Principles of Research and Publication Ethics
In scientific papers submitted to İAÜD, the guidelines related to the Scientific Research and Publication Ethics of Higher Education Institutions, the recommendations of ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors), and the International Standards for Editors and Authors set by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) must be considered. Practices such as plagiarism, falsification or manipulation of data, duplicate publication, salami slicing, and including individuals who have not contributed to the research among the authors are unacceptable within ethical rules. Necessary legal actions will be taken in case of any ethical misconduct related to these or similar practices.
- a) Plagiarism: Representing the original ideas, methods, data, or works of others as partially or completely one’s own without proper citation in accordance with scientific rules is considered plagiarism. To avoid plagiarism, authors must provide citations in accordance with scientific rules and pay attention to the proper referencing of all scientific papers included in their research.
- b) Data Fabrication: Using data that does not exist or has been altered in scientific research is considered data fabrication. Authors must collect their data ethically and analyze it without making any changes that could affect validity and reliability during the process.
- c) Manipulation: Changing records or data obtained from research, presenting devices or materials that were not used in the research as if they were, altering or shaping research results in line with the interests of supporting individuals or institutions, are considered manipulation. Authors should be honest, objective, and transparent in the information they provide related to the research process and avoid violating ethical rules.
- d) Duplicate Publication: Submitting the same publication as separate works without citing previous publications is considered duplicate publication. Authors are fully responsible for ensuring that submitted publications have not been previously published or are not under review elsewhere. Authors should avoid duplication and strive to submit original and unique research.
- e) Salami Slicing: Dividing the results of a research into parts inappropriately and in a way that disrupts the integrity of the research, and presenting these parts as separate publications, is considered salami slicing. Authors should maintain the integrity of the research and avoid divisions that would affect the results.
- f) Authorship: Including individuals who did not contribute to the research among the authors, or excluding those who did contribute, is considered unjust authorship. All authors should have made sufficient contributions to the planning, design, data collection, analysis, evaluation, preparation for publication, and final presentation stages of the research.
Ethics Committee Approval
“Ethics Committee Approval” is required for the following types of research. The author of the article must obtain “Ethics Committee Approval” from the institution where they are employed. The types of research requiring Ethics Committee approval are as follows:
- Any research conducted using qualitative or quantitative approaches that require data collection from participants through surveys, interviews, focus group studies, observation, experiments, or interview techniques.
• The use of humans and animals (including materials/data) for experimental or other scientific purposes.
• Clinical research conducted on humans.
• Research conducted on animals.
• Retrospective studies conducted in accordance with the law on the protection of personal data.
Also;
• Indicating that “Informed Consent Forms” were obtained in case studies.
• Obtaining and indicating permission from the owners for the use of scales, questionnaires, photographs belonging to others.
• Indicating compliance with copyright regulations for the use of intellectual and artistic works.
“Ethics Committee Permission” should be stated in these articles. The articles should include the statement that Research and Publication Ethics are complied with.
Duties and Responsibilities
Author’s Responsibilities: Authors are responsible for ensuring that their articles adhere to scientific and ethical standards. They must guarantee that the article is original, has not been published elsewhere previously, and is not under consideration for publication in another language. Copyrights must be respected, and materials subject to copyright should be used with the necessary permissions. The works of other authors, contributors, or sources used must be properly cited and referenced. All authors should make a direct contribution to the academic and scientific accuracy of the article; those who do not meet the criteria for authorship but have made contributions should be mentioned in the ‘acknowledgments/information’ section. Financial relationships, conflicts of interest, and competing interests must be declared. In studies involving human subjects, it must be indicated that 'informed consent' was obtained from participants and that ethics committee approval was secured. The author must prepare and submit the article in strict accordance with the journal's specified writing guidelines.
Editor’s Responsibilities: The chief editor is responsible for ensuring that submitted articles are evaluated impartially and that authors are treated fairly regardless of their ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religious beliefs, or political philosophy. The chief editor must ensure that reviewers adhere to principles of impartiality and manage conflicts of interest. The chief editor has full authority over the reviewer assignment process and is responsible for making the final decision regarding articles to be published in the journal.
Reviewers’ Responsibilities: Reviewers are expected to adhere to principles of impartiality. There should be no conflicts of interest related to the research, authors, or financial sponsors of the research, and reviewers should maintain an unbiased attitude in their evaluations. Reviewers must ensure that all information regarding submitted articles remains confidential and report any issues such as copyright infringement or plagiarism to the editor. The identity of reviewers is kept confidential during the review process, and reviewers are emphasized not to discuss articles with each other.
