Peer Review, Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Psycho-Educational Research Reviews Journal (PERR ) has dedicated to follow the ethical standards as determined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

1. Peer-Review

Manuscripts submitted to PERR are given due consideration provided  that they are not under consideration by other journals, that is, they are not offered simultaneously elsewhere. Authors are required to read and approve the content. All authors should also declare all competing interests. They should state that  their work complies with the Ethical Approval and has been conducted under internationally accepted ethical standards.

In case of that ethical misconduct is suspected, the PERR Editorial Board will act in accordance with the relevant international rules of publication ethics (i.e., COPE guidelines)

Double-blinded peer-review is run  for the submitted manuscripts. PERR Editorial Board who are  assigned to select the papers to be published in the journal consists of experts in the relevant field of research.  All manuscripts are reviewed by the editor, section associate editors and at least two external expert reviewers. 

Feedbacks from reviewers are anticipated to be provided to the authors within a period of three months . However, as that depends on the availability of the  professionals, who provide  gracious pro bono services, we ask our authors to be patient.

The details of the comments as well as the overall recommendations by peer reviewers will be considered by the Editor when making a decision, however, the academic editor is the person who is responsible for  the acceptance or rejection of the work.

The Author must submit a revised version of the article with all necessary changes (marked in a different color; or via track in changes) and a ‘Response to Reviewers Form’ included on the PERR website. If a major revision is given, the revised article is sent to the same Reviewers for the second round. However, if the required revision is not minor, the Editors may check the manuscript (and ‘Response to Reviewers Form’ whether corrections or change requests have been fulfilled or not.

Submissions rejection depends on the irrelevant content, that is, the content is not in line with the PERR's scope, and does not meet the ethical standards (i.e. plagiarism, duplicate publication, false authorship, fabrication of data and citation manipulation), does not meet the required quality, or has incorrect grammar. Manuscripts are rejected if  the reviewers' decisions are negative . The primary criteria for publication in PERR are scientific quality. The accepted papers will be published in the nearest issue.

Sometimes, editors of the journal wish to publish their articles in PERR. If this is the case, in accordance with   COPE recommendations on ethical editing for new Editors they cannot handle their submissions, and so they assign other members member of the Editorial Board to handle this matter instead.

Accept submission (It is ready to go to copyediting as is).
Revisions required (Minor Revision: It requires some changes that can be reviewed and accepted by the editors. To be decided after implemented revisions are checked by the Editorial Board).
Resubmit for review (Major revision. it requires major changes and another/second round of peer review).
Resubmit elsewhere (It does not seem like a good fit for the focus and scope of this journal).
Decline Submission (It has too many weakness to ever be accepted).

Quality assurance: The entire peer-review process depends on the scientific reputation, professionalism and voluntary participation of invited reviewers from social sciences in various cultural backgrounds. 

Proofreading. The authors themselves will ensure proofreading within the period indicated by the Editorial Board. In the case where the author does not respond within a certain period, the Editorial Board will not carry out the revision.

Responsibility: PERR (Psycho-Educational Research Reviews) and Biruni University are not responsible for the ideas and opinions expressed in the published works. The full responsibility is on the author's side. This remark is also mentioned in the Copyright Agreement for Authors section on the website. 

  The reviews are prepared on this Review Form.

2. Duties of Editors

2.1.Complaints and Appeals

Sometimes, some authors  want to make an appeal to editor decision, in case of article rejection, for example. If this is the case, they should provide a strong evidence regarding the new data or information in response to the reviewers’ and/or editor’s comments. PERR follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)  guidelines on appeals to editor decisions and complaints about editorial management of the peer review process. Priority over appeals  will be taken concerning  review and decisions on new submissions.

2.2.Confidentiality

The editors or any member of their editorial staff are not to disclose information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the publisher, corresponding authors, reviewers, potential reviewers, and other editorial advisers as appropriate.

2.3.Data sharing and reproducibility

Data is available upon reasonable request from the authors as long as does not violate protection of human subjects or other valid privacy concerns.

2.4.Disclosure and conflicts of interest

Privileged information or ideas the editors obtain as a result of handling the manuscript will be kept confidential .They cannot use  these information or ideas for their personal advantage. Editors who have conflicts of interest due to competition, collaboration, or other relationships/connections with any of the authors will recuse themselves from considering the submitted – to - the journal manuscripts. Other members of the editorial board will handle the these submissions.

2.5.Ethical Oversight

The Editorial Board ensures compliant with COPE’s guidelines on ethical oversight. Ethical oversight includes, but is not limited to, policies on consent to publication, publication on vulnerable populations, ethical conduct of research using human subjects, handling confidential data and of business/marketing practices.

2.6.Fair play and editorial independence

Submitted manuscripts will be exclusively evaluated on the basis of their academic merit (significance, originality, study’s validity and clarity) and its relevance to the journal’s scope, without regard to the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, citizenship, religious belief, political philosophy or institutional affiliation. The decision of editing and publishing is exclusively determined by the journal itself, not by any other agencies outside it. The editors are responsible for the entire editorial content of the journal and the timing of publication of that content.  

2.7.Misconduct

In accordance with COPE guidelines, Editors are responsible to take reasonable steps if misconduct (e.g. false affiliation, breaches in copyright/use of others' material without appropriate permissions, citation manipulation, duplicate submission/publication, peer review manipulation, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, undisclosed competing interests or unethical research)  regarding the submitted paper is discovered.  

 2.8.Post publication discussion and corrections

Sometimes, after the paper has been published, the author discovers that there is something incorrect. Making change to the Version of Record will be done after careful consideration by the Editors in accordance with guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). There will be a Correction notice or a Retraction linked to the original article. Editorial team respond positively to these changes, as they ensure the integrity of the scholarly record .  

2.9.Publication decisions

All submissions to PERR undergo peer-review by at least two reviewers who are expert in the field. The editors are responsible for deciding which of the manuscripts will be published. Their decision is  based on the validation of the work, its significance  to researchers and readers and  the reviewers’ comments. Additionally, these submissions meet the requirements and criteria of the journal  The editors may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

3.Duties of Reviewers

3.1. Acknowledgement of sources

It is the reviewer's responsibility to notify the editors of any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript submitted to the journal and is under consideration and any other manuscript (whether published or unpublished) of which they have personal knowledge. They also should identify false citation, that is, irrelevant citation in the text. Any statement reported in previous publications should  be cited correctly.

3.2. Confidentiality

All submissions to PERR are treated as confidential documents. Editors and invited reviewers are the person these submissions are shown to or discussed with. No matter whether the  invited reviewers accept or decline the review invitation.

3.3. Contribution to editorial decisions

Peer review plays a good part in helping editors make editorial decisions.  Editors are the link between reviewers and authors. This link may assist authors in improving their manuscripts. As such, peer review lies at the heart of scholarly scientific works. 

3.4. Disclosure and conflicts of interest

PERR send the submissions to reviews. However, as humans , some reviewers may have conflicts of interest due to collaboration, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors. As such, they are asked to immediately notify the editors and  declare their conflicts of interest . They honestly decline the invitation to review so that the journal editorial team  contact alternative reviewers.  

3.5. Promptness 

Specialization is respected. If an invited reviewer feels that he/ she is not qualified enough to review the submitted manuscript, he /she should immediately notify the editors and decline the invitation to review so that the journal editorial team  contact alternative reviewers.

3.6. Standards of objectivity

Reviews must be conducted transparently and objectively, so that researchers benefit from the comments provided to improve the their research. There is no room here for personal criticism or directing criticism at individuals as much as there is comment on the work and its scientific value.

4. Duties of Authors

4.1. Acknowledgement of sources

It is the authors' responsibility to cite previously published works properly, that is, those works that are influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Discussion with third parties should not be used  without explicit, written permission from the source.

4.2. Authorship and Contributorship

PERR asks the authors to list their significant contributions to the manuscript. It is  the responsibility of  the corresponding author to notify the journal with each co-author's contribution(s). If there are others who are not co-authors , but have made contributions( e.g. technical assistance) , the authors may , is appropriate mention their names under "Acknowledgement'. After the manuscript have been accepted, it not allowed to add other authors/co-authors. PERR validate only whose name has been written on the original copy.    

4.3. Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests

All authors are asked declare any competing interests regarding the submitted manuscript. A competing interest is defined as a financial, commercial, legal, or professional relationship that the author has , with other people. These relationships may influence the research or interpretation of the results. Authors must declare the conflict of interest in their manuscript submission.

4.4. Data sharing and reproducibility

Data is available upon reasonable request from the authors as long as does not violate protection of human subjects or other valid privacy concerns. 

4.5. Fundamental errors in published works

If significant errors or inaccuracies in the published work have been discovered by the authors, they must notify the journal’s editors or publisher and collaborate with them  to correct the paper in the form of an erratum or in some times retract the paper.

4.6. Hazards and human or animal subjects

 Manuscripts containing original descriptions of research conducted in humans or experimental animals must contain details of approval by a properly constituted research ethics committee. As a minimum, the project identification code, date of approval and name of the ethics committee or institutional review board should be cited in the Methods section. 

4.7. Multiple, duplicate, redundant or concurrent submission/publication

PERR does not accept any manuscript previously published in the journal( i.e. PERR) or any other Journal . So authors are advised not to submit for consideration a manuscript that has already been published in another journal.

4.8. Originality and plagiarism

Authors should ensure that they submit entirely original works, and if they have used the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately cited. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. 

4.9. Peer review

The author is asked to participate in the review process in cooperation with the editorial board if raw data is requested, for example.  When the "revisions required "  is reported, authors should respond to the reviewers’ comments systematically, point by point, and in a timely manner, revising and re-submitting their manuscript to the journal by the deadline given.

5. Duties of the Publisher

5.1. Handling of unethical publishing behavior

In cases of alleged or proven scientific misconduct, fraudulent publication or plagiarism, the publisher, in close collaboration with the editors, will take all appropriate measures to clarify the situation and to amend the article in question. This includes the prompt publication of an erratum, clarification or, in the most severe case, the retraction of the affected work.  The publisher, together with the editors, shall take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, and under no circumstances encourage such misconduct or knowingly allow such misconduct to take place. All forms of misconduct are taken seriously and will result in all necessary action in accordance with COPE guidelines.

5.2. Intellectual property

Psycho-Educational Research Reviews Journal (PERR) protects the property and copyright of the articles published in the journal and maintains each article's published version of the record. The journal provides the integrity and transparency of each published article. In case the reliability of the submitted research is questioned, author(s) are responsible to provide the data used to the Editor. If authors fail to provide their data, the submission is rejected and is not accepted for evaluation again. Authors are required to store the data, applications procedures, and other materials utilized in their submissions for at least 5 years. After publication, if other researchers or authors request, data can be shared. Before sharing data, information, codes, or symbols about participants’/subjects’ identities must be deleted. If a study is funded by an institution, the rights of the institution must be protected and relevant acknowledgement must be added. If authors desire to share data, there must be a signed letter of agreement between the author(s) and the owner(s) of the data regarding the aim(s), the method(s), the scope, the conditions, and the limits for the use of the data.

According to Article 35 of Intellectual and Arts Copyright Act Number 5846 (and Act number 4630 that changed it), any type of information taken from other sources must be cited and referenced. Act Number 4630 states that:

“Article 35 – Other sources can be quoted in the following cases:

  • Quoting sentences or parts from publicly known work in a scientific or literary work;
  • Including themes, patterns, passages, or parts from its characteristics of a previously published musical composition into musical work;
  • Including acceptable portions of publicly known work of art or other published work in a scientific work in a way that the included part or the whole is clarified and its content is explained;
  • Including acceptable portions of publicly known work of art in scientific conferences or lessons and using projections to show in order to talk about or explain the work.

Quotes or integrations must be made clear. The parts of the work quoted or integrated must be clearly and properly cited.

In case the limits explained in the Act are violated, the act is considered as a crime and imposes punishment regulated in Article 71 of Act Number 4630:

“Article 71 - (Changed Article: 01/11/1983 -2936/Article 11; Changed Article: 23/01/2008-5728 S.K./ Article 138)

Violating intellectual and art work moral, commercial or relevant rights protected under this Article:

  • Individuals using, reproducing, changing, distributing, broadcasting using any audio or visual means, publishing, or selling illegally produced copies, lending, renting, purchasing for commercial purposes, importing or exporting, keeping for non-personal needs, or storing a work of art, a performance, a phonogram, or a production without obtaining legal permission from its owner are sentenced to imprisonment between 1 and 5 years and are fined.
  • Individuals giving their names to the work of others are sentenced between 6 months and 2 years and are fined. If this act is followed by distributing or publishing the work, upper limit of imprisonment is 5 years and no fine is applied.
  • Individuals discussing the content of others’ work publicly without obtaining legal permission are sentenced up to 6 months imprisonment.
  • Individuals citing other work wrongly, insufficiently or misleadingly are sentenced up to 6 months imprisonment.
  • Individuals reproducing, distributing, or publishing others’ work, performances, phonograms, or products using other well-known individuals’ names are sentenced to imprisonment between 3 months and 1 year and are fined.

Individuals who commit crimes stated in Paragraph 1 of the Additional Article 4 of this Act and individuals who provide content information and continue to commit the crimes mentioned are sentenced to imprisonment between 3 months and 1 year in case there are no other reasons for harsher penalties.

If individuals who sell or buy illegally reproduced, distributed, or published others’ work, performances, phonograms, or products reports the names of people from whom they have obtained the work before prosecution process may receive remission or may not be sentenced at all.”

5.3.Access to and preservation of journal content

Psycho-Educational Research Reviews Journal (PERR )is an open access journal, which means it is made freely available to readers across the world.

 

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