Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

The evaluations of original studies are published in line with scientific methods and ethical principles in the City Health Journal (CHJ). Scientific ethical principles play an important role in the publication policy of our journal, and as per our publication policy, all stakeholders (author, editor, peer reviewer, publisher, reader) must comply with ethical principles. The ethical principles applied by our journal for editors, reviewers, and authors have been established by taking into account the guidelines prepared by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

The editor of the City Health Journal ensures that every publication published in the journal is in accordance with ethical principles and is responsible for every published publication. In this context, they have the following responsibilities.

  • Informing the reviewers, authors, and researchers about the publication and ethical principles of the journal,
  • To follow and encourage research on peer reviewing and publishing, and to look over the processes of the journal in the light of new information,
  • Making preliminary evaluations of the articles sent to the journal for publication in terms of compliance with the publication policy of the journal, originality, contribution to the field and competence, using appropriate processes to ensure the quality of the published articles,
  • Evaluating all the studies submitted to the journal according to their field and content, not giving any privileges to any author for any reason,
  • Determining the field editors and reviewers to be assigned to the articles in line with the field of study of the relevant publication, to encourage the reviewers to evaluate them in a timely and impartial manner,
  • Meticulously conducting the double-blind evaluation process between the reviewer and the author,
  • Intervening in cases where there is a conflict of interest between the reviewer and the author,
  • Ensuring that all published research reports and reviews are examined by suitably qualified reviewers (including statistical review when necessary)
  • Ensuring that the sections of the journal that do not pass the peer review are clearly indicated,

For research articles submitted to the City Health Journal (CHJ), ethics committee approval should be submitted for studies related to clinical or experimental human or animal studies. This approval should be specified in the methods section and documented in the article. Information about ethical approval (name of the ethics committee, date, and number) should be included in the methods section. An explanation about research and publication ethics should be included in the text. All texts should mention information on informed consent where appropriate.

1. Ethical Responsibilities of the Publisher:

The   City Health Journal (CHJ)  is a nonprofit scientific journal that pursues public interest. The Editors and the Editorial Board of the Journal act aware of the following ethical responsibilities:

  • The City Health Journal (CHJ) editors are the decision-makers responsible for all the processes of the studies submitted to the journal, regardless of economic or political gains. They undertake to create an independent editorial decision.
  • City Health Journal (CHJ) provides open, electronic, and free access to the journal on its web page. The City Health Journal (CHJ) undertakes the obligation to publish articles in accordance with the Research and Publication Ethics and to keep a record of each printed copy, preserving the ownership and copyright of each published article.
  • It is responsible for taking measures against all kinds of scientific abuse, citation fraud, and plagiarism regarding the editors.

2. Editors' Responsibilities:

City Health Journal (CHJ)  Editors (/Editor, deputy editor, field editor/editorial board) are responsible for each article submitted to the City Health Journal (CHJ)  , including all processes after its publication. The responsibilities of City Health Journal (CHJ)   editors are as follows:

  • To consider only the public interest in the decisions made about the journal; decide independently
  • To make all decisions independently from the publisher and other persons and organizations due to the relationship based on the principle of independence between the publisher and the editors.
  • To strive for the continuous improvement of the journal and to increase its publication quality.
  • To determine and implement journal policies such as publication, double-blind reading, evaluation process, and ethical principles.
  • Ensure that all published articles are evaluated by appropriately qualified referees.
  • Protect the copyright of the authors of articles published in the journal.
  • To take relevant precautions on intellectual property rights, scientific and unethical behaviors, plagiarism, and citation scams during the publication process of articles and journals.
  • Updating the guide to meet the information requirements of the author(s) and referees.
  • To keep records of each article and the correspondence related to the journal electronically or in print.

3. Ethical Responsibilities of Referees:

City Health Journal (CHJ)   Referees are handled with the two-way blind refereeing principle. In this system, where the referees do not directly contact the authors, they forward their correction requests to the authors through the editor via the journal management system with the article evaluation forms and the notes specified on the text. In this context, the referees who will evaluate the articles applied to the 

City Health Journal (CHJ)  are expected to have the following ethical responsibilities:

  • Accepting to evaluate the studies only related to their field of expertise,
  • Conducting the assessment with impartiality and confidentiality,
  • Destroying the studies they examined after the evaluation process since only the final versions of the studies they examined can be used after they are published,
  • Refusing to evaluate the article when they realize a conflict of interest- unity of interest, and informing the journal editor,
  • Conducting the evaluation objectively only concerning the content of the study
  • Not allowing nationality, gender, religious beliefs, political beliefs, and commercial concerns to influence the evaluation,
  • To assess constructively and courteously in line with academic etiquette. Avoid insulting, hostile, and derogatory personal comments,
  • Report the work they have agreed to evaluate within the time frame with the "Referee evaluation form",

4. Ethical Responsibilities of Authors:

The publication processes implemented in the City Health Journal (CHJ)  aim to develop and distribute information impartially and respectfully. The processes implemented in this direction are directly reflected in the quality of the authors' work and the institutions that support the authors. It is essential that all stakeholders of the process (authors, readers, researchers, publishers, referees, and editors) comply with standards for ethical principles. The author(s) applying for articles in the City Health Journal (CHJ)   are expected to comply with the following ethical responsibilities:

  • The studies they submit to the journal are expected to be original. To cite completely and accurately if the author(s) benefit from or use other works,
  • Not to indicate people who do not contribute intellectually to the content in creating the study as authors,
  • To explain the situations and relationships that may constitute a conflict of interest, if any, of all works submitted for publication,
  • If information or raw data is requested from the author(s) during the evaluation process, the authors should be ready to submit the expected data and information to the editorial board and scientific board,
  • To act per the Helsinki Declaration Principles in all studies that include the "human" element. In the presence of such studies, the authors state that they conducted the study in accordance with these principles in the MATERIALS and METHODS section of the article and that they received "informed consent" from the ethics committees of their institutions and the people who participated in the study,
  • If there is an "Animal" element used in the study, the authors state that they protect animal rights in their studies in line with the principles of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals in the MATERIALS and METHODS section of the article and that they have received approval from the ethics committees of their institutions,
  • In case reports, regardless of the emergence of the patient's identity, obtaining "informed consent" from the patients and presenting it in accordance with the patient's privacy,
  • If there is a direct-indirect commercial link in the article or an institution that provides financial support for the study, the authors should state that they have no commercial relationship with the commercial product, drug, company used and what kind of relationship they have (consultant, other agreements) on the submission page to the editor,
  • If "Ethics Committee Approval" is required for the article, the authors should declare that they have obtained ethics committee permission/approval in the "Materials and Methods" section with the date and number,
  • Include a statement of compliance with Research and Publication Ethics in the article.
  • Not to be in the application process of more than one journal at the same time for the study. Not to submit the study published in another journal to the City Health Journal (CHJ

Researches Requiring Ethics Committee Permission are as follows:

All kinds of research conducted with qualitative or quantitative approaches that require data collection from participants using questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, observation, experimentation, and interview techniques.

  • Use of humans and animals (including material/data) for experimental or other scientific purposes,
  • Clinical studies on humans,
  • Research on animals,
  • Retrospective studies in accordance with the law on the protection of personal data,
  • Stating that the "Informed Consent Form" has been obtained in case reports,
  • Getting and indicating permission from the owners for the use of scales, questionnaires, photographs that belong to others,
  • Stating that copyright regulations are complied with for the intellectual and artistic works used