Publication Ethics Principles

Publication Ethics can be defined as a self-regulatory mechanism that insists on integrity on behalf of authors, reviewers and publishers to establish higher standards of editorial processing. Ethical standards for publication exist to ensure high-quality scientific publications, public confidence in scientific findings, and respect for people's opinions.

• Honest researchers do not plagiarise.
• They do not misattribute sources.
• They do not hide objections they cannot refute.
• They do not distort opposing views.
• They do not destroy or conceal data.

Peer-reviewed studies are studies that support and realise the scientific method. At this point, it is of great importance that all parties involved in the publication process (authors, readers and researchers, publisher, referees and editors) comply with ethical principles. Journal of Balkan Studies adheres to national and international standards in research and publication ethics. Journal of Balkan Studies has adopted the International Ethical Publishing Principles published by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA) and World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

• Transparency and Best Practice Principles in Academic Publishing (International Criteria)

Republishing

Republishing is the publication of the same article or substantially similar articles in more than one journal. The editor sends back such an article without reviewing it. Thereafter, the editor may impose an embargo for a certain period of time on the author who has attempted to republish, publicise this situation in the journal in which the author has previously published (perhaps by simultaneous announcement with the editor of the journal that published the previous article), or apply all of these measures together.

Simultaneous submission of the same work to more than one journal

Authors may not submit the same article to more than one journal at the same time. If the editor learns of possible simultaneous submission, he/she reserves the right to consult with the other editor(s) receiving the manuscript. In addition, the editor may return the manuscript without review or reject the manuscript without considering the reviews, or take this decision in discussion with the other editor(s) involved, and may decide not to accept submissions from authors for a certain period of time. It may also write to the authors' employers or take all of these measures together.

Measure for the Prevention of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is presenting the ideas, methods, data, practices, writings, figures or works of others as one's own work, in whole or in part, without citing the authors in accordance with scientific rules. Journal of Balkan Studies screens all submitted manuscripts to prevent plagiarism. The papers submitted for review are checked for plagiarism using Turnitin & Ithenticate software. The similarity rate is expected to be less than 20%. The main measure of similarity is the author's compliance with the rules of citation and citation. If the similarity rate is 1%, but citation and quotation are not done properly, plagiarism may still be in question. In this respect, citation and quotation rules must be known and carefully applied by the author. Plagiarism, duplication, false authorship/confessed authorship, research/data fabrication, article slicing, sliced publication, copyright infringement and concealment of conflict of interest are considered unethical behaviours. All articles that do not comply with accepted ethical standards are removed from publication. This includes articles containing possible irregularities and non-conformities detected after publication.

Forgery

To produce data that is not based on research, to edit or change the work presented or published on the basis of unreal data, to report or publish them, to show a research that has not been done as if it has been done. Falsifying research records and data obtained, showing methods, devices and materials that were not used in the research as if they were used, not evaluating data that do not comply with the research hypothesis, manipulating data and/or results to fit the relevant theory or assumptions, falsifying or shaping the research results in line with the interests of the persons and organisations supported.

Protection of Personal Data of Participants

The Journal of Balkan Studies requires that all research involving personal or sensitive data or materials relating to human participants that are not legally publicly available be subject to formal ethical review.

Handling Allegations of Research Misconduct

Journal of Balkan Studies adheres to COPE's Ethical Toolkit for a Successful Editorial. Journal of Balkan Studies editors will take measures to prevent the publication of manuscripts in which plagiarism, citation manipulation, data falsification, data fabrication, and other research misconduct has occurred. In no case will the editors of the Journal of Balkan Studies knowingly allow such misconduct to occur. In the event that the editors of the Journal of Balkan Studies become aware of any allegations of research misconduct related to an article published in their journal, they will follow COPE's guidelines regarding allegations.

Notifications for Ethical Violation

If readers notice a significant error or inaccuracy in an article published in the Journal of Balkan Studies or have any complaints about the editorial content (plagiarism, duplicate articles, etc.), they can send an e-mail to info@balkanjournal.org. We welcome applications as it will provide an opportunity for us to improve, and we will respond quickly and constructively.

Correction, Retraction, Expression of Concern

Editors may consider publishing a correction if minor errors are identified in the published article that do not affect the findings, interpretations and conclusions. Editors should consider retracting the manuscript if there are major errors/violations that invalidate the findings and conclusions. Editors should consider issuing a statement of concern if there is a possibility of research or publication misconduct by the authors; there is evidence that the findings are unreliable and that the authors' institutions have not investigated the incident; or the potential investigation appears unfair or inconclusive. COPE and ICJME guidelines regarding correction, retraction or expression of concern are taken into account.

Publication of Studies Based on Surveys and Interviews

Journal of Balkan Studies adopts the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) "Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" and "Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers" in order to provide ethical assurance in scientific periodical publishing. In this context, the following points should be complied with in the studies submitted to the journal: 1) For research in all disciplines that require ethics committee approval (ethics committee approval must be obtained, this approval must be stated and documented in the article. 2) In studies requiring ethics committee authorisation, information about the authorisation (name of the committee, date and number) should be included in the method section and on one of the first/last pages of the article; in case reports, information on the signature of the informed consent/assent form should be included in the article.

Special Issue Publication Policy

A special issue can be published once a year upon the request of the Editorial Board. Articles submitted for inclusion in the special issue are first subjected to a preliminary editorial review. Then, they are examined for compliance with the journal's spelling rules and similarity screening is performed to prevent plagiarism. After these stages, they are taken into the peer review process in which the double blinded model is used.

Editorial Confidentiality Obligation

The editors of the Journal of Balkan Studies treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents, which means that they will not disclose information about a manuscript to anyone without the authors' permission. During the manuscript review process, the following people have access to the manuscripts: Editors, Reviewers, Editorial Board Members. The only situation in which details about a manuscript may be passed to a third party without the authors' permission is if the editor suspects serious research misconduct.

Allegations-Suspicions of Scientific Misconduct

There are different definitions of scientific misconduct. We address these issues on a case-by-case basis as the Journal of Balkan Studies follows the guidance established by the major publication ethics bodies. If the editor suspects or alleges an ethical violation, they are obliged to take action. This duty extends to both published and unpublished articles. The editor should not simply reject articles raising concerns about possible misconduct. He/she is ethically obliged to follow up on alleged cases. The editor should follow COPE flowcharts when appropriate. Editors should first seek a response from those suspected of misconduct. If they are not satisfied with the response, they should ask the relevant employer or organisation to investigate. The editor should make all reasonable endeavours to ensure that an appropriate investigation into the alleged misconduct is conducted; if this fails, the editor should make all reasonable attempts to insist on a resolution to the problem. This is an onerous but important task. Journal of Balkan Studies adheres to COPE's Ethical Toolkit for a Successful Editorial Office. Journal of Balkan Studies editors will take measures to prevent the publication of manuscripts in which plagiarism, citation manipulation, data falsification, data fabrication, and other research misconduct have occurred. In no case will the Journal of Balkan Studies or its editors knowingly allow such misconduct to occur. In the event that the editors of the Journal of Balkan Studies become aware of any allegations of research misconduct in relation to an article published in their journal, they will follow COPE's guidelines regarding allegations. Reviewers should inform the Editor if they suspect research or publication misconduct. The Editor is responsible for taking appropriate action in accordance with COPE recommendations.

Journal of Balkan Studies is committed to following the COPE flowcharts when faced with allegations of misconduct in the following or similar matters.

• What to do when republication is suspected
• What to do when plagiarism is suspected
• What to do if fabricated data is suspected
• Requests for change of authorship
• What to do if an undisclosed conflict of interest is suspected
• What to do if unfair or gift authorship is suspected
• What to do when an ethical problem is suspected in an article
• What to do when the suspicion of ethical violation is directly notified by e-mail, etc.
• What to do when a suspected ethical violation is announced via social media

Complaint Procedure

This procedure applies to complaints about content, procedures or policies that are the responsibility of the Journal of Balkan Studies or our editorial staff. Complaints can provide an opportunity and incentive for improvement, and we aim to respond promptly, courteously and constructively. The complaint should relate to content, procedures or policies that are the responsibility of the Journal of Balkan Studies or our editorial team. Complaints should be sent directly by e-mail to info@balkanjournal.org and will be treated confidentially. The editor responds to complaints immediately. The editor follows the procedure set out in the COPE flowchart regarding complaints. Complaints are reviewed by the relevant member of the editorial team and, if not resolved, the following processes are followed: - If this initial response is considered inadequate, the complainant may request that the complaint be referred to a more senior member of the journal. - If the complainant is not satisfied, complaints can be forwarded to the editor-in-chief. - If possible, a full response will be provided within two weeks. COPE publishes a code of practice for editors of scientific journals. This will facilitate the resolution of disputes with editors, journals and publishers, but only after the journal's own complaints procedures have been exhausted.

Appeal Process

We welcome serious objections to the judgements made by the editors and referees. If you believe that we have rejected your manuscript because we misunderstood its scientific content, please send an appeal message to our editorial team at info@balkanjournal.org. Do not attempt to send a revised version of your article at this stage. If, after reading your letter of objection, we realise that your objection is justified, we may invite you to submit a revised version of your manuscript. Your work will then be resubmitted to the external referee process. Please include as much detail as possible in the appeal letter. Finally, we can only consider one objection per paper, so please take the time and effort to write a detailed letter to make your objection clear - you have one chance, so use it well. We have found that prolonged deliberation over rejected manuscripts is often unsatisfactory for both authors and editors, so we do not process multiple appeals for the same paper.

Conflicts of Interest

A conflict of interest arises when professional judgement about a primary interest may be influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain or personal competition). We believe that we need to know the competing interests of the authors in order to make the best judgement about how best to handle an article, and that readers need to know them if we publish the article. Any financial or other interest that may cause the person to be conflicted in his/her work, significantly impair his/her objectivity, or provide an unfair advantage in favour of any person or organisation. All sources of financial support received during the conduct of the research and preparation of the manuscript and the role of sponsors in the study should be explained. If there is no source of funding, this should also be indicated. Examples of potential conflicts of interest that should be disclosed include consultancies, salaries, grants. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed at the earliest possible stage. Journal of Balkan Studies has a set process for handling submissions from editors, staff or editorial board members to ensure unbiased review. Such submissions will first be forwarded to other journals. If this is not possible, the owner of the submission will be suspended from the journal. These submissions are reviewed in a double blind process. The editor should not be involved in decisions about manuscripts written by him/herself or by family members. Furthermore, such a paper should be subject to all usual procedures of the journal. The editor should follow ICMJE guidelines on disclosure of potential conflicts of interest by authors and reviewers.

Principles of Research Ethics

Journal of Balkan Studies observes the highest standards of research ethics and adopts the international principles of research ethics defined below. It is the responsibility of the authors to ensure that manuscripts comply with ethical guidelines.

• The principles of integrity, quality and transparency should be ensured in the design, review of the design and conduct of the research.
• The research team and participants should be fully informed about the purpose of the research, its methods and possible uses; the requirements and risks, if any, of participation in the research.
• Confidentiality of information provided by research participants and confidentiality of respondents must be ensured. The research should be designed to protect the autonomy and dignity of the participants.
• Research participants should take part in the research voluntarily and should not be under any coercion.
• Harm to the participants should be avoided. The research should be planned in a way that does not put the participants at risk.
• Research independence must be clear and explicit; if there is a conflict of interest, it must be stated.
• In experimental studies with human subjects, the written informed consent of the participants who decide to participate in the research must be obtained. The consent of the legal guardian of children and those under guardianship or those with a recognised mental illness must be obtained.
• If the study will be carried out in any institution or organisation, approval must be obtained from this institution or organisation that the study will be conducted.
• In studies with a human element, it should be stated in the "method" section that "informed consent" has been obtained from the participants and ethics committee approval has been obtained from the institution where the study is conducted.