF REFEREES

• Should respond promptly to manuscript review requests sent to the journal and send the reviews to the editor within the agreed period.
• Avoid provocative, insulting and hostile attitudes in comments on articles; express comments in a constructive, honest and polite manner.
• They should not make personal criticisms about the authors.
• If there are any conflicts of interest, established relationships, or activities that may influence the evaluation of the manuscript, the reviewer must inform the editor and withdraw from the review process.
• The reviewer must keep all information regarding the author and the manuscript confidential.
• The evaluation should be conducted with impartiality and confidentiality. Nationality, gender, religious beliefs, political views, or commercial concerns must not compromise the objectivity of the review.
• If any copyright infringement or plagiarism committed by the author is identified, the reviewer must report it to the editor.
• If the reviewer is not competent in the subject matter of the manuscript or is unable to provide a timely response, they must inform the editor and decline to participate in the review process.
• Reviewers must not share their evaluations or feedback on the manuscript with others and must not contact the authors directly without the editor’s permission.

ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD

• The Editorial Board must ensure the establishment and implementation of journal policies concerning publication, double-blind peer review, the evaluation process, and ethical principles.
• The Board is responsible for deciding whether a manuscript will be published and in which issue it will appear, even if the peer review process yields a favorable outcome.
• A favorable review alone is not sufficient for publication; the final decision must be made by the Editorial Board and the Editors/Associate Editors.
• The Editorial Board should promote academic integrity.
• The Board must not use unpublished manuscript data for personal purposes and must not share such data under any circumstances.
• The Editorial Board must always investigate allegations of plagiarism and misconduct related to submitted manuscripts. If any unethical actions in violation of publication ethics are identified, the Board reserves the right to take necessary action in accordance with ethical standards and principles.

ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE EDITOR

Responsibilities Regarding Authors

• The editor should make decisions on submitted manuscripts based on their significance, originality, validity, clarity of presentation, and the journal’s aims and scope.
• Unless there are serious issues with the study, the editor should consider all submissions within the journal’s scope for preliminary evaluation.
• New editors should not overturn decisions made by former editors unless significant problems are identified in the manuscript.
• The editor should publish the peer-review process and explain any deviations from standard procedures.
• The journal must have a mechanism that allows authors to appeal editorial decisions.
• The editor should publish a detailed "Author Guidelines" document that outlines what authors can expect and should ensure that this guide is regularly updated.
• The editor must provide authors with clear, informative, and timely notifications and feedback.

Responsibilities Regarding Reviewers

• The editor should assign manuscripts to reviewers whose expertise aligns with the subject matter.
• The editor is responsible for providing reviewers with all necessary information and guidance throughout the review process.
• Reviewers should be assessed based on criteria such as timeliness and the quality of their reviews.
• The editor must monitor for potential conflicts of interest between authors and reviewers.
• The editor is obligated to communicate all essential information about the review process and expectations to the reviewers.
• Reviewers who provide unconstructive or low-quality reviews, or who repeatedly delay feedback, should be removed from the reviewer list.
• The editor must ensure the peer-review process is conducted under a double-blind system and should not disclose the identities of authors to reviewers or vice versa.
• The reviewer pool should be continuously and dynamically updated.
• The editor should strive to ensure the reviewer pool is diverse and inclusive.
• Reviewers should be encouraged to evaluate manuscripts in a neutral, scientific, and objective manner.
• The editor should implement practices and policies aimed at improving reviewer performance.

OTHER ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE EDITOR

• The editor must take into account the opinions and suggestions of the advisory board regarding submitted manuscripts.
• The relationship between the editor (including the editor-in-chief and section editors) and the publisher is based on the principle of editorial independence. According to the written agreement between the editors and the publisher, all editorial decisions must be made independently of the publisher and journal owner.
• The editor is responsible for ensuring that each published article complies with the journal's publication policies and international standards.
• The editor is obliged to protect the confidentiality of personal data related to human subjects or visuals included in the evaluated manuscripts.
• The editor must take precautions against potential cases of misconduct or abuse of duty.
• The editor is responsible for promptly correcting any errors, inconsistencies, or misleading judgments identified in published works.
• The editor must protect the intellectual property rights of all published articles and defend the rights of the journal and the author(s) in case of possible violations.