Guidelines for Reviewers
Double-blind peer review
Selection of Reviewers
The reviewers are selected from among experts who have a doctorate degree in the field of science related to the paper and have publications. The information of the experts working in Turkish universities can be accessed from the YÖK Academic website[1], and the information of the experts abroad can be accessed from the Publons.[2]
Training for Reviewers
Training for reviewers is held online at the Oku Okut Akademi, the distance education institution of the publisher Okut Okut Association.[3]
Duties and Responsibilities of Reviewers
- Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Reviewers should be aware of any personal bias they may have and take this into account when reviewing a paper. A reviewer should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
- Contribution 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 respect, a reviewer who feels inadequate to review the manuscript or thinks that he will not be able to complete the review in a short time should not accept the invitation to review.
- Confidentiality: All manuscripts received for review should be kept confidential. Reviewers should not share reviews or information about the article with anyone or contact the authors directly. The information contained in the study should not be used in a reviewer's 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.
- Alertness to Ethical Issues: Reviewers should be alert to possible ethical issues in the manuscript and report them to the editor.
- Competing Interests: Reviewers should not agree to review an article with potential conflicts of interest arising from their affiliation with the authors or institutions affiliated with the articles.
- Citation to the Reviewer: If a reviewer suggests that an author includes citations to the reviewer’s (or their associates’) work, this must be for genuine scientific reasons and not with the intention of increasing the reviewer’s citation count or enhancing the visibility of their work (or that of their associates). See. COPE-Ethical guidelines for peer reviewers[4]
Writing a review
The evaluations of the reviewers should be objective. During the refereeing process, the referees are expected to make their evaluations by considering the following points.
- Does the paper contain new and important information?
- Does the abstract clearly and properly describe the content of the paper?
- Is the method comprehensively and clearly defined?
- Are the comments and conclusions made substantiated by the findings?
- Is the language quality adequate?
- Abstract/summary/keywords reflect accurately what the paper says?
[1] https://akademik.yok.gov.tr
[4] COPE: https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.1.9