Galatasaray University Journal of Communication İleti-ş-im is an academic journal where articles written in Turkish, French, or English are published after a double-blind refereeing process. The journal is published by Galatasaray University Faculty of Communication and the ownership status is held by the faculty dean in the name of the Faculty of Communication. İleti-ş-im is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.

There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this journal.

At İleti-ş-im, we are committed to promoting the unrestricted dissemination of knowledge. We firmly believe that providing immediate open access to our research content enhances global knowledge exchange. Accordingly, we follow the principles outlined in the Budapest Open Access Initiative, ensuring that our articles are freely accessible to the public. Our "open access" approach grants users the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles published in our journal. By embracing open access, we aim to facilitate wider readership, foster collaborative research, and encourage the advancement of scholarship in the field of communication sciences.

1. Editorial policies

1.1 Peer review policy
At İleti-ş-im, we recognize the critical role of peer review in maintaining the quality and integrity of scholarly research. Peer review is a crucial evaluation process that ensures the validity, originality, and significance of the manuscripts we consider for publication. As an essential part of our commitment to academic excellence, we follow a rigorous peer review process to uphold the highest standards in communication sciences.

All manuscripts are reviewed initially by the Editors, and only those papers that meet the journal's editorial standards, and fit within the aims and scope of the journal will be sent to two or more reviewers for evaluation.

Double-Blind Peer Review: We employ a double-blind peer review system, which ensures anonymity for both the authors and reviewers. This process minimizes potential biases and safeguards the integrity of the review process. Authors' identities are concealed from reviewers, and vice versa, to ensure impartial evaluations and fair consideration of each submission.

Reviewer Selection: Our editorial team selects qualified reviewers with expertise in the relevant subject areas to conduct thorough evaluations of the submitted manuscripts. Reviewers are chosen based on their scholarly contributions, reputation, and demonstrated competence in their respective fields.

Peer Review Process: Each submitted manuscript is evaluated on (1) the originality of its contribution to the field; (2) the soundness of its theory and methodology given the topic; (3) the coherence of its analysis; (4) its ability to communicate to readers. The normal turn-around time for evaluation of manuscripts is four to six months from the date of receipt.

Reviewer Responsibilities: Reviewers play a crucial role in the publication process and are expected to provide objective, constructive, and timely feedback on the submissions assigned to them. They should assess the manuscripts' scientific rigor, methodological soundness, theoretical contributions, and ethical considerations. Reviewers are also encouraged to offer suggestions for improvement and, if necessary, recommend revisions.

Reviewer Reports: Reviewers are requested to submit their reports within the stipulated time frame, indicating their recommendation for acceptance, revision, or rejection. The editorial team will consider reviewers' comments, critiques, and recommendations in making a decision on the manuscript.

Author Response and Revision: Upon completion of the peer review process, authors are provided with reviewers' comments and are given the opportunity to respond to each point raised. Authors must address the reviewers' concerns and suggestions comprehensively and transparently. Revised manuscripts may undergo further evaluation if deemed necessary.

Editorial Decision: The editorial decision is based on the reviewers' assessments, the authors' responses, and the alignment of the manuscript with the journal's scope and quality standards. The final decision may include acceptance, minor or major revisions, or rejection. The editorial team communicates decisions to the authors promptly and respectfully.

Confidentiality and Ethical Considerations: Reviewers must treat all submissions with strict confidentiality, refraining from discussing the content with anyone outside the peer review process. Likewise, authors should ensure that their submissions comply with ethical standards and do not contain any plagiarized or unethical content.

As a journal committed to continuous improvement, we encourage feedback from authors and reviewers regarding our peer review process. By engaging in regular self-assessment, we strive to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our peer review system to serve the academic community better.

1.2. Editorial Responsibilities

At İleti-ş-im, the editors conduct a thorough evaluation of each submission in accordance with the Ethical Principles and Publication Policy of the journal (İleti-ş-im follows the instructions of the Journal of Publications Ethics Committee (Committee Publication Ethics – COPE). The editors are solely responsible for determining whether a submission meets the required standards and contributes to the scholarly literature. The acceptance or rejection of submissions is at the discretion of the editors. They carefully assess each submission's adherence to intellectual property rights, scientific ethics, and its potential contribution to the field.

Editors act independently of any institutions or organizations, ensuring impartiality in the selection of submissions for the reviewing process. The editors prioritize the public interest when choosing articles to advance to the peer review stage. Editors are bound by strict confidentiality. They must not disclose submitted works to anyone other than the reviewers, editorial board, and authors involved in the evaluation process.

By adhering to these editorial evaluation and review policies, İleti-ş-im upholds the highest standards of academic integrity, transparency, and fairness in the publication process.

Special issue editors also accept the Ethical Principles and Editorial Policy of the journal of Communication in preparing the issues for which they are responsible.

1.3. Authorship

All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. For manuscripts with multiple authors, each author is required to specify their individual contributions to the research.

All authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the work. They must also disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could influence the research outcomes or interpretations.

In cases where individuals have contributed significantly but do not meet the criteria for authorship, they should be acknowledged appropriately in the manuscript.

Authors should avoid the use of sexist, othering, and discriminatory language.

Funding Information: Authors are required to provide details of any funding or financial support received for the research. This includes grants, sponsorships, or any other sources of financial support that contributed to the study.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: All authors must disclose any potential conflicting interests related to the research or its publication.

Corresponding Author: One author should be designated as the corresponding author, responsible for communication with the editorial team during the submission and review process.

Changes to Authorship: Any changes to the authorship list, including additions, deletions, or changes in author order, must be discussed and agreed upon by all authors before manuscript acceptance. Post-publication changes to the authorship list are subject to approval by the journal's editorial board.

2. Publishing Policies

İleti-ş-im is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors.

In İleti-ş-im, the process of evaluating submissions and publishing is continuous. For this reason, no deadline is set for the submission of articles for each issue, except for special thematic issues. If the manuscripts are considered suitable after the preliminary evaluation, they are submitted to the referee process and those whose referee process is positive are submitted to the evaluation of the Editorial Board, taking into account the relevant period number (December and June). Articles that do not reach the decision process are kept on hold to be published in the next issue of the next period.

Data Usage Rights and Permissions: Authors must document the usage rights and necessary permissions for the data employed in their studies. If requested, they should be prepared to submit evidence of consent obtained from research participants.

Ethics Committee Approval:
Authors must obtain approval from the ethics committee in the following cases:
• Research involving data collection from participants using qualitative or quantitative approaches, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, and experiments.
• Studies involving humans or animals for experimental or scientific purposes, including clinical and animal studies.
• Retrospective studies in compliance with personal data protection laws.

Ethics committee approval is not required for review articles.

Informed Consent: Authors must explicitly state that they have acquired informed consent forms from research participants, ensuring their voluntary participation and understanding of the study's objectives and procedures.

Third-Party Permissions: Authors must obtain explicit permission for the use of any third-party properties, including scales, questionnaires, photographs, and other materials used in the research.

Copyright Compliance: Authors must comply with copyright regulations for the use of intellectual and artistic works, giving proper attribution and citing the original sources.

Copyright Regulations: Before submitting a manuscript, İleti-ş-im requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Copyright Transfer Form. With this form, the author retains copyright in the work but grants İleti-ş-im to publish.

Honesty and Transparency: Authors must ensure the accuracy and integrity of their research. Any discrepancies or errors discovered after publication must be promptly communicated to the journal's editorial team for necessary corrections or retractions.

Plagiarism and Research Misconduct: Authors must avoid plagiarism and research misconduct. All sources used in the study must be properly cited, and the research must be conducted with integrity and adherence to academic standards. In articles produced from theses, the similarity rate cannot exceed 20%, provided that this situation is specified. In research articles, articles with a similarity rate exceeding 10% are returned to the author and the evaluation process is terminated. In the report, the similarity rate of the articles to a single source cannot be 4% and above. Even if the similarity rate is below 10%, the evaluation process of the articles with problems is terminated. For the texts in the evaluation process, a similarity report is regularly obtained until the end of the publication process, and the necessary controls are provided. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

Data Sharing and Archiving: Authors are encouraged to share their research data to promote transparency and reproducibility. Data should be properly archived and made available upon request.

Open Access: İleti-ş-im is an “open access” journal. See more at about the journal.

3. Post-Publication Corrections and Retractions

At İleti-ş-im, we are committed to maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record. Despite rigorous peer review and editorial processes, we recognize that errors or issues may occasionally emerge in published articles. As part of our commitment to transparency and responsible publishing, we have established the following Post-Publication Corrections and Retractions policy:

Corrections: Minor errors, such as typographical errors or formatting inconsistencies, will be corrected and acknowledged promptly. These corrections will be made to the online version of the article, and a note of correction will be added to the published article to inform readers of the changes. In cases where corrections significantly affect the article's meaning, context, or results, an erratum will be published. The erratum will outline the nature of the error, the corrected information, and the date of correction.

Retractions: In instances of serious ethical misconduct, data fabrication, plagiarism, or other severe issues that affect the validity and credibility of a published article, the editorial team will consider issuing a retraction. The retraction will clearly state the reasons for the retraction and will be linked to the original article. Retractions may also occur when there are clear errors or flaws that render the article unreliable or unsound. The retraction notice will provide an explanation for the decision to retract and ensure readers are aware of the circumstances.

Retraction Procedure: The decision to issue a correction or retraction will be made by the editorial team, in consultation with the authors and reviewers, as appropriate. Authors will be given an opportunity to respond to any concerns raised during the evaluation process, and retractions will be conducted with due process and fairness. All retractions and corrections will be prominently displayed on the journal's website and indexed in relevant databases for the benefit of readers and the broader academic community.

Authors' Responsibility: Authors are expected to cooperate fully with the journal's editorial team during the post-publication correction or retraction process. They should promptly respond to any inquiries and provide necessary clarifications.

Reader Involvement: Readers are encouraged to bring any potential concerns about published articles to the attention of the editorial team. We value the vigilance and diligence of our readers in upholding the integrity of the scholarly record.

Removal of Published Content: In extraordinary circumstances, Galatasaray University Journal of Communication retains the right to remove an article, research paper, or other content from our online platforms. The decision to take such action is not taken lightly and is guided by specific criteria covering the following situations.

Content may be subject to removal if it is found to be defamatory, infringing on a third party's intellectual property rights, right to privacy, or other legal rights, or if it is deemed to be unlawful.

The removal of content can be temporary or permanent, contingent upon the nature and gravity of the circumstances. In all cases, we are committed to transparency, ensuring that the reasons for content removal are conveyed clearly to our readers and stakeholders.

While content may be removed, bibliographic metadata, such as the title and author information, will be retained. These details will be accessible along with an explanatory statement, articulating the rationale behind the content's removal.