Ethical Responsibilities of Authors
Author(s) submitting a study to Yalova University Journal of Sport Sciences are expected to comply with the following ethical responsibilities:
- The publication processes applied in Yalova University Journal of Sport Sciences constitute the basis for developing and distributing knowledge in an impartial and reputable manner. The processes applied in this direction directly reflect the quality of the authors' work and the institutions that support the authors. Peer-reviewed studies are studies that embody and support the scientific method. At this point, all stakeholders of the process (authors, readers and researchers, publishers, referees and editors) must comply with the standards for ethical principles. Within the scope of Yalova University Journal of Sports Sciences publication ethics, all stakeholders are expected to carry the following ethical responsibilities.
- The studies submitted by the author(s) are expected to be original. If the author(s) utilize or use other studies, they must cite and quote them entirely and accurately.
- Individuals who did not contribute intellectually to the content of the study should not be listed as authors.
- All manuscripts submitted for publication must disclose any conflicts of interest and relationships, if any.
- The author(s) may be requested to provide raw data on their manuscripts within the framework of the evaluation processes; in such a case, the author(s) should be ready to present the expected data and information to the editorial board and scientific committee.
- The author(s) should have a document showing that they have the rights to use the data used, the necessary permissions related to the research/analyses, or that the consent of the experimental subjects has been obtained.
- If the author(s) becomes aware of an inaccuracy or error in the published, early view, or under review manuscript, the author(s) must notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to correct or withdraw the manuscript.

- Authors cannot have their work in the submission process of more than one journal simultaneously. Each application can be started after the completion of the previous application. A study published in another journal cannot be submitted to the Yalova University Journal of Sports Sciences.
- It cannot be proposed to change the author responsibilities (such as adding an author, changing the author order, or removing an author) of a study whose evaluation process has started.
Ethical Duties and Responsibilities of Editors
The editors and field editors of Yalova University Journal of Sports Sciences should have the following ethical duties and responsibilities based on the "COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" and "COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) as open access:
General duties and responsibilities
The editors are responsible for every Yalova University Journal of Sport Sciences publication. In the context of this responsibility, editors have the following roles and obligations:
- Making efforts to meet the information needs of readers and authors,
- Ensuring the continuous development of the journal,
- Carrying out processes to improve the quality of studies published in the journal,
- Supporting freedom of thought,
- Ensuring academic integrity,
- Maintaining business processes without compromising intellectual property rights and ethical standards,
- Demonstrating openness and transparency regarding publication in matters requiring correction and clarification.
Relations with the reader
Editors should decide by considering the expectations of knowledge, skills, and experience needed by all readers, researchers, and practitioners. They should pay attention to the contribution of the published studies to the readers, researchers, practitioners, and scientific literature and that they are original. In addition, editors must consider the feedback from readers, researchers, and practitioners and provide explanatory and informative feedback.
Relations with authors
The duties and responsibilities of editors towards authors are as follows:
- Editors should make a positive or negative decision based on the importance, original value, validity, clarity of expression, and the aims and objectives of the journal.
- Unless the manuscript has a severe problem, it should be included in the preliminary evaluation stage.

- Editors should not ignore positive referee recommendations unless there is a serious problem with the study.
- New editors should not change the decisions made by the previous editor(s) unless there is a serious problem.
- The "Blind Review and Evaluation Process" should be published, and editors should prevent deviations that may occur in the defined processes.
- Authors should be notified and returned in an explanatory and informative manner.
Relations with referees
- The duties and responsibilities of the editors towards the reviewers are as follows:
- Determine the reviewers by the subject of the study.
- They must provide the information and guidelines the reviewers need during the evaluation phase.
- Monitor whether there is a conflict of interest between authors and reviewers.
- Keep the identity information of the reviewers confidential in the context of blind reviewing.
- Encourage reviewers to evaluate the manuscript impartially, scientifically, and objectively.
- Determine practices and policies to improve the performance of reviewers.
- Take necessary steps to update the referee pool dynamically.
- Prevent unkind and unscientific evaluations.
- Ensure that the referee pool consists of a broad spectrum.
Relations with the editorial board
Editors should ensure that all editorial board members carry out the processes in accordance with editorial policies and guidelines. They should inform editorial board members about publication policies and keep them informed about developments. Editors should also;
-Ensure that editorial board members evaluate the work impartially and independently.
- Identify new editorial board members who can contribute and are of appropriate quality.
- Send manuscripts suitable for the expertise of the editorial board members for evaluation.
- Interact regularly with the editorial board.
- Organize meetings with the editorial board at regular intervals to develop editorial policies and the journal.
Relations with the journal owner and publisher
The relationship between editors and publishers is based on the principle of editorial independence. According to the written agreement between the editors and the publisher, all editorial decisions are independent of the publisher and the journal owner.

Editorial and blind review processes
Editors must implement the "Blind Review and Evaluation Process" policies in the journal publication policies. In this context, editors ensure that each study's evaluation process is completed f Quality assurance
Editors are responsible for publishing each article in the journal per the journal's editorial policies and international standards.
Protection of personal data
Editors are responsible for protecting the personal privacy of the subjects or images included in the evaluated studies. Unless the explicit consent of the individuals used in the studies is documented, they are responsible for rejecting the study. Editors are also responsible for protecting the personal data of authors, reviewers, and readers.
The ethics committee, human and animal rights
Editors ensure that human and animal rights are protected in the studies evaluated. They are responsible for rejecting the study without ethics committee approval for the subjects used in the studies and permissions for experimental research.
Precautions against possible abuse and misconduct
Editors are obliged to take precautions against possible misconduct and wrongdoing. In addition to conducting a rigorous and objective investigation in identifying and evaluating such complaints, the editor's responsible for sharing the relevant findings. airly, impartially, and timely.
Ensuring the integrity of academic publications
Editors should promptly correct errors, inconsistencies, or misleading judgments in manuscripts.
Protection of intellectual property rights
Editors are responsible for protecting the intellectual property rights of all published articles and defending the rights of the journal and the author(s) in case of possible violations. Editors are also responsible for taking the necessary measures to ensure that the contents of all published articles do not violate the intellectual property rights of other publications.
Constructivism and openness to discussion
Editors
-Consider convincing criticisms of the works published in the journal and show a constructive attitude towards these criticisms.
-Allow the author(s) of the criticized studies the right to reply.
-They should not ignore or exclude studies with negative results.

Complaints
Editors must carefully review complaints from authors, reviewers, or readers and respond in an enlightening and explanatory manner.
Political and commercial concerns
The journal's owner, the publisher, and no other political or commercial factors influence the independent judgment of the editors.
Conflicts of interest
The editors guarantee the independent and impartial completion of the publication process, considering conflicts of interest between the author(s), reviewers, and other editors.
Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers
Evaluating all studies by "Blinded Review" directly affects the quality of the publication. This process provides confidence through independent and objective assessment of the publication. Yalova University Journal of Sports Sciences evaluation process is carried out with double-blind reviewing. Reviewers cannot communicate directly with the authors; evaluations and comments are transmitted through the journal management system. Reviewer comments on evaluation forms and full texts are displayed to the author(s) through the editor during this process. In this context, referees who evaluate studies for the Yalova University Journal of Sport Sciences are expected to have the following ethical responsibilities:
- Only accept to evaluate studies related to their field of expertise.
- Evaluate with impartiality and confidentiality.
- If they think they are faced with a conflict of interest during the evaluation process, they should refuse to review the study and inform the journal editor.
- In accordance with the principle of confidentiality, they should destroy the studies they have reviewed after the evaluation process. They can only use the final versions of the studies they have reviewed only after publication.
- Evaluate objectively only the content of the study. They should not allow nationality, gender, religious beliefs, political beliefs, and commercial concerns to influence the evaluation.
- Evaluate constructively and courteously. They should not make derogatory personal comments containing hostility, slander, and insult.
- Carry out the work they accept for evaluation promptly and with the above ethical responsibilities.

Ethical Responsibilities of the Publisher
Yalova University Journal of Sports Sciences Editors and Editorial Board act with the awareness of the following ethical responsibilities:
- Editors are responsible for all processes of the studies submitted to Yalova University Journal of Sport Sciences. In this context, editors are the decision-makers without considering economic or political gains.
- It is committed to independent editorial decision-making.
- Protects the ownership and copyright of each article published in Yalova University Journal of Sports Sciences and is obligated to keep a record of each published copy.
- It is responsible for taking measures against all kinds of scientific misconduct, citation mongering, and plagiarism related to editors.
If You Encounter an Unethical Situation
If you encounter any unethical behavior or content in Yalova University Journal of Sports Sciences other than the ethical responsibilities mentioned above, please report it via e-mail to yavuzonturk@hotmail.com or Yalova University sporbilimleri@yalova.edu.tr.