Publication Ethics And Malpractice Statement Of PER – Participatory Educational Research

Participatory Educational Research (PER) is a double-blind peer-reviewed academic journal. The PER Journal aspires to be among the leading education journals in Türkiye whilst continuing to enhance its international stature. The journal emphasizes both contextual issues pertinent to Türkiye and a global perspective on all matters related to teaching, learning, and instruction. To ensure high-quality contributions, PER requires that all manuscripts to be written in precise and appropriate English. The journal welcomes scholarly submissions from education researchers globally, particularly from Türkiye, the Balkans, Asia Minor, and Asia. PER is fully committed to the academic and scientific community and at all times adheres to the highest standards of publication ethics. Publication malpractice is strictly prohibited, and all parties involving authors, editors, peer reviewers, and publishers are expected to comply with rigorous ethical standards.

Manuscripts submitted to PER must conform to both national and international ethical regulations, as well as to the universal principles of academic professionalism. All stakeholders are accountable for upholding these ethical guidelines in question. PER aligns with the ethical framework outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Please click here for the details about COPE.

To facilitate a clearer understanding of this framework, the ethical responsibilities of the various parties involved are summarized as follows:

For Editors

The editor of the journal is responsible for determining which of the submitted articles will be published.
The editor should be guided by the journal’s editorial board policies and must adhere to the legal requirements concerning libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The editor may consult with the other editors or reviewers in making this very decision.
The editor must evaluate manuscripts solely based on their intellectual content, without regard to the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic background, citizenship, or political views.
The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone at any time other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisors, and the publisher, as necessary.
Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be utilized in the editor’s own research without the explicit written consent of the author.
Editors should provide clear and objective reasons when deciding whether to accept or reject an article.
Editors should diligently expedite the editorial process to ensure that articles are published and made available to the academic community as soon as possible.
Editors should not give preferential treatment to the accepted manuscripts beyond the scheduled editorial timeline.
The editor must ensure that the peer review process (double-blind review) is fair, impartial, and timely. Research articles should typically be reviewed by at least two external and independent reviewers, and the editor should seek additional opinions if and when necessary. The editor should select reviewers with appropriate expertise in the relevant field and avoid biased reviewer selection. The editor should review all potential conflict of interest disclosures made by the reviewers and self-citation suggestions and make changes to the reviewers if needed. Additionally, if reviewers use inappropriate language or make comments beyond the intended scope for the authors, the editor should consider changing the reviewers.
The editor must use the journal’s standard electronic submission system for all communications related to the journal.
The editor, together with the chief editor, should establish a transparent mechanism for addressing any appeals against the editorial decisions.
The editor should not artificially inflate any metrics related to the journal or attempt to influence its ranking. In particular, the editor should not request references to the journal’s (or any other journal’s) articles without any valid scientific reasons, nor should authors be asked to cite the editor’s own articles or products and services in which the editor has an interest.
Unless otherwise agreed with the relevant authors and reviewers, the editor must maintain the confidentiality of all materials submitted to the journal and all communications with reviewers. The editor may share limited information with the chief editor if necessary to address any emerging ethical concerns.
The editor must protect the anonymity of the reviewers. Unpublished materials from submitted manuscripts must never be used in the editor’s own research or shared with third parties for any purpose.
Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review should remain confidential and not be used for personal gain.
The editor should not be involved in the decisions regarding articles written by themselves, their family members, or colleagues, or related to any products or services in which the editor has an interest. Such submissions should be subject to the journal’s standard procedures, with peer review conducted independently of the relevant author/editor as well as their research groups.
Editors should keep all records related to the editorial processes of manuscripts in accordance with the confidentiality principles.
If an editor detects any sort of ethical misconduct in a study, they should immediately contact the chief editor, halt the relevant publication processes, and inform the institutions to which the authors are affiliated with.

For Authors

Authors of original research reports must provide an accurate and honest account of their work representing academic integrity and discuss its significance within the field of participatory educational research.
The paper should transparently present the related underlying data, and the methods used to interpret them.
A manuscript should include sufficient detail and references to enable others viz. the target audience to assess the value of the research.
Fabrication or intentional misrepresentation of data constitutes unethical behaviour and is totally unacceptable.
Authors must ensure that their work is entirely original and appropriately cite from others or quote any sources they have used.
Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously is considered unethical and unacceptable.
Proper acknowledgment of others’ work must always be considered.
Authors should cite publications that have significantly influenced the development of the reported research.
Authorship should be restricted to those individuals who have made substantial contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the research. All the significant contributors in this frame of reference then should be listed as co-authors. The corresponding author must ensure that all the co-authors are included in the manuscript, have reviewed and approved the final version, and give their consent to its submission for publication. Unfair authorship practices must be eschewed.
Authors must disclose any financial or other significant conflicts of interest that could be perceived as influencing the results/findings and/or the interpretation of their manuscript.
All the sources of financial support for the research project should be fully disclosed.
Authors are not permitted to make electronic changes to the published manuscript. Therefore, they must exercise the utmost care in reviewing and correcting any errors in the galley proofs.
Once the peer review process is complete or an article has been published, no new authors may be added, the order of authors may not be changed, and requests for errata to make such changes are not permitted.
Authors must avoid unethical behaviours such as plagiarism, salami slicing, fabrication, and distortion. Such practices are unacceptable.
Authors should not contact individuals involved in the review process during, before or after the review.
Information obtained privately through conversations, correspondence, or discussions with the third parties, including copyrighted visuals or tables, should not be used or reported without explicit or written permission from the source. Obtaining the necessary legal permissions for the use of any copyrighted materials is the responsibility of the authors.
Authors should cite publications that are significantly relevant and influential in providing a meaningful context for their reported work. The citations then should not be made solely to benefit the authors, to address personal conflicts of interest, or to unfairly gain citations for works published in PER.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their research complies with the legal regulations of the relevant country/countries. This includes obtaining all the necessary permissions from any relevant individuals, committees, and institutions.
If the study involves the use of animals or human subjects, the authors must ensure that the procedures followed comply with the legal regulations and institutional guidelines of the country/countries where the research was conducted, and that appropriate institutional committee approvals have been obtained. For the studies involving human subjects, the manuscript should include a statement confirming that informed consent was obtained. The confidentiality rights of human subjects must always be respected.
For human subjects, authors must ensure that the study adheres to the World Medical Association’s Ethical Principles (Declaration of Helsinki). All animal experiments should comply with ARRIVE guidelines and the UK’s Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 or the EU Directive 2010/63/EU concerning the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. For any detailed information, please click here.
All the authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with any other individuals or organizations that could be perceived as influencing the research. Any conflicts of interest should be clearly stated under a “Conflicts of Interest” section.
Authors must not insist on suggesting reviewers to the editor(s).
Portions or entire texts of previously published works cannot be republished, nor can citations exceed the appropriate limits.
Submissions that substantially resemble any previously published work or work that has been published in conference proceedings cannot be resubmitted for publication.
Abstracts presented at conferences but not published in conference proceedings may be submitted for publication, with the conference details noted in a footnote. Papers that have been published in conference proceedings are not eligible for publication.
Authors must not use artificial intelligence tools to generate any part or the entirety of their manuscript. The manuscript must be entirely original. If AI tools are used for some other purposes (e.g., proofreading), this must be explicitly declared, and making references to any AI tools should be refrained from.
Under no circumstances can a manuscript be withdrawn from the journal once the peer review process is complete, or the article is published.
Authors must declare the following in their manuscripts:

The author(s) declare that:

Ethics Statements: They have included all the necessary ethics statements required for the ethical conduct of their research involving human subjects. If applicable, they need to provide all the necessary documentation.

Conflict of Interest: The author(s) should explicitly declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Research Involving Human Participants and/or Animals: This study does not involve research with any human participants or animals conducted by any of the authors. This article does not report any research involving animals conducted by any of the authors.

Informed Consent: Informed consent was obtained from all the individual participants involved in the study. In cases where the participants are under 18 the relevant legal procedures need to be adhered to accordingly.

Acknowledgments: If the manuscript arises from any type of research conducted as part of a thesis/dissertation, supported by an institution or organization, or presented at a symposium or alike partially, this section should acknowledge any contributors beyond the authors who supported the very research process.

For Reviewers

Peer review aids the editor(s) in making all the editorial decisions and, through sustaining healthy communication with the author(s), it may help improve the manuscript.
A reviewer who feels unqualified to evaluate a manuscript or who cannot complete the review in a timely manner must notify the editor as soon as possible and indicate their inability to participate in the review process.
Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential. They should not be shared or discussed with anyone other than those authorized by the editor(s).
Reviews must be conducted impartially and based on the manuscript’s content.
Personal criticism of the author is at all times unacceptable.
Reviewers should present their opinions clearly and support them with well-reasoned arguments.
Reviewers should inform the editor if/when they identify significant similarities or overlaps between the manuscript under review and any previously published work to their knowledge.
Any privileged information or ideas gained through the review process must remain confidential and must not be used for personal benefit.
Reviewers should not review manuscripts if they have conflicts of interest due to competitive, collaborative, or other sorts of relationships with any of the authors, companies, or institutions involved.
Reviewers should accept manuscripts for review only in their own areas of expertise.
Reviewers must not have access to the identities of the authors. If such information is accessed for some reason or accidentally obtained, the review process should be terminated immediately.
The review process must be conducted with complete impartiality and confidentiality.
Reviews should be carried out objectively. Reviewers should always be aware of any personal biases that they may have and take this into account when evaluating a manuscript.
If a reviewer suggests that an author cite their own (or their co-authors’) work, it should be based on genuine scientific reasons, not to e.g., increase the reviewer’s citation count or visibility of their own work.
Reviewers must not use the manuscripts they are reviewing for any purpose other than the review process. They should not share any part of the manuscript with the third parties and must maintain confidentiality at all times.
The review process should be completed objectively based on the manuscript’s content, significance and potential contribution to the field. Personal characteristics such as nationality, gender, religion, political views, or commercial conflicts should not influence the reviewers’ decisions.
Reviewers should maintain a constructive and courteous attitude towards the submitted work. They should avoid using rude, demeaning, or aggressive language when communicating with authors.

Rules for Requesting an Erratum

If an author discovers a significant error or mistake in their published work, they are obligated to promptly inform the journal editor or publisher. The author should collaborate with the editor(s) to withdraw or correct the article if deemed necessary. If the editor or publisher learns of an error in a published work from a third party, the author must also cooperate with the editor(s), including providing evidence if requested.
An erratum may be requested from the editor to correct scientific/academic errors identified in a published article. Howbeit, the erratum proposal will be reviewed by the editor(s), who may invite peer reviewers if necessary. The decision to publish the erratum will be made based on the recommendations of the reviewers and the editorial board.
Erratum requests cannot be used to add authors to a published article or change the order of authors.

Data Storage and Sharing

If the reliability of the submitted research is questioned, the author(s) are required to provide the data used to the editor(s). If the authors do not provide the data, the submission will be rejected and will not be reconsidered.
Authors must retain the data, application procedures, and other materials used in their submission for at least 5 years from the time when the study is conducted.
After publication, data may be shared if requested by other researchers or authors.
Prior to sharing any identifying information, codes, or symbols related to the participants involved in the research all the data must be removed to warrant anonymity. Participants should remain anonymous in both the article itself and the shared data files.
If a study is funded by an institution, the rights of the institution must be protected, and the appropriate acknowledgments should be included. If authors wish to share the data, an agreement letter detailing the purpose(s), methods, scope, conditions, and limits of data use must be signed between the authors and the data owner(s).
The publisher cannot share any data without the author(s)’ permission.
No data should be shared unless it has been anonymized fully.

Protection of Participants’ Rights and Interests

The confidentiality of information obtained from the participants and from any other individuals must be maintained. Thusly, the presented study should not contain any information that reveals or that carries the potential of unveiling the identity of the participants. Any practices that could disclose participants’ identities should be avoided.
Participation in research must be based on voluntary consent. When there is a hierarchical relationship between the researcher and the participants (e.g., teacher-student, supervisor-teacher and so on), the researchers should not pressure participants to give their consent.
Even if participation was initially voluntary, the participants must be allowed to withdraw from the research process at any stage if they choose to do so.
No activities that could negatively impact participants psychologically, physiologically, or cognitively should be conducted before or during the research process.
During the research process, all the rights of participants, as emphasized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UNICEF Convention on the Rights of the Child, must be protected.

Research Involving Vulnerable Populations, such as Children, is Evaluated According to the Following Ethical Principles:

Ethics Committee Approval: All the studies involving vulnerable populations must receive approval from an appropriate ethics committee. The ethics committee approval document must be submitted with the manuscript submission to our journal.
Informed Consent: For any research involving children and other vulnerable groups, informed consent must be obtained from the participants and/or their legal representatives. The consent process should include providing clear information about the purpose, procedures, potential risks, and benefits of the research to the participants.
Privacy and Confidentiality: Participants’ privacy and the confidentiality of their data must be protected. When publishing research findings, the necessary measures must be taken to make sure that identities are not disclosed.
Justice and Fairness: Principles of justice and fairness should be observed in research during all times. There should be no discrimination amongst participants, and all participants should be treated in an equal fashion.

Plagiarism Policy

Participatory Educational Research (PER) is a peer-reviewed journal with ISSN 2148-6123, published online since 2014. The journal has a strict policy against any form of copying or plagiarism. All the manuscripts submitted to PER are checked for plagiarism using iThenticate software. Manuscripts identified as containing significant degrees of plagiarism that is beyond being similar to any previously published work during the initial review are immediately rejected and will not be considered for publication. If plagiarism is detected after a manuscript has been published, the Editor-in-Chief will conduct a preliminary investigation, possibly with the assistance of a designated committee. Should the investigation confirm that the manuscript exceeds the acceptable limits of similarity turning into plagiarism, the journal will notify the author’s affiliated institution, college, university, and any funding agencies involved. The journal will then issue a statement linked online to the original paper, indicating the plagiarism and providing a reference to the plagiarized material. The affected paper will also be marked with a notice on each page of the PDF. Depending on the severity of the plagiarism, the paper may be formally retracted.