Ethical Responsibilities and Policies

Publication Ethics

Publication processes applied in Journal of Design +Theory provide the objective and prestigious development of information. The processes implemented in this direction are directly reflected in the quality of the work of the authors and the institutions supporting the authors. Peer-reviewed studies are studies that embody and support the scientific method. At this point, it is crucial that all stakeholders of the process (writers, readers and researchers, publishers, reviewers and editors) comply with the standards for ethical principles. Within the scope of Design + Theory publishing ethics, all stakeholders are expected to bear the following ethical responsibilities.

While forming the ethical duties and responsibilities below, they have been prepared as an open access, considering the guidelines and policies published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). (https://publicationethics.org)

Authors' Ethical Responsibilities

The author(s) who submit their study to the Journal of Design + Theory are expected to comply with the following ethical responsibilities The author(s) who submit their study to the Journal of Design + Theory are expected to comply with the following ethical responsibilities The author(s) who submit their study to the Journal of Design + Theory are expected to comply with the following ethical responsibilities:

• The studies submitted by the author (s) must be original. If the author(s) benefit from other studies or use other studies, they must cite and/or quote completely and accurately. 
• People who do not contribute to the content intellectually in the creation of the study should not be specified as n author. 
• The situations and relationships that may constitute a conflict of interest in all studies submitted for publication, if any, should be explained. 
• The author(s) must have the document showing that they have the right to use the data used, the necessary permissions related to research/analysis, or that the experimental subjects have consented. 
• Raw data about the articles can be requested from the author(s) within the framework of the evaluation processes. 
• In case the author(s) notice a mistake or error related to their published study, their study at early-view or evaluation phase, they have an obligation to inform the journal editor or publisher, and cooperate with the editor in editing or withdrawing. 
• Authors cannot keep their studies in the process of application of more than one journal at the same time. Each application can be started following the completion of the previous application. The study published in another journal cannot be sent to the Journal of Design + Theory. 
• Changing the author responsibilities (such as adding authors, changing the order of the author, removing the author) of a study of which the evaluation process has started cannot be propose. 

Editor Roles and Responsibilities

Editors and field editors of Design + Theory must have the following ethical duties and responsibilities based on the guidelines of "COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors", which has been published as open access by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE):

General Duties and Responsibilities

Editors are responsible for every publication in the Journal of Design + Theory. In the context of this responsibility, editors have the following roles and obligations:

• Make an effort to meet the needs of readers and authors of information, 
• Continuous development of the journal, 
• Conducting processes to improve the quality of the studies published in the journal, 
• Supporting freedom of thought, 
• Ensuring academic integrity, 
• Continuing business processes without compromising intellectual property rights and ethical standards, 
• Show clarity and transparency in terms of publication on issues requiring correction, explanation. 

Reader Relationship

Editors should make a decision by considering the knowledge, skills and experience expectations of all readers, researchers and practitioners. They should ensure that the published study contributes to the reader, researcher, practitioner and scientific literature, and is original. In addition, editors are obliged to take into account feedback from readers, researchers and practitioners, and to provide descriptive and informative feedback.

Author Relationship

The duties and responsibilities of the editors of the Journal of Design + Theory to the author(s) are as follows:

• Editors make positive or negative decisions based on the importance of the studies, their original value, validity, clarity of expression, and the goals and objectives of the journal. 
• The studies that are suitable for the publication are taken to the preliminary evaluation stage unless they have a serious problem. 
• Editors do not ignore the positive reviews of the reviewers unless there is a serious problem with the study. 
• New editors do not change the decisions made by the previous editor(s) for the study unless there is a serious problem. 
• "Blind Review and Evaluation Process" has been reported to the authors in the information section. 
• Authors are provided with descriptive and informative feedback. 

Reviewers Relationship

The duties and responsibilities of the editors of the Journal of Design + Theory to the reviewers are as follows:

• Reviewers are determined in accordance with the subject of the study. 
• They provide the information and guides that the reviewers will need during the evaluation phase. 
• They supervise whether there are conflicts of interest between the authors and the reviewers. 
• The identity information of the reviewers is kept confidential in the context of blind reviewing. 
• Reviewers are encouraged to evaluate the study in an unbiased, scientific and objective language. 
• Reviewers are evaluated with criteria such as timely return and performance. 
• Necessary arrangements are made for the dynamic updating of the reviewers pool. 
• Unkind and unscientific evaluations are blocked. 
• Arrangements are made to ensure that the reviewers pool is broad. 

Editorial Board Relationship

Editors work to ensure that all editorial board members advance their processes in line with editorial policies and guidelines. The members of the editorial board are informed about the publication policies, through regular meetings and announcement. New editorial board members are trained on editorial policies.

Editors;

• Allow members of the editorial board to evaluate the studies impartially and independently. 
• Assign the new editorial board members to be able to contribute and be qualified. 
• Send the studies suitable for the expertise of editorial board members for evaluation. 
• Regularly interact with the editorial board. 
• Regularly hold meetings with the editorial board for the development of editorial policies and the journal. 

Relations with the Owner of the Journal and the Publisher

The relationship between editors and the publisher is based on the principle of editorial independence. As per the written contract between the editors and the publisher, all decisions taken by the editors are independent from the publisher and the journal owner.

Editorial and Blind Review Processes

Editors apply the "Blind Review and Evaluation Process" policies included in the journal's publication policies. In this context, editors ensure the completion of a fair, impartial and timely evaluation process of each study.

Quality Assurance

Editors are responsible for publishing every article published in the journal in accordance with journal publishing policies and international standards.

Protection of Personal Data

The editors are obliged to ensure the protection of personal data related to the subjects or images included in the studies. Unless the explicit consent of the individuals used in the studies is documented, they are responsible for refusing the study. Editors are also responsible for protecting the individual data of authors, reviewers and readers.

Ethics Committee, Human and Animal Rights

Editors are obliged to ensure the protection of human and animal rights in the evaluated studies. Ethics committee approval for subjects used in studies is responsible for refusing the study in cases where there is no permit for experimental research.

Measures Against Potential Abuse and Malpractice

Editors are obliged to take action against possible abuse and malpractice. In addition to conducting a rigorous and objective investigation on the identification and evaluation of complaints for this situation, sharing the findings on the subject is among the responsibilities of the editor.

Maintaining Academic Publication Integrity

Editors should ensure that the judgments in the studies that contain errors, inconsistency or misleading are corrected quickly.

Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
Editors are obliged to protect the intellectual property right of all published articles and to defend the rights of the journal and author(s) in possible violations. In addition, editors are required to take necessary measures to prevent the content in all published articles from violating the intellectual property rights of other publications.

Creativity and Openness

 Editors;

• Take into account persuasive criticism of the studies published in the journal and take a constructive attitude towards these criticisms. 
• Give the author(s) the right to reply to criticized studies. 
• Do not ignore or exclude studies with negative results. 

Complaints 

Editors are responsible for responding in a clarifying and descriptive manner by carefully examining complaints from the author, reviewers or readers.

Political and Commercial Concerns

Journalists, publishers, and no other political and commercial factors affect editors' independent decision making.

Conflicts of Interest

Considering conflicts of interest between author(s), reviewers, and other editors, the editors ensure that the publishing process of the study is completed independently and impartially.

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

Evaluation of all studies with "Blind Reviewing" directly affects the quality of publication. This process provides confidence with objective and independent evaluation of the publication. The evaluation process of Journal of Design + Theory is carried out with the principle of double-blind reviewing. Reviewers cannot contact the authors directly, evaluation and comments are conveyed through the journal management system. In this process, reviewer's comments on evaluation forms and full texts are sent to the author(s) through the editor. In this context, the reviewers who evaluate studies for Journal of  Design + Theory are expected to have the following ethical responsibilities:

• Only accept to evaluate the studies related to their specialty. 
• Evaluate in impartiality and confidentiality. 
• Should refuse to review the study and inform the journal editor in case of suspect of a conflict of interest during the evaluation process. 
• Should destroy the studies they have examined after the evaluation process in accordance with the principle of confidentiality. They can use only the final versions of the studies they have evaluated only after publication. 
• Should make the evaluation objectively only in relation to the content of the study. They should not allow nationality, gender, religious beliefs, political beliefs, and commercial concerns to influence their evaluation. 
• Should make the evaluation in a constructive and kind language. Should not make humiliating personal comments that include hostility, slander and insults. 

· They should evaluate the study they accepted to evaluate on time and within the ethical responsibilities above.
If you encounter an unethical situation

Apart from the ethical responsibilities mentioned above, if you encounter unethical behavior or content in Journal of Design + Theory, please report it to [email protected] via e-mail.