Ethical Principles

1. The Journal of Health Sciences and Clinical Research is internationally indexed and published electronically three times a year.
2. The journal publishes original English works with interdisciplinary approaches in the health field, including nutrition and dietetics, midwifery, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, nursing, and more.
3. Submissions to the journal undergo an editorial process in terms of purpose, scope, method, and writing principles, followed by double-blind peer-review by at least two reviewers.
4. The journal adopts an open access approach and does not charge any submission, editorial processing, or publication fees for articles.
5. No fees are paid to authors for the articles published in the journal.
6. Authors must upload a similarity report to the system. All articles submitted to our journal are evaluated using plagiarism detection programs (iThenticate, Turnitin), with an acceptable similarity limit of up to 20%.

Within the scope of the "Journal of Health Sciences and Clinical Research" publication principles, the Editorial Board handles all objections according to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) rules. Accordingly, editors, reviewers, and authors are expected to adhere to ethical standards. Below are the ethical responsibilities of editors, reviewers, and authors.

Ethical Responsibilities for Editor

The editor is responsible for every article published in the journal, and in this regard, the editor:

1. Decision-making based solely on academic merit, taking responsibility for decisions.
2. Conducting business processes fairly, impartially, and in accordance with ethical standards.
   
3. Ensuring the originality of published works and their contribution to the field.
   
4. Focusing on the information needs of readers and authors for the journal's development.
   
5. Managing the author and reviewer process confidentially.
   
6. Being vigilant for any conflicts of interest between authors and reviewers during the reviewer appointment process.
   
7. Keeping reviewer identities confidential due to the double-blind review process, though the list of reviewers for each issue is announced in the issue.
   
8. Maintaining and updating a multidisciplinary pool of reviewers.
   
9. Implementing the “Peer Review and Evaluation Process” policies stated in the journal’s writing guidelines.

• Reviewers, in their reports, may express a definitive opinion regarding the publication or non-publication of a work. However, the Editor/Editorial Board may make a decision based on the similar and opposing views of the reviewers evaluating the work. If requested by the reviewer assessing the work, the views of other reviewers can be provided to them if deemed appropriate by the Editorial Board.
  
  
• The Editor/Editorial Board considers not just the number of reviewers who recommend acceptance or rejection, but the strength of the arguments presented by the reviewers or authors. The Editor/Editorial Board takes into account reports that include reasons along with answers to evaluation questions as yes or no.
  Based on the reviewers' recommendations, the Editor/Editorial Board may follow one of the following paths:
• The work can be published.
  
• The work with partial and significant modifications and improvements can be accepted for publication.
  
• The author(s) may be asked to revise their work in accordance with the reviewers' comments and initiate a new evaluation process.
  
• The work can be rejected.
  
  

Ethical Responsibilities for Reviewers

Reviewers must adhere to the following responsibilities under ethical principles

1. 1. Conduct an objective evaluation focused solely on the content of the work, ensuring an unbiased review process.
      
   2. Reviewers not specialized in the subject matter of the work should decline the review invitation.
      
   3. Reviewers must not have any conflict of interest with the research or the authors.
      
   4. Reviewers should provide constructive feedback and avoid any derogatory or defamatory remarks.
      
   5. In line with the principle of confidentiality, reviewers should destroy the reviewed works after evaluation.
      
   6. Reviewers are expected to complete their assessment of the work they have accepted to review in a timely manner.

Ethical Responsibilities for Authors

Authors must adhere to the following responsibilities under the principles of scientific publication ethics:

1. Authors must declare that their article is original, has not been published elsewhere previously, and is not under consideration for publication in another language or location.
   
2. For research articles, researchers are required to upload the “Ethical Committee Decision Document” to the system. Additionally, ethical committee decision details (date and number) should be specified in the article.
   
3. Materials subject to copyright (such as tables, figures, or quotations) must be used with the necessary permissions or acknowledgments.
   Authors bear legal, financial, and penal responsibilities in this regard.
   
4. Works and resources of other authors and contributors should be appropriately used and fully cited in the references.
   
5. Publications derived from a single research project should be clearly indicated, and reference must be made to the primary publication.
   
6. If an author notices an error or inaccuracy in their published, early-view, or under-review work, they have a duty to inform the journal editor and cooperate in the correction or retraction of the article.
   
7. By submitting an article to the “Journal of Health Sciences and Clinical Research,” authors are deemed to have given the copyright of their article to the journal. If the publication of the author's work is rejected, the copyright reverts to the authors.
   
8. Plagiarism, duplication, ghostwriting/denied authorship, research/data fabrication, article slicing, serial publishing, copyright infringement, and concealment of conflict of interest are considered unethical behaviors.
   
9. Authors hold the final responsibility for the content of the articles published in the “Journal of Health Sciences and Clinical Research.”
   The editors, the editorial board, and the publisher do not accept any responsibility for these articles.
   

Plagiarism Control

Every research submitted to the journal must be prepared in accordance with ethical guidelines, and all citations within the text must be clearly indicated. The “Ethical Committee Decision Document” must be uploaded to the system for all research requiring an ethical committee decision. Authors are required to upload a similarity report to the system. The acceptable upper limit for similarity is 20%.