Ethical Principles and Publication Policy
ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
General Principles
1. A double-blind peer review system is implemented for article evaluations to ensure the anonymity of authors and reviewers.
2. TRT Academy Journal follows an open-access, non-profit policy, providing free access to all journal content. No article processing or submission fees are charged, except for reviewer evaluation fees.
3. TRT Academy Journal does not claim publication rights over the articles it publishes. Articles published in the journal must be properly cited when used elsewhere.
4. The journal adheres to the ethical standards outlined in the Council of Higher Education Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive and COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines. Editors, authors, and reviewers are expected to comply with these ethical responsibilities.
5. In case of potential misuse or violations of publication ethics, the journal follows COPE's publication ethics flowcharts (https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts).
Ethical Responsibilities of Authors
1. Submitted manuscripts must not have been previously published or be under consideration elsewhere. Authors cannot submit the same work to multiple journals simultaneously.
2. Authors must possess and provide documentation proving their right to use the data, permissions for research/analysis, or approvals for studies involving human subjects.
3. Manuscripts must be original, with proper citations and references in compliance with APA 7 guidelines.
4. All authors who contributed to the article must be listed, with their respective contribution percentages indicated. A declaration of conflict of interest must also be included.
5. Authors must notify the editorial team of any errors discovered post-publication for necessary corrections.
6. Authors are responsible for obtaining copyright permissions for any images used in their manuscripts.
7. Once the evaluation process has started, author responsibilities (such as adding or removing authors or changing author order) cannot be altered.
8. Manuscripts requiring Ethics Committee Approval must obtain and submit the necessary approval report to the editorial team.
Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers
1. All information about the evaluated article must remain confidential. Discussions or disclosures outside the journal’s editorial team are strictly prohibited.
2. Documents related to the review process must not be shared outside the journal's editorial team.
3. Reviewers must conduct evaluations fairly and adhere to the principle of impartiality.
4. Reviewers must complete their evaluations within the given timeframe to avoid delaying the process.
5. They should collaborate with the editor and provide constructive feedback when necessary.
6. Evaluation reports must not contain offensive or derogatory language.
7. Any requested revisions should be clearly and explicitly communicated to the author.
8. If a reviewer encounters a conflict of interest, they must decline to review the manuscript and inform the journal editor.
Authorities and Ethical Responsibilities of the Editorial Team
1. The editor has the authority to determine whether a manuscript proceeds to the evaluation stage after the preliminary review.
2. Editors must implement the blind review and evaluation process fairly and impartially, ensuring timely completion of evaluations.
3. Editors are responsible for safeguarding the personal data of authors, reviewers, and readers.
4. Editors must thoroughly investigate and respond to complaints from authors, reviewers, or readers in a clear and informative manner.
5. Editors must provide explanations and clarifications in response to queries from authors, reviewers, and readers.
________________________________________
Publication Principles
• TRT Academy Journal is a peer-reviewed academic journal published three times a year (January, May, September), primarily focusing on communication science while also covering other social sciences and interdisciplinary studies.
• Each issue has a specific theme, but non-theme articles are also accepted. The journal aims to be a dynamic, high-impact, and academically significant publication.
• Manuscripts submitted for publication must be scientific, original research, review articles, evaluations, book reviews, or translations in Turkish or English related to communication science and its sub-disciplines or interdisciplinary fields. When necessary, interviews and investigative studies may also be included.
• A similarity/plagiarism report is obtained for all submissions. Manuscripts exceeding an acceptable similarity rate are returned.
• Submitted manuscripts must not have been published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere.
• Manuscripts undergo a preliminary review by the editorial team to ensure adherence to submission guidelines. Approved manuscripts are then forwarded to the issue editor and Editorial Board. If approved, manuscripts are sent to two reviewers with expertise in the subject area. If necessary, a third reviewer may be consulted.
• The reviewer evaluation timeframe and author revision deadlines are communicated by the editor.
• The issue editor, Editorial Board, and editorial team reserve the right to reject articles with justification.
• Articles requiring corrections must be revised and resubmitted within the given timeframe. Delayed resubmissions may be returned or deferred to a future issue for reevaluation.
• Manuscripts accepted or rejected for publication will not be returned; authors will only be informed of the decision.
• Reviewers receive compensation for their reviews. When necessary, fees may also be paid for interviews, analyses, and evaluation articles.
• All content published in TRT Academy Journal is evaluated according to TRT Broadcasting Principles.
• Manuscripts containing slang, obscene language, insults, hate speech, or discriminatory content based on religion, language, race, or belief may be rejected at any stage of the review process, even after reviewer evaluations are completed.