1. SCOPE AND GENERAL INFORMATION
Argentum Journal of Engineering (AGJE) is the official publication of Gümüşhane University. It publishes original research articles, reviews, and letters to the editor in all fields of Science, Technology, and Engineering that have not been previously published elsewhere (survey studies do not fall within the journal’s scope).

Öneri: parantez içindeki 'survey studies do not fall within the journal’s scope' ifadesi belirsiz kalıyor; burada anket çalışmaları mı yoksa survey/review türü çalışmalar mı kastedildiği açık değil. Öneri: 'Questionnaire-based survey studies are outside the journal’s scope unless they provide a clear methodological, empirical, or engineering contribution.'

The journal aims to disseminate research and development outputs as scientific publications, to be indexed in national and international databases, and to contribute to global scientific knowledge.

2. LANGUAGE AND EXPRESSION
As of 2026, the journal accepts manuscripts only in English. Manuscripts should be written in clear, concise, and academic language and should follow a scientific writing style. When describing the studies conducted by the author(s), such as experimental studies and analyses, the use of the third person is recommended where appropriate. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts comply with grammar, spelling, and punctuation rules. 

3. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION
All correspondence related to the journal should be conducted through the interface provided by DergiPark. Manuscripts prepared in accordance with the journal’s writing guidelines should be submitted via the ULAKBİM DergiPark system at https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/agje, without the need for a printed copy.

Compliance with research and publication ethics is essential for accepted articles. The “Copyright Transfer Form” must be completed by the corresponding author. The publication process begins only after this form is submitted. Authors must also carefully review the “Ethical Principles and Publication Policy” available on the journal’s homepage.

In studies involving animals or harmful substances, an “Ethics Committee Approval Certificate” must be attached. For studies involving human participants, authors must certify compliance with the ethical standards of the authorized committee on human experimentation and with the revised Declaration of Helsinki (https://www.wma.net/what-we-do/medical-ethics/declaration-of-helsinki/)
 

Öneri: Etik uyum yalnızca kabul edilen makaleler için değil, tüm başvurular için geçerli olmalı. Öneri: 'Compliance with research and publication ethics is mandatory for all submitted manuscripts.' Form adı metinde iki farklı geçiyor; tek bir resmi ad seçilmeli. 'The publication process begins...' yerine 'The editorial evaluation process begins...' daha doğru olabilir. 'Animals or harmful substances' ifadesi etik kurul bağlamında net değil; zararlı maddeler için güvenlik/izin belgeleri gerekebilir ama her zaman etik kurul belgesi olmayabilir. İnsan çalışmaları için 'authorized committee on human experimentation' yerine 'authorized ethics committee' daha uygun.

4. PEER REVIEW PROCESS
AGJE applies a double-blind peer review system in order to ensure the quality, objectivity, and scientific integrity of published research. In this system, the identities of the authors and reviewers are kept confidential. Reviewers do not know the identity of the authors, and authors do not know the identity of the reviewers.

Manuscripts submitted to the journal go through the following stages:

Initial Screening: Manuscripts are first evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief in terms of the journal’s scope, scientific quality, and compliance with the author guidelines. During the preliminary control stage, similarity reports are generated using plagiarism detection software (Turnitin). The overall similarity index of the submitted manuscript must be below 20%, and the similarity from a single source must not exceed 4%. Manuscripts without the “Manuscript Submission and Copyright Transfer Form,” or those exceeding the similarity thresholds, are not considered for further evaluation. In addition, compliance with the journal template and formatting requirements is also checked at this stage.

Öneri: Yüzdelik eşiklerde kaynakça, doğrudan alıntı, yöntem bölümü gibi hariç tutulacak kısımlar varsa belirtilmeli.

Editorial Evaluation: Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are forwarded by the Editor-in-Chief to the relevant editor (handling editor) to proceed with the review process.

Reviewer Assignment: The editor assigns the manuscript to at least two independent reviewers who are experts in the relevant field for scientific evaluation. Reviewers are selected, whenever possible, from experts who are independent of the editorial board.  The peer review process is conducted in accordance with the principles of confidentiality and impartiality.

Peer Review: Reviewers evaluate manuscripts in terms of originality, scientific merit, methodological soundness, reliability of results, and relevance to the literature.

Editorial Decision: Based on the reviewers’ reports, the handling editor submits a recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief for final evaluation . The final decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief. If necessary, the Editor-in-Chief may appoint an additional reviewer or make the final decision based on the available reports  Editor-in-Chief makes one of the following decisions and communicates it to the authors with justification:

• Accept
• Minor Revision
• Major Revision
• Reject

Articles published in the journal may not be published elsewhere or presented as conference papers without proper citation. Partially or fully published articles may not be used elsewhere without appropriate reference. Manuscripts submitted to the journal must be original works that have not been previously published and are not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Authors must declare in their cover letter that the manuscript has not been submitted to another journal. In the event that a manuscript is rejected, the Manuscript Submission and Copyright Transfer Form becomes null and void. By completing and approving this form, authors transfer the rights of reproduction and distribution of the article, in whole or in part, to Gümüşhane University, in addition to granting permission for the article to be published in the AGJE and on the journal’s website.

Öneri: Bu bölüm telif, tekrar yayın ve konferans sunumu açısından daha dikkatli yazılmalı. 'Uygun atıfla başka yerde yayımlanabilir' gibi anlaşılmamalı; çünkü yeniden yayın için izin gerekebilir. Öneri: 'Articles published in AGJE may not be republished elsewhere without permission. Any subsequent use or presentation derived from the published article must properly cite the original publication.' Ayrıca telif devri/açık erişim lisansı etik politika dosyasındaki açık erişim politikasıyla uyumlu olmalı.

5. ARTICLE TYPES
The journal accepts the following types of manuscripts: 

5.1 Research Articles:
Research articles should present original scientific studies and provide sufficient detail to allow replication by experts in the field. Research articles must be prepared entirely in English and should include the following sections: Title, Author(s), Affiliations, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Aim, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion, and where applicable Ethical Statements, Author Contributions, Acknowledgements, References, and Figure and Table captions.

Öneri/Not: Başlıklar genel olarak uygun. Ancak 'Aim' bölümü dergi şablonunda ayrı bir başlık olarak gerçekten isteniyorsa kalmalı; aksi halde 'Objectives' veya Introduction içinde amaç ifadesi yeterli olabilir. Son kısımda 'Figure and Table captions' ayrı bir bölüm gibi değil, biçimsel unsur gibi yazılmalı.

5.2 Review Articles:
Review articles cover studies that aim to critically evaluate previously published research within the author(s)’ field of expertise, synthesize the existing literature, and present new perspectives or interpretations. Author(s) submitting a review article must have at least 10 publications indexed in SCI-Expanded, with a minimum of 5 publications directly related to the subject area of the review. Review articles must be prepared in English and should include sections similar to those of research articles. There is no upper limit on the word count or number of references for the main text; however, review articles are expected to present a comprehensive discussion of the literature and should include at least 40 references.

5.3 Letters to the Editor:
Letters to the Editor may include opinions, critiques, or explanations regarding articles previously published in the journal, or evaluations of current topics within the scope of the journal. Scope and ethical principles are taken into consideration during the evaluation of such manuscripts. Letters to the Editor must also be prepared in English. The main text should not exceed 1000 words, and the number of references should not exceed 10.

Öneri/Not: Review article şartı çok katı ve muğlak: bu şart tüm yazarlar için mi, sorumlu yazar için mi, yoksa en az bir yazar için mi geçerli açık değil. Öneri: 'At least one author, preferably the corresponding author, should have at least 10 publications indexed in SCI-Expanded, including at least 5 publications directly related to the review topic.' 'No upper limit' ifadesi yerine 'Although there is no fixed upper limit, review articles should be concise and focused' daha güvenli. Letter to the Editor bölümü için öneri: 'Such manuscripts are evaluated in accordance with the journal’s scope and ethical principles.'

6. MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION
Authors submitting to the journal must use the provided templates (available at:  https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/agje/page/21208) and upload all required documents to the journal website.

Öneri/Not: Bu bölüm çok kısa kalmış. Yazarların hangi belgeleri yüklemesi gerektiği açıkça listelenmeli: manuscript file, title page/blinded manuscript gerekiyorsa, copyright transfer form, ethics approval document, conflict of interest/funding statements gibi. Ayrıca şablon bağlantısının aktifliği ve doğru sayfaya yönlendirdiği kontrol edilmeli.