PRINCIPLES OF RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION ETHICS
Manuscripts submitted to the Akdeniz Medical Journal are expected to comply with the principles of research and publication ethics. For studies conducted on humans or animals, adherence to national and international ethical guidelines and approval from the relevant ethics committees are essential. The obtained “Ethics Committee Approval” must be uploaded online, together with the manuscript files, via https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/akd. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts comply with ethical standards.
RESEARCH ETHICS
Studies involving human subjects:
The journal requires that all studies involving human subjects comply with the World Medical Association (WMA) Declaration of Helsinki, the Good Clinical Practice Guidelines, the Good Laboratory Practice Guidelines, and the relevant regulations of the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Health.
For research conducted on humans, obtaining approval from a Clinical Research Ethics Committee and submitting the relevant document to the journal are mandatory. Authors must state in the Materials and Methods section of the manuscript that they have obtained signed “informed consent” from the participants involved in the study or their legal representatives, as well as approval from the relevant ethics committee.
In case reports, regardless of whether the patient’s identity is disclosed, informed consent must be obtained from the patient or, when necessary, from their legal representative, and submitted to the journal. It should also be explicitly stated in the manuscript that this consent has been obtained.
Studies involving animal subjects:
For research conducted on animals, obtaining approval from an Experimental Animals Ethics Committee and submitting a copy of the relevant document to the journal are mandatory. In the Materials and Methods section of the manuscript, it must be stated that all animals in experimental studies were treated humanely in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and that approval from the Animal Experiments Ethics Committee was obtained.
In studies involving animals, the measures taken to prevent pain, suffering, and distress must be clearly described. If a copy of the Ethics Committee approval is not submitted to the journal, the manuscript will not be considered for publication.
Conflicts of interest:
Authors must disclose any conflicts of interest related to their manuscripts, if any. If there is any direct or indirect commercial relationship (such as employment, direct payments, stock ownership, company consultancy, patent licensing arrangements, or service fees, etc.) or financial support from an institution for the study, authors must declare that they have no commercial relationship with the commercial product, drug, company, etc. used in the study, or, if such a relationship exists, explain its nature. This declaration must be stated on the submission page and also included in the manuscript under the heading “Conflicts of Interest” before the References section.
Author contributions:
In manuscripts with multiple authors, each author must have made a significant contribution to the work to qualify for authorship. The contributions of each author to the study (concept development, study design, experimental applications, statistical analysis, manuscript writing, etc.) must be specified and submitted to the editor with signatures (within the scope of the copyright transfer form). The author contribution statement must also be included in the manuscript before the References section.
Financial support:
All financial support, grants, and other contributions (including statistical analysis, English/Turkish language editing, and/or technical assistance) must be clearly stated in the manuscript before the References section. In addition, authors must declare the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in the following aspects: (1) study design, (2) data collection, analysis, and interpretation, (3) writing of the report, and (4) the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
Plagiarism:
All manuscripts submitted to the journal are screened using iThenticate or Turnitin software before being considered for review, and a similarity report is obtained. The acceptable similarity rate for manuscripts is a maximum of 20%. Manuscripts exceeding this threshold will not be considered for evaluation. The Akdeniz Medical Journal Editorial Board acts in accordance with COPE guidelines in cases of allegations or suspicions of plagiarism, citation manipulation, or data fabrication.
All stakeholders involved in the production of a scientific study (authors, editors, reviewers, etc.) are expected to contribute to the proper advancement of science. In this regard, adherence to the principles of scientific ethics is of utmost importance in the preparation of scientific studies.
The principles adopted by the journal, some of which are outlined below, are recommended to be embraced by all stakeholders.
PUBLICATION ETHICS
The editorial and publication processes of the journal are structured in accordance with the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the Council of Science Editors (CSE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the European Association of Science Editors (EASE), and the National Information Standards Organization (NISO). The journal has adopted the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.
Akdeniz Medical Journal permits the sharing of published articles under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–ShareAlike 4.0 International (Creative Commons; CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license. Accordingly, authors and readers may copy, reproduce, and adapt the work, provided that appropriate credit is given, the material is not used for commercial purposes, and any adaptations are distributed under the same license. No copyright fee is paid for articles published in the journal.
Ethical responsibilities of the authors
- To ensure the accuracy of data related to the study, to keep records of the research in an organized manner, and to provide access to these data upon reasonable request.
- To ensure that the submitted manuscript has not been published elsewhere and has not been accepted for publication.
- If the submitted content overlaps with previously published or submitted work, acknowledge and cite this overlap. When necessary, provide the editor with a copy of any related work that may have similar content. To obtain permission and provide proper citation for any content reproduced or used from other sources.
- To conduct studies involving human or animal subjects in accordance with national and international regulations and guidelines (e.g., the WMA Declaration of Helsinki, NRC Policy on the Use of Laboratory Animals, EU Directive on the Use of Experimental Animals), to indicate that the required approvals have been obtained, and to respect the privacy of subjects. To state the relevant ethics committee approvals and research details in the Materials and Methods section of the study.
- In case of any conflict of interest or if an ethical violation related to the manuscript is identified, to inform the editor and publisher, and, when necessary, to publish a correction, addendum, or retraction.
Ethical duties and responsibilities of the editors
- To perform their duties in a balanced, objective, and fair manner without discrimination based on authors’ gender, religious or political beliefs, ethnic or geographical origin.
- To evaluate submitted manuscripts based solely on their content and not to grant any privilege to any author.
- To take necessary measures to prevent potential conflicts of interest and to evaluate any existing declarations.
- To treat sponsored studies or studies on special topics in the same manner as other submissions.
- In case of complaints alleging ethical violations, to follow the journal’s policies and procedures, allow authors to respond, and apply necessary sanctions regardless of the identity of the authors.
- To reject manuscripts that are not in line with the aims and scope of the journal.
Ethical responsibilities of the reviewers
- To review manuscripts objectively and on time to contribute to the editor’s decision-making process, and to accept only those manuscripts that fall within their field of expertise.
- To evaluate manuscripts solely based on their content in an objective manner, independent of any religious, political, or economic interests.
- To provide guidance aimed at improving the quality of the manuscript and to review the work carefully. To communicate comments to the authors in a constructive and respectful manner.
- To maintain the confidentiality of the information provided by the editor and the authors, to destroy all copies of the manuscript and related files after the review process in accordance with confidentiality principles; to inform the editor of any breach of double-blind review, and to decline the review if necessary.
- To be aware of any potential conflicts of interest (financial, institutional, collaborative, or other relationships with the authors) and to notify the editor and withdraw from the review process when appropriate.
Examples of actions considered contrary to scientific research and publication ethics
- Plagiarism: Presenting others’ original ideas, methods, data, or works, in whole or in part, as one’s own without proper citation in accordance with scientific rules.
- Fabrication: Using data that do not exist or have been falsified in scientific research.
- Falsification: Manipulating research records or data; presenting devices or materials not used in the research as if they were used; distorting or shaping research results in line with the interests of supporting individuals or organizations.
- Duplicate publication: Presenting duplicate publications as separate works in academic appointments and promotions.
- Salami slicing: Inappropriately dividing the results of a study into multiple publications in a way that disrupts the integrity of the research and presenting them as separate publications for academic advancement.
- Unjust authorship: Including individuals who have not made an active contribution as authors, excluding those who have contributed, changing the order of authors without justification, removing contributors’ names in later editions, or adding individuals as authors despite lack of contribution by exploiting influence.
- Failure to acknowledge support: Not indicating the individuals, institutions, or organizations that provided support and their contributions in publications resulting from supported research.
- Unauthorized use of sources: Using theses or other unpublished or unapproved works as references without the permission of the owner.
- Non-compliance with ethical standards in human and animal research: Failing to follow ethical rules in studies involving humans and animals, not respecting patient rights, harming animal welfare or ecological balance, and not obtaining required permissions.
- Misuse of resources: Using resources, facilities, equipment, or funds allocated for scientific research for purposes other than intended.
- Misrepresentation: Making false or misleading statements regarding scientific research and publications in academic appointments and promotions.
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence
Regarding the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in the preparation of manuscripts submitted to Akdeniz Medical Journal and in related scientific studies, the journal adheres to the principles outlined in the Ethics Guide of Generative Artificial Intelligence Use in the Scientific Research and Publication Process of Higher Education Institutions prepared by the Council of Higher Education of Türkiye (YÖK), as well as the principles defined by the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) in Chatbots, Generative AI, and Scholarly Manuscripts.
The general guidelines of our journal regarding the use of GenAI are listed below:
· If GenAI has been used for purposes other than language editing and improvement, enhancing fluency, formatting, etc., during the preparation of manuscripts, this must be declared in the Methods section or another relevant part of the manuscript, as well as in the cover letter. Considering that GenAI platforms may provide incomplete, inaccurate, or misleading information, the necessary verification and validation procedures should be carried out. Authors are responsible for the validity of the GenAI platforms used in their research and/or manuscript preparation, as well as for the accuracy and ethical appropriateness of the outputs.
· GenAI platforms cannot be listed as authors of manuscripts or cited in the references.
· Articles may contain sensitive or confidential information that should not be shared outside the peer review process. For this reason, the use of GenAI platforms by reviewers during the peer-review process of manuscripts submitted to our journal is not considered appropriate.
Sample disclosure statement:
“This study utilized [NAME/VERSION OF THE GenAI PLATFORM] during the preparation of the manuscript for [PURPOSE OF USE]. The authors thoroughly reviewed the outputs generated by the platform that were incorporated into the manuscript and made corrections to the content where necessary. The authors accept full responsibility for all content generated with the assistance of GenAI in the published article.”
Publication Policy
Open access and publication processes
Akdeniz Medical Journal provides open access to scientific publications. Full texts of all published issues and articles are freely available. No fees are charged to authors for the submission or publication of manuscripts. Readers may download journal content free of charge for academic or educational purposes. Open access is supported through the financial resources of Akdeniz University and the ongoing voluntary contributions of the editors and reviewers.
All scientific responsibility for the published work rests with the authors. The corresponding author is deemed to have accepted the order of authorship on behalf of all co-authors by completing and signing the “Author Responsibilities and Copyright Transfer Form.” Individuals who do not meet the criteria for authorship but have contributed to the study may be acknowledged in the “Acknowledgments” section. Authors must provide a signed statement declaring that the manuscript is original, has not been previously published, and will not be submitted elsewhere during the evaluation process.
Authors are deemed to have accepted any editorial revisions and corrections, provided that the scientific content is not altered. Submitted manuscripts are not returned, whether accepted or rejected; however, unpublished figures and images may be returned to the authors upon request. Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with the journal’s guidelines and be ready for layout without deficiencies. The Editorial Board reserves the right to reject manuscripts that do not comply with the author guidelines, to return them to the authors for revision, or to make formal adjustments. Editors and language editors are fully authorized to make corrections related to language, spelling, and reference formatting, as well as other necessary editorial changes.
If the manuscript contains previously published text, tables, figures, or similar material, the corresponding author is responsible for obtaining written permission from the copyright holder and the original authors, and for indicating this in the manuscript.
Publication process and manuscript evaluation timeline
Manuscripts submitted to the Akdeniz Medical Journal are first reviewed by the Editorial Board through an objective preliminary evaluation. Editors reserve the right to reject manuscripts outright or to return them to the authors for revision. If no grounds for rejection are identified at this stage, the manuscript is sent to two independent reviewers with expertise in the relevant field.
Reviewers invited to evaluate a manuscript are expected to accept the invitation within a maximum of 7 days. A manuscript that receives two positive reviewer reports is eligible for publication. If one reviewer’s report is positive and the other is negative, the manuscript may be sent to a third reviewer; the final decision is made based on the reviewers’ reports and/or the editor’s judgment. Reviewers who accept the invitation are expected to complete their evaluation within a maximum of 30 days. If a reviewer declines the invitation or fails to submit a report within the specified time, a new reviewer is assigned.
Manuscripts are evaluated under a blind peer-review system; authors’ names are removed from the manuscript before being sent to reviewers. Authors are not informed about the identity of the reviewers. Reviewers and Editorial Board members may not discuss manuscripts publicly. In some cases, reviewer comments on a manuscript may be shared with other reviewers of the same manuscript by the editor for clarification purposes. If a reviewer fails to complete the evaluation within the given time, another reviewer may be assigned.
After completing their evaluation, reviewers submit their reports, including comments and recommendations, to the editor. If revisions are requested, the editor forwards the reviewers’ comments and suggestions to the authors and asks them to upload a revised version of the manuscript. Authors are given a maximum of 60 days to complete revisions. If a reviewer requests to re-evaluate the revised manuscript, it is sent back to the same reviewer. This process continues until the reviewers provide a final recommendation regarding acceptance or rejection. Reviewer reports are evaluated by the editor(s) within a maximum of 15 days, and the final decision is then communicated to the author(s).
The final decision for publication is made by the editor(s). Following layout and editorial corrections, the corresponding author is asked to perform a final check and provide written “approval for publication.” Manuscripts accepted for publication are expected to be published within 1–4 months under the continuous publication model. However, this timeframe may vary depending on factors such as the number of manuscripts awaiting publication, as well as the timeliness and originality of the work. No changes can be made to articles after publication.
