Our publication ethics and publication malpractice statement is mainly based on the Code of Conduct and Best-Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors¹. Accordingly;

Publication Ethics may be defined as a self-regulatory mechanism insisting on integrity on the part of authors, peer reviewers, and publishers to establish higher standards of editorial processing”. Ethical standards for publication exist to ensure high-quality scientific publications, public trust in scientific findings, and that people receive credit for their ideas.
• Ethical researchers do not plagiarize.
• They do not misreport sources.
• They do not conceal objections that they cannot rebut.
• They do not caricature or distort opposing views.
• They do not destroy or conceal sources and data important for those who follow.

Peer-reviewed studies are the ones that support and materialize the scientific method. At this point, it is of utmost importance that all parties included in the publication process (authors, readers, researchers, publisher, reviewers, and editors) comply with the standards of ethical considerations. TUHED adheres to national and international standards on research and publication ethics. It complies with Press Law, Intellectual and Artistic Works Law, and Higher Education Institutions Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directives. TUHED has adopted the International Ethical Publishing Principles published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)¹, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)², Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA)³, and World Medical Association's (WMA) Decleration of Helsinki⁴. It also undertakes to comply with the Decisions of the Turkey Editors' Workshop.

• Press Law (National Legislation)⁵
• Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works (National Legislation)⁶
• Higher Education Institutions Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive (National Legislation)⁷
• Transparency and Best Practices in Academic Publishing⁸
• Decisions of the Turkey Editors' Workshop (National Legislation)⁹

Duplicate Publication

Duplicate publication is the publication of the same or substantially similar papers in more than one journal. The editor returns the article unreviewed. After that, the editor may consider no articles by any of the authors for a period of time and may announce publicly in the journal (perhaps as a simultaneous announcement with the editor of the journal that published the earlier article) that the authors have submitted a previously published article, or may do any combination of these actions, at the editor’s discretion.

Simultaneous submission of manuscripts
Authors may not send the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously. If the editor learns of possible simultaneous submission, the editor reserves the right to consult with the other editor(s) who have received the article. Further, the editor may return the paper without review, or may reject it without regard to the reviews, or make this decision in discussion with the other editor(s) involved and may decide to consider no articles from the author from the authors for some time, and may also write to the author's employers, or may do any combination of these actions, at the editor’s discretion.

Publication Check for Plagiarism
In an instructional setting, plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common knowledge) material without acknowledging its source.
TUHED routinely screens article submissions for Plagiarism. The studies submitted for review are checked for plagiarism using the Ithenticate and Intihal.net software. The similarity rate is expected to be less than 20%. The main measure of similarity is that the author complies with the citation and citation rules. Even though the similarity rate is 1%, if the citation and citation are not duly made, plagiarism may still be in question. In this respect, citation and citation rules should be known and carefully applied by the author:
All submitted manuscripts to the journal are scanned for similarity via Turnitin to prevent plagiarism. Plagiarism, duplication, false authorship/denied authorship, research/data fabrication, article slicing, copyright infringement, and concealment of conflict of interest are considered unethical behaviors. All articles that do not comply with accepted ethical standards are removed from the publication. This includes articles with possible irregularities and inconsistencies detected after publication.

Data fabrication and falsification
Data fabrication means the researcher did not actually do the study but made up data. Data falsification means the researcher did the experiment but then changed some of the data. Both of these practices make people distrust scientists. If the public is mistrustful of science, then it will be less willing to provide funding support.

Protection of Participants' Personal Data
TUHED is committed to the protection of participant confidentiality and the protection of participants' personal and sensitive data. For this reason, all research conducted with human participants requires ethics committee approval to examine the protection of participant confidentiality.

Dealing with allegations of research misconduct
TUHED abides by the Ethics Toolkit for a Successful Editorial Office¹⁰. TUHED and its editors; will take reasonable steps to prevent the publication of papers where plagiarism, citation manipulation, data tampering, data fabrication, and other research misconduct have occurred. In no case will TUHED, or its editors knowingly allow such misconduct to occur. If TUHED and its editors are aware of any allegations of research misconduct related to an article published in their journal, they will follow COPE’s Ethical Principles Flow Chart¹¹.

Complaints
Should you encounter any unethical act or content in the journal apart from the ethical responsibilities listed above, please notify the journal by e-mail at: editortuhed@gmail.com

Correction, Withdrawal, Expression of Concern
Editors may consider issuing a correction if minor errors are detected in the published article that do not affect the findings, comments, and conclusions. Editors should consider retracting the article in case of major errors/violations that invalidate the findings and conclusions. If there is a possibility of misuse of research or publication by the authors; If there is evidence that the findings are unreliable and that the authors' institutions did not investigate the incident, or if the potential investigation seems unfair or inconclusive, editors should consider issuing a statement of concern. COPE and ICJME guidelines are taken into account with regard to correction, withdrawal or expression of concern.

Human Participants
TUHED adopts the principles of the Editorial Ethics Committee (COPE) “Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors”¹ and “Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers”¹² in order to establish ethical assurance in scientific periodicals. In this context, the following points should be followed in the studies submitted to the journal:
• Ethics committee approval must be obtained for all research conducted with human participants (including human materials or data).
• In studies that require ethics committee approval, the information regarding this approval (name of the committee, date and number) should be clearly stated in the article.

Special Issue Publishing Policy
A special issue can be published in our journal once a year upon the request of the Editorial Board. Articles sent for inclusion in a special issue are first subjected to editorial review. Then it is examined in terms of compliance with the writing rules of the journal and similarity is scanned to prevent plagiarism. After these stages, it is taken into the peer review process in which the double-blind model is used.

Editorial Confidentiality Obligation
The editors of TUHED treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents; this means that they will not disclose information about an article to anyone without the permission of the authors. During the article review process, the following people can access the articles: Editors, Reviewers, Editorial Board Members. The only situation in which details about a manuscript may be passed on to a third party without the consent of the authors is if the editor suspects serious research misconduct.

Principles of the Peer-Review Process for the Work of the Editorial Staff

Editorial articles written by TUHED editors are not subject to external referee evaluation. Original research articles, on the other hand, are sent to at least two external referees within the scope of double blind reviewing. During this period, the roles of those editors are suspended.

Allegations-Suspects of Scientific Misconduct
Scientific misconduct has different definitions. We address these issues on a case-by-case basis, while following the guidance established by the major editorial ethics bodies. If the editor suspects an ethical violation or if there is an alleged violation, they are obliged to take action. This task covers both published and unpublished articles. The editor should not simply reject articles that raise concerns about potential abuse. Ethically, it is obliged to follow the alleged lawsuits. The editor should follow the COPE flowcharts¹¹ where appropriate. Editors should first seek a response from anyone suspected of misconduct. If they are not satisfied with the answer, they should ask the relevant employers or institution to investigate. The editor should use all reasonable efforts to ensure that an appropriate investigation into the alleged misconduct is carried out; if this does not happen, the editor should make all reasonable attempts to persist in finding a solution to the problem. This is an arduous but important task.
TUHED conforms to COPE's Ethics Toolkit for a Successful Editorial. TUHED editors; will take action to prevent the publication of articles in which plagiarism, citation manipulation, data tampering, data fabrication, and other research misconduct occur. In no event will TUHED or its editors knowingly allow such abuse to occur. If the editors of TUHED become aware of any allegations of research misconduct related to an article published in their journal, they will follow COPE's guidelines regarding the allegations.
Reviewers should notify the Editor when they suspect research or publication misconduct. The editor is responsible for carrying out the necessary actions by following the COPE recommendations.
TUHED undertakes to apply it to COPE flowcharts¹¹ when faced with allegations of misconduct in the following or similar matters.
• What to do when rebroadcast is suspected
• What to do when plagiarism is suspected
• What to do when fabricated data is suspected
• What to do in requests for change of authorship
• What to do when an undisclosed conflict of interest is suspected
• What to do when unfair or gift authorship is suspected
• What to do when an ethical problem is suspected in an article
• Ethical violation suspected e-mail, etc. What to do when notified directly with
• Announcement of suspected ethical violation via social media

Principles of Research Ethics
TUHED adheres to the highest standards in research ethics and follows the principles of international research ethics as defined below. The authors are responsible for the compliance of the manuscripts with the ethical rules.
• Principles of integrity, quality, and transparency should be sustained in designing the research, reviewing the design, and conducting the research.
• The research team and participants should be fully informed about the research's aim, methods, possible uses and requirements, and risks of participation in the research.
• The confidentiality of the information provided by the research participants and the confidentiality of the respondents should be ensured. The research should be designed to protect the autonomy and dignity of the participants.
• Research participants should participate in the research voluntarily, not under any coercion.
• Any possible harm to participants must be avoided. The research should be planned in such a way that the participants are not at risk.
• The independence of research must be clear, and any conflict of interest must be disclosed.
• In experimental studies with human subjects, written informed consent from the participants who decide to participate in the research must be obtained. In the case of children and those under wardship or with confirmed insanity, the legal custodian’s assent must be obtained.
• If the study is to be carried out in any institution or organization, approval must be obtained from this institution or organization.
• In studies with the human subject, it must be noted in the method section of the manuscript that the informed consent of the participants and ethics committee approval from the institution where the study has been conducted have been obtained.


ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES

a) Editors' Responsibilities:

• The editor is responsible for deciding which of the papers submitted to the journal will be published. The editor will evaluate manuscripts without regard to the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy. The decision will be based on the paper’s importance, originality and clarity, and the study’s validity and its relevance to the journal's scope. In this process, the standardized forms, which include the preliminary review and evaluation of the journal secretary and the publication editor, are also taken into consideration.
• The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.
• Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted paper will not be used by the editor or the members of the editorial board for their own research purposes without the author's explicit written consent.

b) Reviewers' Responsibilities:

• The peer-reviewing process assists the editor and the editorial board in making editorial decisions and may also serve the author in improving the paper.
• Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and withdraw from the review process.
• Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be disclosed to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.
• Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
• Reviewers should identify cases in which relevant published work referred to in the paper has not been cited in the reference section. They should point out whether observations or arguments derived from other publications are accompanied by the respective source. Reviewers will notify the editor of any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.
• Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions associated with the papers.

c) Authors' Responsibilities:

• Authors of original research reports should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are
  unacceptable.
• Authors could be asked to provide the raw data of their study together with the paper for editorial review and should be prepared to make the data publicly available if practicable. In any event, authors should ensure accessibility of such data to other competent professionals for at least ten years after publication (preferably via an institutional or subject-based data repository or other data
  center), provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be protected and legal rights concerning proprietary data do not preclude their release.
• Authors will submit only entirely original works, and will appropriately cite or quote the work and/or words of others. Publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work should also be cited.
• In general, papers describing essentially the same research should not be published in more than one journal. Submitting the same paper to more than one journal constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. Manuscripts that have been published as copyrighted material elsewhere cannot be submitted. In addition, manuscripts under review by the journal should not be resubmitted to copyrighted publications. However, by submitting a manuscript, the author(s) retains the rights to the published material. In case of publication, they permit the use of their work under a CC-BY license [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/], which allows others to copy, distribute and transmit the work as well as to adapt the work and to make commercial use of it.
• Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. The corresponding author ensures that all contributing co-authors and no uninvolved persons are included in the author list. The corresponding author will also verify that all co-authors have approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.
• All authors should include a statement disclosing any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that may be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.
• When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and to cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper in form of an erratum.

d) Publisher's Responsibilities:

• The Publisher undertakes to create an independent editorial decision.
• The Publisher accepts that the editors are responsible for all processes of the works submitted to TUHED. In this context, it does not interfere with the decisions of the editors for economic, political or personal interests.
• The Publisher protects the property and copyright of the articles published in TUHED and undertakes to keep a record of every published copy.
• The Publisher has the responsibility to take precautions against all kinds of scientific abuse, citation fraud and plagiarism regarding the editors.

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References: 

1. 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
2. https://doaj.org/
3. https://oaspa.org/
4. https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/
5. https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuatmetin/1.5.5187.pdf
6. https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuatmetin/1.3.5846.pdf
7. https://www.yok.gov.tr/Sayfalar/Kurumsal/mevzuat/bilimsel-arastirma-ve-etik-yonetmeligi.aspx
8. https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.1.12
9. https://editorlercalistayi.com/
10. https://publicationethics.org/files/cope-ethics-toolkit-journal-editors-publishers.pdf
11. https://publicationethics.org/node/19631
12. https://publicationethics.org/files/Code%20of%20conduct%20for%20publishers%20FINAL_1_0.pdf