Research and Publication Ethics

Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University Journal of Faculty of Education (MSKÜ Journal of Faculty of Education) has been published since November-2014 and has been indexed in TR Index since 2019. According to ULAKBIM's decision of February 25, 2020, in clinical and experimental studies (human/animal) that require ethics committee approval, this approval must be stated and documented in the article. Articles without approval are not accepted. Researchers outside the university must obtain approval from regional ethics committees.

Authors must comply with the YÖK Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive and avoid “Actions Contrary to Scientific Research and Publication Ethics”. The journal is based on the YÖK Code of Ethical Behavior and TÜBİTAK Research and Publication Ethics Regulation.

In studies requiring ethics committee permission, the permission information (name of the committee, date, number) should be included in the method section and on the first/last page of the article. Informed consent form should be indicated in case reports and copyright regulations should be complied with.

Ethical Rules for Authors
- Authors should submit their original educational sciences and field education studies to the journal.
- References should be organized according to APA-7 rules.
- The article should not be submitted to another journal at the same time; “Copyright Transfer Form” should be submitted.
- Authors should indicate only those who have contributed as authors; those who have not contributed should not be added.
- Documents such as reports, statistics, observation data, etc. should be submitted upon referee request (5-year retention obligation).
- If an error is noticed, the editor should be informed.

Code of Ethics for Referees
- Double blind reviewing is applied; author and reviewer identities are confidential. All communication is done through DergiPark.
- Referees are selected from experts in the field of the article. In interdisciplinary studies, at least two referees from different fields are appointed.
- External referees are prioritized for internal articles.
- Referees must be at least PhD level; they can be selected from domestic/foreign, public/foundation universities or retired faculty members.
- If two referees' reports are insufficient for a decision, a third referee is appointed.
- Reviewers should inform the journal if they recognize any conflict of interest.
- Reviews should be descriptive, reasoned and courteous. The referee is warned in case of poor style; action is taken in case of repetition.
- Reviewers should evaluate the manuscript within the given time limit.

Ethical Rules for the Editor and Deputy Editor
- Editors organize the functioning of the journal according to the regulations of YÖK and TÜBİTAK; they must comply with all ethical principles.
- The editor, deputy editors and field editors are responsible for the published articles.

General Duties
- The editor should increase the contribution of the journal to the field and carry out development work with field editors.
- A guiding, not hierarchical, relationship should be established with authors.

Editor-Reader Relationship
- Content that does not require referees, such as letters to the editor and invited articles, should be clearly indicated.
- Articles should be appropriate to the knowledge and skills of the readers.

Editor-Reviewer Relationship
- Articles should be sent to appropriate referees, double blindness should be maintained.
- Reviewers should be timely and accurate

Editor-Author Relationship
- Spelling rules should be clearly stated and changes should be announced immediately.
- Manuscripts are forwarded to the field editor; eligibility, spelling and bibliography are checked. Reasons for rejection are notified to the author.
- Article submission and acceptance dates are specified.
- Authors' article questions are answered.

Editor-Board of Editors Relationship
- Field editors should be selected from experts and contributors.
- Responsibility should be taken for objectivity, compliance with spelling rules and journal development.

Plagiarism and Unethical Behavior
- Articles are scanned with iThenticate; 20% similarity is the upper limit. If it is higher, a correction is requested, if it is not corrected within a week, it is rejected.
- If plagiarism is detected, the article will not be published.
- Unethical behaviors:
o Unfair authorship (addition/removal of contributors/non-contributors).
o Failure to mention thesis/project-based studies.
o Slicing (dividing a study into multiple articles).
o Failure to declare conflict of interest.
o Deciphering double blindness.
o Publishing the same study in different languages.

Reviewer Evaluation Process
- Articles should be related to education/field of study.
- Initial evaluation is done at the journal secretariat; if corrections are needed, they are returned to the author.
- Suitable articles are sent to two referees. It is published with two positive reports; if one positive and one negative, it goes to the third referee.
- Referees may ask for corrections; the author should make the changes and justify them if necessary.
- The review period is 10 days (can be extended).
- The field editor can make the following decisions:
o Publication.
o Acceptance with correction.
o Request editing for further evaluation.
o Rejection.