Thank you for choosing to submit your article to Istanbul Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. Istanbul Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities aims to publish cutting-edge interdisciplinary studies with a primary focus on original research or reviews in various disciplines of humanities and social sciences. Istanbul Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities covers theoretical and applied studies in the fields of Social Sciences: sociology, media & journalism, geography, planning and development, urban studies, anthropology, public relations; Political Science: politics & governance, public administration, law and legal issues; Arts and Humanities: Education and Assessment, the English language & literature, the Turkish language & literature, History, Archeology, Philosophy, Culturology, Aesthetics and Ethics, Spirituality, Visual Arts and Performing Arts, Architecture, Social and Cultural Psychology; Economics: Macroeconomics, International Economics, Econometrics, Tourism, Insurance, Commerce, Marketing.
The following instructions will ensure we have everything required for your article to pass through pre-evaluating, peer review, production and publication smoothly. Please take the time to read and follow them as closely as possible, as doing so will ensure your article matches the Journal requirements.
A manuscript can only be accepted for consideration if:
You can also submit an article directly to the Editor-in-Chief by e-mail: editorial-office@social.ist-journals.com
Research and review articles of general significance that are written clearly and well organized will be given preference. All articles, solicited and unsolicited, will be first assessed by a Reviewing Editor. Articles found unsuitable in terms of the overall requirements of the journal will be returned to the authors. The others will be sent for detailed review. Authors of these articles will be notified of acceptance, need for revision or rejection of the article. It may be noted that articles once rejected cannot be resubmitted. Manuscripts are selected for publication according to the editorial assessment of their suitability and evaluation from independent reviewers. Articles are usually sent to two or more reviewers. Editorial staff will edit accepted articles to improve accuracy and clarity and shorten, if necessary.
Illustrations and other materials to be reproduced from other publications must be properly credited; it is the authors’ responsibility to obtain permission for reproduction of figures, tables, etc., from published sources (copies of letters of permission should be sent to the editor).
As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to the authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
The journal accepts the following types of articles for publication (all must be original and have not been published elsewhere):
All submitted articles must be written in American English and Turkish. Authors whose native language is not English are strongly advised to ensure the grammatical correctness of their article prior to submission. Articles with serious deficiencies in English may be returned without review.
It is the author’s responsibility to guarantee that the English language is flawless. Therefore, all authors must have their accepted manuscripts proofread by a proficient/native English speaker before we proceed to the next stage of copy-editing. The authors may choose between an independent English editing service, a colleague/peer, or our own English editing services.
In the first two cases, a certificate or written statement confirming that the manuscript has been proofread by a proficient speaker must be provided to the Editorial Office. Should the author opt for our English editing service, the task will be performed immediately after receiving the finalized manuscript from the authors. Our English editing charges are as follows:
The template file provided by Istanbul Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities must be used when preparing a manuscript.
Please follow this logic in writing the article: first, briefly highlight the idea, then describe the methods for achieving the goal and the planned results, and only after that proceed to the detailed presentation. When reviewing the literature, you should not simply list the sources, but analyze them. You should explain with specific examples what has already been done by other scholars, what tasks are ahead, and in which direction you plan to move, that is, you have to introduce the reader to the research background and explain the place of your study in it.
Manuscripts shall have the following ordered elements: type of article, title, authors, affiliations, city, country, e-mails of authors (preferably institutional), abstract in English and Turkish (200 to 250 words), keywords in English and Turkish (4 to 10, alphabetically ordered), Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Acknowledgements (can be added if necessary), Statement about the conflicts of interests, and References. Epigraphs, endnotes and footnotes are not allowed.
Title should be brief and informative, specific and amenable to indexing. The title should contain less than 15 words, and be centered, typeset the title in bold, uppercase, Times New Roman (TNR) 14pt, single line spacing.
Names and affiliations (institutions) of the authors, city, country, E-mail address(es) of the author(s) should be listed. Authors’ names should be centered, typeset in TNR 10pt, and single-spaced. Affiliations, including departments, should be centered, typeset in TNR 10pt, and single-spaced.
Abstract should be limited to 1 paragraph (250 words) and convey the main points of the article, outline the results and conclusions, and explain the significance of the results. Any inessential abbreviations (those personally invented, in particular), any formulas, references to bibliography, figures and/or tables are inadmissible in the abstract. Typeset your Abstract in TNR 10 pt, alignment: justify; line spacing: single.
The abstract should include the following: the problem (or object) of the study; the method used; the findings; the novelty of the research, and the conclusions. Note the difference between Results and Conclusions: Results imply only a concrete result, belonging to a particular instance; and Conclusions describe a general case that needs to be generalized from the particular instance. When writing abstracts, avoid general statements and conclusions that are general and empty. Try to use the most specific language in the article to explain the research methods, processes, results and conclusions, so that the reader has a clear and comprehensive understanding of the author's research work. Do not simply repeat the information already stated in the title; faithfully reflect the research work done and provide as much quantification as possible.
This research aims to… (specify the research purpose). Using (describe the methods), the authors (describe the obtained results) .... New research results develop/supplement/improve ... and can be used for…. This research is novel as it ….
Keywords: 4-10 keywords should be indicated separately; these should be chosen carefully and must not be phrases of several words. Typeset your keywords in TNR 10 pt, alignment: justify; line spacing: single. These keywords will be used for indexing.
The abstract and keywords should be presented in the English and Turkish languages, and their contents in English and Turkish should be consistent.
The main text: Typeset the main text in TNR 11 pt in one column, alignment: justify, indentation: 1 cm, line spacing: single.
Introduction: All articles should have a brief introduction (1.5-2 pages). The purpose of the introduction is to explain to readers all details of this research. Its role is to arouse the reader's attention and let the reader have a general understanding of the article. The text should be intelligible to readers in different disciplines and technical terms should be defined. This is the reader’s first impression of your article, so it should be clear and concise. Include relevant background information on your topic, using in-text citations as necessary. Report new developments in the field, and state how your study fills gaps in the existing research. Focus on the specific problem you are addressing, along with its possible solutions, and outline the limitations of your study.
The contents to be described in the introduction are roughly as follows: (1) The rationale, purpose and background of the research, including the question, the research object and its basic characteristics, what work has been done by the predecessors on this issue, what are the deficiencies; what problems are expected to be solved, what is the role and significance of the solution; what is the background of the research work. If you want to answer a lot of questions, you can only take a brief explanation. Usually, you can explain one problem in one or two sentences. (2) Theoretical basis, experimental basis and research methods. If you follow the known theory, principles, and methods, just mention a paragraph, or note the relevant literature. If a new concept or term is to be introduced, it should be defined or clarified. (3) The expected results and their status, role and significance should be written in a natural, general, concise and precise manner. In the introduction, diagrams, tables, and formulas are generally not allowed. You can also include a research question, hypotheses, and/or objectives at the end of this section.
Organize your information from broad to narrow (general to particular). However, do not start too broad; keep the information relevant.
You can use in-the-text citations in this section to situate your research within the body of literature. References should be cited according to the APA reference style (7th edition). Every in‐text citation must have a full citation in the reference list, and vice versa. In-text citations must list the author’s last name, date of publication, and page number(s) when applicable, and be organized in alphabetic order in the References section (See Referencing Style).
Methods/Materials: This is the part of your article that explains how the research was done in no more than 2-3 pages. You should relate your research procedures in a clear, logical order so that other researchers can reproduce your results. Simply refer to the established methods you used, but describe any procedures that are original to your study in more detail.
Results: Now that you have explained how you conducted your research, you are to report what you actually found. In this section, taking no more than 6-8 pages, outline the main findings of your research. You need not include too many details, particularly if you are using tables and figures. While writing this section use the smallest number of words necessary to convey your statistics.
Use appendices or supplementary materials if you have too much data.
Use subheadings to help the reader follow along, particularly if your data are repetitive. Headings should be of three level type. See the Template for heading typesetting instructions (Journal Template).
Discussion: In this section, taking no more than 4-6 pages, you should interpret your findings for the reader in relation to previous research and the literature as a whole. Present your general conclusions, including an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the research and the implications of your findings. Resolve the hypothesis and/or research question you identified in the introduction.
Remember, you must be prepared to justify your findings and conclusions, and one of the best ways to do this is through factual accuracy and the acknowledgment of opposing interpretations, data, and/or points of view.
Use in-text citations to support your discussion.
Do not repeat the information you presented in the results or the introduction unless it is necessary for a discussion of the overall implications of the research.
Conclusion: The conclusion is the final, overall summary of the entire article. The conclusions should generally be listed in the order of 1), 2), 3), ..., or structured as paragraphs. Completely, accurately, and concisely point out the principles and their universality revealed by the results of investigations or experiments on the research subjects; whether there are any exceptions found in the research or problems that are difficult to explain and solve in this article. The similarities and differences of your research work (including others or authors themselves); the theoretical and practical significance and the novelty of this article; suggestions for further research on this topic.
Explain how your research fits within your field of study, and identify areas for future research. Even though you may not look forward to the process of formatting your research article, it is important to present your findings clearly, consistently, and professionally. With the right article format, your chances of publication increase, and your research will be more likely to make an impact in your field. Do not underestimate the details. They are the backbone of scientific writing and research.
Keep this section short.
Acknowledgments: Write this paragraph as brief as possible giving credit to any institution responsible for funding the study (e.g., through a fellowship or grant) and any person (e.g., technical advisors or editors).
References: Here you list citation information for each source you used. The list of references should be arranged alphabetically. References should be taken over the past five years. The recommended minimum number of references should not be less than eight, and documents that are not officially published cannot be included. Before submitting the manuscript, please check each citation in the text against the References and vice-versa to ensure that they match exactly. It is important to format the references properly because all references will be linked electronically as completely as possible to the articles cited. Please provide full publication data for your references.
References should be formatted as follows:
Articles shall be submitted using the APA reference style. APA style requires both in‐text citations and a final reference list. For every in‐text citation, there should be a full citation in the reference list and vice versa. When you need to cite two or more works together, arrange the in-text citations alphabetically. In-text citations must list the author’s last name, date of publication, and page number(s) when applicable:
Author’s last name (2022: 52) or (Author’s last name, 2004: 52)
1st Author and 2nd Author (2022) or (1st Author & 2nd Author, 2022)
1st Author, et al. (2020: 77-78).
References should not include unpublished source materials.
General guidelines should be observed for formatting the text of the article. References to Wikipedia, personal blogs or non-scientific websites are not taken into account.
At least 70% of sources in References should contain DOI indices.
Be sure to verify the correctness of the names of authors, pages and titles of journals in the article lists at http://www.crossref.org/ (there is a search engine box in the center on the page – copy the source title into it and verify the correctness of the References).
Formatting tips for referencing:
[1] Author 1 A., Author 2 B., Author 3 C., et al. (Year). Title. Journal Name, volume number (issue number), starting and ending pages number.
[2] Author 1 A., and Author 2 B. (Year). Book Title, 3rd ed, Publisher: Publisher Location, Country, pp. 154–196.
[3] Author 1 A., and Author 2 B. (Year). Title of the chapter. In Book Title, 2nd ed, Editor 1, A., Editor 2, B., Eds, Publisher: Publisher Location, Country, Year; Volume 3, pp. 154–196.
[4] Author 1 A.B., Author 2 C.D., and Author 3 E.F. (Year). Title of Presentation. In Title of the Collected Work (if available), Proceedings of the Name of the Conference, Location of Conference, Country, Date of Conference; Editor 1, Editor 2, Eds. (if available); Publisher: City, Country; Pagination.
[5]. Author, A.B. Title of Thesis. Level of Thesis, Degree-Granting University, Location of University, Date of Completion.
[6] Title of the website. Available online: URL (accessed on Day Month Year). Unlike published works, websites may change over time or disappear, therefore, we encourage you create an archive of the cited website using a service such as WebCite.
While doing your final proofread, ensure that the reference list entries are consistent with the in-text citations (i.e., no missing or conflicting information).
Tables and Figures
Tables and figures are limited to a combined total of 10. Tables and figures must be numbered, an explanatory title must be added, and each table and figure must be mentioned at least once in the main text. Figures should be supplied in a suitable size for printing, and tables should be inserted using the ‘Insert Table’ function provided by the software.
It is the author's responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright owner to reproduce figures and tables that have been published elsewhere. Tables and figures without such evidence are assumed to originate from the author.
Tables and figures should be black and white. They should be referred to in numerical order. Number the tables sequentially, according to their appearance in the text. Place them after a paragraph referring to the corresponding figure or table, not inserted in the paragraph. Figures should be followed by a short description in the main text.
All symbols and abbreviations must be defined, and used only when necessary. Superscripts, subscripts and ambiguous characters should be clearly indicated. Units of measure should be metric or, preferably, SI.
Figures: Line drawings should be roughly twice the final printed size. Photomicrographs and other photographs that require it must have a scale bar, which should be defined clearly in the legend. Primary data should be submitted as far as possible. Letters in the figure should be well readable and proportionally commensurable, and in the final, printed size, the font should be TNR 9 pt for captions and symbols in the captions. Figures should follow their short description in the main text.
Authors may submit supplementary files to be made available alongside their article. Supplementary material is available online only on the article webpage (it is not published in the PDF of the article). Supplementary files are not copy-edited nor proofread by the Editorial Office, and it is the authors’ responsibility to guarantee the scientific accuracy of these files.
Supplementary files are also sent to peer-review alongside the article; thus, authors are also responsible for guaranteeing that there are no elements (including in the file metadata) that disclose the authors’ identity.
Authors must submit their manuscripts through the online submission platform, comply with our instructions for authors. Submissions by email will not be considered. Authors will receive an automatic acknowledgment email upon a successful submission. This email will also request that they provide a list of 5 potential reviewers for their manuscripts.
The Editorial staff will make a first assessment of the submitted article. Manuscripts that do not comply with the instructions for authors may be returned to the authors or rejected altogether.
The Editorial staff will contact the corresponding author with a decision as to whether the manuscript will be considered for publication in the journal and sent for peer-review. At this point of the process, authors should have already emailed the Editorial staff their list of 5 potential reviewers, otherwise they will be reminded to do so. The list will be carefully reviewed by the Editorial staff and it is not guaranteed that the suggested researchers will be contacted to review the manuscript. Authors who fail to provide a list of suitable and trustworthy reviewers may see their manuscripts immediately rejected for publication.
Manuscripts will undergo a very stringent double-blind peer-review process, where both the identities of authors and reviewers remain undisclosed in order to guarantee the highest quality of the journal. All manuscripts (except for Editorials, Commentaries and Book Reviews) will be sent out for review and at least two review reports per manuscript will be collected. All reviewers will be carefully selected by the journal’s Editors for each submitted manuscript and must fulfill the following criteria:
Even if, in principle, a double-blind peer-review system could allow this task to be performed by scholars who are acquainted with the authors, our Editorial Office still wishes reviews to be completed only by reviewers who do not have any recent professional contact with the authors in order to fully guarantee that there are no conflicts of interests and that reviews are indeed totally unbiased. Spontaneous applications from scholars to join the journal’s pool of reviewers will not be considered. All reviewers will be selected and invited by the Editorial Office to review manuscripts according to the field of expertise of the submissions received.
Reviewers will be asked to complete their review within two weeks, but are allowed to extend the review period in order to complete and submit their report. All relevant information for reviewers can be consulted in the Instructions for Reviewers.
After each round of peer-review, the Academic Editor(s) of the thematic issue will be asked to assess the submitted manuscript and the peer-review reports collected. Decisions regarding each submission will be taken without exception by the Academic Editor(s), guaranteeing the excellence and high standard of our decision-making process. The Academic Editor(s) may decide between the following options:
In order to guarantee swiftness of the editorial process, each manuscript will only be allowed two rounds of review and revisions. Authors are thus urged to address all issues raised by the reviewers directly after the first round of peer-review.
The jurisdiction for all disputes concerning submitted articles, published material, advertisement, subscription and sale will be at courts/tribunals situated in the Republic of Turkey only.
The authors are asked to provide the raw data in connection with a article for editorial review.
The authors should ensure they have written entirely original works, and if they have used the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted. Authors should not publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. Proper acknowledgement of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. A article should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors (maximum 6 authors). Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors or you can cite them, cite their work. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the article, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the article and have agreed to its submission for publication. All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed. When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author´s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the article.
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.
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