You can access the Article Submission Guidelines here.

You can access the Article Submission Guidelines video here.

For comprehensive information regarding the journal's policies on submission, peer-review, publication, and ethical standards, kindly visit the Policies page. Similarly, for detailed information about the journal, please visit the Aims and Scope page.

Manuscripts submitted for evaluation should be original and not previously presented or published in any electronic or print medium. If a manuscript was previously presented at a conference or meeting, authors should provide detailed information about the event, including the name, date, and location of the organization.

Authors are required to prepare manuscripts in accordance with the relevant guideline listed below:

• Observational original research studies: STROBE guidelines
• Systematic reviews and meta-analysis: PRISMA guidelines (for protocols, please see the PRISMA-P guidelines)
• Qualitative research: SRQR guidelines

To find the right guideline for your research, please complete the questionnaire by Equator Network here.

Ahbar encourages authors to follow the ‘Sex and Gender Equity in Research – SAGER – guidelines’ when preparing their manuscripts to promote the inclusion of sex and gender considerations in research. Before submission, authors can consult EASE Guidelines for Authors and Translators to produce clear, concise and accurate manuscripts that are easy to understand and free of common errors and pitfalls.

The style of manuscripts should follow the The Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition (Notes and Bibliography).

Manuscripts can only be submitted through the journal’s online manuscript submission and evaluation system (https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ahbar). Manuscripts submitted via any other medium and submissions by anyone other than one of the authors will not be evaluated.

In addition to the manuscript files, authors are required to submit the following during the initial submission:
- Copyright Agreement and Acknowledgement of Authorship Form
- Title Page

PREPARATION OF THE MANUSCRIPT
Title page: A separate title page should be submitted with all submissions and this page should include:
• The full title (max 10 word) of the manuscript as well as a short title (running head) of no more than 50 characters,
• Name(s), affiliations, academic degree(s), and ORCID IDs of the author(s),
• Grant information and detailed information on the other sources of support,
• Name, address, telephone (including the mobile phone number), and email address of the corresponding author,
• Acknowledgment of the individuals who contributed to the preparation of the manuscript but who do not fulfill the authorship criteria,
• If the author(s) is a member of the journal’s Editorial Board, this should be specified in the title page.

Abstract: All manuscripts must include a brief but informative Abstract. Please check Table 1 below for word count specifications.

Keywords: Each submission must be accompanied by a minimum of three to a maximum of six keywords for subject indexing at the end of the abstract. The keywords should be listed in full without abbreviations.

Manuscript Types
Original Articles: Research articles provide new information based on original research. The acceptance of research articles is typically based on the originality and importance of the research. The main text of a Original Article should be structured with subheadings, including Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion and Recommendations.

Please check Table 1 for the limitations for Original Articles. You can review the ethical principles flow chart for research articles here.

Review Articles
Review articles that are written by authors with extensive knowledge and expertise in a particular field and a strong track record of publication are welcomed. These authors may even be invited to contribute a review article to the journal. Review articles should provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge on a topic in the journal’s topic, and should include discussions and evaluations of relevant research.

Please check Table 1 for the limitations for Review Articles.

Letters to the Editor
A "Letter to the Editor" is a type of manuscript that discusses important or overlooked aspects of a previously published article. This type of manuscript may also present articles on subjects within the scope of the journal that are of interest to readers, particularly educational cases. Readers can also use the "Letter to the Editor" format to share their comments on published manuscripts. The text of a "Letter to the Editor" should be unstructured and should not include an abstract, keywords, tables, figures, images, or other media. The manuscript that is being commented on must be properly cited within the "Letter to the Editor."

Editorial Comments
Invited editorial comments on selected articles are published in the journal to provide expert insight and critical analysis of the research presented. These comments are written by authors who have demonstrated expertise or a high reputation in the topic of the research article. The journal carefully selects and invites these authors to contribute their comments. The editorial comments should not exceed 1000 words in length and should not include an abstract, keywords, tables, figures, images, or other media.

Table 1. Limitations for each manuscript type

*Word limit should not include the abstract, references, tables, and figure legends.

Tables
Tables should be included in the main document, after the reference list, and they should be numbered consecutively in the order they are referred to within the text. Each table should have a descriptive title placed above it, and any abbreviations used in the table should be defined below the table by footnotes (even if they are defined in the main text). Tables should be created using the "insert table" command of the Word processing software, and they should be arranged clearly to make the data easy to read and understand. The data presented in the tables should not be a repetition of the data presented in the main text, but should support and enhance the main text.

Figures and Figure Legends
Figures should be submitted as separate files in TIFF or JPEG format, and they should be embedded in the Word document. If a figure has subunits, be merged into a single image, the figures should be labeled (a, b, c, etc.) to indicate subunits. The minimum resolution of each figure should be 300 DPI, and the figures should be clear and easy to read. Figure legends should be listed at the end of the main document. Figures should be referred to within the main text, and they should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are mentioned.

Abbreviations
All acronyms and abbreviations used in the manuscript should be defined at first use, both in the abstract and in the main text. The abbreviation should be provided in parentheses following the definition, and it should be used consistently throughout the paper.

Identifying products
When mentioning a drug, product, hardware, or software program in a manuscript, it is important to provide detailed information about the product in parentheses. This should include the name of the product, the producer of the product, and the city and country of the company.
For example, if mentioning a Discovery St PET/CT scanner produced by General Electric in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, the information should be presented in the following format: "Discovery St PET/CT scanner (General Electric, Milwaukee, WI, USA)." Providing this information helps to ensure that the product is properly identified and credited.

Supplementary Materials
Supplementary materials, including audio files, videos, datasets, and additional documents (e.g., appendices, additional figures, tables), are intended to complement the main text of the manuscript. These supplementary materials should be submitted as a separate section after the references list. Concise descriptions of each supplementary material should be included to explain their relevance to the manuscript. Page numbers are not required for supplementary materials.

References
Both in-text citations and the references must be prepared according to the The Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition (Notes and Bibliography).

In-text references should include the author's surname and publication date in parentheses. Since publications in Social Sciences are voluminous in terms of pages, the number of pages must be used in our journal after the year of publication.


Author or Authors: A book may be written by one or more authors. In works with one, two or three authors, the names and surnames of the authors must be written in full. In works with four or more authors, only the name and surname of the first author is written. Other authors (and others are cited as “et al.”). This rule is not required for authors without surnames. Their names or names are written as they are.

In Footnote
Single author; Name and surname,

With Two Authors; Name Surname and Name Surname

With Three Authors; Name Surname, Name Surname and Name Surname

With Four or More Authors; Name and Surname of the first author etc.,

In Reference

Single Author; Surname, Name.

With Two Authors; Surname, Name, and Name Surname.

With Three Authors; Surname, Name, Name Surname, and Name Surname.

With four or more authors; Surname, Name, Name Surname, Name Surname, and Name Surname.

Editor or Editors: A book may have been reviewed or edited by one or more editors. In works with one, two or three editors, the full names and surnames of the editors must be written. In works with four or more editors, only the name and surname of the first editor is written. Other editors (and others are cited as “et al.”). The editor or editors write “ed.” immediately after the name of the work in the footnote. It is indicated by its abbreviation. The spelling method of editor names is the same as author names. When cited in the bibliography, “ed.” abbreviation is not used. "edited by" is written instead.

Translator or Translators: A book may have been translated by one or more translators. In works with one, two or three translators, the names and surnames of the translators must be written in full. In works with four or more translators, only the name and surname of the first translator is written. Other translators (and others are cited as “et al.”). Translators, if there is no editor of the book, write “trans” immediately after the name of the work in the footnote. It is indicated by the abbreviation. If it is an edited book, the translator's names are written after the editor's names. The spelling procedure for translator names is the same as the spelling procedure for author and editor names. When stated in the bibliography, “trans.” abbreviation is not used. Instead, "Translated by" is written.

Number of Editions: This value shows how many times the work was printed. A book may have been published more than once in the same or different years. Since the publication dates of the works that were published several times in different years will be different, it is up to the discretion of the researcher to indicate this value in the footnote or bibliography. However, in case there may be changes in the content of a work that is printed more than once in the same year, the print number of this work is "1st” It is definitely not specified with its abbreviation.

Volume: A book may have more than one volume. In this case, the volume number of the book is "vol." in the footnote and "Vol." in the bibliography. It should be specified as .

Place of Publication: The city where the book was published.

Publisher: The institution or organization that publishes the book.

Date: The date the book was published.

Page: It refers to the page or range of pages where the referenced information is located. It is shown only in the footnote. When displaying the page number, “p.” The abbreviation is not used. If the referenced information covers more than one page, a (-) sign is placed after the first page number is given, the last page number is entered and ended with (.). When referring to the page range; ✘ Incorrect: 157-158. Correct: 157-58.

DOI: "Digital Object Identifier" is a system used to uniquely identify digital objects. It is frequently used especially in academic and scientific publications. A DOI provides a permanent identification of a digital object (for example, an article, a dataset, or a book). The DOI number is usually presented in a format such as "doi:10.0000/abcd" and can be used to reference a specific digital object, allowing easy access to that object.

URL: "Uniform Resource Locator" is an address system used to specify the location of a web page, a file, or an internet resource. URLs are often used in Internet browsers and allow users to access a specific resource.
Footnote and Reference Examples

Index of Abbreviations

trans.: Translated by
ed. : Edited by
cop.: Copied by
ver.: Verified by
pub.: Published by
prep. : Prepared by
prep. pub. : Prepared for Publication by
ed.: edition
vol. : Volume
vols. : Volumes
no.: Issue
et al.: and others


Book
Notes
İbnü’l Esîr, İslâm Tarihi: el-Kâmil fi’t-Târîh Tercümesi, trans. Ahmet Ağırakça et al., 1st ed., vol. 9, 10 vols. (İstanbul: Ocak Yayıncılık, 2016), 89.
el-Makrîzî, es-sülûk li ma'rifeti Düveli'l-Mülûk, ver. Muhammed Abdulkadir Atâ, vol. 5, (Beyrut: Dâru’l-Kütübi’l- İlmiyye, 1997), 377.
Mehmet Levent Kaya, trans., Moğolların Gizli Tarihçesi, 1st ed., (İstanbul: Kabalcı Yayıncılık, 2011), 66.
Ca’ferî b. Muhammed el-Hüseynî, Târîh-i Kebîr (Tevârîh-i Enbiyâ ve Mülûk), trans. İsmail Aka (Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları, 2011), 100-105.
Ruy Gonzâlez de Clavijo, Timur Devrinde Kadis’ten Semerkant’a Seyahat, trans. Ömer Rıza Doğrul (İstanbul: Köprü Kitapları, 2016), 89.
Serkan Acar, Kâsım Hanlığı (İstanbul: IQ Kültür Sanat Yayıncılık, 2008), 51.
Savaş Eğilmez and Ensar Macit, Bozkırın Son Fatihi Emir Timur: Tarihi ve Avrupa Diplomasisi (Ankara: Gece Kitaplığı, 2018), 150-51.

Shortened notes
İbnü’l Esîr, el-Kâmil fi’t-Târîh, 9:110.
el-Makrîzî, es-sülûk li ma'rifeti Düveli'l-Mülûk, 5:379.
Kaya, Moğolların Gizli Tarihçesi, 68.
el-Hüseynî, Târîh-i Kebîr, 150.
Ruy Gonzâlez de Clavijo, Kadis’ten Semerkant’a Seyahat, 192.
Acar, Kâsım Hanlığı, 53.
Eğilmez and Macit, Bozkırın Son Fatihi Emir Timur, 160.

Bibliography entries (in alphabetical order)
Acar, Serkan. Kâsım Hanlığı. İstanbul: IQ Kültür Sanat Yayıncılık, 2008.
Ca’ferî b. Muhammed el-Hüseynî. Târîh-i Kebîr (Tevârîh-i Enbiyâ ve Mülûk). Transleted by İsmail Aka. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu, 2011.
Eğilmez, Savaş, and Ensar Macit. Bozkırın Son Fatihi Emir Timur: Tarihi ve Avrupa Diplomasisi. Ankara: Gece Kitaplığı, 2018.
el-Makrîzî. es-sülûk li ma'rifeti Düveli'l-Mülûk. Verified by Muhammed Abdulkadir Atâ. Vol. 5, Beyrut: Dâru’l-Kütübi’l- İlmiyye, 1997.
İbnü’l Esîr. İslâm Tarihi: el-Kâmil fi’t-Târîh Tercümesi. Translated by Ahmet Ağırakça, Beşir Eryarsor, Zülfikar Tüccar, Abdulkerim Özaydın, Yunus Apaydın ve Abdullah Köse. 1st ed. Vol. 9. 10 vols. İstanbul: Ocak Yayıncılık, 2016.
Kaya, Mehmet Levent, trans. Moğolların Gizli Tarihçesi. 1st ed. İstanbul: Kabalcı Yayıncılık, 2011.
Ruy Gonzâlez de Clavijo. Timur Devrinde Kadis’ten Semerkant’a Seyahat. Translated by Ömer Rıza Doğrul. İstanbul: Köprü Kitapları, 2016.

Chapter or other part of an edited book
Note
Savaş Eğilmez and Ahmet Safa Yıldırım, “Bayramlu Beyliği ve Beylik Mirası Olarak ‘Ordu’ Adı”, in Çayeli’nden Erzurum’a Yrd. Doç. Dr. Cemil Kutlu Armağan Kitap, ed. Selami Kılıç and Ahmet Safa Yıldırım (Erzurum: Atatürk Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2016), 320-21.
Ahmet Safa Yıldırım, “Beyliğin Adı Üzerine Bir Analiz: Hacıemiroğulları mı? Bayramlu mu?”, in Orta Karadeniz’de Türk İskânı: Bayramlı/Hacıemiroğulları Beyliği, ed. Sadullah Gülten et al. (Ordu: Ordu Büyükşehir Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2023), 17.

Shortened note
Eğilmez ve Yıldırım, "Bayramlu Beyliği", 316.
Yıldırım, “Beyliğin Adı Üzerine Bir Analiz”, 18.

Bibliography entry
Eğilmez, Savaş and Ahmet Safa Yıldırım. “Bayramlu Beyliği ve Beylik Mirası Olarak ‘Ordu’ Adı”. In Çayeli’nden Erzurum’a Yrd. Doç. Dr. Cemil Kutlu Armağan Kitap. edited by Selami Kılıç and Ahmet Safa Yıldırım. 307-46. Erzurum: Atatürk Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2016.
Yıldırım, Ahmet Safa. “Beyliğin Adı Üzerine Bir Analiz: Hacıemiroğulları mı? Bayramlu mu?”. In Orta Karadeniz’de Türk İskânı: Bayramlı/Hacıemiroğulları Beyliği. edited by Sadullah Gülten, Murat Özkan, Mesut Karakulak and Kamil Yavuz. 13-27. Ordu: Ordu Büyükşehir Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2023.

Manuscript
Note
Hâce Kerîmüddin Mahmud b. Muhammed, “Tezkire-i Aksarâyî der Târih-i Hulefâ ve Âl-i Selçuk ve Âl-i Cengiz”, cop. Muhammed b. Ali Katib h 745, 112-13, Ali Emiri Koleksiyonu, 34 Ae Farsça 674, İstanbul Millet Kütüphanesi.

Shortened note
Hâce Kerîmüddin Mahmud, “Tezkire-i Aksarâyî der Târih-i Hulefâ”, 13.

Bibliography entry
Hâce Kerîmüddin Mahmud b. Muhammed. “Tezkire-i Aksarâyî der Târih-i Hulefâ ve Âl-i Selçuk ve Âl-i Cengiz”. Copied by Muhammed b. Ali Katib, 745(h). Ali Emiri Koleksiyonu, 34 Ae Farsça 674, İstanbul Millet Kütüphanesi.

Journal Article
Notes
Erkan Göksu, “Türkiye Selçuklu Devleti’ne Tâbi‘ Devletler ve Tâbiiyet Hukuku Üzerine Bir Değerlendirme”, Belleten 81, no. 290 (April 2017): 47.
Savaş Eğilmez, Ahmet Safa Yıldırım and Yunus Emre Aydın, “Ceneviz Ticaret Kolonisi Simisso (1280-1420)”, Tarih İncelemeleri Dergisi 36, no. 2 (December 2021): 533-34, https://doi.org/10.18513/egetid.1050201.

Shortened notes
Göksu, “Türkiye Selçuklu Devleti’ne Tâbi‘ Devletler”, 60.
Eğilmez, Yıldırım ve Aydın, “Ceneviz Ticaret Kolonisi Simisso”, 540.

Bibliography entries (in alphabetical order)
Eğilmez, Savaş, Ahmet Safa Yıldırım and Yunus Emre Aydın. “Ceneviz Ticaret Kolonisi Simisso (1280-1420)”. Tarih İncelemeleri Dergisi 36, no. 2 (December 2021): 527-63. https://doi.org/10.18513/egetid.1050201.
Göksu, Erkan. “Türkiye Selçuklu Devleti’ne Tâbi‘ Devletler ve Tâbiiyet Hukuku Üzerine Bir Değerlendirme”. Belleten 81, no. 290 (April 2017): 43-65.

Encyclopedia Article
Note
Ali Sevim, “Malazgirt Muharebesi”, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 27 (Ankara: Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı Yayınları, 2003), 482.

Shortened note
Sevim, “Malazgirt Muharebesi”, 483.

Bibliography entry
Sevim, Ali. “Malazgirt Muharebesi”, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 27:481-83. Ankara: Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı Yayınları, 2003.

Thesis
Note
Ahmet Safa Yıldırım, "XIII–XV. Yüzyıllarda Karadeniz’de Ceneviz Ticaret Kolonileri ve Ticaret" (PhD diss. Ataturk University, 2022), 210-20.

Shortened note
Yıldırım, "Karadeniz’de Ceneviz Ticaret Kolonileri ve Ticaret", 222.

Bibliography entry
Yıldırım, Ahmet Safa. "XIII–XV. Yüzyıllarda Karadeniz’de Ceneviz Ticaret Kolonileri ve Ticaret". PhD diss., Ataturk University, 2022.

PRODUCTION
Once a manuscript has been accepted for publication, it goes through a copy-editing process by professional language editors to ensure that it is clear and well-written. This process may involve correcting grammar, punctuation, and formatting errors, as well as making changes to improve the overall clarity and readability of the manuscript.

After the copy-editing process is complete, the manuscript is published online as an "ahead-of-print" publication, which means that it is available to readers before it is included in a scheduled issue of the journal. This allows readers to access the latest research as soon as it becomes available.

Before the manuscript is officially published, the corresponding author is sent a PDF proof of the accepted manuscript for review. The corresponding author is asked to review the proof and approve it for publication within a specified time period, typically 2 days. This is an important step in the publication process, as it allows the author to catch any errors or make any final changes before the manuscript is published.

Open Access Policy
Ahbar is an open access publication.

All content published in the journal is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 International License which allows third parties to use the content for non-commercial purposes as long as they give credit to the original work. This license allows for the content to be shared and adapted for non-commercial purposes, promoting the dissemination and use of the research published in the journal.

All published content is available online, free of charge at https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ahbar.

When using previously published content, including figures, tables, or any other material in both print and electronic formats, authors must obtain permission from the copyright holder. Legal, financial and criminal liabilities in this regard belong to the author(s).

Copyright Policy
Ahbar requires each submission to be accompanied by a Copyright Agreement and Acknowledgement of Authorship form (available for https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ahbar). By signing this form, authors retain the copyright of their work and agree that the article, if accepted for publication by the Ahbar will be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 International License which permits third parties to share and adapt the content for non-commercial purposes by giving the appropriate credit to the original work.

When using previously published content, including figures, tables, or any other material in both print and electronic formats, authors must obtain permission from the copyright holder. Legal, financial and criminal liabilities in this regard belong to the author(s).

Authors retain the copyright of their published work in the Ahbar.

Self-Archiving Policy
Authors retain the right to self-archive their work on their institutional or personal websites, as well as in open access repositories, after publication. It is expected that authors appropriately acknowledge the original publication and include the DOI number when sharing their articles. Additionally, authors are requested to provide a link from the deposited version to the URL of the publisher's website. This requirement is intended to safeguard the integrity and authenticity of the scientific record, with the online published version on the publisher's website clearly identified as the definitive version of record.

Publication Fee Policy
Ahbar is funded by the Atatürk University.
Authors are not required to pay any fees during the evaluation and publication process.

Advertising Policy
Ahbar accepts digital advertisements on its website. These ads must be approved by the journal's Editorial Board and management, and must be clearly labeled as advertisements. Advertisers have no influence on editorial decisions or advertising policies.

Those interested in advertising in the journal should contact the Editorial Office.

Peer Review Process
Manuscripts submitted to Ahbar will go through a double anonymized peer-review process where both authors and reviewers are anonymous to each other. Each submission will be reviewed by at least two external, independent peer reviewers who are experts in their fields in order to ensure an unbiased evaluation process.

Submissions will first go through a technical evaluation process during which the editorial office staff will ensure that the manuscript was prepared and submitted in accordance with the journal’s guidelines. Submissions that do not conform to the journal’s guidelines will be returned to the submitting authors with technical correction requests.

Submissions that conform to the journal’s guidelines will be assigned to the Editor in Chief who will assess each submission’s suitability to the journal in terms of scope and quality. Submissions that are not suitable for the journal can be rejected at this stage.

For papers that are suitable for the journal, the Editor in Chief will work with Editors who will recruit reviewers for the manuscript. Once assigned, Editors can decide to reject a manuscript, continue with the peer review process, or request revisions before further peer-review.

Editors will submit their recommendations that are based on reports submitted by the reviewers to the Editor in Chief. Revised manuscripts will be reassessed by the Editors who will aim to work with the original reviewers to make a new recommendation.

The Editor in Chief is the final authority in the decision-making process for all submissions.

In the event of delays, authors will be informed of the reason for the delay and given the opportunity to withdraw their manuscript.

Once the peer-review process is completed, the authors will receive anonymous peer-review reports along with the editorial decision on their manuscript. Peer-review reports will not be posted publicly in any medium. The submitted material is considered confidential and must not be used in any way until after its publication. If it is suspected that a reviewer has appropriated an author’s ideas or data, the Editorial Board will handle the matter in accordance with the relevant COPE’s guideline.

Authors can recommend peer-reviewers during submission. The handling editor is the sole authority to decide whether or not recommended peer-reviewers will be invited to evaluate the manuscript.

Peer reviewers are required to adhere to the principles of COPE's Ethical Guidelines for Peer-reviewers and these guidelines provide a framework for reviewers to follow in order to ensure the integrity and fairness of the peer review process. The Editorial Board follows COPE’s relevant flowchart to minimize peer review manipulation. If there is suspicion of peer review manipulation after publication, the Editorial Board will follow the appropriate flowchart of COPE.

Potential peer reviewers should inform the Editor of any possible conflicts of interest before accepting an invitation to review a manuscript. Informing the editor of any potential conflicts of interest allows them to make an informed decision about whether or not to invite the potential reviewer to participate in the review process. It also helps to ensure the integrity and transparency of the review process.

Communications between Editors and peer reviewers contain confidential information that should not be shared with third parties.

Ahbar will recruit external editors to handle peer review processes of manuscripts submitted by members of the editorial board. If one of the editorial board sends an article; Atatürk University Coordinatorship of Scientific Journals searches for an expert in the field, outside Atatürk University and independent of the author's institution, and sends an editorial invitation for the article. The invited editor is asked to proceed with the double-blind reviewer evaluation process by creating a record in the system and to follow up. The invited editor is independent in his decision.


If an article's peer review is an exception to the journal’s usual policy, the type of the review it received will be displayed on the article to ensure the transparency and accountability of the review process.

Revisions
Submitting authors of manuscripts that require a “minor revision” or a “major revision” will receive the decision letter from the Editor in Chief. The decision letter will include the suggestions of the reviewers and editors along with a deadline to submit the revised and updated version of the manuscript.

When submitting a revised version of a paper, authors must submit a detailed “Response to the 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 the time frame specified in the decision letter. If the revised version of the manuscript is not submitted within the allocated time, the revision option may be canceled. If the submitting author(s) believe that additional time is required, they should request an extension before the initial period is over.

Publication Ethics
Ahbar aims to adhere to the guidelines and core practices set forth by several organizations, including the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (joint statement by COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, WAME). These guidelines and recommendations are designed to promote transparency, integrity, and best practices in scholarly publishing. By adhering to these standards, the journal aims to ensure that the research it publishes is of high quality and meets the ethical standards of the scientific community.

Authors are advised to use EASE Ethics Checklist for Authors to ensure that their manuscripts comply with ethical standards and practices.

All research involving human subjects, medical records, or human tissues must be reviewed and approved by a reviewer board, such as an institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee, before it is conducted. The name of the ethics committee that reviewed and approved the research, as well as the ethics committee approval number and date, should be included in the Methods section of the manuscript when it is submitted for publication. Additionally, the journal may require authors to provide a copy of the ethics committee approval as part of the manuscript submission process. This is to ensure that the research has been properly reviewed and approved, and to allow the journal to verify that the research meets the ethical standards required for publication.

If a study is exempted from the ethics committee approval, the authors must present a statement from the ethics committee explaining the reason for the exemption. This is to ensure that the research was reviewed by an ethics committee and that the decision to exempt the study was made in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations.

If a manuscript is submitted to Ahbar without ethics committee approval, the journal will review the manuscript according to the COPE’s Research, Audit and Service Evaluations guideline. This guideline provides guidance on how to handle manuscripts that do not have ethics committee approval, and allows the journal to assess the risks and potential ethical concerns associated with publishing the research.

If the journal determines that the lack of ethics committee approval is a significant concern, the manuscript may be rejected after editorial review. This is to ensure that the journal maintains high ethical standards and only publishes research that has been properly reviewed and approved by an ethics committee.

For manuscripts concerning research involving human subjects, it is required to include a statement indicating that written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Informed consent should be documented in writing, and a copy of the informed consent form should be retained by the researchers for future reference.

In the case of research involving children under the age of 18, the parent or guardian of the child must provide informed consent on behalf of the child. This is because children are considered to be a vulnerable population and may not have the capacity to fully understand the risks and benefits of participating in research.

Information on informed consent should be provided in the Material and Methods section of the manuscript, along with any other relevant details about how the research was conducted.

If the manuscript reports the findings of a survey or interviews, the author must confirm that the participants gave their informed consent to participate in the study and for their personal details to be recorded if that is the case. If quotations or other attributable statements are included, these must be deidentified, or the manuscript must state that the person agreed to be named in the manuscript.

It is the responsibility of the authors to protect the anonymity of study participants, and to ensure that the research is conducted in a way that respects their privacy and confidentiality. This is especially important for photographs that may reveal the identity of patients, as the publication of such photographs without proper consent could potentially violate the rights of the individuals depicted.

To protect the anonymity of participants in photographs, the authors should obtain signed releases from the participants or their legal representatives. These releases should indicate that the participants have given their consent for the publication of the photographs, and should specify any restrictions or conditions on the use of the photographs. Information on the publication approval for photographs should be provided in the manuscript.

Plagiarism and Ethical Misconduct
All submissions are screened by a similarity detection software (intihal.net and Crossref Similarity Check Powered by iThenticate) multiple times during the peer-review and/or production processes.

When you are discussing others' (or your own) previous work, make sure that you cite the material correctly in every instance.

Authors are strongly recommended to avoid any form of plagiarism and ethical misconduct that are exemplified below.

• Citation manipulation: The practice of manipulating the number of citations received by an author, journal, or other publication through various means, such as self-citation, excessive citation of articles from the same journal, or the inclusion of honorary citations or citation stacking.

• Self- plagiarism (text-recycling): The practice of using overlapping sections or sentences from the author's previous publications without properly citing them. This is considered to be a form of plagiarism, as it involves using someone else's work (in this case, the author's own work) without proper attribution.

• Salami slicing: The practice of using the same data from a research study in several different articles. This is considered to be unethical, as it involves reporting the same hypotheses, population, and methods of a study in multiple papers.

• Data Fabrication: The addition of data that never occurred during the gathering of data or experiments. This is considered to be a form of research misconduct, as it involves presenting false or misleading information as if it were real data.

• Data Manipulation/Falsification: The practice of manipulating research data with the intention of giving a false impression. This can include manipulating images, removing outliers or "inconvenient" results, changing data points, and other forms of manipulation. This is also considered to be a form of research misconduct, as it involves presenting false or misleading information as if it were real data.

In the event of alleged or suspected research misconduct such as plagiarism, citation manipulation, or data falsification/fabrication, the Editorial Board will follow the appropriate COPE flowcharts to ensure that the allegations or suspicions are handled in a fair, transparent, and consistent manner.

AUTHORSHIP
To become a writer, the following criteria must be met.
1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work.
2. Drafting the work or reviewing it critically for important intellectual content.
3. Final approval of the version to be published.
4. 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.

In addition to being accountable for the parts of the work they have done, authors should also be able to identify which co-authors are responsible for specific other parts of the work to ensure that the contributions of all authors are accurately and appropriately acknowledged. Authors may use CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) to provide information about individual contributions at the time of submission. It is expected that all authors agreed upon their individual contributions as shared by the corresponding author. The authors’ contribution statement will be published with the final article and should accurately reflect contributions to the work.

Furthermore, authors should have confidence in the integrity of the contributions of their co-authors. This means that they should trust that their co-authors have conducted the research in an ethical and responsible manner, and that the data and results presented in the manuscript are accurate and reliable.

Individuals who do not meet all four of the authorship criteria should not be included as authors on the manuscript. However, they can still be acknowledged on the title page of the manuscript for their contributions to the research in order to recognize the contributions of these individuals and to provide transparency about who was involved in the research.

If the editorial board suspects a case of ghost, honorary or gift authorship, the submission will be suspended and the relevant COPE flowchart and COPE Policy on authorship and contributorship will be followed.

Change of Authorship
Any requests for changes to authorship, such as the removal or addition of authors, or changes in the order of authors, should be submitted to the editorial office with a letter stating the reasons for the change. The letter must be signed by all authors, including any who have been removed.

The journal’s Editorial Board will handle all requests for changes to authorship in a consistent and transparent manner, following the relevant COPE flowchart guidelines. These procedures are in place to protect the integrity of the research and the reputation of all involved authors.

Declaration of Interests
Authors must reveal any relationships or interests that may lead to an inappropriate influence or bias in their work. This should be done by disclosing any possible conflicts of interest through the online submission system while submitting their manuscript.

Ahbar also requires and encourages individuals involved in the peer review process of submitted manuscripts to disclose any existing or potential competing interests that might lead to potential bias.

The Editorial Board will handle cases of potential competing interests of editors, authors, or reviewers within the scope of relevant COPE flowcharts.

The Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Manuscript Preparation
Ahbar follows the guidelines outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) with regards to the utilization of AI and AI-assisted technology in manuscript preparation. Authorship encompasses a range of tasks that can only be performed by humans, and authors are accountable for ensuring the article's originality and possessing the requisite qualifications for authorship. While AI can be employed for language corrections during the article writing process (and this should be explicitly stated in the article), it cannot be included as an author, as it is essential to maintain the originality and quality of the article.

The journal is committed to upholding existing copyright laws and recognized best practices in publication ethics. Due to ongoing legal uncertainties surrounding AI-generated visual content, the use of such material in our publications is generally not permitted—except in the following cases:

For images that are directly referenced in research on artificial intelligence, the description should state “Created by Artificial Intelligence.”

Authors must verify the accuracy and appropriateness of the images generated by AI, and clearly state the AI methodology used within the manuscript. Any AI-generated content must comply with scientific standards and ethical guidelines.

Financial Disclosure
Ahbar requires authors to disclose any financial support they received to conduct their research. This information should be included in the funding statement, which should be provided when the manuscript is submitted to the journal.

The funding statement should include the name of any granting agencies, the grant numbers, and a description of each funder's role in the research. If the funder had no role in the research, this should be stated in the funding statement as well. This information is important for readers to understand the potential biases and conflicts of interest that may exist in the research.

Post-Publication Correction Requests and Retractions
All post-publication correction requests are subject to editorial review. The editorial board will review the request and determine whether the correction is necessary and appropriate. The decision to publish a correction will be based on the nature of the error, its potential impact on the article, and the availability of supporting evidence. The editorial board may also consult with the authors, reviewers, and other experts as needed to make its decision. If the correction request is approved, the article will be corrected in the journal's archive.

The Editorial Board reviews cases following journal policies and COPE guidelines.

If misconduct allegations are made by whistleblowers directly, the Editorial Board will follow the relevant COPE’s flowchart. The journal will act in accordance with the COPE's flowchart on how to respond to whistleblowers when concerns are raised about a published article on a social media site.

In some cases, an ombudsperson may be assigned to resolve claims that cannot be resolved internally.

To investigate potential ethical misconduct, the editorial board may share information with other editors-in-chief to conduct investigations more efficiently and effectively. If communication with the editor-in-chief is necessary, the editorial board will follow the relevant COPE's recommendations.

If necessary, the journal may also contact institutions to inform them of suspected misconduct by researchers and provide evidence to support these concerns, following COPE guidelines in the process.

In the event of ethical misconduct concerns, the editors will investigate the case according to COPE guidelines. If the investigation verifies the concern, the editors may issue a retraction notice. The retraction notice will be published in the journal and the article's record will be updated to reflect the retraction. The article will remain in the archives of the journal, but it will be clearly marked as retracted. The article's record will also be updated in the relevant indexes to reflect the retraction.

Withdrawal Requests
Withdrawal requests for an article are reviewed by the editorial board of the journal. To request the withdrawal of an article, the authors must send a letter signed by all authors stating their request and the reasons for withdrawal to the journal editor. The editorial board will then review the request and make a decision based on the reasons provided by the authors. If the request is approved, the article will be withdrawn from the journal and the authors will be notified of the decision. It is important to note that authors should not submit their work to another journal for evaluation until the withdrawal request has been approved. This is to avoid any potential conflicts of interest or duplication of publication.

Appeals and Complaint
The editorial board of the journal is responsible for addressing appeals and complaints in accordance with the guidelines and recommendations of the COPE. If an author has an appeal or complaint, they should contact the editorial office directly to discuss their concerns. The editorial board will review the case and make a decision based on COPE guidelines.
The editor-in-chief has the final authority in the decision-making process for all appeals and complaints. In some cases, an ombudsperson may be assigned to resolve claims that cannot be resolved internally. It is important to note that the journal follows a fair and transparent process for handling appeals and complaints, with the goal of preserving the integrity of the scientific record.

Preprint Policy
Ahbar does not consider preprints as prior publication, which means that authors are allowed to present and discuss their findings on a non-commercial preprint server before submitting their work to the journal.

However, authors must provide the journal with the preprint server deposition of their article, along with its DOI, during the initial submission process.
If the article is accepted and published in the journal, it is the responsibility of the authors to update the archived preprint and link it to the published version of the article. This helps to ensure that readers can easily access the most up-to-date and accurate information.

Permission Policy
The journal's content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Under this license, users are allowed to share, adapt, reproduce and distribute the journal's content for non-commercial purposes, provided that they give appropriate credit to the original author and the journal.

Disclaimer
The statements or opinions expressed in the manuscripts published in the journal reflect the views of the author(s) and not the views of the editors, editorial board, and/or publisher. The editors, editorial board, and publisher are not responsible for the content of the manuscripts and do not necessarily endorse the views expressed in them. It is the responsibility of the authors to ensure that their work is accurate and well-researched, and the views expressed in their manuscripts are their own. The editors, editorial board, and publisher simply provide a platform for the authors to share their work with the scientific community.