Publication Ethics

Acta Natura et Scientia follows certain ethical standards for publication, existing to ensure high-quality scientific publications, public trust in scientific findings, and due credit for original ideas. Acta Natura et Scientia is connected to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and adheres to the Code of Conduct, and the Recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Authors who submit papers to Acta Natura et Scientia certify that his/her work is original and is not published or under publication consideration elsewhere. Also, the authors confirm that submitted papers have not been copied or plagiarized, in whole or in part, from other papers or studies. The authors certify that he/she does not have potential conflicts of interest or partial benefits associated with their papers.

Acta Natura et Scientia will check for plagiarism in all submitted articles prior to publication. If plagiarism is detected at any stage of the publication process, the author will be instructed to rewrite the manuscript. Every submission will be scanned by iThenticate® to prevent plagiarism. If any manuscript is 30% plagiarized the article will be rejected and the author will be notified. We strongly recommend that authors check the paper's content before submitting it for publication. Plagiarism can be checked by using free online software.

Acta Natura et Scientia is committed to objective and fair blind peer reviews of submitted papers and the prevention of any actual or potential conflicts of interest between writers and reviewers.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF EDITORS AND THE EDITORIAL BOARD

Editorial Responsibilities and Independence

All editors of Acta Natura et Scientia are independent in their evaluations and decisions in the journal. No external and/or internal factor can affect their decisions. If the editors are exposed to any kind of positive and/or negative constraints, they keep the right to take legal action against those involved in the constraint. On the other hand, editors are responsible for their decisions in the journal. The editor-in-chief is the only person responsible for journal content and on-time publishing.

Privacy and Conflict of Interest

Editors and members of the Editorial Board of the journal are forbidden to share submitted materials with third parties other than section editors, statistical editors, Language editors, copy editors, design editors and ombudsman when needed, and to use the submitted materials themselves. If there is a conflict of interest among an editor and an author or institution of the author in terms of cooperation or competition, then another member of the Editorial Board is assigned to manage the evaluation process.

Publishing Decisions

The editors provide peer review of submitted manuscripts by assigning at least two reviewers expert in the field. The editor-in-chief is responsible for the decision of publishing a manuscript considering the importance of the manuscript for researchers and readers, reviewer reports, plagiarism, and copyright infringement as legal issues. Editor-in-chief can discuss with other editors and reviewers for his/her decision.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF REVIEWERS

Contribution to the Editor's Decision

Peer-reviewing of a submitted manuscript is the control of its scientific content, scientific layout and suitability according to the principles of the journal, and delivery of the reviewer's opinion for unsuitable manuscript content to ensure suitability. The reviewing process, not only enables reviewers to forward their evaluations of the manuscripts to the editors but also gives them the opportunity to improve the contents of the manuscripts.

Quickness

If a reviewer assigned for evaluation of a manuscript is an expert in a field of science other than the manuscript content, is far into the subject of the manuscript, is short of time for evaluation, or possesses a conflict of interest, then he/she should inform the assigning editor and ask his/her withdrawal. If the content of the manuscript fits the expertise field of the reviewer, then he/she should complete the evaluation and send the report to the editor as soon as possible.

Privacy

Reviewers assigned for the evaluation of manuscripts approve in advance that the manuscripts are secret documents and do not share any information about these documents with third parties except the editors involved in the evaluation. Reviewers continue not to share information even after the manuscripts are accepted or rejected for publication.

If it is suspected of using an idea in the manuscript that is sent for evaluation to the reviewer without permission, the flowchart of COPE “What to do if you suspect a reviewer has appropriated an author's ideas or data?” is followed.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviewers should construct their criticisms on scientific background and include scientific evidence in their statements. All comments raised by the reviewers to improve the manuscripts should be clear and direct and written in a manner far away from disturbing the author's feelings. Insulting and derogatory statements should be avoided.

Suitability of the Cited References

Reviewers should determine quotations in the manuscripts used without citing a reference. Statements, observations, conclusions, or evidence in published articles should be quoted with the citation of the related reference. Reviewers should also be sure about the reality of the presence of quotations in the cited reference(s).

Conflict of Interests

If a reviewer is in a situation of being involved in one or more interests with the author(s), he/she should inform the assigned editor and ask for his/her withdrawal.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE AUTHORS

Authors should avoid misrepresenting research results that could undermine trust in the journal and ultimately all scientific efforts. Preservation of the integrity of research and its presentation can be achieved by following good scientific practice, including:

The manuscript has not been submitted to more than one journal for simultaneous consideration.
The manuscript has not been published previously (partly or in full) unless the new work concerns an expansion of previous work (please provide transparency on the re-use of material to avoid the hint of text-recycling (“self-plagiarism”)).
A single study is not split up into several parts to increase the number of submissions and submitted to various journals or to one journal over time (e.g. “salami-publishing”).
No data have been fabricated or manipulated (including images) to support your conclusions.
No data, text, or theories by others are presented as if they were the authors' own (“plagiarism”). Proper acknowledgements to other works must be given (this includes material that is closely copied (near verbatim), summarized and/or paraphrased), quotation marks are used for verbatim copying of material, and permissions are secured for material that is copyrighted.
Important note: The journal will use software to check for plagiarism.
Consent to submit has been received from all co-authors and responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out before the work is submitted.
Authors whose names appear on the submission have contributed sufficiently to the scientific work and therefore share collective responsibility and accountability for the results.

Reporting Standards

Authors of original research articles should present the results and discuss them with them in a proper way. Since the methodological contents of the articles should be reproducible, the authors should be clear in their statements and should not purposely report wrong or missing data. Authors of review type articles are not recommended to write such articles if they are not an expert in the field of their review topics or when they do not have enough background information or related former studies.

Data Accessing and Retainment

Authors may be asked to present their raw data when needed (ethical cases etc.). Therefore, raw data of the manuscripts should be kept safe to present if needed. The storage period of raw data following publications should be at least 10 years.

Originality and Plagiarism

The authors of submitted manuscripts should be sure that their manuscripts are original or include cited references for quotations.

Multiple, Repeated, Unnecessary or Simultaneous Submissions

It is not an approved way to produce more than one publication reporting on the same research. The authors should pay attention to such cases and they should not submit the same manuscript to different journals simultaneously.

Authorship of Manuscripts

Only the following persons should be included in the manuscripts as responsible authors:

Researchers providing a major contribution to concept, design, performing, data collection and/or analysis in a study,
Researchers involved in the preparation or critical revision of manuscripts,
Researchers approved the latest version of the manuscripts and accepted its submission.

Contributors other than the above list (technical assistance, helpers in writing and editing, general contributions, etc.) should not be involved in the authors' list but can be listed in the acknowledgements section. The corresponding authors of manuscripts should provide a separate listing of contributors as authors and those to be involved in the acknowledgements section.

Changes in Authorship

Any changes to the list of authors after submissions, such as addition, deletion, or changes in the order of authors, must be approved by each author. The editors of Acta Natura et Scientia are not in a position to investigate or judge authorship disputes before or after publishing. Such disputes between authors that cannot be resolved should be directed to the relevant institutional authority.

If you request to add, delete or rearrange the authors of the accepted article:

Before online publication: The corresponding author must contact the Journal Manager and provide (a) the reason for the change and (b) the written consent of all co-authors, including removed or added authors. Please note that your article will not be published until changes are agreed upon.

Here is a template that can be used for the request for change in authorship after submission:

All authors are required to send the signed form to info@actanatsci.com via their own email addresses (preferably institutional email).

After online publication: Requests to add, delete, or reorder author names in an article published in an online issue will follow the same policies outlined above and result in a Corrigendum.

Conflict of Interests

Authors should clearly declare any kind of conflict of interest in their manuscripts. The absence of a conflict of interest in the topic of the manuscripts should also be declared. The most common types of conflict of interest are financial support, education, other types of funds, personal or institutional relations, and affiliations. All sources of financial support (with their grant or other reference numbers) for the studies should be declared.

Disclosure of Potential Conflict of Interests

Authors must disclose all relationships or interests that could influence or bias the work. Although an author may not feel there are conflicts, disclosure of relationships and interests affords a more transparent process, leading to an accurate and objective assessment of the work. Awareness of real or perceived conflicts of interest is a perspective to which the readers are entitled and is not meant to imply that a financial relationship with an organization that sponsored the research or compensation for consultancy work is inappropriate. Examples of potential conflicts of interest that are directly or indirectly related to the research may include but are not limited to the following:

Research grants from funding agencies (please give the research funder and the grant number)
Honoraria for speaking at symposia
Financial support for attending symposia
Financial support for educational programs
Employment or consultation
Support from a project sponsor
Position on advisory board or board of directors or other types of management relationships
Multiple affiliations
Financial relationships, for example, equity ownership or investment interest
Intellectual property rights (e.g. patents, copyrights and royalties from such rights)
Holdings of spouse and/or children that may have a financial interest in the work.

Acknowledgement of References

Authors should not use personally obtained information (conversations, correspondences, or discussions with bystanders) unless they have the permission of their sources. Information about private documents or refereeing of grant applications should not be used without the permission of the authorities providing the related service.

Peer-Review

Authors are obliged to be involved in the peer-review process and should cooperate in responding to raw data, evidence for ethical approvals, patient approvals, and copyright release form requests of editors and their explanations. Authors should respond either in a positive or a negative way to revision suggestions generated by the peer-review process. They should be sure to include their counter views in their negative responses.

Submitting authors must confirm the following:

Manuscripts must be the original work of the submitting author.
Submitted manuscripts must be unpublished.
There should be no conflict of interest. If it exists, it must be clearly stated.
The authors should cite all data sources used in the preparation of the manuscript.

Please note: It is unethical to submit a manuscript to more than one journal concurrently.

Reviewers must confirm the following:

Manuscripts are reviewed fairly based on the intellectual content of the paper regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, citizenship, or political view of the author(s).
Any observed conflict of interest during the review process must be sent to the editor.
Information pertaining to the manuscript is kept confidential.
Information that may be a cause for rejection of publication must be sent to the editor.

Editors must confirm the following:

Manuscripts are reviewed fairly based on the intellectual content of the paper regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, citizenship, or political view of the author(s).
Information pertaining to manuscripts is kept confidential.
Any observed conflict of interest pertaining to manuscripts must be disclosed.

Ethical Guidelines for the Use of Animals in Research

Acta Natura et Scientia endorses the ARRIVE guidelines (www.nc3rs.org.uk/ARRIVE) for reporting experiments using live animals. Authors and reviewers can use the ARRIVE guidelines as a checklist, which can be found at https://www.nc3rs.org.uk/arrive-guidelines.

Manuscripts containing original research on animal subjects must have been approved by an ethical review committee. The project identification code, date of approval, and name of the ethics committee or institutional review board must be cited in the Methods Section.

For research involving animals, any potentially derived benefits must be significant in relation to the harm suffered by participating animals. Authors should particularly ensure that their research complies with the commonly accepted "3Rs":

Replacement of animals with alternatives wherever possible,
Reduction in the number of animals used, and
Refinement of experimental conditions and procedures to minimize the harm to animals.

For studies carried out in Turkey, kindly see the ethical principles flow chart of ULAKBIM-TR DIZIN given below or here.

Statement on the Welfare of Animals

If the animals used in the study;

The welfare of animals used for research must be respected. When reporting experiments on animals, authors should indicate the following statement:

Ethical approval: All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

Or, for retrospective studies; a summary statement in the text of the manuscript should be included as follow:

Ethical approval: For this type of study, formal consent is not required.

Statement of Human Rights

When reporting studies that involve human participants, authors should include the following statement:

Ethical approval: The studies have been approved by the appropriate institutional and/or national research ethics committee and have been performed in accordance with the ethical standards.

Or, for retrospective studies; a summary statement in the text of the manuscript should be included as follow:

Ethical approval: For this type of study, formal consent is not required.

Corrections & Retractions

Acta Natura et Scientia issues post-publication editorial decisions (e.g. corrections & retractions) only after we carefully consider the issues raised, all materials and information received in follow-up discussions, and how the case details align with COPE guidance and the journal's policies and publication criteria. In accordance with COPE guidance, the journal attempt to discuss concerns with the article’s corresponding author before coming to an editorial decision.

After a post-publication editorial decision has been communicated to the authors, the decision is held during a brief commenting period in which authors can respond to the decision or notice the text. After the commenting period’s end date, which is specified in the decision notification letter, the decision will proceed.

Corrections

Acta Natura et Scientia should consider issuing a correction if:

A small part of an otherwise reliable publication reports flawed data or proves to be misleading, especially if this is the result of honest error.
The author or contributor list is incorrect (e.g. a deserving Author has been omitted or someone who does not meet authorship criteria has been included).

Corrections to peer-reviewed content fall into one of three categories:

Erratum (Publisher correction): to notify readers of a significant error made by publishing/journal staff (usually a production error) that has a negative impact on the publication record or the scientific integrity of the article or the reputation of the authors or the Journal.
Corrigendum (Author correction): to notify readers of a significant error made by the Authors that harms the publication record, the scientific integrity of the article, or the reputation of the Authors or the Journal.
Addendum: an addition to the article by its Authors to explain inconsistencies, expand the existing work, or otherwise explain or update the information in the main work.

Whether a correction should be issued is made by the Editor (s) of a journal, sometimes with advice from Reviewers or Editorial Board members. Handling Editors will contact the authors of the paper concerned with a request for clarification, but the final decision about whether a correction is required and, if so, which type rests with the Editors.

Retraction

A retraction is carried out if an article is indicated to have an Infringement of scientific or ethical codes, such as double submissions, false claims of authorship, plagiarism, fraudulent use of data, fake authors, etc. A retraction notice will be issued where a major error (e.g. in the analysis or methods) invalidates the conclusions in the article, or where research misconduct or publication misconduct has taken place (e.g. research without required ethical approvals, fabricated data, manipulated images, plagiarism, duplicate publication, etc.). The decision to issue a retraction for an article will be made in accordance with COPE guidelines and will involve an investigation by the editorial staff in collaboration with the editor. Authors and institutions may request a retraction of their articles if their reasons meet the criteria for retraction.

The COPE retraction guidelines can be found on the COPE website at https://publicationethics.org/node/19896

Retraction will be considered:

If there is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct (e.g. data fabrication or image manipulation) or honest error (e.g. miscalculation or experimental error).
If the findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission, or justification (e.g. cases of redundant publication or duplicate publication).
If the research constitutes plagiarism.
Where there is evidence of fraudulent authorship.
Where there is evidence of compromised peer review.
If there is evidence of unethical research.

Where the decision has been taken to retract an article before the article is published, the Editor will return the manuscript to the author accompanied by a retraction letter from the Editor-in-Chief.

Where the decision has been taken to retract an article after the article is published, the journal will:

Add a “retracted” watermark to the published version of the article.
Issue a separate retraction statement, titled "Retraction: [article title]", that will be linked to the retracted article.
Paginate and make available the retraction statement in the online issue of the journal.

Please note that retraction means that the article is maintained on the platform watermarked “retracted” and the explanation is provided in a note linked to the watermarked article.

DISCLAIMER

The editor or members of the editorial board are not responsible for the author's opinions and manuscript contents. Authors are responsible for the ethical originality of and possible errors in their manuscripts. They are also responsible for all errors based on page editing before their proofreading. On the other hand, errors taking place after proofreading are the responsibility of the journal directors.

Note: The author should make corrections in 2 months, otherwise the paper will be rejected.

Note: The Editorial Board takes responsibility for making publication decisions on submitted manuscripts based on the reviewer’s evaluation of the manuscript, the policies of the journal editorial board, and legal efforts to prevent plagiarism, libel, and copyright infringement.