Volume: 4 Issue: 1, 10/13/22

Year: 2022

The Journal of Forensic Sciences and Crime Studies is focused on "Forensic Sciences" in terms of its purpose and has set itself the principle of publishing original theoretical and practical studies addressing problems related to Forensic Sciences and associated sub-disciplines at both national and international levels, in a disciplinary or interdisciplinary manner. It is open to all studies prepared in this context.

Forensic sciences, in today's world, is a branch of science that operates on the principle of examining and evaluating material evidence obtained during legal and administrative investigations, in the stages of identifying the crime and the criminal, and proving the crime and guilt. It draws support from many disciplines. For this science to develop and be properly implemented, it is crucial to be able to follow the disciplines it receives help from and the scientific developments and research in these areas. Forensic sciences, evolving on a multidisciplinary basis, have a field of study that encompasses areas such as medicine, biology, chemistry, anthropology, statistics, psychology, sociology, law, and economics, as well as their sub-disciplines. Therefore, the importance of working in this field in accordance with correct and scientific criteria and being able to publish these studies through the right sources is indisputable. It is believed that the Journal of Forensic Sciences and Crime Research can bring together many disciplines and offer them to researchers and academics, and can attain the status of a reference journal in this field.

The writing language is Turkish and English. For the writing and punctuation of Turkish articles and abbreviations, the Current Dictionary and Writing Rules on the website of the Turkish Language Institution are taken as a basis. Submitted articles should be clear, understandable, and conform to scientific standards in terms of language and expression.

Articles should include the following sections:

• Title: In Turkish and English

• Abstract: In Turkish and English (each 200-300 words)

• Keywords: In Turkish and English (each 3-8 words)

• Text: Introduction, section titles, and conclusion: In Turkish or English

• References

Excluding references, texts should be as follows:

For all basic sciences related to forensics, such as chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, statistics, engineering, and health, between 1500-5000 words. For social sciences related to forensics, such as psychology, linguistics, sociology, and law, between 4000 and 8000 words. The author's name should be written in italic bold, 11-point font on the line below the article title, on the right corner; the author's title, place of duty, and email address should be indicated in a footnote with an asterisk (*) in 9-point font. Other footnotes should be numbered and provided in the text or at the bottom of the page.

Font should be Times New Roman, 11-point, lines spaced one and a half. Footnotes related to explanations should be written in 9-point font and single-spaced.

For book reviews, pay attention to the following:

Book review texts should be between 1000 and 1500 words.

In title information, the name of the book being introduced or reviewed, its author, the city where it was published, the publisher, the publication year, and the ISBN number should be included.

The name of the author reviewing or introducing the book should be written in italic bold, 11-point font on the line below the article title, on the right corner. The title, place of duty, and email address should be indicated in a footnote with an asterisk (*) in 9-point font.

A book review should not just be a summary but should critically evaluate the book. The reviewer can agree with, oppose, or point out exemplary or lacking aspects of the book's information, judgments, or structure. The reviewer should also clearly express their thoughts about the book.

A book review sheds light on the most important points of a book, critically discussing them. It should follow a general structure of introduction, book summary, critical discussion, and conclusion.

Page Layout

The font inside the text should be 11-point Times New Roman. The page structure should be set to A4 paper size with top, bottom, right, and left margins of 2.5 cm (0.98 inches). It should be justified, with no hyphenation at the line ends. The space between paragraphs should be set to 1.25 for the first line, with 3 nk before and after, justified, and one and a half line spacing. Page numbers should be given at the bottom right.

Main Titles (First Level) should be centered and bold. A blank line should be left before and after.

Secondary Titles should be left-aligned and bold. It should be separated by a blank line from the previous paragraph.

Third Level Titles should be left-aligned and bold. Two consecutive colons should be placed at the end, and the paragraph should continue aligned with the title. There should be no line break from the previous paragraph.

Fourth Level Titles should be left-aligned, bold, and italicized. Two consecutive colons should be placed at the end, and the paragraph should continue aligned with the title. There should be no line break from the previous paragraph.

Fifth Level Titles should be left-aligned and italicized. Two consecutive colons should be placed at the end, and the paragraph should continue aligned with the title. There should be no line break from the previous paragraph.

It is not recommended to create more than five levels of titles.

Citation and Reference Writing

Citation

In the in-text method, the source is indicated inside parentheses. Citations are written in the same font as the article. In this method, after the quotation in the text, it is given as (Author's Last Name, Publication Year: Page Number) inside parentheses. If a direct quote is taken from a work or interview, if the quote is less than 3 lines, it is used within the sentence; if 3 lines or more, it is specified in a separate paragraph. This paragraph should be single-spaced, 9-point, and aligned 1.25 cm inwards from both sides.

Citations and references should be created with citation software, and links should be provided to their counterparts in the bibliography.
References

When giving source information, the author's surname is first, followed by their name. In a two-authored source, the word "and" is placed between the authors. For works with more than two authors, a semicolon (;) is placed between the authors, and "and" is placed before the last author. If there are more than three authors, the first author's name and surname are written, and "et al." is added.

Book: Author(s) Last Name, Initial(s). (Year of Publication). Book Title (Edition if it is not the first edition). City of Publication: Publisher.

Article: Author(s) Last Name, Initial(s). (Year of Publication). Article Title. Journal Name, Volume Number(Issue Number), page range.

AUTHORS' ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

Utmost care must be taken to adhere to scientific citation rules in works sent to the journal for publication.

Intellectual responsibility for articles published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences and Crime Research belongs to the authors. For clinical and experimental studies on humans and animals requiring an ethical committee decision, separate ethical committee approval must be obtained, this approval should be stated in the article and documented.

A part or all of the submitted article must not have been published elsewhere or sent to another place for publication.

All authors must have read and approved the relevant article and be aware that it has been sent to the journal for publication.

The article must be an original work written by the author/authors.

For translated article works sent to the magazine, a document showing that permission has been obtained from the original article's author and the publishing institution must be presented.

Authors are deemed to have transferred the copyright of the article to the journal from the moment the article is decided to be published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences and Crime Research. Author/authors cannot publish the article on another platform (journal, editorial book, website, blog, etc.) without permission from the journal's editorial.

The author/authors must fill out the "Plagiarism Check Report" and "Article copyright and ethics agreement" with the article and submit them to the journal through the system.

EDITOR AND FIELD EDITORS' ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

The editor and field editors of the journal should have the following ethical duties and responsibilities based on the "COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" and "COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) as open access:
General Duties and Responsibilities:

Editors are responsible for every publication in the Journal of Forensic Sciences and Crime Research. In this context, editors have the following roles and obligations:

Endeavor to meet the information needs of readers and authors.
Continuously ensure the journal's development.
Conduct processes aimed at improving the quality of studies published in the journal.
Support freedom of thought.
Ensure academic integrity.
Continue business processes without compromising intellectual property rights and ethical standards.
Show clarity and transparency in terms of publication for issues that require correction and clarification.
Relations with the Reader:

Editors should make decisions considering the information, skills, and experience expectations of all readers, researchers, and practitioners.
They should ensure that published studies contribute to readers, researchers, practitioners, and scientific fields and are original.
Editors are also obliged to consider feedback from readers, researchers, and practitioners and provide explanatory and informative feedback.
Relations with Authors:

The duties and responsibilities of editors towards authors are as follows:

Editors should make decisions based on the importance, original value, validity, clarity of expression of the works, and the objectives and goals of the journal.
Works appropriate to the publication scope should be included in the preliminary evaluation stage unless there's a serious problem.
Unless there's a serious problem with the work, editors should not ignore positive referee suggestions.
New editors should not change decisions given by previous editor(s) for studies unless there's a serious problem.
The "Blind Referee and Evaluation Process" must be published, and editors should prevent possible deviations in defined processes.
Editors should publish a "Guide for Authors" containing every issue expected from them in detail by the authors. These guides should be updated at certain intervals.
Authors should be provided with informative and explanatory notifications and feedback.
Relations with Referees:

The duties and responsibilities of editors to referees are as follows:

Referees should be determined according to the subject of the work.
Referees are obliged to provide the information and guides they will need during the evaluation phase.
They should check whether there's a conflict of interest between authors and referees.
Referee identities should be kept confidential in the context of blind refereeing.
Referees should be encouraged to evaluate the work in an unbiased, scientific, and objective language.
Referees should be evaluated with criteria such as timely return and performance.
Practices and policies should be determined to enhance the performance of referees.
Necessary steps should be taken to update the pool of referees continuously and dynamically.
Discourteous and unscientific evaluations should be prevented.
Steps should be taken to ensure that the referee pool consists of a broad spectrum.
Relations with the International Advisory Board:

The editor should ensure that all advisory board members proceed with processes according to publication policies and guidelines.
Advisory board members should be informed about publication policies and kept informed of developments.
They should ensure that advisory board members evaluate the works impartially and independently.
New advisory board members should be determined that can contribute and are qualified.
Works appropriate for the expertise of advisory board members should be sent for evaluation.
Regular interaction should be maintained with the advisory board.
Meetings should be held with the advisory board at certain intervals to discuss publication policies and the development of the journal.

No fee is charged from the author or institution