Reviewer Guidelines
Since Nigarhane Journal aims to publish original and important articles, we ask reviewers to help us evaluate the article submissions we receive. Below you will find the article evaluation process, advice on how to become a reviewer, and how to write a good review. Also included are our terms and conditions for reviewers, based on the COPE Principles, which provide more information on how to conduct an objective and constructive review. Nigarhane Journal has adopted a double-blind review model.
Selection of reviewers
Referees are selected from among experts who have a Ph.D. degree and publications in the field of science to which the article refers. The information of experts from Turkish universities can be found on YÖK Academic website and the information of experts from abroad can be found on Publons.
Duties and Responsibilities of Reviewers
Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted in an objective manner. Reviewers should be aware of any personal biases and take these into account when reviewing an article. The reviewer should clearly articulate the considerations that support his or her decision.
Contribute to editorial decisions: Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and provides the author with an opportunity to improve the manuscript. In this regard, a reviewer who feels inadequate to review an article or who feels that he/she cannot complete the review in a short period of time should not accept the invitation to review.
Confidentiality: All manuscripts received by the journal for review must be kept confidential. Reviewers should not share reviews or information about the manuscript with anyone, nor should they contact the authors directly. Information contained in the manuscript should not be used by a reviewer in his/her own research without the express written permission of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review should be kept confidential and not used for personal gain.
Sensitivity to the ethical conduct of research and publication: Reviewers should be alert to potential ethical issues in the manuscript and report them to the editor.
Conflict of Interest: Reviewers should not agree to review a manuscript with potential conflicts of interest arising from their relationship with the authors or institutions with which the manuscript is affiliated.
Reviewer Citation Request: If a reviewer suggests that an author include citations to the reviewer's (or his or her collaborators') work, this should be done for genuine scientific reasons, not to increase the number of citations or the visibility of the reviewer's work. See also Code of Ethics for Reviewers
Conducting a Review
Reviewers should be objective in their evaluations. During the refereeing process, referees are expected to consider the following issues.
- Does the article provide new and important information?
- Does the abstract clearly and accurately describe the content of the article?
- Is the methodology described in a coherent and understandable manner?
- Are the interpretations and conclusions supported by the results?
- Are there adequate references to other studies in the field?
- Is the quality of language appropriate?
- Do the abstract/abstract/keywords accurately reflect the content of the article?
Editor Guidelines
Selection of Editors
Editors are selected from a pool of professionals with doctoral degrees and publications appropriate to the scope of the journal.
Turkey Editors Workshop Group
Nigarhane Journal encourages editors to be in contact with other editors, as it would be beneficial for them. Our editors are members of the Turkish Editors Workshop Group.
Duties and Responsibilities of Editors
Coordinating the Review Process
The editor should ensure that the peer review process is fair, impartial, and timely. Research articles should be reviewed by at least two external reviewers, and the editor should seek additional feedback as needed.
Identification of reviewers
The Editor will select reviewers with appropriate expertise in the relevant field, taking into account the need for appropriate, inclusive, and diverse representation. The editor will follow best practices to avoid the selection of fraudulent reviewers.
Protection of Confidentiality
The Editor must maintain the confidentiality of all material submitted to the journal and all communications with reviewers, unless otherwise agreed with the authors and reviewers concerned. In exceptional circumstances, and in consultation with the publisher, the editor may share limited information with editors of other journals if the editor deems it necessary to investigate suspected research misconduct. The Editor must protect the identity of the reviewers. Information contained in a submitted manuscript should not be used for the editor's own research without the author's express written permission. Privileged information or ideas obtained during the review process should be kept confidential and should not be used for personal gain.
Impartiality
The editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to the race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnicity, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
Investigation of Allegations
An editor who finds convincing evidence of ethical violations should contact the editorial board and the publisher to have the manuscript corrected, retracted, or otherwise modified.
Conflict of Interest
The editor should not be involved in decisions about manuscripts written by him/herself or family members. In addition, such a manuscript should be subject to all the usual procedures of the journal. The editor should follow the ICMJE guidelines for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest by authors and reviewers.
Publication decision
The Editor is responsible for reviewing referee reports and deciding which of the manuscripts submitted to the Journal should be published. The Editor must follow the guidelines established by the Editorial Board.
Requesting a citation from the journal
The editor should not attempt to influence the ranking of the journal by artificially increasing any journal metric. The editor will not request that articles be cited in his/her journal or any other journal, except for scholarly reasons.
Correction, Retraction, Expression of Concern
Editors may consider publishing corrections if minor errors are identified in the published article that do not affect the findings, interpretations, or conclusions. Editors should consider retracting the manuscript in the case of major errors/violations that invalidate the findings and conclusions. If there is potential for misuse of research or publication by authors, if there is evidence that the findings are unreliable and the authors' institutions have not investigated the incident, or if the potential investigation appears unfair or inconclusive, editors should consider issuing an expression of concern. COPE and ICJME guidelines regarding corrections, retractions or expressions of concern are taken into account.
