Author Guidelines

Abant Medical Journal only accepts manuscript submitted in English. The publication language of the journal is English.
Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with ICME Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (Updated: May 2022, Accessed: 05/04/2023, Available from: http://www.ICMJE.org). Manuscripts which do not comply with the format of the Journal will be returned to the author(s) for correction without further review. Therefore, to avoid loss of time and work, authors must carefully review the author guidelines rules.
Everyone listed as an author must meet the authorship criteria recommended by the ICMJE.

1. General Format

It is recommended to write the manuscript preferably in Times New Romans font, 12 points and double-spaced. Articles should be written in clear, short and fluent English, and spelling rules should be followed.

2. Article Type

Research Article: Original contributions are manuscripts containing substantial novel research. These articles can include randomized controlled trials, observational (cohort, case-control or cross-sectional) studies, descriptive studies, diagnostic accuracy studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, nonrandomized behavioral and public health intervention trials, experimental animal trials, or any other clinical or experimental studies. Abstracts should not exceed 300 words and should be structured with the following subheadings: Objectives (Amaç), Materials and Methods (Gereç ve Yöntemler), Results (Bulgular) and Conclusion (Sonuç). The main text should be structured with the following subheadings: Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Acknowledgments, References, Tables, and Figure Legends. The main text should not exceed 4000 words, excluding the abstract, references, tables, and figure legends. It is recommended not to exceed 30 references. All papers but cell studies require ethical approval.

Review Article: The review articles are comprehensive analyses of specific topics in medicine, which can also be written by invitation, due to the extensive experience and publications of authors on the review subjects. All review articles will also undergo peer review before acceptance. Review articles must not exceed 5000 words for the main text (excluding references, tables, and figure legends) and 400 words for the abstract. A review article can be signed by no more than 5 authors and can have no more than 80 references. Abstracts should not be configured, and sub-headings should not contain (Objectives (Amaç), Materials and Methods (Gereç ve Yöntemler), Results (Bulgular) and Conclusion (Sonuç)). Review articles do not require ethical approval.

Brief/Case Reports: Brief reports are short and peer-reviewed articles including small case series, case reports, negative trials, preliminary results, and others that are not to be published as a full-text papers. The main text should be less than 2000 words with a maximum of 20 references and have no more than 3 display items (Tables or figures). It is recommended not to exceed 200 words in the abstract. Abstracts should not be configured, and sub-headings should not contain sub-headings should not contain (Objectives (Amaç), Materials and Methods (Gereç ve Yöntemler), Results (Bulgular) and Conclusion (Sonuç)). In case reports, it should be stated that an "informed consent form" is taken.

Letter to the Editor: Letters about a journal article must not exceed 750 words (excluding references). An abstract is not required for this type of manuscript. A letter can be signed by no more than 4 authors and can have no more than 10 references and 1 figure or table. Authors might be asked for a reply to the letter. Replies must be submitted through the submission system as well.

Clinical Image: For educational purposes, the journal publishes original, interesting, and high-quality clinical images having a brief explanation (maximum 500 words excluding references but including figure legends) and of educational significance. The figure legend should contain no more than 100 words. It can be signed by no more than 5 authors and can have no more than 5 references and 1 figure or table. Any information that might identify the patient or hospital, including the date, should be removed from the image. An abstract is not required for this type of manuscript. The main text of clinical images should be structured with the following subheadings: Case, and References. All papers require the patient's consent.

Editorial Comment: Editorial comments are brief remarks on an article published in the journal by the reviewer of the article or by a relevant authority. Most comments are invited by the Editor-in-Chief but spontaneous comments are welcome. It must not exceed 1000 words (excluding references). An abstract is not required for this type of manuscript. It can have no more than 15 references and 1 figure or table.

Other: Editorials, editorial comments, book reviews, and reports on publication and research ethics are requested by the Editorial Board.

3. Clinical Trials and Reporting Guidelines

The Abant Medical Journal encourages the registration of all clinical trials via ClinicalTrials.gov (www.clinicaltrials.gov) or one of the registries of the WHO’s International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP: https://www.who.int/clinical-trials-registry-platform). Especially the phase 3 clinical trials must be registered at or before the time of first patient enrollment. The name of the registry and the registration number together with the information of funding source should be provided at the end of the abstract.
For further information on the reporting guidelines for health research, authors are suggested to refer to the EQUATOR network website (http://www.equator-network.org/). The EQUATOR Network collects more than 370 reporting guidelines for many study types, including for:
• Randomised trials: CONSORT
• Observational studies: STROBE
• Systematic reviews: PRISMA
• Case reports: CARE
• Qualitative research: SRQR
• Diagnostic / prognostic studies: STARD
• Quality improvement studies: SQUIRE
• Economic evaluations: CHEERS
• Animal pre-clinical studies: ARRIVE • Study protocols: SPIRIT
• Clinical practice guidelines: AGREE

4. Data Sharing

Please see the Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

5. Reporting Sex/Gender:

Please see the Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

6. Preprint:

Please see the Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

7. Preparation and Submission of Manuscript

The entire submission process for a manuscript is completed online through the self-explanatory online submission system through the website: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/journal/3391/submission/step/manuscript/new
The submission should be divided into SEPARATE files in the following order:
7.1. Cover Letter
7.2. Title Page
7.3. Main Document (title (without authors information), abstract, main text, references, tables, and figure legends. Abstract of the manuscript should be also submitted through the submission system)
7.4. Tables
7.5. Figures
7.6. Ethics Committee Approval form
7.7. Copyright Agreement and Acknowledgement of Authorship Form
7.8. The ICMJE Conflict of Interest form
7.9. Data-sharing Statement form

7.1. Cover Letter (As a separate file)

The cover letter should include the article title, the full name of the corresponding author, and type of article (research article, case report, review article, letter to editor etc.). The corresponding author should briefly summarize why his/her paper is a valuable addition to the scientific literature and specify the type of article he/she is submitting. The cover letter should also include a statement declaring the absence or presence of a conflict of interest (please refer to the ICMJE Conflict of Interest form page for details). Furthermore, there should be a statement that the manuscript has not already been published, accepted, or under simultaneous review for publication elsewhere. The Abant Medical Journal does not accept multiple submissions and duplicate submissions even though the previous one was published in a different language. Please refer to the ICMJE recommendations (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/overlapping-publications.html) on this subject for more details. For manuscripts that have been presented orally or as a poster, this must be stated on the title page with the date and the place of the presentation. An example of a cover letter can be found on the journal’s webpage.

7.2. Title Page

This should include:
• The complete manuscript title (no more than 150 characters)) both in Turkish and English.
• All authors' full names with ORCIDs, affiliations and e-mail addresses (all authors should meet the ICMJE’s requirements for authorship – see details at “Copyright Transfer and Acknowledgement of Authorship Form”)
• The name, address, phone number and email address of the corresponding author.
• Information about where and when the study has previously been presented.
Information about Ethics Committee Approval statement.
• Data Sharing Statement
• Author Contributions
• Informed Consent Statement
• Conflict/competing of Interest Statement
• Financial Disclosure Statement
• Acknowledgments: At the end of the article, it is given before the sources. Please acknowledge anyone who contributed to the study but did not meet the authorship criteria. Informed consent of acknowledged person also required.
An example of a title page can be found on the journal’s webpage.

7.3. Main Document (As a separate file)

The main document should include the title (both in Turkish and English), abstract (both in Turkish and English), main text, reference list, tables, and figure legends, respectively.

7.3.1. Abstracts
The Journal request abstract in Turkish and English. Research articles, review articles, and brief/case reports should include an abstract. Abstracts for original articles should be structured with the following subheadings: Objectives (Amaç), Materials and Methods (Gereç ve Yöntemler), Results (Bulgular) and Conclusion (Sonuç), Keywords (Anahtar Kelimeler). Structured abstracts are not required for articles and brief/case reports. Abstracts should not include citations. Clinical images, Editorials, Letters to the Editor should not contain an abstract.

Objectives (Amaç): The aim of the study should be clearly stated.
Materials and Methods (Gereç ve Yöntemler): The study should be described, including selection criteria, design (randomized, retrospective/prospective, etc.), and statistical methods applied, if applicable.
Results (Bulgular): The main results of the study should be stated and the statistical significance level should be indicated.
Conclusion (Sonuç): The results of the study should be summarized and the clinical applicability of the results should be defined.
Keywords (Anahtar Kelimeler): The abstract should be followed by 3 to 6 keywords provided in Index Medicus under “Medical Subject Heading (MeSH)”. Turkish keywords should be given in accordance with Turkish Science Terms (TBT; http://www.bilimterimleri.com).
Because abstracts are the most prominent part of an article in many electronic databases, authors should ensure that the abstract accurately reflects the content of the article. The abstract should include the purpose of the study, basic procedures (selection of subjects or laboratory animals, observational and analytical methods), main findings (giving specific effect sizes and statistical significance where possible), and main conclusions. New and important aspects of the study or observations should be noted.

7.3.2. Main Text
7.3.2.1. Research Articles

The main text of the article should include the following headings:

Introduction: The introduction should consist of a brief background to the subject and the study objective(s), supported by information from the literature. The introduction should provide background that puts the manuscript into context and allows readers outside the field to understand the purpose and significance of the study, define the problem addressed and why it is important, include a brief review of the key literature, note any relevant controversies or disagreements in the field and conclude with a brief statement of the overall aim of the work.

Materials and Methods: This section may be divided by subheadings and should contain sufficient detail so that when read in conjunction with cited references, all procedures can be repeated. For manuscripts reporting results on animal or human subject research, an ethics approval statement should be included in this section (for further information, see the our Ethical Principles and Publication Policy). When reporting a study that involved human participants, their data or biological material, authors should include statements in this section that confirms that the study was approved by the appropriate institutional and/or national research ethics committee (including the name of the ethics committee) and certify that the study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards and shows that written informed consent of patients and volunteers was obtained following a detailed explanation of the procedures that they may undergo (For persons under 18 years of age, written informed consent of both volunteers (if applicable) and both parents' signatures or the person's legal guardian or supervisor was obtained following a detailed explanation of the procedures that they may undergo). In experimental animal studies, the authors should include statements in this section that indicate that the procedures followed were by animal rights.
The study plan should be clearly described, including whether the study was randomized and retrospective or prospective, the inclusion and exclusion criteria applied, the patient/sample number and characteristics, data sources, patients or study participants, scales, interviews/evaluations and basic measurements, procedures and the statistical methods used. The method section should contain only the information known at the time of writing the study plan or protocol, all information obtained during the study should be given in the results section.
Selection of participants (patients, animals, controls) in the observational or experimental study, population, inclusion, and exclusion criteria should be clearly defined. Since the relationship of variables such as age and gender to the purpose of the study is not always clear, authors should explain their use in the study report, for example, why authors should explain only a certain age group was included or women were excluded from the study. It should be clearly stated why and how the work was done. When authors use variables such as ethnicity or race, they should explain how they measure and validate these variables.
The method and tools used (manufacturer company and address in parentheses: city and country) should be specified in detail. For previously used known methods (including statistical methods), reference should be given, for a published but not well-known method, the source should be given, and the method should be explained. Likewise, new, or significantly modified methods should be defined and the reasons for their use should be stated, and their limitations should be evaluated. All drugs and chemicals used should be correctly identified and their generic names, concentrations, doses, and usage patterns should be stated.
Statistics: The statistical method should be specified in such detail that a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data can confirm the reported results. Statistical terms, abbreviations and symbols should be defined. The computer program used should be specified.

Results: The results of the study should be stated, with tables/figures given in numerical order; the results should be evaluated according to the statistical analysis methods applied. See the Tables and Figures Sections of the Author Guidelines for details about the preparation of visual material.

Discussion: The study results should be discussed in terms of their favorable and unfavorable aspects, and they should be compared with the literature. The conclusion of the study should be highlighted. A paragraph of this section should state which data and analyses could not be included in the study, discuss the limitations of the study, and give recommendations for future studies.

Conclusion: This section should clearly explain the main conclusions of the article conclusions that can be drawn from the study, highlighting its importance and relevance.

7.3.2.2. Brief/Case Reports

Brief/Case reports should present cases that are rarely seen, feature novelty in diagnosis and treatment, and contribute to our current knowledge. The main text should include the introduction, case report, discussion, and references.
Information on informed consent to report individual cases or case series should be included in the manuscript text. A statement is required regarding whether written informed consent for patient information and images to be published was provided by the patient(s) or a legally authorized representative. Please do not submit the patient’s actual written informed consent with your article, as this in itself breaches the patient’s confidentiality. The Journal requests that you confirm to us, in writing, that you have obtained written informed consent but the written consent itself should be held by the authors/investigators themselves, for example in a patient’s hospital record. The confirmatory letter may be uploaded with your submission as a separate file.

7.3.2.3. Review Articles

Review articles can address any aspect of clinical or basic topic and should be written in a format that describes, discusses, and analyzes the current state of knowledge or clinical use based on the latest evidence and offers directions for future research. Most review articles are invited, but uninvited review submissions are also welcome. Contacting the field editor is recommended before submitting a review. Reviews articles analyze topics in depth, independently, and without bias. All cited literature should be referenced. Authors submitting a review should specify their methods of finding, selecting, separating, and synthesizing data. These methods should also be included in the abstract.

7.3.2.3. Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor should be short commentaries related to current developments in the topic and their scientific and social aspects or may ask questions or offer further contributions in response to articles published in the Journal. Any information that may indicate an individual or institution should be excluded from the main document to ensure a blinded review process.


7.3.3. References
Reference listings must be following ICMJE standards (NLM style) and be numbered consecutively at the end of the manuscript in the order in which they are mentioned in the text. Authors are encouraged to cite primary literature rather than review articles in order to give credit to those who have performed the original work. While citing publications, preference should be given to the latest, most up to date publications. If an ahead of print publication is being cited the DOI number should be provided. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references. Journal titles should be abbreviated following the journal abbreviations in Index Medicus/ Medline/PubMed (for journal abbreviations consult the List of Journals indexed for MEDLINE, published annually by NLM).
References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Each reference should be cited in the text using superscript Arabic numerals (e.g.,1, 3, 5…). Multiple references may be cited in the same instance. If you are citing sequential references, these should be indicated with a hyphen (e.g. (1-4)). Nonsequential references should be separated with commas. There should not be a space between numbers. References are found at the end of a manuscript and are titled “References” and each item should be listed in numerical order as opposed to alphabetically (standards summarized in the NLM’s Sample References webpage and detailed in the NLM’s Citing Medicine, 2nd edition). The format for author names is "Surname1 AB, Surname2 CD, ...". Note that there is a comma between each full name, but there is no punctuation within each name. If a reference has up to six authors, include them all. If there are more than six authors, list the first three, followed by "et al." Then add the name of the article (only the first letter of the sentence and the first letter of the special names will be capitalized), short journal name, year, volume, number, page number (15-8, not 15-18). A point should be placed at the end of the name of the journal. then doi number should be added. 

Examples of references are as follows:
7.3.3.1. Journal article
•Author AA, Author. Title of article. Abbreviated Journal Title. Date;volume(number):pages. doi: ######

• Author AA, Author BB, Author CC, et al. Title of article. Abbreviated Journal Title. Date;volume(number):pages. doi: ######

•Karabekmez FE, Irgın C, Sağlam İ, Görgü M. Facial Distraction Osteogenesis Applications. Abant Med J. 2012;01(01):1-7. doi:10.5505/abantmedj.2012.32042

7.3.3.1. Whole Book
• Murray PR, Rosenthal KS, Kobayashi GS, Pfaller MA. Medical microbiology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2002.

7.3.3.2. Chapter in a Book
• Wallace RJ Jr, Griffith DE. Antimycobacterial agents. In: Kasper DL, Fauci AS, Longo DL, Braunwald E, Hauser SL, Jameson JL, editors. Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine. 16th ed. New York (NY): McGraw-Hill; 2005. p. 946-53.

7.3.3.3. Article in electronic format
• Morse SS. Factors in the emergence of infectious diseases. Emerg Infect Dis (serial online) 1995 Jan-Mar (cited 1996 June 5): 1(1): (24 screens). Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2626828/pdf/8903148.pdf.

7.3.3.4. Dissertation
• Borkowski MM. Infant sleep and feeding: a telephone survey of Hispanic Americans [dissertation]. Mount Pleasant (MI): Central Michigan University; 2002.

For other reference styles, please refer to “ICMJE Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Sample References


7.3.4. Figure Legends

Legends for illustrations should be written starting on a separate page after references in the main text and Arabic numerals should be used for corresponding illustrations.

7.4. Tables (As a separate file)

Tables should be presented as a separate file and each table in a separate page. All tables should be referred to within the main text and they should be numbered consecutively in the order they are referred to within the main text. A descriptive title should be provided for all tables and the titles should be placed above the tables. Abbreviations used in the tables should be defined below the tables (even if they are defined within the main text). Tables should be created using the “insert table” command of the word processing software and they should be arranged clearly to provide an easy reading. Tables should be explanatory and facilitate readers’ understanding of the manuscript and should not repeat data presented in the main text. The following symbols should be used for footnotes, respectively: (*,†,‡,§,||,¶,**,††,‡‡).

7.5. Figures (As a separate file)

Figures, graphics, and photographs should be submitted as separate files (in TIFF or JPEG format) through the submission system. Figures should be made as self-explanatory as possible. If a figure has been published previously, acknowledge the original source, and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce it. They should not be embedded in a Word document. When there are figure subunits, the subunits should not be merged to form a single image. Each subunit should be submitted separately through the submission system. Thick and thin arrows, arrowheads, stars, asterisks, and similar marks can be used on the images to support figure legends. Like the rest of the submission, the figures too should be blind. Any information within the images that may indicate an individual or institution should be blinded. The minimum resolution of each submitted figure should be 300 DPI. To prevent delays in the evaluation process all submitted figures should be clear in resolution and large in size (minimum dimensions 100x100 mm).

Figure legends should be listed at the end of the main document. When there are figure subunits, the figure legends should be structured in the following format.

Example: Figure 1. Bland-Altman plots comparing three methods for measurement of glutathione levels. A. Method 1 vs method 2. B. Method 1 vs Method 3. C. Method 2 vs Method 3.

7.6. Ethics Committee Approval form (As a separate file)

As the Journal's policy, an approval of research protocols by an ethics committee following international agreements "WMA Declaration of Helsinki - Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects (last updated: October 2013, Fortaleza, Brazil)", "Guide for the care and use of laboratory animals (8th edition, 2011)" is required for all research studies. Every manuscript including retrospective studies submitted to the Abant Medical Journal as a Research Article should have the ethical approval by the ethical review board of the institution.

ULAKBIM TR Index made some new regulations to the criteria of 2020 regarding ethical rules. These regulations are summarized below. Please submit your manuscript according to these rules. Authors should obtain the relevant documents and upload them to the system together with their ethical committee approval.
1. "Ethics Committee Approval" is required for all kinds of research conducted with qualitative or quantitative approaches that require data collection from participants using survey, interview, focus group work, observation, experiment, and interview techniques.
2. The articles should state whether an ethical committee permit and/or legal/special permission is required. If these approvals are required, they should be presented from which institution, on what date, and with which decision or number.
3. "Ethics Committee Approval" is required for research using humans and animals (including materials/data) for experimental or other scientific purposes.
4. If the study involves the use of human or animal subjects, the international declaration of the study, guidance, etc. must be declared that it is performed properly.
5. "Ethics Committee Approval" is required for clinical studies on humans and animals.
6. By the law on the protection of personal data, "Ethics Committee Approval" is needed for retrospective studies.
* Retrospective ethics committee approval is not required for articles that were produced from postgraduate/doctoral studies using research data before 2020 (must be specified in the article) and were accepted for publication in the previous year, but have not yet been published.
** In studies that require ethics committee approval, ethics committee approval will be shared with the journal editor. In addition, the name of the committee, the date, and the issue number will be stated in the method section of the article and the ethics committee approval section on the last page of the article.
*** Researchers who are not members of the university can also apply to the Ethics Committees in their region.

7.7. Copyright Agreement and Acknowledgement of Authorship Form

This is a statement of the scientific contributions and responsibilities of all authors. The form is available for download on the journal’s webpage.
The ICMJE recommends that authorship be based on the following 4 criteria:
♦Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
♦Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
♦Final approval of the version to be published; AND
♦Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.”
A contributor should meet all four criteria to be identified as an author. If a contributor does not meet all four criteria, he/she should be acknowledged in the acknowledgments section of the manuscript.
For more details please refer to the ICMJE’s definition of the role of authors and contributors at http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html

7.8. The ICMJE Conflict of Interest form and Data-sharing Statement form

During submission, the ICMJE Conflict of Interest form should be filled out, saved to your computer, and submitted to the Journal together with your manuscript. Please refer to “conflict of interest policy” for more information. Abant Medical Journal requires authors to submit a Data-sharing Statement form for clinical trials and register a data-sharing plan when registering a clinical trial on or after May 1, 2023. Please refer to the “data-sharing policy” for more information.

7.9. Creative Commons License Agreement Form

After the acceptance of the articles, the corresponding author may be asked to sign the Creative Commons License Agreement form and send it to the publisher. Please refer to the “open access policy” for more information.

8. Other Topics

Units of Measurement: Measurements should be reported using the metric system according to the International System of Units (SI). Units of length, weight, and volume should be reported in the metric (meter, kilogram, liter) system and their decimal multiples. Temperatures should be in degrees Celsius, blood pressure in millimeters of mercury. Drug concentrations are given in either SI or mass units, alternatively in parentheses. Authors should report laboratory information in both local and International System of Units (SI).

Abbreviations and Symbols: Use only standard abbreviations, non-standard abbreviations can be very confusing for the reader. Abbreviations should be avoided in the title. Authors should limit their use in the avoid abstract and main text. Unless there is a standard unit of measurement, the long version of the abbreviations should be given in parentheses when first used.

9. Revised manuscript

When submitting a revised version of a paper, the author must submit a detailed “Response to reviewers” that states point by point how each issue raised by the reviewers has been covered and where it can be found (each reviewer's comment followed by the author’s reply and line numbers where the changes have been made) as well as an annotated copy of the main document.

Revised manuscripts must be submitted within 30 days from the date of the decision letter. If the revised version of the manuscript is not submitted within the allocated time, the revision option will be automatically cancelled by the submission system. If the submitting author(s) believe that additional time is required, they should request this extension before the initial 30-day period is over.

10. DOI (Digital Object Identifier) Number

Each published article is assigned a digital object identifier number (DOI).

11. Appeals And Complaints

Please see the Ethical Principles and Publication Policy.

12. Checklist

To finalize submission, the corresponding author should ensure that all files mentioned below have been uploaded (to access forms see the "Final Checklist"):

• Cover Letter
• Title Page
• Main Document (Turkish and English title (without authors information), Turkish and English abstract (300 words ), main text, references, tables, and figure legends. Abstract of the manuscript should be also submitted through the submission system)
• Tables
• Figures
• Ethics Committee Approval form
• Copyright Agreement and Acknowledgement of Authorship Form
• The ICMJE Conflict of Interest form
• Data-sharing Statement form