Publication Ethics and Publication Statement of Misconduct is based on the Code of Conduct and Best-Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors (Committee on Publication Ethics, 2011).

DUTIES OF THE EDITORS AND THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Fair Conduct and Editorial Independence

The editors evaluate the submitted articles on the basis of not only to their academic value (importance, originality, validity, clarity of the study), but also to the scope of the journal regardless of the author's race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, nationality, religious belief, political opinion or institution. Editing and publishing decisions are not determined by government policies or by any institution outside of the journal. The Editor-in-Chief has full authority over all editorial content of the journal and the timing of publication of this content.

Privacy
Editors and editorial staff will not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the respective author, referees, potential referees, other editorial consultants, and the publisher.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest
Editors and editorial board members will not use unpublished information disclosed in a submitted text for their own research purposes without written consent of the authors. Privileged information or ideas obtained as a result of editors' use of the manuscript will be kept confidential and will not be used for personal gain. Editors should withdraw from manuscripts in which there are conflicts of interest arising from competition, partnership, or other relationships or links with any of the authors, companies, or any of the institutions that may be associated with the article. Editors should ask all participants to disclose conflicting interests on the topic and publish corrections if conflicting interests have arisen after publication. If necessary, other appropriate action should be taken, such as issuing a statement of concern or withdrawal.

Publication Decisions
Editors ensure that all submitted articles are evaluated for publication and are refereed by at least two referees who are experts in this field. Based on some legal requirements, the editor is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal will be published, approving them, evaluating its importance for researchers and readers, and considering the comments of the referees. It is still in effect for defamation, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The Editor-in-Chief may meet with other editors or referees while making this decision.

DUTIES OF THE REFEREES
Contribution to Editorial Decisions
Peer review assists editors in making editorial decisions and can help authors improve their writing through editorial communication with authors. Peer review is an essential component of formal scientific communication and is at the center of scientific effort.

Promptness
A referee who is not qualified to evaluate the research reported in an article, or who believes that it will be impossible to evaluate in a short time, should immediately notify the editor of this situation and seek exemption from the review process in order to appoint a new referee.

Privacy
Manuscripts submitted for review are confidential documents and should be treated as such. It should not be shown or discussed with others, unless authorized by the editors (who will only do so under exceptional and special circumstances). This privacy policy also applies to invited referees who decline their invitation to review.

Objectivity Standards
Referees should make their reviews objectively and their evaluation should be clearly expressed with supporting arguments that the authors can use to improve the article. Personal criticism of the authors is not appropriate.

Recognition of Resources
Reviewers should be familiar with published studies that is not cited by the authors. Any statement that is an observation, derivation, or discussion reported in previous publications should be accompanied by the relevant quote. A referee should also inform editors of any significant similarity or overlap between the manuscript in question and any other manuscript (published or unpublished) with personal information. For this, s/he can also deepen his/her analysis by using software that offers similarity reports.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Invited referees should immediately notify the editors of the conflict of interest in the event of a conflict of interest related to the articles they have reviewed (competitive, collaborative or other relationships with article authors, companies or organizations), so that alternative referees can be contacted.
Unpublished material in a submitted article should not be used in its own research by a referee without the written consent of the authors. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review should be kept confidential and not used for the personal advantage of the reviewer. This also applies to referees who decline their invitation to review.

AUTHOR DUTIES
Standards of Reporting
Authors of the original article should present the procedures and results of the study accurately and then objectively discuss the significance of the article. The manuscript should contain sufficient details and references so that other researchers can benefit from the study. Review articles should be accurate, objective and comprehensive, with editorial 'opinion' or perspective parts clearly stated. Fraudulent or using false statements on purpose constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Data Access and Retention
Authors may be asked to provide raw data of their study with the manuscript for editorial review, and should be prepared to make the data public if applicable.

SOURCE
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). (2011, March 7). Code of Conduct and Best-Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors. Retrieved from http://publicationethics.org/files/Code_of_conduct_for_journal_editors_Mar11.pdf