Türkiye Country Report: An Analysis of Diamond Open Access Publishing in Türkiye

The DIAMAS Türkiye Country Report presents a comprehensive analysis of the current
state of Diamond Open Access (OA) publishing in Türkiye. As part of the global DIAMAS
initiative, the report focuses specifically on Diamond OA journals that do not charge
article processing fees, aiming to enhance the infrastructure and practices of open
access publishing within the European Research Area (ERA).

Founded in 1963 with the mission to advance science and technology, conduct research,
and support Turkish researchers, the Scientific and Technological Research Council of
Türkiye (TÜBİTAK) is the principal organization responsible for supporting and directing
scientific and technological research in Türkiye. TÜBİTAK operates independently and
is governed by a Governing Board composed of distinguished academics from
universities, industry, and research institutions.

The analysis of responses to the DIAMAS survey highlights that TÜBİTAK's practices
related to Diamond Open Access services do not yet fully align with the desired
standards. Due to insufficient survey responses, this report has been prepared primarily
through a collaborative effort by a dedicated team within TÜBİTAK ULAKBIM.
In the Turkish academic landscape, there are three primary motivations for publishing
among academics and universities: academic promotion, incentives, and performance
evaluation. Academics face pressure to publish to advance their careers, while
universities strive to enhance academic productivity to improve their rankings.
Academic incentives play a critical role in shaping researchers’ publishing preferences.
In academic appointment and promotion processes, candidates are required to
accumulate points by publishing in journals indexed by WoS, Scopus, or TR Index.
Articles published in high-impact journals yield higher scores, with the intention of
encouraging researchers to produce quality publications. Universities that achieve high

rankings gain national and international recognition, becoming magnets for top-tier
academics and students. Quality publications not only enhance a university's prestige
but also contribute to the academic community through the content produced by
university presses, reflecting positively on the institution's overall success.
Open access publishing plays a significant role in alleviating the pressures placed on
authors, as it enables wider dissemination of research and supports academic
incentives and promotion opportunities. Furthermore, it enhances universities' visibility
in national and international rankings. Open access journals increase the visibility of
authors, thereby attracting more citations and contributing to academic success.
Supporting Diamond Open Access publishing represents a strategic approach to
meeting academic achievement criteria. The management and publication of Diamond
Open Access journals are facilitated in Türkiye through DergiPark, a platform provided
by TÜBİTAK for the digital publication of academic journals. Currently, TÜBİTAK
publishes 11 Diamond Open Access academic journals across various disciplines,
adhering to open access principles and serving the academic community. Approximately
800 articles are published annually in these journals. Most of the publications indexed in
TR Index, where scientific criteria are rigorously applied, are also open access. Further
details regarding DergiPark, TR Index, and TÜBİTAK Academic Journals can be found in
subsequent sections of this report.

TÜBİTAK's International Scientific Publications Incentive Program (UBYT) provides
financial support to authors publishing in journals indexed by WoS. This program
incentivizes Turkish researchers to publish more articles in high-visibility, high-impact
journals (Demir, 2018). Notably, in this program, open access publications receive higher
incentive scores compared to non-open access publications. Aligning the incentive
policies of open access journals with these measures not only supports authors but also
ensures that scientific knowledge reaches broader audiences.