Publication Ethics

Authors' Responsibilities

  1. Authors must present the results of their thinking or research clearly and honestly, without plagiarism or data manipulation, in accordance with the Fon template.
  2. Authors are responsible for the claims made in their articles.
  3. Authors must meet the publication requirements of originality, must not plagiarize, and must not have published the work previously in another journal or publication.
  4. Authors must cite the opinions and works of others that they quote.
  5. Authors must write ethical, honest, and responsible manuscripts in accordance with prevailing rules of scholarly authorship.
  6. Authors must not submit or publish the same article in more than one journal or publication.
  7. Authors agree that their manuscripts may be edited by the editors without changing the substance or main ideas of the article.

Editors' Responsibilities

  1. Editors are responsible for determining, through editorial board meetings, which articles are suitable for publication.
  2. Editors are guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and are bound by applicable legal requirements regarding defamation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.
  3. In handling submissions, the editorial team applies the principle of equal treatment.
  4. In reaching decisions on manuscripts, the editorial team does not discriminate against authors on the basis of ethnicity, religion, race, or group affiliation.
  5. Editors and the editorial team will not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript except with the author's permission.
  6. A manuscript that is not published in the current issue, if it is eligible and within the scope of Fon, will be published in a subsequent issue.
  7. Manuscripts outside the scope of Fon will be returned to the authors.

Reviewers' Responsibilities

  1. Reviewers assist the editors in making editorial decisions on submitted manuscripts.
  2. Reviewers are responsible for the recommendations they give on the articles they review.
  3. Manuscript review is carried out objectively and supported by clear arguments.
  4. Reviewers check citations, references, and any indication of plagiarism in the articles they review.
  5. Reviewers keep manuscripts confidential and do not use information from them for personal gain.

Publication Ethics Guidelines (COPE)

Fon adopts the publication ethics principles set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and follows the COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors. All parties involved in the publication process (authors, editors, and reviewers) are required to understand and carry out their ethical responsibilities in line with these guidelines, including originality, plagiarism, authorship, and the reporting of research data.

Procedure for Handling Suspected Misconduct and Article Retraction

  1. Any suspected violation of publication ethics (plagiarism, data manipulation, unwarranted authorship, duplicate publication, etc.) will be investigated by the Editorial Board following the COPE flowcharts.
  2. The editors will request a written explanation from the author concerned before making a decision.
  3. An article found to violate publication ethics may be subject to a correction, a retraction, or an expression of concern, depending on the severity of the violation.
  4. A retracted article remains publicly accessible but is marked "RETRACTED" in its title and on the PDF pages, accompanied by a retraction notice explaining the reason and the date of the decision.
  5. The decision to retract is taken by the Editor-in-Chief together with the Editorial Board and is announced transparently to the authors and readers.

Conflict of Interest

  1. Authors must disclose any potential conflict of interest (financial, institutional, or personal) that could influence the results or interpretation of the research.
  2. Editors and reviewers must withdraw from the review process if they have a personal, professional, or financial relationship with the author that could cause bias.
  3. All sources of research funding must be stated in the manuscript to ensure transparency.

Fon also has a separate AI Use Policy governing the use of generative artificial intelligence tools by authors, reviewers, and editors in writing, reviewing, and editing manuscripts.