ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND PUBLICATION POLICY

Journal of Faculty of Pharmacy of Ankara University is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal and a publishing medium for original research, reviews and short communications covering important developments in the field of pharmaceutical sciences in Turkish or English. Journal of Faculty of Pharmacy of Ankara University does not have an article publication fee (APC) or subscription fee.

As the editorial board, it is aimed to publish high-quality new studies that make a significant contribution to the scope of the journal. To achieve this goal, articles submitted are subject to initial evaluation by the editor-in-chief and/or assistant editors to ensure that they meet the scientific and formal criteria to be published in the journal. Only studies that pass this preliminary evaluation process are continued to other stages for further evaluation.

Preliminary Assessment

• The scientific quality and novelty of the study must be sufficient to be published in the journal.
• Studies submitted to the journal must comply with the purpose and scope of the journal.
• The text must be written in English or Turkish, grammatically and scientifically well-written.
• The similarity rate of studies submitted to the journal should not exceed 20%.
• Studies should be arranged in accordance with the journal’s writing rules and template.
• Copyright transfer form, ethics committee approval document and author contribution form must be uploaded and signed.
• Studies must be sent to the journal via the electronic online application system.

The further evaluation process of studies that do not meet these qualifications cannot be initiated.
Journal editors, reviewers and authors have certain responsibilities during the journal publication process. These responsibilities are explained below.

1. Editor’s Duties and Ethical Responsibilities

The editor can independently decide which of the articles sent to the journal should be published, or can also consult with members of the editorial board or reviewers. Within the framework of the journal’s ethical principles and publication policy, it is responsible for carrying out the preliminary evaluation, peer review and publication stages of the studies in an impartial, auditable, fair, independent of conflict of interest and in accordance with confidentiality principles. If there is no violation in terms of publication policy and ethical principles, studies that comply with the purpose and scope of the journal should be taken to the preliminary evaluation stage.

The duties and descriptions of the editor-in-chief, associate editors, section editors and editorial advisory board are as follows:

Editor-in-Chief: Editor in chief has full authority over the publication of the journal content. Editor in chief works with Associate Editors, Section Editors and the Editorial Advisory Board.
Associate Editors: Associate Editors are primarily responsible for answering questions about the journal, making suggestions to the journal reviewers and board, and assisting the Editor-in-Chief during the article publication process.
Section Editors: Section Editors assist authors in assigning double-blind referees and answering questions about the journal.
Editorial Advisory Board: The Editorial Advisory Board guides the Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editors on issues related to the production of quality publications that are appropriate for the purpose of Journal of Faculty of Pharmacy of Ankara University.

1.1. Publication Policy

• The editor-in-chief is solely responsible for deciding which articles sent to the journal should be published. The editor’s decision may be in line with the principles of the journal’s editorial board or is limited by applicable legal requirements regarding issues such as defamatory publication, copyright infringement and plagiarism.
• The editor-in-chief ensures that the authors fill out the "Copyright Transfer Form" and send the copyright of the article to the publisher before the article is published.
• The editor-in-chief ensures that the authors fill out the "Conflict of Interest Form" and the "Author Contribution Form" before the article is published.
• The editor-in-chief assigns associate editors to formally review the articles sent to the journal. Articles that do not comply with the rules of the Journal of Faculty of Pharmacy of Ankara University are rejected without being evaluated.

1.2. Publication Review

• The editor-in-chief is responsible for ensuring that the publication evaluation process is fair, impartial and timely.
• The editor generally ensures that all articles are evaluated by at least two external and independent reviewers. If necessary, the editor requests additional opinion from a third reviewer.
• The editor selects the reviewers by evaluating experts who are suitable for the scope of the article.
• The editor carefully reviews the publication process to evaluate and decide on disclosures made for possible conflicts of interest, “self-citation” suggestions made by reviewers, and any possibility of bias.
• The editor-in-chief/other editors requests for the article to be scanned by a similarity detection software (iThenticate) at any point during the peer review or evaluation/publication process, or they do it themselves. In this sense, even if the expressions or sentences are the author(s) themselves, the text should not have an unacceptable similarity to previously published data.
• If the editor-in-chief detects errors in an article before it is published, he/she corrects them. If he/she detects it later, then he/she has to publish the corrections. All corrections or retraction notices must be prominently published in the journal. It should also be listed on the contents page.
• Journal of Faculty of Pharmacy of Ankara University’s editors follow the "COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" and "COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" guidelines published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1.3. Fair Evaluation

• Editor-in-chief/other editors evaluates articles according to their scientific content, regardless of the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, belief, ethnicity, citizenship or political views. The journal’s editorial principles support transparent and completely honest review.
• The editor must ensure that reviewers and authors fully understand what is expected of them.
• The editor makes all his communication regarding the journal through the journal’s electronic application system and follows a transparent and fair manner in case of objections to his decisions.
  

1.4. Privacy Policy

• The chief editor/other editors is obliged to maintain the confidentiality of all materials in the application to the journal and all communication with the reviewers (unless otherwise approved by the relevant authors and reviewers).
• The chief editor/other editors is responsible for protecting the identities and rights of the reviewers, unless the reviewers agree to their names being disclosed.
• Unpublished materials belonging to a submitted article should not be used for the editor's own studies/research without the written consent of the author.
• The chief editor/other editors must keep all information or ideas obtained during the article evaluation process confidential and should not use them for personal purposes.
  

2. Duties and Ethical Responsibilities of Referees

The article evaluation process of Journal of Faculty of Pharmacy of Ankara University is carried out on the principle of double-blind review. Therefore, reviewer cannot communicate with the author(s), evaluations are shared through the Dergipark management system. During the evaluation process, evaluation forms and reviewers’ comments regarding the manuscripts are forwarded to the corresponding author through the editor. Reviewers must act in accordance with the principles of impartiality, confidentiality, objectivity and scientific review throughout the evaluation process. They must be an expert and competent in the relevant field. They must complete their report on the work submitted for evaluation within the specified time period. For reports that cannot be submitted on time, the editor should be contacted without delay. The editorial board should be informed in cases of copyright and/or ethical infringement, possible conflict of interest and plagiarism.

Reviewers who evaluate the manuscript of the Journal of Faculty of Pharmacy of Ankara University are expected to comply with the stated duties and ethical responsibilities describe below:

2.1. Contribution to Editorial Decisions

• Reviewers must evaluate the work submitted by authors constructively and appropriately.
• If the reviewers think that they are not competent to evaluate the research in the article or cannot complete it in sufficient time, they must notify the editor.
• Reviewers should not make harsh and personal criticisms towards the authors.
• When reviewers receive an invitation to evaluate an article, they should refuse to evaluate the article if they feel inadequate about the subject studied in the article. 
• Reviewers must evaluate the article within the given time.
• Reviewers should only objectively evaluate the content of the study.

2.2. Privacy

• Reviewers must make the evaluation impartially and confidentially.
• Reviewers should not share their evaluations or information about the article with third parties.
• Reviewers must keep confidential the information, ideas and unpublished materials or studies obtained during the article evaluation process and must not use them for personal purposes.
• Reviewers should not retain or reproduce a copy of the article.

2.3. Detecting Ethical Issues

• Reviewers should notice the ethical problems in the article and bring them to the attention of the editor.
• If the reviewers detect that the article has been previously published elsewhere or that there is a significant similarity or overlap with a previously published article, they must notify the editor. Any previously published observations and/or arguments should be accompanied by the relevant reference.
  

2.4. Impartiality and Competition Standards

• Reviewers must make their evaluations impartially and free from bias. It is not appropriate to criticize the author as a person. Reviewers must express their opinions with supporting arguments.
• Reviewers must check for possible conflict of interest before agreeing to evaluate the article. If they feel they face a conflict of interest, they should refuse to review the manuscript and inform the editor.
• If reviewers claim that the reviewers’ (or people working with the reviewers) work has been taken as a source by the author, they must provide real scientific justifications and be careful that this is not an attempt to increase the reviewers’ number of references or the visibility of their work.
• Reviewers should not stay away from scientific reality when making their evaluations and should resort to citing sources if necessary.

3. Authors’ Duties and Ethical Responsibilities

Articles submitted to Journal of Faculty of Pharmacy of Ankara University must not have been previously published in elsewhere or should not have been sent to another publication within the same time period for publication. It is mandatory that the quotations or citations of the research and publications used in the studies are made completely in accordance with the principles of scientific research and the sources are stated. If the number of authors in the study is more than one, the authors are expected to make a concrete and sufficient scientific and academic contribution to the study. All sources of financial support for the study must be disclosed. Authors must report possible conflict of interest situations to the editorial board.

The author(s) who sent articles to Journal of Faculty of Pharmacy of Ankara University, must comply with duties and ethical responsibilities listed below:

3.1. Notification Standards

• The article (research, review or short communication) sent by the author(s) must be original.
  
• The author(s) should clearly present the research performed with an unbiased discussion of the significance of the study.
• The author(s) must present the data clearly in the article.
• If the author(s) uses other works, they must cite them fully and accurately.
• The article must contain sufficient detail and sources to enable other researchers to replicate the study.
• Author(s) should not act unethically and use misleading or unclear expressions in their articles.
• Authors act with the knowledge that their articles will not be published by the journal unless they comply with the journal rules and take action within the specified time.
  

3.2. Data Transportation and Storage

• Authors may be asked for research data supporting their articles for editorial evaluation.
• Authors must be ready to submit the specified data to the editorial board in case raw data regarding their articles or data to support their articles are requested during the evaluation process.
  

3.3. Originality, Plagiarism and Citation of Sources

• Plagiarism may occur in the form of the author representing another article as his own work, copying or paraphrasing certain parts of someone else's work without citing the source, or presenting the results of work done by others. Any form of plagiarism is unethical behavior and is completely unacceptable. Authors should avoid plagiarism. Please click here for the definition of plagiarism.
• Authors must guarantee that their work is completely original. If authors use others’ ideas or texts, they must indicate appropriate sources or citations and obtain permission if necessary.
• Authors must cite as references all publications or works that influence their work and contribute to the creation of appropriate content for the work. Information obtained privately (interview, correspondence or discussion with third parties) should not be used or, if used, should be reported with permission.
• Authors must scan the articles that they send to Journal of Faculty of Pharmacy of Ankara University for publication with plagiarism scanning programs (iThenticate) and upload a report stating that their articles do not contain plagiarism during online article submission in the Dergipark system.

3.4. Multiple, Redundant and Republishing

• Submitting to more than one journal with the same article is unethical behavior and is never accepted. In general, the authors should not submit a previously published publication to another journal for review, except in abstract form or as part of a published lecture, academic thesis, or electronic preprint.
• Authors must ensure that they do not submit the article to another journal at the same time during the submission.
• Authors must guarantee that the submitted manuscript is not under evaluation or has been accepted for publication elsewhere, and if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same format, in another language, including electronic media, without the written permission of the author.
  

3.5. Author Contributions

• Author contributions should be limited to individuals who have made significant contributions to the concept, design, implementation, or interpretation of the work. 
• Authors should carefully prepare the list of authors who contributed to the study. In some cases, the work may deserve to be a co-author, and in some cases, the work may deserve to be included in the "Acknowledgment" section.
• The corresponding author must take responsibility for ensuring that all co-authors are properly included in the work, that all co-authors have seen and approved the work, and that they have approved the submission for publication.
• The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all authors on the manuscript agree on issues such as author order, accuracy and integrity of the work, and must submit a definitive author list at the time of the original submission.
• After the application of the study is completed, the editor can add, delete or rearrange the author list only in exceptional cases. All authors must agree on such additions, deletions and rearrangements. All authors acknowledge shared responsibility for the work. Each author is responsible for questions relating to the accuracy and integrity of the work that have been properly researched and adjudicated.
• The corresponding author, as the person who contacts the editor, is responsible for filling out and sending the "Author Contribution Form" along with the article to Journal of Faculty of Pharmacy of Ankara University.

3.6. Conflict of Interest Declaration

• Authors must declare any situations or relationships that may create a conflict of interest with other individuals or organizations that they deem to be inappropriately influencing their work.
• The corresponding author, as the person who contacts the editor, is responsible for filling out and sending the "Conflict of Interest Declaration Form" along with the article to Journal of Faculty of Pharmacy of Ankara University.
• Authors must disclose situations where they have conflicts of interest.

3.7. Reporting Basic Errors

• When authors notice a significant error or omission in a published work that is in the early review or evaluation process, they are obliged to immediately notify the journal editor-in-chief / publisher or the relevant editor and, if deemed necessary by the editor, cooperate with the editor to withdraw or correct the article.
• If the editor/publisher learns from a third party that the published article contains an error, it is the author's obligation to cooperate with the editor and provide supporting evidence where necessary.

3.8. Potential Risks and Human or Animal Issues

• Authors should clearly state if they have worked with chemicals, processes, or materials that pose unusual risks when used.
• If animal or human samples/volunteers are used in the study, researchers should ensure that a statement is included in the article that all procedures were carried out in accordance with the relevant laws and institutional guidelines and that these procedures were approved by the appropriate administrative board and Ethics Committee Approval was obtained.
• In studies where Ethics Committee Approval is mandatory, authors must indicate the name of the institution from which ethics committee approval was obtained and the ethics committee approval number in the materials and methods section and the Ethics Committee Approval section. They should also include in the materials and methods section of the manuscript that the protocols and procedures used have been ethically reviewed and approved.
• Although an ethics committee report is required, studies without an ethics committee report will be rejected.
• In clinical research conducted on humans or samples obtained from humans, an informed consent form must be obtained and must be stated in the materials and methods section. For research conducted with human volunteers, a written informed consent form prepared in accordance with the research protocol must be obtained.
• Authors must ensure that they obtain the necessary ethics committee permissions if they use animal or human samples/volunteers in their studies. Ethics committee permission must be stated in the article.
• In this sense, authors must have carried out their work by following the guidelines listed below:
  All research conducted on humans should be conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association (WMA) Helsinki Declaration for Medical Research in Human Subject). Informed consent must have been obtained from human volunteers. All animal studies must comply with the ARRIVE guideline (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) Guidelines) and the “Council Directive on the Protection of Animals Used for Scientific Purposes” (EU Directive 2010/63/EU for animal experiments), “United Kingdom Animal (The U.K. Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986) and/or “U.S. It must be conducted in accordance with the U.S. Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. All experimental research on plants must comply with international guidelines.

4. Fee Policy

• No fee is charged from the author or his institution under any name.
• Processing and publishing with the journal is free. There are no article processing fees or submission fees for submitted or accepted articles.