Journal of Health Sciences Arel University

The aim of the Journal of Health Sciences Arel University is to conduct recent developments in the field of health sciences at both national and international levels, facilitate the sharing of innovative scientific studies, support the professional development of healthcare professionals, and contribute to improving the quality of life for humanity through widespread research in all areas of health sciences. Journal of Health Sciences Arel University seeks to contribute to the accretion of knowledge by publishing research, reviews, and case studies in the field of health sciences on both national and international platforms.

The Journal of Health Sciences Arel University, Life Journal which started to be published in 2016, has been published as the Journal of Health Sciences at Arel University starting in 2023. Journal of Health Sciences Arel University is a scientific journal adhering to the principles. It accepts articles related to health sciences in such fields as Nursing, Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Nutrition and Dietetics, Child development, Healthcare Management, Social work, Midwifery, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Speech and Language therapy, Midwifery, Occupational therapy, and Basic medical sciences.

Journal of Health Sciences Arel University
Author Guide

GENERAL INFORMATION
• Articles, images, figures, and tables published in the Arel University Journal of Health Sciences cannot be reproduced or copied in whole or in part by any means without the written permission of the publisher. For scientific purposes, summaries may be provided and parts or sentenses may be quoted with proper citation. The authors are responsible for the content of the article, figures, tables, charts, images, and similar information published in the journal.
• The Arel University Journal of Health Sciences is published three times a year, in April, August, and December. In the Arel University Journal of Health Sciences, the following areas are considered for publication:
• Nutrition and Dietetics
• Child Development
• Speech-Language Therapy
• Ergotherapy
• Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation
• Audiology
• Nursing and other health science fields
• Case studies, clinical presentations, research articles, and review articles in English or Turkish are evaluated.
• Before submitting an article (initial or revised), it should be carefully checked according to the "Checklist of Items to be Uploaded in the Article Submission Process" and uploaded to the system.
ARTICLE WRITING FORMAT AND SUBMISSION TO THE SYSTEM
Article Type Research Article ( ) Review ( ) Case Presentation ( ) Other ( )
Copyright Transfer Form Must be completed and signed by the corresponding author, and uploaded as a separate file in the system
Research and Publication Ethics Statement
• In research conducted on humans or animals, approval from ethics committees should be obtained in compliance with the "National and International Ethical Guidelines."
• The ethics committee statement, including the committee name, date, and approval number, should be provided on the Article Title page.
• Copyright requirements must be maintained for artistic works, figures, tables, and other materials used
Article Length
• In research articles, the word count should not exceed 5000 words (excluding references).
• In review articles, the word count should not exceed 4000 words (excluding references).
• The maximum number of references in research articles should be 35, and in review articles, it should be 45.
Article Title Page
(Article title and author information page) • The page containing the article title and author information should be referred to as the Title Page and uploaded accordingly. The following six pieces of information should be included on the title page:
i) Article Title
• The article title should be concise, clear, aligned to both sides and reflect the main outlines of the article.
• The title should not exceed 20 words, and abbreviations should not be used.
• In Turkish articles, the Turkish title should be in Times New Roman 14-point font, and the English title should be in italics, Times New Roman 12-point font (written before the abstract) with single line spacing. In English articles, the English title should be in 14-point font, and the Turkish title should be in 12-point font.

ii) Authors
• The authors' names and surnames should be written in one line, with the surnames numbered in superscript order at the end.
• Each author's address should be written under the indicated superscript number, followed by their email address and ORCID number. The details of all authors should be listed consecutively.
• Author names should be in 12-point font and author information should be in 11-point font.
• Author information: All authors' names, surnames, contact addresses (on the second line), E-mail and Orcid (on the third line) and mobile phone numbers should be written for each author, indicating their superior numbers. If the same address is shared with more than one author, even the superior numbers of each author should be stated.
iii) Contributions of the Authors to the Study
• Written in Times New Roman 10-point font.
• The contributions of the authors to the article should be written under the title "Contributions of the Authors to the Study." Example: Ahmet Vural: Development of the methodology, conducting the research, writing the article, and revising the article; Fatma Gül: Literature research, research, statistical analysis, writing the article.
• After the author details on the title page, the title, name, surname, contact address, email, ORCID, and mobile phone number of all authors should be written.
iv) Ethics Committee Statement
• Written in Times New Roman 10-point font.
• In studies requiring ethics committee approval, the information concerning the approval should be included on the title page, with the committee name, date, and approval number.
• Additionally, details about informed consent from patients should be provided.
Example: "Ethics Committee Approval" was obtained from the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of ……….. University numbered 19/321 and dated 11/12/2019.
v) Status of Article Information
• Written in Times New Roman 10-point font.
• This information must be included on the title page if the article is based on thesis work, abstract poster presentations, or oral abstract presentations. (Example: "This article was prepared using data from the master's/doctoral thesis of .... the author." or "This article was presented as an oral/poster presentation at the .... congress on .... date.")
• Articles that are identical in method, findings, or discussion with full-text reports are not accepted for publication in the journal. Articles in this situation should not be submitted for publication.
vi) Acknowledgments (Optional)
• Written in Times New Roman 10-point font.
• Acknowledgments can be made for individuals or institutions that contributed to the study but did not meet the authorship criteria.
• Approval obtained from all individuals and institutions should be mentioned in the acknowledgments.
vii) Support (If applicable, must be mentioned)
• Written in Times New Roman 10-point font.
• If applicable, the names of individuals, funds, projects, organizations, or research groups that provided financial support for the research should be detailed.
• The type of support should be specified in studies supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) or Scientific Research Projects (BAP).

Article Text
(Features and Page Layout)
• The article text must be prepared using the "Article Template" and should be titled as "Article Initial Submission."
• The article should be prepared in MS Word 2006 or later versions.
• The entire text should be on A4 paper size (21x297mm) with margin settings as follows: top 2.5 cm, left 2.5 cm, bottom 2.0 cm, and right 2.0 cm, with 1-line spacing. Header and footer margins should be 1.5 cm.
• The journal's language is in both Turkish and English.
• The title in the language of the article should be written in Times New Roman, 14-point font, followed by the abstract in the same language in 11-point font. Then, the title in the second language should be in Times New Roman, 12-point font, followed by the abstract in that language.
• After the "Abstract" and "Keywords" sections, the section headings should be 6 nk (Indentation and Spacing: Spacing; After 6 nk).
• There should be one line space after the keywords or abstract in the language of the article (6 nk should not be used).
• As for the writing style, words that imply gender distinction (such as businessman, businesswoman) should be avoided as much as possible (e.g., use "businessperson" instead of "businessman" or "businesswoman").
• The article should avoid using past tense and first-person perspective. Instead, the scientific language should be used with "present tense" sentences (e.g., "We aimed ..." should be written as "This study aims ..." or "The aim of this study is...").
• The article title should be written only as specified in the title page and author information section.
• The article's lines should be continuously numbered from the left (this can be done by selecting "Page Layout" --> "Line Numbers" --> "Continuous").

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Abstract Page
• The abstract should contain at least 150 words and no more than 250 words. For case reports and similar presentations, it should not exceed 150 words.
• It should be in Times New Roman, 11-point font, and justified.
• As few abbreviations as possible should be used.
• Abbreviations, tables, figures, images, and citations should not be included.
• The abstract should be written in the following order: Purpose, Method, Results, and Conclusion, without explicitly labeling these sections.
• In Turkish articles, the Turkish "Özet," Turkish "Anahtar Kelimeler," should be written first, followed by the English "Abstract" and English "Keywords”. In English articles, the English "Abstract" and "Keywords" should come first, followed by the Turkish "Özet" and Turkish "Anahtar Kelimeler."

Keywords
• Keywords should be written in both Turkish and English, separated by commas, with a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 keywords.
• In Turkish articles, the Turkish "Özet," Turkish "Anahtar Kelimeler," should be written first, followed by the English "Abstract" and English "Keywords." In English articles, the English "Keywords" should come first, followed by the Turkish "Anahtar Kelimeler."
• Keywords should be in Times New Roman, 11-point font, and justified.
• English keywords must adhere to the "Medical Subject Headings (MESH)" guidelines (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.html).
• Turkish keywords must adhere to the Turkey Scientific Terms (TBT) guidelines (http://www.bilimterimleri.com).

Article Text
• The text of the article should be written in Times New Roman font, 12 points.
• If the numbers in the article contain decimals, the decimals must be in the same number of decimal places. For example; 10.32%, 7.65%, or 8.2%, 76.9%. There should be no space between the percentage and the number.
• The article should have different headings.
• “&” should not be used in writing the article.
• Sections should be numbered and bolded as shown below. No more than three levels of numbering (e.g., 2.1.1.) should be used. The first-level headings should be in uppercase, second-level headings should have the first letter of each word capitalized, and third-level headings should only have the first letter of the first word capitalized.
1. INTRODUCTION
2. Sample and Method / Materials and Methods
2.1. Data Collection
2.1.1. Data Evaluation and Conclusion
2.1.2. ...
2.2. ...
3. RESULTS
3.1. ...
4. DISCUSSION
4.1. ...
5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• Contributions of the authors to the work (to be written on the title page)
• Conflict of Interest
• Acknowledgements (optional) (to be written on the title page)
• Support (if any, must be mentioned) (to be written on the title page)
• Ethical approval report (to be written on the title page)
• References
Introduction
• In the introduction, a brief summary of the literature upon which the study is based should be provided.
• After the keywords, in 12 point font, the Introduction should be written after two enters.
• The research topic, problem, and rationale for the study should be clearly stated.
• Brief information about the subject under investigation should be provided in addittion to available data, and excessive details from the literature or research results should be avoided.
• The last paragraph should clearly state the aim(s) of the study.
Materials and Methods
• Subsections in the materials and methods section can be determined according to the nature of the study. However, it is generally recommended to include basic information such as the research design, participant selection and characteristics, data collection tools, data collection process, and data analysis.
• For studies involving humans, the term "Sample and Method" should be used, while "Materials and Methods" should be used for other types of research.
• The type of research: It should be explained.
• Research question/hypothesis: The research question(s) should be clearly stated, aligning with the research objective.
• The location, characteristics, and time of the study: The characteristics of the region or institution where the research was conducted should be explained. Additionally, the time frame of the study (start and end dates) should be specified.
• The population and sample of the study: The general and study populations should be defined. It should be explained how the sample was selected, which method was used, and how the sample size was calculated. Criteria for inclusion or exclusion of participants should be clearly stated.
• Data collection tools: Each data collection tool used in the research should be introduced separately, with clear information on its validity and reliability.
• Data collection: How the research data were collected and how this process was carried out should be explained.
• Data analysis: The statistical methods used to analyze the research data should be described in sufficient detail so that readers can evaluate the reported results. Sources related to the study design and statistical methods should be cited if necessary. Statistical terms, abbreviations, and symbols should be defined, and the software used for analysis should be mentioned.
• Limitations of the research: The limitations of the study should clearly be stated, and these limitations should be addressed in the discussion section, with recommendations provided.

Results
• The findings of the study should be presented clearly and concisely.
• The findings should be written in a specific order and as detailed as possible.
• If necessary, findings should be supported by figures, tables, or drawings.
• Repetitive statements of table data in the text should be avoided.
• The research findings should be explained without any interpretation.
• Statistical data should be included (for research articles).
• When reporting Cronbach's alpha, correlation coefficients (r2), and p-values, a zero should precede the decimal point. p-values should be written to three decimal places, while factor loadings, alpha, and r2 values should be written to two decimal places (e.g., p<0.05, r2=0.34). In Turkish texts, a comma should be used as the decimal separator instead of a period.

Discussion
• The results and discussion sections may be written separately or together (Results and Discussion).
• The research data should be discussed and the results should be supported by national and international sources; a connection should be made between the research objective and the research findings.
• The repetition of statements/numerical values from the "Results" section and the inclusion of general information unrelated to the topic should be avoided.
• At the end of the discussion section, the limitations of the study should be stated, and the contributions of the research to experimental research or clinical applications should be explained.

Conclusion and Recommendations
• The key findings of the research should be emphasized, and conclusions should be drawn in relation to the research objective.
• Any recommendations related to the research findings should be written briefly.
• Care should be taken that findings are not be repeated in this section.
• The contributions of the results to the application field should be explained, and recommendations based on the findings should be developed. The contributions of the research results to the field, along with the innovations that will be introduced in practice and academia based on the findings, should be highlighted. If applicable, implications for future studies should also be made. No citations should be included in the conclusion and recommendations section.

What Should Be Written Before the References Section at the End of the Text • The text here should be written in 10-point font with single line spacing.
Conflict of Interest
• Authors must disclose any conflicts of interest related to their article (if applicable).
• If there are indirect or direct commercial connections (such as employment, direct payments, stock ownership, company consulting, patent licensing arrangements, or service fees) or any institution providing financial support for the study, authors must disclose, under the "Conflict of Interest" heading, whether they have no commercial relationship with the commercial products, drugs, or companies mentioned, and if there is a relationship, how it exists.
• If there is no conflict of interest, authors must provide a statement declaring that they have no conflict of interest. Example: "The authors declare no conflict of interest."

REVIEW ARTICLE
Preparation of a Review Article • The research article template and writing rules should be complied with when preparing a review article.
• The review article should include the following sections: Title, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, text with subheadings determined by the author(s), Conclusion, and References.
• In a review article, subheadings other than the Introduction and Conclusion sections should be created by the author(s) depending on the content of the subject.
• Headings should be numbered as stated in the research article. In the Introduction section, the scientific thoughts on which the article is based should be clearly stated, and the problem presented should be linked to scientific literature. The justification of the review should be explained with literature support. At the end of the Introduction, the purpose of the review should be clearly stated. The subheadings within the text should be organized in such a way that they align with the purpose and scope of the article. The sources should be relevant to the topic and current.

Case Report
• The research article writing rules should be applied to case reports.
• Case reports should present original cases related to the journal's scope.
• Case reports should include: Title, author names, author information, Abstract, and Keywords (in Turkish and English), Introduction, Case Report, Discussion, Conclusion, and References sections, and should not exceed 1500 words (excluding References).
• In the Introduction section, the appropriate method and its importance in the field should be discussed. Here, all the necessary details of the case should be presented in a way that identifies the problem and prompts the reader to think critically. The ethical aspects of the case report should be clarified.
• When needed, tables and explanatory details can be included for the case.
• In the Discussion section, the questions raised in the case should be fully argued with clear answers, and in the Conclusion section, inferences should be made that will contribute particularly to the practice related to the case.


FIGURES, GRAPHS, IMAGES AND TABLES
FIGURES, GRAPHS, AND IMAGES • Titles and content should be written in italics, in 11-point font, with single line spacing.
• Figures, graphs, or images should be placed within the text, and references should be made to them within the paragraph, either on the previous page or on the same page.
• Figures, graphs, or images should be numbered in the order they appear in the article (e.g., Figure 1, Figure 2, Graph 1) and each should have a separate title written below the figure, graph, or image. The terms "Figure 1," "Figure 2," etc., should be in bold in the title.
• The titles of figures, graphs, and images should be formatted with a single line spacing.
• For microscopic images, the magnification ratio and the staining technique used should be indicated.
• In addition to print-ready versions, electronic versions (JPEG, GIF, TIFF, etc.) should be created at high resolution (at least 300 dpi).
• X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and other diagnostic images should be included as high-quality prints.
• Letters, numbers, and symbols on figures, graphs, and images should be legible when reduced for publication purposes.
• Figures, graphs, and images should be understandable independently, whenever possible.
• Photomicrographic pathology slides should include internal scales.
• If human photographs are used, the individuals should either not be recognizable in the photo, or written consent should be obtained.
• If a previously published figure, graph, or image is used, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder, and this approval should be indicated in parentheses in the image title. Citing the source does not imply permission. This does not apply to public domain documents.
• Color figures, graphs, and images should be in CMYK color format and have at least 300 dpi resolution for print.
• Grayscale figures, graphs, and images should have a minimum of 6 dpi, and black-and-white drawings should have at least 12 dpi.
• No image should contain any information that could identify a patient.
• If a patient can be identified in a submitted image, written consent must be obtained from the patient, and this consent should be indicated in parentheses in the image title.
• All abbreviations and symbols in figures, graphs, and images should be defined in parentheses.



Figure 6. Measles disease and deaths in the Ottoman Empire

TABLES
• Each table should have a table number and title above it.
• The table title and content should be in 11-point italics, with explanations below the table in 10-point italics, with single line spacing. All abbreviations and letters must be defined at the bottom of the table. The title should be written as "Table 1," "Table 2," etc.
• The first letter of the first word of the table title should be capitalized and the others should be lowercase. The title text should not be written in bold.
• Tables should be numbered according to their order of appearance in the text (e.g., Table 1, Table 2).
• Tables should be placed within the relevant section of the text, with references made to them either on the previous page or on the same page.
• Each result or piece of information in a table should be placed in a separate cell.
• In tables:
o The first letter of the first word of the table titles should be written in capital letters and the others in lower case.
o Vertical lines between columns should be hidden.
o Only horizontal lines should appear below the column headers, above the first row, and at the bottom of the table.
o All abbreviations in the table should be explained at the bottom, using numbers corresponding to the abbreviations in the table.
o If the data in a table is taken from a published source, permission should be obtained from the original publisher. The citation of permission should be included in parentheses after the table title.
o In Turkish articles, commas (,) should be used between numbers for quantitative data, and numbers should be given in groups of three digits (e.g., 16,5±0,12).
o In English articles, periods (.) should be used between numbers for quantitative data, and numbers should be given in groups of three digits (e.g., 16.5±0.12).
o The formatting should be consistent throughout the entire article.

Table 1. Xxxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx Xxxx (11-point font, the table title should be centered on the page, and the table text should be written within the table row; borders should not be shown for the top and side lines of the row)."
Xxx Xx Xxx
Xxx Xxx Xxx Xxx
Xxx 0 0 0 0
Xxx 0 0 0 0
Xxx 0 0 0 0
Xxx 0 0 0 0
1Explanations related to the table should be written in this section (10-point font, the explanation text should be written within the table row, and borders should not be shown for the bottom and side lines of the row)."

REFERENCING STYLE
Citation
(From 2025 onwards) • All citations mentioned in the text should be numbered sequentially in square parentheses, and the "References" list should include the corresponding reference number in regular (not square) brackets.
• If more than one work is cited for the first time at the end of a sentence, the citations should be numbered according to the publication date (from oldest to newest). For example, a citation of two articles, [1,2] and three consecutive articles, [1-3].
• When citing author names in the article, they should be written as follows:
o For a single-author work: "Erkmen [1] ..."
o For a two-author work: "Erkmen and Bozoglu [2] ..." (for Turkish works, use "ve" instead of "and").
o For three or more authors: "Oliva et al. [2] ..."
REFERENCING STYLE
• The references should be written in Times New Roman font, size 11, with 1.0 line spacing and justified alignment.
• The APA 7 citation style should be used for references. (https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/).
• However, there may be some minor variations. For this, it is necessary to check according to the journal's writing guidelines.
• In English references, "and" should be used instead of "&."
• If available, the DOI address of the source should be provided.
Examples of Source and Citation Writing
Article Source
• In articles, the article title should be in lowercase, the journal name should start with a capital letter, and it should be written in italics. The journal volume number should be in regular font, and the issue number should be in parentheses in regular font.
Article with Volume and Issue Number
1. Oliva, A., Ozonoff, A., Caputo, M., & Grassi, S. (2023). A journal title with many meanings and one vision. Hospitals, 12, 1467.
Online Article Source
1. Oliva, A., Ozonoff, A., Caputo, M., & Grassi, S. (2023). A journal title with many meanings and one vision. Hospitals, 4, e-642098.
Book Source
1. Erkmen, O. (2022). Microbiological Analysis of Foods and Food Processing Environments. Elsevier Inc., London. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2021-0-01219-0
2. Erkmen, O. & Bozoglu, T.F. (2022). Parasites, marine toxins, and virus food poisonings. In O. Erkmen & T.F. Bozoglu (Eds.), Food Microbiology Principles into Practice, Vol. 2: Microorganisms in Food Preservation and Processing (pp. 208-222). John Wiley and Sons, Ltd., Chester. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119237860
3. Erkmen, O., Erten, H., & Sağlam, H. (2021). Fermente Ürünler Teknolojisi ve Mikrobiyolojisi (2nd ed.). Nobel Akademik Yayıncılık, Ankara.
4. Akın, N. & Akın, A. (2021). Gıda Mikrobiyolojisine Giriş, Önemli Mikroorganizmalar ve Mikroorganizma Kaynakları. In O. Erkmen (Ed.), Gıda Mikrobiyolojisi (6th ed., pp. 3-10). Efil Yayınevi, Ankara.
5. Holzapfel, W., & Haberer, P. (2021). In P. Haberer, J. Snel, & U. Schillinger (Eds.), Overview of Gut Flora and Probiotics, Food Microbiology (pp. 208-222). John Wiley and Sons, Ltd., Chester. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1605000214-8
Report from a Government Agency
1. TGK (2014). Türk Gıda Kodeksi Gıda Katkı Maddeleri. Türk Gıda Kodeksi (TGK) Regulation. Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Livestock, Official Gazette, November 24, 2014. Issue No: 29185. https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2014/11/20141124-1.htm
Conference Paper Source
1. Erkmen, O., & Karaağaç, R.M. (2023). The Role of Gut Microbiota in the Development and Treatment of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. 9th International Zeugma Conference on Scientific Research, February 19-21, Gaziantep, Turkey, pp. 210-211.
2. Pınarlı, Ç. & Erkmen, O. (2022). Fermentation in Food Technology and Health. 3rd International Conference on Gastronomy, Nutrition and Dietetics Proceedings Book, May 6-8, İstanbul Gedik University, İstanbul, Turkey, pp. 344-348.
Thesis Source
1. Açıkgöz, I.A. (2019). Research on the Characteristics of Red Wines Produced from Gaziantep Red Grapes. MSc. Thesis, Food Engineering Department Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Gaziantep, Turkey.
2. Erkmen, O. (1994). Nazokomiyal Stafilokok Enfeksiyonları ve Bunların Kontrolü Üzerinde Araştırma. PhD Thesis, Gaziantep University Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Medical Microbiology, Gaziantep, Turkey.
3. Buczkowski, B.K. (2023). Sourdough Bread Enriched with Soluble Fibres: Development, Characterization, and Nutritional Aspects of a Functional Food Product. PhD Thesis, Department of Food and Tourism Management Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, USA.
Translated Book Source
1. Engelkirk, P.G., & Duben-Engelkirk, J. (2014). Burton's Microbiology for the Health Sciences. In O. Baylan & Ö. Erdoğan (Trans.), Burton Sağlık Bilimlerinde Mikrobiyoloji (10th ed., 2017). İstanbul Tıp Kitabevleri, İstanbul.
Standard Source
1. TGK (2022). Türk Gıda Kodeksi Fermente Süt Ürünleri Tebliği (No: 2022/44). Turkish Food Codex (TGK), Official Gazette Date: 16.02.2009, Issue No: 27143.
Internet Source
1. TUIK (2010). Hayvancılık İstatistikleri. Accessed on: 14.03.2010. http://www.tuik.gov.tr/hayvancilik.app/hayvancilik.zul

MEASUREMENT UNİTS
• Length, weight, and volume units should be written in the metric system (m, mg, kg, µg, kg, L) and their multiples.
• Temperatures should be given in Celsius (e.g., 12°C), and blood pressure in millimeters of mercury (e.g., 125 mmHg).
• Both local and International System of Units (SI) should be used (cm, mm, cm², L, mL, etc.).
• Chemical or pharmaceutical concentrations should be given in mass units (e.g., mg/L, kg/L, µg/L).

Revised Article
(Revision of the Article According to the Journal or Reviewer Comments) • The revisions communicated to the author(s) should be carefully implemented.
• The revised article should be uploaded to the journal system as follows:
1) "Revise1 Article" (if second revision, "Revise2 Article") should be uploaded without indicating changes.
2) "Revise1 Article with Changes Indicated" or "Revise2 Article with Changes Indicated" should be uploaded, where changes are highlighted in blue.
3) A "Revision Letter" should be uploaded. The author(s) should indicate which lines or pages in the revised article were changed, and should specify why certain revisions were not made.
• When making revisions, the page and line numbers in the reviewer's comments should be referenced.
For example:
• Reviewer 1: Page 5, lines 154-155: “This sentence is unclear and should be rewritten.”
• In the revised article: Page 5, lines 150: “The research results suggest that more work is needed.” Revisions were made here.

IMPORTANT ASPECTS DURING THE SUBMISSION PROCESS OF THE ARTICLE

Article Submission Checklist
Before uploading your article to the system, you should follow the steps below and check the article with the following list:
1. Article Submission Checklist
o The article submission should be made via the dergipark.gov.tr system.
o Has the article been scanned for plagiarism using "Turnitin" or "iThenticate"? Is the similarity percentage less than 18%?
o Has the statistical analysis been performed (for research articles)?
o In studies involving human subjects, does the "Materials and Methods" section include a statement about compliance with the Helsinki Declaration, and is there any mention of ethics committee approval and informed consent on the title page?
o In studies involving animals, does the "Materials and Methods" section include compliance with the "Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals"?
o Has the article been checked for language?
o Is the article written according to the journal’s formatting rules?
o Are the references formatted according to APA 7th edition and the journal’s citation guidelines? Are the references numbered sequentially in the article?
o Has the title page been formatted according to the template, listing authors' names, affiliations, emails, and ORCID numbers in the correct format?
o Is the corresponding author's information listed separately?
o Have all other required details been included on the title page?

2. Documents Required for First Submission
i) Full Article: The full manuscript without author information should be prepared and uploaded in .doc format, labeled as "Article without Author Information."
ii) Additional Information: A "Title Page" should be prepared and uploaded as a PDF under additional information.
iii) Additional Information: A letter stating the desire for publication, labeled as "Article Publication Request Letter," should be uploaded as a PDF.
iv) A copy of the Ethics Committee Approval should be uploaded.
v) Copyright Transfer Form: The signed "Copyright Transfer Form" by all authors and the corresponding author should be uploaded as a PDF.
vi) Similarity Report: The "Similarity Report" should be uploaded.
• If these files are not uploaded, your article will be rejected.

3. Documents Required for Submission of Revised Article
vii) Revised Article: The revised article should be uploaded as "Revise-1 Article" in .doc format. It should indicate the number of revisions.
viii) Revised Article with Changes Indicated: This file should be uploaded as "Revise-1 Article Marked" in PDF format. The changes made should be highlighted.
ix) Letter to Reviewers and Editors: This letter should explain the changes made in the article, referring to specific line numbers in the article. If any suggestions are not followed, explanations should be provided.
• If these files are not uploaded, your article will be returned or rejected.




Example of Correction Display

How corrections should be made:
• If one or more words have been corrected and/or added, the corrected part should be highlighted in red, along with a range of one or two words before and after it.
• If an entire sentence has been corrected and/or added, the entire sentence should be highlighted in red.
• If a paragraph has been corrected, the entire section should be highlighted in red.
In short, any minor change or correction in the revised article must be indicated.

Example of Corrected Text

2.1. Discovery of Microorganisms
The discovery of microorganisms has paralleled the invention and development of the microscope. Around 1658, Athanasius Kircher noted that using the microscope, he saw tiny creatures, which he called worms, in spoiled milk and meat. However, he could not see bacteria due to the insufficient magnification of the microscope he used. In 1664, Robert Hooke described the structure of molds. However, the first person to likely observe microorganisms (mainly bacteria) was Antony Leeuwenhoek, who studied under a microscope with a magnification of no more than 300 times. Leeuwenhoek examined bacteria in saliva, rainwater, vinegar, and other materials. As a result, he classified the observed creatures into three morphological (appearance) groups: spherical or cocci, cylindrical or rod-shaped, and spiral-shaped, and described them as living organisms capable of movement. This researcher regarded these creatures as animals (1676–1683). Since better microscopes were not available at the time, Leeuwenhoek's observation remained valid in subsequent scientific studies, even for the next 100 years.
In the 19th century, due to the Industrial Revolution, the invention of more advanced microscopes and their easier usage allowed the examination and classification of many living organisms. 1830 Ehrenberg used the term "bacteria" and proposed at least 16 species in 4 genera. 1875 Ferdinand Cohn developed the first bacterial classification system and discovered spore-forming bacteria. With the discovery of the electron microscope in the mid-20th century (1940), even virus-like entities that closely resembled bacteria were observed.

2.2. Where Do Microorganisms Come From?
Following Leeuwenhoek's discovery, there was a lack of focused observational activities, but according to some scientific views, many different creatures were observed in various objects by curious individuals. Society was still at the beginning stages of the Renaissance period and the experimental philosophy movement. The theory of 'spontaneous generation' (the appearance of living organisms in non-living objects) was supported by many educated and elite individuals.
The emergence of larvae in decaying bodies and spoiled material during ancient Greek times was considered to be the result of spontaneous generation. However, around 1665, experiments were conducted to refute this theory. When flies were allowed to land on spoiled food, worms, described as unknown creatures, appeared in the meat and fish used in the experiment. Supporters of the spontaneous generation theory argued that the larvae could not regenerate by themselves (biogenesis). However, the larvae were found in various generations during the abiogenesis (spontaneous generation). In 1749, Turbeville Needham demonstrated that creatures, referred to as larvae, appeared in boiled meat or broth stored in a closed vessel within a short period. Lazarro Spallanzani (1765) showed that after boiling meat broth, the microscopic organisms were prevented from contaminating it by sealing the container used for storage.
This experiment demonstrated the invalidity of Needham's theory. Over time, Antoine Lavoisier and his colleagues determined that some organisms require oxygen. Recall that Spallanzani's theory suggested that microorganisms that do not form spontaneously do not need oxygen. However, it was later shown that spontaneously forming organisms do require oxygen. Subsequently, Schulze (1830) analyzed air by passing it through acid, Theodore Schwann (1838) tried passing it through a boiling tube, and Schröder, in 1854, used air passed through a cotton filter and found that no bacteria grew in the boiled meat broth. Finally, Louis Pasteur, in 1861, showed that bacteria from dust in the air could contaminate boiled meat broth, allowing organisms to grow. Through these experiments, bacteria were successfully cultivated, and the theory of spontaneous generation was disproven. John Tyndall (1870) conducted experiments showing that no microorganisms grew in boiled meat broth when stored in an airtight box containing dust-free air.


Correction Letter

Corrections for Reviewer 1
1. (From reviewer’s comment – Do not write what’s in parentheses) page 5, Line 124: ….. “when it came, …….. it was detected” should be corrected. (as noted by the reviewer).

Correction: page 5, Line 124 (from the revised article – Do not write what’s in parentheses) Page 126: The correction indicated by the reviewer is as follows: “when it came, the reports were submitted to the relevant department.”

All corrections should be clearly explained, like this example.
In addition to the corrections requested by the reviewers and/or editors, you should also make any corrections you identify upon reviewing the article again and ensure that you indicate them as well.

Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

The publication processes of the  Journal of Health Sciences Arel University are carried out based on the impartial evaluation, improvement, and dissemination of high-quality scientific articles in areas such as clinical and experimental research, original case reports, and reviews in various branches of health sciences. The ethical principles that authors, journal editors, reviewers, and publishers must adhere to are outlined below and have been prepared by the guidelines and policies published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (https://publicationethics.org/).
The journal upholds compliance with the principles stated in the Declaration of Helsinki, the Good Clinical Practice Guidelines, and the Good Laboratory Practice Guidelines, as well as the relevant regulations of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health, for all studies involving "human" participants. Submitting a copy of the Ethics Committee approval to the journal for research involving humans or animals is mandatory. Articles will not be evaluated if the required document is not submitted. Authors must specify the name of the institution granting the Ethics Committee approval, along with the approval date and number, on the article's title page.

Publisher's Responsibilities
• The Arel University Journal of Health Sciences is published by the Faculty of Health Sciences at Istanbul Arel University.
• The publisher recognizes that the decision-making authority and the peer-review process are the editor's responsibility during the article publication process in the journal.
• Unless journal articles are published on another institution’s page, the publisher is responsible for ensuring the journal's open, electronic, and free access to the journal's webpage hosted on the university’s website.

Responsibilities of the Editor, Associate Editors, and Section Editors
• The Editor and the Editorial Board are responsible for the publication and publishing processes of articles submitted to the Arel University Journal of Health Sciences. The Editor and the Editorial Board act impartially when making decisions regarding the journal and the published articles.
• The Editorial Board strives to improve the journal and enhance the quality of its publications.
• The Editor and the Editorial Board ensure that experts in the relevant fields evaluate articles.
• Attention is paid to avoiding conflicts of interest or alignment of interests between reviewers and authors during the evaluation process.
• The Editor and the Editorial Board do not disclose information about authors and reviewers to either party during the double-blind peer review process.
• When authors request information about the status of their submissions, updates are provided without compromising the confidentiality of the peer review process.
• The submission and acceptance dates of articles are published in the journal.
• The Editor and the Editorial Board protect human and animal rights in articles and reject manuscripts lacking ethics committee approval.
• Editors must not have any personal and/or financial conflicts of interest with the authors of the assigned articles.
• If a member of the Editorial Board is listed as an author in a submitted manuscript, they are excluded from the evaluation process of that manuscript.
• The Editorial Board reviews all manuscripts uploaded by authors to ensure compliance with the journal’s guidelines.
• The Editorial Board ensures that the manuscript evaluation process remains confidential and does not share details with third parties.
• All manuscripts uploaded to the system are reviewed impartially and without discrimination by the Editorial Board.

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers
• Reviewers must not directly communicate with authors. Feedback, corrections on evaluation forms, and comments on the text are conveyed to the authors through the management system, DergiPark, via the editor and/or editorial board.
• Articles are assigned to reviewers based on their areas of expertise. However, if a selected reviewer feels the subject matter of the article does not fall within their area of knowledge, identifies a conflict of interest with the authors, feels unqualified to review the manuscript, or cannot complete the review on time, they should notify the editor and withdraw from the review process.
• Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts impartially and maintain confidentiality throughout the review process, refraining from sharing information with third parties.
• Reviewers must treat manuscripts, related materials, and their contents as strictly confidential.
• Reviewers should not disclose authors’ ideas or data.
• Reviewers must provide honest, objective, and unbiased evaluations of the scientific aspects of the manuscript. Personal criticism of the author should be avoided, and feedback should be academic, constructive, and supported by data, using respectful language free of personal insults.
• Reviewers should evaluate manuscripts based on scientific merit without considering the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnicity, citizenship, or political philosophy.
• If reviewers detect any ethical violations in the manuscript, they must inform the editor.
• Reviewers should submit their evaluations and suggestions by the deadline. If the review is not completed within the specified time, the assigned task will be canceled, and the editors will appoint a new reviewer.

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors
• Ethics committee approval must be documented and uploaded as a separate file. The information in the ethics committee approval document must match the article title and author names.
• For research requiring ethics committee approval, the approval must be obtained and specified in the appropriate sections of the manuscript according to the journal’s writing guidelines (e.g., name of the committee, date, and approval number). For case reports, information regarding obtaining informed consent from participants must be included under the heading “Informed Consent Statement.”
• Authors must comply with copyright regulations for the intellectual and artistic works used. Sources must be cited for instruments like scales.
• Authors are responsible for disclosing all personal and financial relationships that could create a conflict of interest.
• If an institution has supported the research, this information must be included on the Title Page.
• Authors must confirm that the manuscript submitted to the Arel University Journal of Health Sciences has not been published elsewhere and is not under consideration for publication in another journal.
• Only those who contributed significantly to the study (e.g., design, execution, data collection, analysis/interpretation, hypothesis development, drafting, and critical intellectual revision) should be listed as authors. All authors must have reviewed and approved the final manuscript for submission.
• Authors must cite sources using ethical principles during manuscript preparation.
• Articles submitted for publication must have a similarity rate (excluding references) of less than 18%.
• Ethics committee approval is not required for review articles.
• Authors must provide information and raw data related to the manuscript if requested to the editor or editorial board.
• Authors should notify the editor or editorial board immediately if they identify an error in their manuscript during review, early view, or electronic publication and cooperate to correct it.
• Suppose the manuscript originates from a thesis, abstract poster, or oral presentation. In that case, this must be stated on the Title Page (e.g., “This article is based on data obtained from the author’s master’s/doctoral thesis,” or “This article was presented as an oral/poster presentation at [name of the congress] on [date].”). Full-text manuscripts with identical methods, findings, or discussions as those in prior conference proceedings must be submitted for journal publication as articles.

Research Requiring Ethics Committee Approval
• Any research employing qualitative or quantitative approaches that involve collecting data from participants using surveys, interviews, focus group studies, observations, experiments on living beings, or similar techniques.
• The use of humans or animals (including materials/data) for experimental or other scientific purposes.
• Clinical research conducted on humans.
• Research conducted on animals.
• Retrospective studies requiring the protection of personal data in accordance with data protection laws.

Reporting an Unethical Situation
If you notice a significant error or mistake in a published manuscript or encounter behavior or content that does not comply with the above ethical responsibilities, please email it to https://dergipark.org.tr/balikesirsbd.

Complaint Policy
Complaints regarding any material published in the Arel University Journal of Health Sciences must be submitted within six months from the initial publication date. Suppose there are any complaints about the article process or content. In that case, authors must submit their complaints, along with justifications, via email to the journal’s editorial office at ausbyd@arel.edu.tr or through the journal’s website.

No fee is charged from the author or institution under any name.