Publishing Ethics

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors
Ethical responsibilities of the author(s) applying for an article to the journal Apitherapy and Nature:
• The articles submitted to the journal must be original studies that are suitable for the specified fields of study.
• Original studies should be submitted to the journal. In the event that an article is sent to the journal, the corresponding author is deemed to have declared that the studies and results have not been published elsewhere or have not been sent for publication.
• Authors cannot submit their study to more than one journal at the same time.
• Authors are required to state and disclose the conflict of interest situation in the articles.
• They should correctly cite the sources they used while writing the article.
• During the review process of articles, authors may be asked to provide raw data. In such a case, the author(s) should be prepared to submit such data and information.

• Ethics committee approval should be obtained for studies on clinical and experimental humans and animals that require an ethics committee decision in scientific articles submitted to the journal, and this approval should be stated and documented. 

The authors acknowledge that the study is entirely original and that the work of others is appropriately cited in the text with necessary permissions. Authors should avoid plagiarism. It is recommended to check the article using suitable software such as Ithenticate and CrossCheck. Responsibility for this issue lies entirely with the authors. All submitted articles are controlled by the journal management in this way, and articles with a similarity ratio of more than 25% are not published.

 
Ethical Responsibilities of Referees
• Reviewers are asked to examine the articles in detail, impartially and confidentially.
• Referees are only required to review articles related to their area of expertise.
• Referees are required to fill in the Reviewer Evaluation Form for the articles they evaluate. In this form, the referees are required to state their decision on whether the article they are evaluating is publishable or not, and the reasons for their decision.
• Reviewers cannot contact the authors directly. Review forms and comments of the article are sent to the authors by the editor.
• The style of the referees should be constructive and courteous, and personal comments such as hostility, slander and insults should be avoided.
• If any conflict of interest is noticed, the referee should notify the editor and refuse to review the article.
• Submitted works cannot be used by the referees for any purpose until the evaluation process is completed.
• Reviewers should evaluate the article in a timely manner and according to the above-mentioned ethical rules.

Ethical Responsibilities of Editors, Assistant Editors and Field Editors
• Editors are responsible for evaluating publication policies, journal objectives, and the journal's international standards.
• The editor should make an effort to match the published articles with the knowledge and skills of the journal readers.
• The editor is obliged to continuously strive to increase the quality of the journal and contribute to its development.
• Editors should select referees according to their subjects and professions, and should ask the referees to evaluate the articles in accordance with their knowledge and expertise.
• Editors should ensure that there is no conflict of interest between reviewers and authors.
• Editors must comply with blind review and keep the identities of reviewers/authors confidential.
• Editors ensure that members of the editorial board and referees evaluate articles impartially and independently.
• The editor is required to convey to the referees all necessary information regarding the referee evaluation process and what the referees are expected to do.
• Editors are obliged to give a clear and enlightening response to the complaints of reviewers, authors and readers.
• Editors should always be willing to issue corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when necessary.
• The Editor or field editors are responsible for deciding which of the submitted works should be published.

Unethical Behavior
• If you encounter an unethical situation, content or behavior that does not comply with the ethical responsibilities outlined above, please report it by e-mail to the following address: oktayyildiz@ktu.edu.tr