TRK Journal is committed to implementing publication ethics standards and taking all necessary measures to prevent any form of publication misconduct. The editorial and publishing processes of the Journal are conducted in accordance with national and international ethical standards.

Within this framework, TRK Journal adopts and adheres to:

• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines and publication ethics principles,
• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship and publication standards,
• World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) principles,
• Council of Science Editors (CSE) editorial policies,
• European Association of Science Editors (EASE) guidelines,
• National Information Standards Organization (NISO) standards,
• Elsevier publishing ethics and editorial policy standards,
• The “Directive on Scientific Research and Publication Ethics” and the “Ethical Guideline on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Scientific Research and Publication Activities” adopted by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK).

The Journal’s publishing processes are also carried out in accordance with the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.

 

1. Originality and Publication Policy

• TRK Journal publishes only original studies of high scientific quality and citation potential.
• Submitted manuscripts must not have been previously published in print or electronic form and must not be under consideration elsewhere.
• If a manuscript was previously submitted to another journal and rejected, the Journal must be informed.
• For studies presented at scientific meetings, the name, date, city, and country of the event must be specified.
• The Journal uses Crossref similarity detection systems (e.g., CrossCheck, iThenticate) for plagiarism screening.
• In cases of plagiarism, data fabrication, citation manipulation, or other ethical violations, COPE guidelines are followed.

 

2. Ethics Committee Approval and Research Ethics

Ethics committee approval is mandatory for clinical, experimental, and studies involving human or animal subjects.

For research involving human participants:

• Compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki published by the World Medical Association is required.
• The name of the ethics committee, approval number, and date must be stated in the Methods section.
• A clear statement confirming that informed consent was obtained must be included.
• Participant confidentiality must be protected.
• Written permission must be provided for identifiable images.

For animal studies:

• Measures taken to prevent pain, suffering, and distress must be clearly described.

 

3. Authorship Principles (ICMJE Criteria)

TRK Journal adopts the four authorship criteria defined by ICMJE. All listed authors must:

1. Have made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the study, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;
2. Have drafted the manuscript or critically revised it for important intellectual content;
3. Have approved the final version to be published;
4. Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Individuals who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgments section.

Gift authorship and ghost authorship constitute ethical violations and will result in immediate rejection of the manuscript if detected.

 

4. Use of Artificial Intelligence

• Artificial intelligence tools cannot be listed as authors.
• Any use of AI (e.g., drafting assistance, language editing, analytical support) must be clearly disclosed.
• The name of the tool, its version, and the stage at which it was used must be specified.

 

5. Conflict of Interest

Authors, editors, and reviewers are required to disclose any:

• Financial,
• Institutional,
• Academic,
• Personal,
• Political

conflicts of interest.

Conflict of interest cases are evaluated in accordance with COPE and ICMJE guidelines.

 

6. Copyright and Licensing

• A signed Copyright License Agreement must be submitted during manuscript submission.
• Accepted articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
• Authors are responsible for obtaining permission from copyright holders for previously published figures, tables, or other materials.

 

7. Appeals and Complaints

• Appeals and complaints are handled in accordance with COPE guidelines.
• The final decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief.
• If necessary, an independent representative may be appointed.

 

8. Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must:

• Accept only manuscripts within their area of expertise;
• Maintain confidentiality throughout the review process;
• Not use information obtained during review for personal advantage;
• Declare all conflicts of interest;
• Provide objective, constructive, and respectful evaluations;
• Adhere to the double-blind peer review process;
• Recognize that impersonation constitutes serious ethical misconduct.

Reviewer ethics principles are implemented in accordance with COPE guidelines.

 

9. Editorial Impartiality and Responsibility

Editors:

• Conduct the publication process impartially;
• Implement a double-blind peer review system;
• Follow COPE guidelines in cases of plagiarism, data fabrication, duplicate publication, or other misconduct;
• Maintain confidentiality of all submitted materials until publication;
• Monitor and follow updates in ethical standards.

 

10. General Statement

All authors submitting original manuscripts to TRK Journal are deemed to declare and undertake that:

• The work is their own;
• It does not contain partial or full plagiarism;
• All conflicts of interest have been disclosed;
• The study complies with research and publication ethics principles.

The views and opinions expressed in published articles belong solely to the authors. The editors and editorial board assume no responsibility for such views.