Policies

1) Open Access Policy

WATERRA (Welch Academy – Tourism, Exploration, Research and Recreational Approaches) publishes all content with immediate, free, and permanent open access. We support the widest possible dissemination of research for public benefit.

2) Copyright & License

Authors retain copyright. Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits sharing, adaptation, and commercial use with appropriate credit to the original work. Please include the license statement in your article’s metadata and PDF. welchacademy.com

3) Publication Frequency

The journal is published twice a year. Special issues may be announced by the Editorial Board. welchacademy.com

4) Article Processing Charges (APC) & Fees

No submission fees and no APCs are charged. If this policy changes, updates will be posted here before taking effect.

5) Peer-Review Policy

  • Model: Double-anonymous (authors and reviewers are blinded during review).

  • Reviews: At least two independent expert reviews are required; a third review may be solicited when necessary.

  • Timeline expectation: Reviewers are asked to complete reports within 2 weeks.

  • Decisions: Accept, Minor Revisions, Major Revisions, or Reject. welchacademy.com

6) Editorial Independence & Conflicts of Interest

  • Decisions are based solely on scholarly merit, methodological rigor, and contribution to the field.

  • All authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose financial, institutional, personal, or academic conflicts of interest.

  • Editors recuse themselves from handling submissions in which they have a conflict (e.g., authorship, close collaboration, or institutional ties).

7) Authorship & Contributions

  • Authorship criteria follow ICMJE: substantial contribution to conception/design or data acquisition/analysis/interpretation; drafting or critical revision; final approval; and accountability for all aspects of the work.

  • CRediT taxonomy (e.g., Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing, Supervision, Funding acquisition) must be listed under Author Contributions.

  • Changes to authorship (additions, removals, or order changes) after initial submission require written consent from all authors with justification.

8) Research Ethics & COPE Compliance

WATERRA adheres to the principles and flowcharts of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Prohibited practices include duplicate submission, redundant or salami publication, plagiarism (including self-plagiarism), data fabrication or falsification, and inappropriate image manipulation. Confirmed violations may lead to rejection, retraction (if published), and notification of institutions and funders.

9) Human Participants, Data Protection & Sensitive Materials

  • Studies involving human participants (e.g., interviews, surveys, observations) require Ethics Committee approval and informed consent. Provide the name of the committee, approval number/date, and consent procedures in the manuscript.

  • Personal data must be anonymized or pseudonymized and handled in compliance with applicable data-protection regulations (e.g., GDPR/KVKK).

  • Fieldwork in protected areas or with restricted materials must include evidence of permits or permissions.

10) Data, Code, and Materials Availability

We encourage authors to deposit data, code, and supplementary materials in trusted open repositories (e.g., Zenodo, OSF, institutional repositories) and to include a Data Availability Statement describing where and how to access them, or explaining restrictions (privacy, license, third-party rights).

11) Preprints and Prior Dissemination

WATERRA accepts submissions previously shared as preprints (e.g., OSF Preprints, SSRN). After acceptance, authors should update the preprint with the accepted manuscript or link to the version of record and provide the final citation/DOI.

12) Plagiarism Screening & Research Integrity

All submissions are screened with similarity-checking software (e.g., iThenticate/Turnitin). The Editorial Board may request clarifications, raw data, or protocol details. Suspected misconduct is investigated in line with COPE guidance.

13) Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

  • Corrections (errata/corrigenda): Issued for significant but honest errors that do not invalidate the findings.

  • Expression of Concern: Issued when serious doubts arise while an investigation is ongoing.

  • Retractions: Issued when findings are unreliable due to misconduct or major error; notices state the reasons transparently and remain linked to the original record.

14) Privacy, Confidentiality & Anonymous Review

  • Identities of authors and reviewers are kept confidential during peer review.

  • Editorial communications and reviewer reports are confidential and may not be shared without permission.

15) Archiving & Self-Archiving

Authors may self-archive the accepted manuscript (AAM) or the published version in personal webpages and institutional or subject repositories, provided they cite the version of record and include the CC BY 4.0 license statement. The journal maintains regular backups; long-term preservation services may be added as partnerships develop.

16) Complaints & Appeals

Appeals to editorial decisions should present specific, evidence-based arguments (e.g., a methodological point overlooked by reviewers) and will be evaluated by an independent editor or reviewer as needed.
Complaints about editorial processes should be sent to the Editor-in-Chief.
Contact: muhammetkinikli@mersin.edu.tr (Editor) | Phone: +90 537 507 79 79. welchacademy.com

17) Advertising & Sponsored Content

WATERRA does not publish advertisements or paid content. For sponsored research, authors must disclose funder roles and any associated conflicts of interest in the manuscript.

18) Use of AI Tools

  • AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Human authors are responsible for the content’s accuracy and integrity.

  • If AI tools are used for language editing, formatting, coding, analysis, or figure generation, authors must disclose the tool(s) and the scope of use in the Methods or Acknowledgments.

  • Authors must ensure no confidential or personal data were exposed to AI tools and that all research ethics and data-protection requirements were respected.

19) Funding & Acknowledgments

Disclose all funding sources, grant numbers, and sponsor roles. Acknowledge contributions that do not meet authorship criteria (e.g., technical support, language editing) in the Acknowledgments. Declare Conflicts of Interest in a dedicated section.