Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

Ethical Principles

The Journal of Pedagogical Research in Education is a peer-reviewed journal established to publish research articles in the fields of Educational Social and Natural Sciences, Fundamental Educational Sciences, Basic Education, Special Education, Foreign Language Education, Fine Arts Education, Educational Technologies, and Educational Management. The ethical principles and rules applied by the journal have been determined by adapting the "Directive of the International Committee on Publication Ethics." These rules are structured according to the components of the journal and include the following features:

Ethical Practices for Authors

  1. Authors are responsible for submitting original studies in the fields of Social and Natural Sciences, Fundamental Educational Sciences, Basic Education, Special Education, Foreign Language Education, Fine Arts Education, and Educational Management, as specified in the introduction section.

  2. Authors must follow the citation guidelines provided on the journal's website (www.epader.org/dergi/) when formatting the bibliography of their articles.

  3. Articles submitted to the journal must not be submitted to another journal before the review process is complete. Legal responsibility in such cases lies with the author.

  4. Only individuals who have made significant contributions to the study should be listed as authors. Those who did not provide academic support or are not related to the subject must not be included as authors.

  5. Authors must provide any necessary evidence (e.g., reports, statistical results, observational data) upon the reviewers' request and are required to keep these records for a minimum of three years.

  6. Authors who discover errors in their work must inform the journal editors or section editors. In such cases, authors must either request corrections or withdraw their articles.

  7. Submitting the ethical committee approval report related to the study to the journal is the authors' responsibility.

  8. Obtaining legal permissions (if required) from relevant institutions regarding the study is the authors' responsibility.

  9. If requested by the journal, the ethical committee report for the study must be submitted by the authors. Authors are fully responsible for any conflicts of interest related to the submitted work and must fulfill any legal and administrative obligations.

Ethical Practices for Reviewers

  1. The journal operates under a double-blind review system, ensuring that authors and reviewers remain unaware of each other’s identities. Evaluations are based on objective criteria, and reviewer reports are submitted through the same system.

  2. Reviewers are selected based on their direct expertise related to the submitted manuscript.

  3. For interdisciplinary studies, reviewers from different relevant fields are assigned to maintain objectivity.

  4. Reviewers are chosen from experts who have completed a doctoral degree and serve in national or international universities, government or private institutions, or are retired academic authorities in the field.

  5. A minimum of two reviewers and one alternate reviewer are assigned to each manuscript. If there is a disagreement between the two reviewers, a third reviewer is consulted, and their decision is final.

  6. Reviewers must inform the journal management if they identify any conflicts of interest during the review process.

  7. Reviewers must clearly outline the deficiencies in the manuscripts using the review forms and provide constructive feedback with justifications.

  8. Reviews must adhere to professional standards. Reviewers exhibiting inappropriate language or tone will be warned and, if behavior persists, appropriate action will be taken.

  9. Reviewers are expected to complete their evaluations within the assigned time and adhere to the outlined ethical responsibilities.

Ethical Practices for Editors

Editors are responsible for the proper functioning of the journal in accordance with the guidelines below:

  1. COPE Guidelines for Ethical Conduct
  2. COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practices
  3. COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors

The ethical duties and responsibilities of editors include the following:

General Responsibilities

  • Editors must strive to ensure the journal meets contemporary standards and contributes to the field.
  • Editors are responsible for guiding authors openly and transparently.

Editor-Reviewer Relations

  • Editors must ensure manuscripts are assigned to appropriate reviewers based on the subject matter.
  • Editors should ensure the double-blind review process is maintained.
  • Reviewers must be reminded of their responsibilities, and any issues raised must be addressed promptly.

Editor-Author Relations

  • Editors are responsible for examining manuscripts, forwarding them to the appropriate section editors, and ensuring the evaluation process is completed objectively.
  • If a manuscript is rejected, editors must provide a clear justification to the author.

Plagiarism and Unethical Conduct

Submitted manuscripts are screened through programs like "iThenticate" or "Turnitin," with a similarity index limit of 20%. Manuscripts exceeding this limit are returned to the authors for revision. Articles not revised within one week are not reconsidered. If plagiarism is detected, the manuscript is rejected without publication. Unethical behaviors include:

  1. Unjust authorship (e.g., excluding contributors or including non-contributors).
  2. Failing to disclose if the work is derived from theses or funded projects.
  3. Submitting manuscripts sliced into multiple works for numerical proliferation.
  4. Concealing conflicts of interest.
  5. Breaching the double-blind review process.
  6. Republishing the same work in multiple languages or journals.
  7. Simultaneously submitting a manuscript to multiple journals.
  8. Failing to disclose that a manuscript is derived from a conference presentation.