Publication Ethics

The Journal of Child and Youth Psychology adopts ethics, transparency, impartiality, and research integrity as fundamental principles of scholarly publishing. The journal follows the publication ethics principles set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing developed by COPE, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

The journal expects authors, editors, reviewers, and all parties involved in the publication process to comply with the principles of research and publication ethics.

Ethics
Scholarly responsibility

Transparency
Open and traceable processes

Impartiality
Independent evaluation

Research Integrity
Reliable scholarly record

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

1. Originality and Simultaneous Submission

Manuscripts submitted to the journal must be original and must not have been published previously. A manuscript may not be under consideration by more than one journal at the same time.

Dividing studies based on the same dataset, research project, or experiment into multiple publications without sufficient scientific distinction or original contribution, or submitting substantially overlapping work as duplicate publication, is considered unethical.

2. Authorship and Contribution

Individuals listed as authors must have made meaningful and direct scholarly contributions to the work. Authors are expected to have contributed to the study design, conduct, data analysis or interpretation, and/or the preparation or substantial scholarly revision of the manuscript.

All authors must have reviewed the final version of the manuscript and approved its publication.

Providing funding, collecting data, offering technical support, or serving as the general supervisor of a research group does not, by itself, justify authorship. Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet authorship criteria may be acknowledged, with their contributions clearly stated.

All authors share responsibility for author order and other authorship-related matters.

3. Studies Derived from Theses, Projects, and Other Academic Sources

Manuscripts derived from a graduate thesis, scientific research project, conference presentation, or other academic work must clearly disclose this information.

Such disclosures should be provided in the fields required by the journal and, where appropriate, on the title page of the manuscript.

4. Citation, Plagiarism, and Text Similarity

Authors are responsible for citing all sources used in their work accurately and completely. The use of ideas, wording, data, figures, tables, or other content belonging to others without proper attribution is unacceptable.

Reuse of substantial portions of an author's previously published work without appropriate citation and disclosure may also be subject to ethical evaluation.

Manuscripts submitted to the journal may be screened using text similarity detection software. A similarity percentage alone is not considered evidence of plagiarism and is not used as an automatic acceptance or rejection criterion. The nature of the similarities, whether sources have been appropriately cited, and the extent of overlapping text are evaluated holistically by the editors. Manuscripts containing ethically unacceptable levels of unattributed similarity or plagiarism may be rejected.

5. Data Integrity

Fabrication, alteration, falsification, selective reporting, or misleading presentation of data or findings is contrary to research ethics.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and reliability of the data they submit. Editors may request raw data, analysis outputs, research materials, or other supporting documents when necessary to enhance transparency and verifiability.

6. Ethics Committee Approval and Research Ethics

Research requiring ethics committee review must have received approval from the relevant ethics committee. Where a study is exempt from ethics committee approval, information regarding an exemption decision should be provided where applicable.

For studies requiring ethics committee approval, the name of the ethics committee, approval/decision date, and approval/decision number must be clearly stated in the manner requested by the journal.

Research involving human participants must be conducted in accordance with relevant national and international ethical principles.

7. Research Involving Children, Adolescents, and Vulnerable Groups

Special attention must be given to protecting the rights, safety, privacy, and well-being of children, adolescents, and other vulnerable groups participating in research.

Depending on the nature of the study, the participant's age, and applicable regulations, informed consent should be obtained from a parent or legal guardian where required, and assent should be obtained from the child or adolescent in a manner appropriate to their developmental level.

Participants' rights to refuse participation or withdraw from the study at any time without penalty must be protected.

8. Confidentiality and Protection of Personal Data

Authors are responsible for protecting the privacy of research participants. Information that may directly or indirectly identify an individual should not be published unless scientifically necessary.

Where publication of identifiable images, case information, or personal data is necessary, appropriate permission or consent must be obtained from the individual concerned or, where applicable, from their legal representative.

9. Conflicts of Interest and Funding

Authors must disclose any financial, commercial, legal, academic, or personal conflicts of interest that may affect, or may reasonably be perceived to affect, the conduct, interpretation, or publication of the research.

Where no conflict of interest exists, this should be stated explicitly.

Any financial support, project funding, or other institutional support must be disclosed, including the supporting organization and relevant project information where applicable.

10. Reporting Errors

If authors identify a significant error, inaccuracy, or misleading information in a manuscript under review or in a published article, they are expected to contact the editorial office promptly and cooperate in any necessary correction process.

Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

1. Editorial Independence and Impartiality

Editorial decisions are based on the scientific quality, originality, methodological adequacy, and relevance of the manuscript to the journal's aims and scope.

Authors' gender, age, institutional affiliation, academic title, nationality, ethnicity, religion, political views, or similar personal characteristics do not influence editorial decisions.

2. Confidentiality

Editors must keep confidential all information obtained about manuscripts and related documents during the evaluation process. Such information may not be shared with third parties other than individuals directly involved in the publication process.

3. Conflicts of Interest

If an editor has a personal, academic, institutional, or financial conflict of interest related to a manuscript, the editor must withdraw from the evaluation and decision-making process. The manuscript should be handled by an independent editor.

4. Reviewer Selection and Integrity of the Review Process

Editors are responsible for selecting reviewers with appropriate expertise in the subject and methodology of the manuscript and for ensuring that the review process is conducted fairly, independently, and in a timely manner.

Reviewer reports are an important component of editorial decision-making; however, final responsibility for acceptance or rejection rests with the editors.

5. Handling Allegations of Ethical Misconduct

Editors take allegations of plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate publication, inappropriate authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and other breaches of research or publication ethics seriously.

Where necessary, authors may be asked to provide explanations or supporting documentation, and relevant institutions may be contacted. The journal follows approaches recommended by COPE when addressing such concerns.

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

1. Confidentiality

Reviewers must treat manuscripts and all related information provided for review as confidential. Manuscript content must not be shared with third parties or used for personal or academic advantage.

2. Impartial and Constructive Review

Reviewers are expected to provide evaluations that are scientifically grounded, impartial, clear, constructive, and respectful.

Personal criticism and comments unrelated to the scientific assessment of the manuscript should be avoided.

3. Double-Blind Peer Review

The journal follows a double-blind peer-review model. Reviewers should avoid including information or wording in review files or comments that could directly or indirectly reveal their identity.

4. Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers who believe they have a conflict of interest involving the authors, institutions, or research should notify the editor and decline the review where appropriate.

5. Review Timeliness

Reviewers should make every effort to complete reviews within the specified timeframe. A reviewer who cannot complete the evaluation on time or who does not feel sufficiently qualified to assess the manuscript should inform the editor as soon as possible.

6. Reporting Suspected Ethical Misconduct

If reviewers suspect plagiarism, duplicate publication, data-related problems, ethics committee violations, or any other research or publication ethics concern, they should report the issue confidentially to the editor.