ETHICS POLICY

The publication process in the Journal of West European Social Sciences is the basis for the development and dissemination of knowledge in an objective and respectful manner. Therefore, the processes in this process increase the quality of the work. Peer-reviewed works are works that support and apply the scientific method. At this point, it is of great significance that all parties concerned in the publication processing (authors, readers, and researchers, publisher, referees, and editors) comply with ethical rules. The Journal of West European Social Sciences expects all parties to have the following ethical responsibilities.

The following ethical duties and responsibilities were written in light of the guidelines and policies prepared by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

ETHICS COMMITTEE DECISION REQUIRED FOR THE STUDIES CONDUCTED IN 2020

Research requiring ethics committee permission is as follows.

Any research conducted with qualitative or quantitative approaches that require collecting data from participants using survey, interview, focus group study, observation, experiment, and interview techniques,

Clinical studies conducted on humans,

Research conducted on institutions,

Retrospective studies under the Personal Data Protection Law,

Moreover;

In case reports, it is stated that an "informed consent form" was taken,

Obtaining and declaring permission from the owners to use scales, surveys, and photographs belonging to others,

To state that the intellectual and artistic works used comply with copyright legislation,

Retrospective ethics committee permission is not required for articles that used research data before 2020, were produced from master's/doctoral studies (must be stated in the article), were sent to the journal in the previous year, and were accepted but not yet published.

In articles to be published in journals, it should be stated in the article whether ethics committee permission and/or legal/special permission is required. If these permits are required, it must be clearly stated from which institution, on what date, and with what decision or number the permit was obtained.

Code of Ethics for Authors

Originality:

When the author submits an article to the Journal of West European Social Sciences, the article must be an original work.

Authors should not submit all or part of the same work to two publications at the same time or while it is under review in the Journal of West European Social Sciences.

The entire article (including book chapters) or part of it (including text paragraphs or exhibits) must not have been previously published or accepted for publication elsewhere in English or Turkish.

Conflicts of Interest:

Authors must avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of interest throughout the research process. A conflict of interest is some fact known to a participant in the publication process that, if subsequently disclosed, could cause a reasonable reader to feel misled or deceived (or an Author, Reviewer, or Editor to feel defensive). Conflicts of interest may influence the decisions of Authors, Reviewers, and Editors. Possible conflicts are often not immediately noticed by others. They can be personal, business, political, academic, or financial. Financial interests may include employment, research funding (received or pending), stock or stock ownership, patents, tuition or travel payments, consultancies, non-financial support, or any fiduciary interest in the company. The perception of a conflict of interest is almost as important as an actual conflict because both undermine trust.

Double Blind Review:

The Journal of West European Social Sciences follows a double-blind review process in which the authors do not know the reviewers and the authors do not know the reviewers. If the journal includes articles that have not undergone double-blind review, the standard of review should be clearly stated in the printed Acknowledgments accompanying the article.

Security:

Editorial staff, including editors and student staff, will not disclose information about an article to anyone other than Reviewers and Authors. Office procedures should be in place to maintain the confidentiality of the review process.

Review Quality:

Three Reviewers should normally be invited to comment on a manuscript, but at least two Reviewers are acceptable. Authors may request that specific Reviewers not be used, but this decision should be left to the Editor's discretion. The editor must regularly evaluate all reviews for quality. In rare cases, the Editor may edit a review before sending it to the Author (for example, to remove a statement identifying the Reviewer) or may not send the review to the Author if it is not constructive or appropriate. 

Timeliness:

Editors must take steps to ensure that all manuscripts are reviewed in a timely manner and must promptly respond to Authors' questions regarding review status.

Decision Quality:

Editors have the responsibility to provide the author with an explanation of the editorial decision regarding a manuscript. Editors must write high-quality editorial letters that incorporate reviewer comments and provide additional suggestions to the Author. Editors should not send a decision letter without an explanation attached to a set of reviewer comments.

Efficiency:

The Editor must develop performance metrics for the Journal. These measurements should be presented regularly. The journal must publish annual audits of acceptance rates, publication windows, percentage of articles submitted for external peer review, and other performance data. Performance measures should be used to evaluate changes in peer review and publication processes that could improve journal performance.

Code of Ethics for Referees

Reciprocity:

Reviewing journals is a professional activity that adds value to the profession as a whole and should be encouraged. Academics who submit articles to the Journal of West European Social Sciences are normally expected to reciprocate by accepting the invitation to review for the Journal.

Right to Reject:

It may occasionally be necessary to refuse to review a manuscript. For example, a Reviewer who feels that he or she lacks sufficient competence to judge the research in a manuscript should decline to review the manuscript. Reviewers should decline to review a manuscript if there is a potential conflict of interest.

Double Blind Review:

Journal of West European Social Sciences is subject to a double-blind review process. Reviewers should decline to review manuscripts in which they have submitted written comments to the author on the manuscript or an earlier version. If a Reviewer knows the identity of the Author or Co-Author, this would normally be grounds for refusing to review. Reviewers also have a responsibility to avoid writing, doing or saying anything that could identify themselves to an Author.

Conflict of Interest:

Normally, Reviewers should decline to review manuscripts where they have any conflict of interest arising from collaborative, financial, institutional, personal, or other relationships or affiliations with any company, institution, or individual associated with the manuscripts. Reviewers who may have a conflict of interest on a particular article must disclose this conflict to the Editor; The editor will then determine the appropriate level of participation. An example of this is if the Reviewer is reviewing a similar article in the same or another journal, or has a similar research project nearing completion. Note that in the double-blind review process, because Reviewers do not know the Authors, Reviewers are unlikely to be aware of conflicts of interest involving the Authors and are therefore not bound by these conflicts. If reviewers become aware of such discrepancies, they must inform the Editor.

Neutrality:

Referees must evaluate articles objectively, fairly, and professionally. Referees must avoid personal bias in their comments and decisions.

Security:

Reviewers must respect the confidentiality of the review process. It is important to know that the article is confidential. Referees should not discuss the article with anyone other than the Editor of the Journal of West European Social Sciences and should not discuss any information in the manuscript without permission. If reviewers suspect misconduct, they should report it confidentially to the Editor and should not share their concerns with other parties unless formally notified by the Journal that they may do so.

Timeliness:

Reviews by referees must be prompt. If the Reviewer cannot meet the given deadline, he/she should contact the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of West European Social Sciences as soon as possible to decide whether a longer term or a new Reviewer should be selected.

Contact: editor@jowess.com