Ethics Principles and Publication Policy

                                                                          ETHICS PRINCIPLES AND PUBLICATION POLICY
The journal of Research and Practice in Veterinary and Animal Science (REPVAS) adheres to national and international standards for research and publication ethics, including compliance with the Press Law, Intellectual and Artistic Works Law, and the Higher Education Institutions Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive. REPVAS has adopted the International Ethical Publishing Principles published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), and World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). It also commits to the resolutions of the Turkey Editors Workshop.
Ethical Principles

• Press Law (National Legislation)
•  Intellectual and Artistic Works Law (National Legislation)
• Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive (National Legislation)
• Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (International Standards)
• Regulation on Working Procedures and Principles of Animal Experiments Ethics Committees

Duplicate Publication
Duplicate publication involves publishing the same or substantially similar articles in more than one journal. The editor returns such articles without review. Subsequently, the editor may impose an embargo period on the author who attempted duplicate publication, make a public announcement (potentially in coordination with the editor of the original journal), or take all these measures simultaneously.

Simultaneous Submission
Authors are not permitted to submit the same article to multiple journals simultaneously. If the editor learns of a possible simultaneous submission, they reserve the right to consult with other involved editors. The editor may return the article without review, reject it without considering reviews, or discuss the decision with the other editors involved. They may also choose not to accept article submissions from the authors for a specified period or notify the authors' employers and implement all these measures together.
Plagiarism Prevention
Plagiarism is presenting others' ideas, methods, data, practices, writings, figures, or works as one's own, either partially or fully, without appropriate attribution. Research and Practice in Veterinary and Animal Science (REPVAS) screens all submitted articles for plagiarism using Turnitin and iThenticate software, expecting a similarity index below 20%.

Fabrication
Fabrication involves generating non-existent data, organizing, modifying, or reporting a submitted or published work based on false data, or presenting non-existent research as if it were conducted.

Protection of Personal Data of Participants
REPVAS requires that all research involving personal or sensitive data related to human participants, which is not legally public, undergo official ethical review.

Handling Allegations of Research Misconduct
REPVAS follows COPE's Ethical Toolkit for Successful Editorial Management. Editors will take measures to prevent the publication of articles involving plagiarism, citation manipulation, data falsification, data fabrication, and other research misconduct. Under no circumstances will the editors knowingly allow such misconduct. If editors become aware of allegations of research misconduct related to a published article, they will follow COPE guidelines.

Reporting Ethical Violations
Readers who identify a significant error or concern (such as plagiarism or duplicate publication) in an article published in REPVAS can notify us at [email protected]. We welcome such reports as opportunities for improvement and respond promptly and constructively.

Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern
Editors may consider issuing a correction for minor errors that do not impact findings. If substantial errors or violations invalidate the findings, retraction will be considered. If there is evidence of possible research or publication misuse, or if findings are deemed unreliable and no investigation by the author’s institution occurs or appears insufficient, the editor may issue an expression of concern, following COPE and ICJME guidelines.
Publication of Survey and Interview-Based Studies
To ensure ethical integrity in scientific periodical publishing, REPVAS adheres to COPE's "Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" and "Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers." Articles submitted to the journal must comply with the following:

1. For studies requiring ethical committee approval in all scientific disciplines, approval must be obtained, documented, and mentioned in the article.
2. For studies that require ethical committee approval, information related to the approval (name of the committee, date, and approval number) should be provided in the methods section, and on the first/last page of the article. For case reports, information that the informed consent form was signed by participants should be included.

Special Issue Publication Policy
An annual special issue may be published upon the request of the Editorial Board. Articles submitted for the special issue first undergo editorial pre-screening, followed by a review for compliance with the journal's writing guidelines and a plagiarism check. The articles then enter the double-blind peer review process.

Editorial Confidentiality Obligation
Editors at REPVAS treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents, meaning that no information about a submission will be disclosed without the authors' consent. Access to manuscripts during the review process is limited to editors, reviewers, and members of the editorial board. The only exception is if the editor suspects serious research misconduct.
Scientific Misconduct Allegations/Suspicions
Scientific misconduct has various definitions. REPVAS follows the guidelines of major ethics organizations and addresses such issues on a case-by-case basis. Editors are obliged to act if they suspect misconduct or receive a complaint, covering both published and unpublished articles. Editors must not simply reject manuscripts due to alleged misconduct but are responsible for pursuing cases and following COPE flowcharts when appropriate.
Complaint Procedure
This procedure applies to complaints related to the content, procedures, or policies within the responsibility of REPVAS or its editorial team. Complaints can provide opportunities for improvement and are handled promptly, courteously, and constructively.
Complaints about the journal's content, procedures, or policies should be sent directly via email to [email protected] and will be treated confidentially. Editors follow COPE’s flowchart procedure for handling complaints, reviewed by a relevant member of the editorial team.
Appeal Process
We welcome serious appeals against evaluations by editors or reviewers. If you believe your article was rejected due to a misunderstanding of its scientific content, please send an appeal to our editorial team at [email protected]. Do not attempt to submit a revised version at this stage. We will review your appeal letter in detail and, if it is justified, invite you to submit a revised version for re-review. Only one appeal will be considered per article.

Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest arises when secondary interests (such as financial gain or personal competition) may influence professional judgment regarding a primary interest (such as research). For the best decision-making regarding submitted articles, it is necessary for authors to disclose competing interests. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed as early as possible.

Research Ethics Principles
Research and Practice in Veterinary and Animal Science (REPVAS) upholds the highest standards in research ethics, adopting the following international principles of research ethics. Authors are responsible for the ethical compliance of their articles.

• Integrity, quality, and transparency must be ensured in the design, review, and conduct of research.
• Research teams and participants should be fully informed about the purpose, methods, anticipated uses, and requirements of participation, as well as any potential risks.
• The confidentiality of information provided by research participants must be protected.
• Research participants must volunteer to participate without any coercion.
• Participants must be protected from harm, with research designed to avoid placing them at risk.
• Research independence must be transparent, with any conflicts of interest disclosed.
• In experimental studies or questionnaire which involving animal subjects, informed consent must be obtained in writing from the owners of animals who decide to participate in the study.
• If the study is conducted at any institution or organization, approval must be obtained from the institution or organization for the conduct of the study.

• A Local Ethics Committee Certificate is required for all studies conducted on animals, except for those specified in subparagraph k of Article 8 (listed in below) of the "Regulation on the Working Procedures and Principles of Animal Experiments Ethics Committees," published in the Official Gazette on February 15, 2014, issue number 28914.

• Situations that are not subject to Animal Experiments Ethics Committee approval are listed below:

• Clinical applications for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
• Procedures involving dead animals or tissues, slaughterhouse materials, or waste fetuses.
• Milk collection.
• Collection of fecal or bedding samples.

• To be considered for publication in REPVAS, all research studies involving animals must have been performed in compliance with guidelines outlined in the Animal Welfare Act (http://awic.nal.usda.gov/government-and-professional-resources/federal-laws/animal- welfare-act), US Public Health Service Policy on the Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/references/phspol.htm), National Research Council’s Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (http://www.nap.edu/read/5140/chapter/1), or Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching (http://adsa.org/Publications/FASS2010AgGuide.aspx) or in compliance with equivalent guidelines. If animals were euthanized, the method of euthanasia must be indicated in the manuscript. If a method not recommended, a justification for use of this method must be provided.

• A manuscript containing information that suggests animals were subjected to adverse, stressful, or harsh conditions or treatments will not be considered for publication unless the authors demonstrate convincingly that the knowledge gained was of sufficient value to justify these conditions or treatments.