Editorial Policy

The purpose of the journal is to promote the development of archaeological research in the Turan region and adjacent areas, to publish scientific results, and to ensure international scientific integration.

Objectives of the journal:

• Publication of contemporary scientific research in the field of archaeology
• Support for interdisciplinary studies (archaeogenetics, bioarchaeology, archaeometry)
• Providing opportunities for young scholars to publish their scientific work
• Development of international scientific cooperation
• Improvement of the quality of scientific publications

Scope of the journal: The journal accepts articles in the following research areas:

• Archaeology (field and theoretical studies)
• Bioarchaeology and archaeogenetics
• Archaeological anthropology
• Paleopathology and ancient diseases
• Archaeological GIS and digital methods
• Ethnoarchaeology

Publication languages: Kazakh, Turkish, Russian, English

Publication frequency

The journal is published in a scheduled manner in an online (electronic) format four times a year (quarterly), namely: the first issue - by March 30 of the current year, the second issue - by June 30, the third issue - by September 30, and the fourth issue - by December 30 of the current year.

Conditions for manuscript publication

The editorial office of the journal "Turan Archaeology" accepts previously unpublished articles in Kazakh, Turkish, Russian, and English that correspond to the journal's scope and are strictly formatted in accordance with manuscript requirements.

The manuscript of a scientific article must be submitted by the corresponding author to the editorial board no later than two months before the publication of the next issue. Manuscripts are accepted for publication if the main text contains no fewer than 3,000 and no more than 7,000 words; for articles written in English, the manuscript must be at least 10 pages in length.

The author must submit the manuscript via the electronic platform, indicating all metadata and all authors.

Authors must submit to the editorial office an original article that has not been previously published in other publications (printed, electronic, or other open sources). Authors are responsible for the accuracy, novelty, and validity of the research results. During the editing or peer-review process in the journal "Turan Archaeology", as well as after publication, the manuscript may not be submitted to other publications.

Communication between the editorial office, authors, and reviewers is carried out via the OJS electronic platform online and, if necessary, via email.

The author submits two versions of the manuscript to the editorial office, one of which must contain information about the authors (full name, academic degree, affiliation, etc.). A responsible specialist of the journal's scientific publications department verifies compliance of the manuscript with technical requirements.

The editorial office organizes peer review of submitted manuscripts, which must undergo mandatory anonymous (double-blind) peer review. Based on the results obtained, the editorial board and the scientific editor make the final decision on publication or rejection. On average, a decision on publication is made within approximately 8 months.

Publication of articles is carried out in general order according to the readiness of the material. The editorial office has the right to determine the order in accordance with the sections of upcoming issues.

Text borrowing and plagiarism

Plagiarism checking of scientific articles is carried out by the responsible secretary of the journal in accordance with the "Rules for Checking the Use of Text in Written Works of Students, Educational-Methodological and Scientific Works of Academic Staff" (UE-KhKTU-100-2022).

A scientific article must present the results of original research that have not been previously published and are not intended for publication in other sources.

The originality of the text of scientific articles submitted for publication must be at least 75%. If this threshold is not met, or if texts generated using artificial intelligence are detected, the article will be returned. Articles with originality above 75% that correspond to the journal's profile and publication requirements are accepted for consideration and sent for peer review.

Authors must guarantee that the research results presented in the manuscript are entirely original. All borrowed fragments and statements must be properly cited. Any form of plagiarism, including excessive text borrowing, distortion of sources, or appropriation of others' research results, is considered unethical and will lead to rejection. Data presented without references are regarded as plagiarism by the editorial board.

Authors bear full responsibility for any content created using artificial intelligence. The use of AI is permitted for statistical processing of data obtained during the research. In such cases, the AI source must be explicitly indicated, and principles of research ethics must be observed. It is also required to clearly specify in the "Materials and Methods" section which tools were used, for what purpose, and at which stage of the study. Scientific results, conclusions, and recommendations must be formulated independently by the author(s). The use of artificial intelligence for writing the main text, providing false information, or bypassing plagiarism detection is prohibited.

Type and procedure of peer review

All scientific articles submitted to the journal undergo mandatory double-blind peer review (reviewers do not know the authors, and authors do not know the reviewers).

Peer review is conducted by reviewers - leading experts in the relevant fields from internal and external/foreign institutions. The decision on selecting a reviewer is made by the editorial office. The review period is 2-4 weeks but may be extended upon request of the reviewer.

Each reviewer has the right to decline the review in case of a clear conflict of interest. Based on the results of manuscript evaluation, the reviewer provides one of the following recommendations:

• "Accept the article" - if there are no comments and the manuscript meets the requirements of relevance and scientific novelty;
• "Revision required" - the article is returned to the authors for corrections. After revision, the editorial office may decide on publication without resubmission to the reviewer;
• "Resubmit for review" - the revised manuscript is sent again to the reviewer. If substantial comments remain, a third round of review may be conducted. In case of minor comments, the editorial office may decide to accept the article. If a positive review is not obtained, the manuscript is rejected without the right to further consideration;
• "Reject the article" - if one reviewer provides a positive opinion and another a negative one, the manuscript is sent to a third reviewer. If the third reviewer's opinion is also negative, the article is rejected by editorial decision.

Reviewers are not permitted to use generative AI tools when evaluating manuscripts.

At the next editorial meeting, submitted articles are considered based on reviewer reports, and a final decision on publication or rejection is made.

Before publication, the article undergoes mandatory prepress preparation, including technical editing and verification of compliance with formatting standards and publication rules.

Copyright and licensing

The journal provides open access, allowing users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, and link to full texts without restriction. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication. All published materials are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, which allows free use provided that authorship and a reference to the journal are indicated. Authors may enter into additional agreements for non-exclusive distribution of the published version (e.g., placing it in repositories or publishing in a book), provided that a reference to the journal is included. Authors are also permitted to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on personal websites) both before and after publication.

Conflict of interest

According to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), a conflict of interest in scientific publishing refers to situations arising from financial, personal, or professional factors affecting authors, reviewers, or editors.

A conflict of interest may arise even after scientific evaluation by reviewers and the editorial board. In the event of disagreement between parties, the final decision regarding publication is made by the editorial office and editorial board.

Unpublished data obtained from submitted manuscripts must not be used for personal purposes or disclosed to third parties without the author's written consent. Information and ideas obtained during the review process must be kept confidential and not used for personal benefit. In cases of conflict of interest, editors must recuse themselves from handling the manuscript and assign it to another editor. Editors must require disclosure of competing interests and publish corrections if such interests are identified after publication. If necessary, additional measures may be taken (e.g., publication of a comment or expression of concern).

If a conflict of interest related to the manuscript content is identified, the scientific editor assigns the manuscript for re-evaluation by another reviewer.

The presence of a conflict of interest during the review process does not automatically result in rejection of the manuscript.

Open access. "Turan Archaeology" is an open-access journal of the Khoja Akhmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish University. All published articles are freely and openly accessible. Based on the principle that open access promotes the dissemination of knowledge, all articles are available to users directly through the journal's website archive. The website also provides comprehensive information for authors and readers, including publication conditions, manuscript preparation and submission guidelines, peer review procedures, publication ethics, information about the editorial board, and contact details.

Archiving. All readers and authors have full access to the current electronic issues of the journal as well as archives of previous years.