The Electronic Journal of Language and Education (EJLE) adopts the principles of integrity, impartiality, transparency, accountability, and research integrity in scholarly publishing. The journal aims to maintain the scientific reliability of the studies it publishes and to conduct all publication processes in accordance with national and international standards of research and publication ethics.
EJLE's publication ethics policy has been developed based on the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, jointly established by COPE, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).
The journal considers the maintenance of ethical standards in research and publication processes to be the shared responsibility of authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher. This policy applies to all scientific studies from submission through post-publication.
Authors are responsible for the originality, scientific accuracy, and compliance with research ethics of the manuscripts they submit to the journal.
The data, methods, analyses, and findings used in studies must be presented accurately. Altering research results, concealing undesirable findings in a misleading manner, or presenting data that have not actually been obtained as research results is unacceptable.
Authors are required to demonstrate the original scientific contribution of their work and appropriately acknowledge all sources used in accordance with academic citation rules.
EJLE does not tolerate violations of scientific publication ethics, such as plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate publication, salami slicing, and citation manipulation.
Using texts, ideas, data, or images belonging to other researchers without appropriate attribution is considered plagiarism. Quotations and materials reused from authors' previous works must also be appropriately referenced.
Presenting the same research as a separate original study without disclosing substantial overlap with a previous publication or submitting it simultaneously to multiple journals is unacceptable.
Studies derived from postgraduate theses, preprints, or conference papers may be considered for evaluation, provided that their previous dissemination is disclosed and they comply with the journal's publication requirements. The existence of such studies is not, in itself, considered duplicate publication.
The journal may screen submitted manuscripts using similarity detection software. However, the similarity score alone does not determine the presence or absence of plagiarism. In suspected cases, the content of the text, the sources used, and the nature of the similarity are evaluated editorially.
All individuals listed as authors of a manuscript must have made substantial scientific contributions to the research, approved the final version of the manuscript, and accepted scientific responsibility for their respective contributions.
Providing only administrative support, securing funding, or holding an academic title is not considered sufficient for authorship.
Excluding individuals who have made substantial scientific contributions to the research from the author list or listing individuals who have made no contributions as authors constitutes a violation of publication ethics.
Authors' contributions must be declared clearly and accurately. Requests to add or remove authors or change the order of authors after manuscript submission must be accompanied by a justification for the change and the written approval of all relevant authors, submitted to the editorial office.
In cases of unresolved authorship disputes, the journal may suspend the review process and seek the opinions of the relevant institutions when deemed necessary.
Authors must accurately disclose the institutions and organizations supporting their studies, the funding received for the research, and project numbers, if applicable.
Financial, professional, institutional, or personal conflicts of interest that could influence the design, conduct, interpretation of results, or publication of the research must be explicitly disclosed. The absence of conflicts of interest must also be stated.
The disclosure of funding or conflicts of interest does not preclude the evaluation of potential ethical concerns.
EJLE considers the protection of participant rights, voluntariness, confidentiality, and personal data to be fundamental ethical obligations in research involving human participants.
For studies requiring ethics committee approval, approval must be obtained before the data collection process begins. The name of the relevant ethics committee, approval date, and decision number must be clearly stated in the manuscript, and the required documents must be submitted to the journal during submission.
Researchers are responsible for appropriately informing participants about the purpose and scope of the research, the data collection process, how their personal data will be used, and their relevant rights.
In research involving children and other vulnerable groups, the necessary parental or legal guardian permissions and appropriate participant consent must be obtained in accordance with applicable ethical and legal requirements.
Information that could enable the direct or indirect identification of participants must not be published without obtaining the necessary permissions and fulfilling legal requirements. Researchers are responsible for protecting interview recordings, audio and video files, and other personal data.
For studies that do not require ethics committee approval, the justification for this exemption and the ethical regulations applicable to the research should be explained when necessary.
Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy, integrity, and traceability of the data used in their research.
The research methodology, data collection process, analytical procedures, and findings must be reported with sufficient clarity to enable scientific evaluation and, where possible, replication of the study.
The journal may request raw data, analysis outputs, data collection instruments, and relevant research documents from authors when deemed necessary for scientific verification or ethical investigation. Such requests are evaluated in consideration of participant confidentiality, personal data protection, copyright, and applicable legal restrictions.
Where data sharing is not possible, the reasons must be explained. Restrictions on data sharing do not relieve researchers of their responsibility for research integrity.
Reviewers are required to evaluate the scientific quality of the studies they review in accordance with the principles of impartiality, confidentiality, academic integrity, and professional responsibility.
Reviewers should accept only manuscripts that fall within their areas of expertise and provide objective, well-reasoned, and constructive scientific opinions. Discrimination based on authors' personal characteristics, institutions, or scientific views is prohibited.
Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts submitted to them for evaluation. Information, data, and ideas contained in unpublished manuscripts must not be used for personal research or other purposes without the authors' permission.
Reviewers must inform the editorial office of any potential conflicts of interest and withdraw from the review process when necessary.
If suspected plagiarism, data fabrication, citation manipulation, or other ethical violations are identified during the review process, the relevant findings must be reported to the editorial office.
Detailed provisions concerning the peer review process and the use of artificial intelligence are provided on the journal's relevant policy pages.
EJLE editors adhere to the principles of scientific merit, impartiality, editorial independence, and research integrity in all publication decisions.
Manuscripts are evaluated based on the originality of the research, scientific quality, methodological adequacy, alignment with the journal's aims and scope, and compliance with ethical standards.
Authors' academic titles, institutional affiliations, nationalities, genders, beliefs, or political views do not influence editorial decisions.
Editors are required to maintain the confidentiality of unpublished manuscripts accessed in the course of their duties. Information, data, and ideas contained in manuscripts must not be used for personal research or other purposes without the authors' permission.
Editors must not directly evaluate their own manuscripts, those of close colleagues, or other submissions that may give rise to conflicts of interest. In such cases, editorial responsibility is transferred to an independent editor who has no conflict of interest.
Editors and the publisher are responsible for ensuring that scientific decisions are not influenced by institutional, commercial, or personal interests unrelated to academic evaluation.
The journal does not guarantee manuscript acceptance to any author or institution.
EJLE takes allegations of scientific misconduct concerning submitted or published manuscripts seriously. Reports concerning plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, inappropriate authorship, duplicate publication, concealment of conflicts of interest, interference with the peer review process, and other violations of research ethics are investigated.
Allegations of ethical violations should, to the extent possible, be supported by concrete information and documentation. The identity of the person submitting the report and other personal information involved in the investigation are protected in accordance with the principles of confidentiality.
During the investigation process, the relevant parties are given the opportunity to provide explanations and respond to the allegations. Individuals against whom allegations have been made are not presumed to have committed ethical violations without adequate investigation.
Depending on the nature of the allegation, the journal's investigation process includes the following stages:
Preliminary Assessment: The editorial office evaluates the content of the report and the available evidence.
Request for Information and Documentation: When necessary, written explanations and supporting documents are requested from authors, reviewers, or other relevant parties.
Independent Evaluation: Opinions may be sought from subject experts or independent editors who have no conflicts of interest.
Institutional Investigation: Allegations requiring extensive investigation may be referred to the relevant research institutions or competent authorities when necessary.
Editorial Decision: Based on the findings obtained, a decision is made to continue the review process, reject the manuscript, or implement appropriate corrective measures concerning a published study.
The journal's approach to handling allegations of ethical violations is guided by the relevant COPE guidelines and recommendations. The editorial office does not conduct disciplinary investigations that fall within the jurisdiction of research institutions.
EJLE is committed to maintaining the accuracy of published scientific studies and the integrity of the scholarly record.
If an error or ethical issue is identified in a published article, appropriate corrective action is taken according to the nature of the issue and its impact on the scientific conclusions.
A correction notice may be published for errors that do not invalidate the main findings and conclusions of an article but require correction in the scholarly record.
The correction notice explains the changes made and provides a link to the relevant article.
An Expression of Concern may be published when serious doubts exist regarding the scientific reliability of a published article, but the investigation has not yet been completed or has not reached a sufficient conclusion.
The notice specifies the nature of the concerns and the status of the investigation to the extent that disclosure is legally and ethically permissible.
An article may be retracted when errors that substantially undermine the reliability of the scientific findings, serious violations of research ethics, unauthorized use of data, or severe irregularities in the publication process are identified.
The purpose of retraction is not to punish authors but to preserve the reliability of the scholarly record.
The retraction notice is published together with the reasons for the decision and is clearly linked to the original article. The bibliographic record of the retracted article is preserved, and its retracted status is clearly indicated to readers.
The current COPE guidelines are followed in correction, Expression of Concern, and retraction procedures.
COPE: Committee on Publication Ethics
Authors, reviewers, and readers may submit complaints concerning research ethics, publication integrity, editorial impartiality, or the implementation of the journal's ethical policies through the journal's official communication channel.
Complaints are investigated in accordance with the principles of confidentiality, impartiality, and fairness. When a complaint directly concerns the relevant editor or a member of the editorial board, the investigation is conducted by an authorized individual who has no conflict of interest.
In cases involving ethical complaints, the relevant parties may be asked to provide necessary explanations and supporting documents. The decision reached following the investigation is communicated to the complainant within the framework of personal data protection and confidentiality obligations.
Procedures for submitting scientific appeals against manuscript evaluation decisions are explained on the journal's Peer Review Process page.
This policy applies to all scientific studies submitted to and published in EJLE.
The journal monitors national and international standards concerning research and publication ethics and updates this policy when necessary. Changes to the policy are announced on the journal's website.
Authors, reviewers, and editors are required to comply with the current ethical rules applicable to them during the relevant processes.
Detailed regulations concerning the use of artificial intelligence, the peer review process, manuscript preparation and submission requirements, and copyright are provided on EJLE's relevant independent policy pages.