International Journal of History and Culture Studies

Bellek International Journal of History and Cultural Studies aims to improve academic sharing and scientific knowledge in the field of history and culture through publishing research paper, review articles, critics and translated articles. Bellek as e-journal is classified as international, peer-reviewed, academic and open-access. It aims to create an academic platform which the link between "past, present and future" can be established in the light of the history that is also known “the memory of the society”. Thus, it adopts eliminating the scientific needs and curiosities of individuals as principle by bringing qualified solutions to the scientific issues.

• Bellek International Journal of History and Cultural Studies is international, peer-reviewed, academic and open-access e-journal which is published biannually in June and December.
• Articles are published in Turkish and English.
• Bellek International Journal of History and Cultural Studies seeks to bring together public and scientific information that is produced from the sources relating to Turkish and World history (political, economic, social, local and oral history; theories and methods of history; biography, autobiography, monograph; foreign policy; international relations; population movements etc) on the academic platform.
• Articles submitted to journal should be related to all branches of the history or other social disciplines which are associated with the history.
• The journal is abstracted and indexed in various databases.
• Submitted works should be original and not published by other platforms before. Papers which already presented in symposium, panels or conferences may be accepted as long as papers are not published.
• The legal responsibility and claims of the manuscript belongs to the authors.
• The journal adheres double blind review process.
• Manuscripts submitted to the journal are firstly evaluated by the editor(s). Manuscripts that do not fit into the scope of the journal and which are not academic in terms of form and style may be rejected or changes may be requested without initiating the review process. No articles are accepted by the editor(s) without positive referee reports.
• Manuscripts which pass the pre-evaluation process are sent to at least two referees determined by the editor and / or advisory board. It is sent to the third reviewer in case of need. Afterwards, it is decided whether the study will be published according to the results of the referee reports.
• Author should re-submit the manuscript within 30 days by making corrections in accordance with reefers' suggestions.
• The referee reports are stored for 60 months by the editorial board.
• The authors, submitting articles to the journal, shall be deemed to accept all legal liability, terms and the peer reviewing process. 
  

I) Language, Style and Scope of Writing

a) The referee process will not be initiated for articles that do not comply with the writing rules.

b) For all submitted articles, a Turkish summary of 200-300 words and 5-6 keywords should be added.

c) In studies prepared in Turkish, an English extended summary of 750-1,000 words and including 5 themes (scope, purpose, importance, method, result) should be added after the Turkish summary. In studies written in English, a Turkish summary of 200-300 words should be prepared.

d) A bibliography should be provided at the end of the articles.

e) When submitting articles, statements indicating the author's identity (name, surname, institution, etc.) should be removed.

f) Research and review articles should be at least 4,000 and at most 10,000 words. Book reviews should not exceed 2,500 words.

g) In terms of spelling and punctuation, the current spelling guide of the Turkish Language Association should be taken as basis, except for special cases necessitated by the terminology of the subject.

h) After the work is completed, it should be passed through a similarity scanning program such as "ithenticate", "turnithen", "urkund", "intihal.net" before being sent to the journal and the resulting report should be submitted to the journal. Works with a similarity rate below 20% will be sent to referees, otherwise they will be rejected.

II) Page Layout (For a sample page structure, see: Appendix-1).

Articles should be written in Microsoft Word and the page layout should be as follows:

Paper Size: A4 Vertical

Top Margin: 2.5 cm

Bottom Margin: 2.5 cm

Left Margin: 2.5 cm

Right Margin: 2.5 cm

Paragraph Heading: 1 cm

Paragraph Alignment: Justify

Block Quote (Right and Left): 1 cm (without paragraph header) inside, within quotation marks and in italics

Font: Times New Roman

Font Style: Normal

Main Text Size: 12 points

Title Text Size: 14 points

Abstract Size: 10 points

Block Quote Size: 10 points

Footnote Text Size: 10 point

Paragraph Spacing: First 0 pt, then 6 pt

Line Spacing: Single

III) Other Issues

a) The main titles of the article in Turkish and English should be written in 14 pt, capital letters and bold. Second-degree subheadings should be written in 12 pt, only the first letters of the words should be written in capital and bold. All subheadings after the introduction section should be numbered.

b) Only the author's "name and surname" is written on the bottom line of the article title, justified to the right. After writing only the first letter of the author's name and the entire surname in capital letters and bold, an explanatory footnote with an asterisk (*) is placed above the surname. The author's institution and e-mail information are written in the asterisk footnote at the bottom of the page. If there is more than one author, the same process is continued for each author, starting from the next line and increasing the asterisk mark.

c) For visuals such as tables, figures, and graphics used within the text, a 10-point title should be used with a sequence number and scope. Photographs, maps, and figures should be placed at least 300 dpi resolution and should fit within the page. The source information cited should be indicated immediately below the relevant visual, again in 10-point font.

d) Only the traditional footnote (Continental Europe) method is used in citing sources. The footnote and bibliography are as follows:

When the Source Cited is First Referenced:

- Single Author Source:

Dogan Aksan, Semantics Topics and Turkish Semantics, Engin Publishing House, Ankara 1999, p. 42.

Doğan Aksan, “The Place of Linguistics in Turkish Studies and Teaching”, DTCF Journal, Vol. 5, No. 2, p. 45.

Ayten Can Tunalı, Structure in the Ottoman Land Army in the Tanzimat Period, (Unpublished Doctoral Thesis), Ankara University Institute of Social Sciences, Ankara 2003, p. 45.

Fatih Kahya, “Cities Preferred by Insurance Companies in the Ottoman Period”, VIII. Turkish Maritime Trade History Symposium Proceedings Book, 27-28 May 2016-Istanbul, (Ed.: Rahmi Deniz Özbay), Istanbul Publications, Istanbul 2016, p. 97.

Akşam, 10 February 1954, p. 5.

Nadir Ozkuyumcu, “Tolunoğulları”, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/tolunogullari, Access Date: 21.03.2019.

Source Person: Hatice Uygur; Ahmet’s daughter, born in Antakya in 1933, Primary school

• Publication Ethics
  The publication processes of BELLEK (Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Faculty of Science and Literature, the Department of History) Journal are based on unbiased production, development, and sharing of knowledge with scientific methods.
  Refereed articles are studies that ensure the application of the scientific method and impartiality. In the realization of scientific production, all components of the publication process; publishers, editors, authors, referees, and readers must comply with ethical principles. In this context, the publication ethics and open access policy of BELLEK in line with the guidelines and policies published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (For example, "Publication Ethics Committee (COPE)) The Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors, “Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors” and “COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors”) require that all components of the publication process comply with ethical principles.
  In situations such as manipulating and distorting the data used in the articles and using fake data are detected, this situation will be officially reported to the institution where the article writer works and the article will be rejected. Our journal has the right to request the output files of the analysis results from the authors according to the feedback given by the editors and/or referees.
  
  Publisher's Ethical Responsibilities
• BELLEK (Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Faculty of Science and Literature, the Department of History), is a non-profit public education institution that pursues the public interest.
• BELLEK is a refereed social and humanities journal that has been published bi-annually since December 2019 under the direction of the editorial board or editorial board. The journal aims to constitute a discussion platform for critical research on the axis of social and humanities, theoretical debates that go beyond the boundaries of disciplines, and empirical analysis based on research. BELLEK promotes interdisciplinary and comparative studies. The journal also covers the studies on history and culture. The journal aims to create a platform where "past-present-future" connection can be established in the light of the science of history called "memory of societies" through the articles. Thus, it has adopted to satisfy the scientific needs and curiosity of individuals by bringing qualified solutions to scientific problems as a principle.
• Members of the Editorial Board of Journal, each member is assigned for three years, taking into account the branches of science. As the head of the Editorial Board, an editor and, depending on the situation, one or more assistant editors and field editors are determined. A new member is appointed to replace the leaving member. The term of the expired member can be extended. According to the subject of the article, when necessary, the editor may send articles to faculty members who are not members of the Board of Editors for review as a field editor.
  
  Responsibilities of the Editorial Board of Journal
• BELLEK is responsible for every article submitted, and even all processes after its publication, and the Editorial Board knows this responsibility. This responsibility, considering only the public interest in decisions made on journal-related matters; it requires making decisions independently without considering personal gain. The relationship between the Publisher and the Editorial Board is based on the principle of independence, and all decisions taken by the editors are independent of the publisher and other persons and organizations.
• The Editorial Board of BELLEK (Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Faculty of Science and Literature, the Department of History) Journal strives to continuously improve the journal and increase its publication quality.
• The Editorial Board ensures that journal policies such as publication, blind refereeing, evaluation process and ethical principles are determined and implemented.
• Editorial Board of Journal protects the copyright of published article authors.
• The Editorial Board of Journal is responsible for taking measures regarding intellectual property rights, unscientific-unethical behaviors, plagiarism, sending (citation) gangs during the publishing process of articles and journals.
• The Editorial Board sets policies to encourage the referees and the author (s).
• The Editorial Board of Journal keeps the records of each article and the correspondence related to the journal in electronic or printed form.
• Ethical Responsibilities of Editor, Assistant Editors and Field Editors
• Editors endeavor to respond to the information needs of referees, author (s), researchers, practitioners and readers when necessary, to act according to the principles of clarity in matters that require correction and explanation during the publication process.
• While deciding on the publication of articles, editors take care that the articles are original and contribute to the scientific literature, readers, researchers and practitioners.
• While making positive or negative decisions about the articles, editors take into account the original value of the articles, their contribution to the field, the validity and reliability of the research method, the clarity of the expression, and the journal's purpose and scope.
• Editors take the submitted articles to the pre-evaluation stage as long as they do not have a significant problem, consider positive referee suggestions, and do not change the decisions made by the previous editor (s) unless there is a serious problem.
• Editors apply the policies of blind review and evaluation process, which are among the publishing policies of the journal, keep the identities of the referees confidential, and ensure that each article is evaluated objectively and in time.
• Editors send articles taking into account the field of expertise of the editors and referees, and they support the impartial and independent evaluation.
• Editors take into account whether there is a conflict of interest between the editors, referees and author (s) for unbiased evaluation of the article.
• Editors, referee pool consisting of a wide range and constantly updated
  
  Ethical Responsibilities of Referees
• In the article evaluation process of Journal, the two-way blind arbitration principle is applied, the referees of the author (s) do not recognize the authors, the referees cannot directly communicate with the authors; The article evaluation forms and the notes specified on the text and requests for correction are conveyed to the author (s) by the editors through the journal management system. Referees who will evaluate the articles submitted to the Journal should bear the following ethical responsibilities.
• Referees should only agree to evaluate articles related to their field of expertise.
• Referees should assess in neutral and confidentiality. Following this principle, they should destroy the articles they have reviewed after the evaluation process, but use them after publication. Nationality, gender, religious belief, political belief and commercial concerns should not spoil the neutrality of the evaluation.
• When the referees understand that there is a conflict of interest, they should refuse to evaluate the article and inform the editors.
• Referees should evaluate a constructive language by academic etiquette; Avoid personal comments containing insults and hostility.
• Referees should evaluate the article, which they accept, within the time limit.
  
  Ethical Responsibilities of Authors
• Author (s) should not send an article that they have published elsewhere or sent to be published or more than one article at the same time to Journal.
• Author (s) must send an original article to the Journal.
• The author (s) must correctly refer (cite) to the sources they use during article writing in line with ethical principles.
• The names of persons who do not contribute to the article should not be written as authors, and it should not be suggested to change the order of the author of an article submitted for publication, to remove or add authors.
• Notify the editors of the people who have a conflict of interest or a common interest in the article for publication
• If information or raw data is requested from the author (s) during the evaluation process, they should submit the expected information to the Editors.
• The author (s) must document that the rights to use the data they use in their articles, permission for research-analysis, or the consent of the participants on which they have researched.
• The author (s) should contact the editor to inform, correct, or retract when they notice an error in the evaluation and early viewing or electronically published article.
• The author (s) received ethics committee approval for research that requires data collection through quantitative or qualitative methods such as experiments, questionnaires, scales, interviews, observations, focus group studies that require ethics committee decision; The name, date, and a number of the ethics committee should be stated on the first-last page of the candidate article and in the method section, and the document showing the ethics committee decision should be uploaded to the system with the application of the article. In addition, case reports should include information about obtaining the consent form/consent form in the article.
• The author (s) should present in the article the evidence that they adhere to ethical principles in the data collection process (such as obtaining permission from others to use documents such as scale, questionnaire, photograph). It should be stated in the articles that research and publication ethics and copyright regulations for intellectual and artistic works are complied with. If the research has been carried out on human and animal subjects, the research should be carried out with international reports, guidelines, etc. It should be reported that it was performed properly.
• Ethics committee approval is not required from the author (s) for review articles. However, for articles that do not require an ethics committee decision, it should be stated that an ethics committee decision is not required, on the first-last page and method section of the article.
  
  Violations of Scientific Research and Publication Ethics
• Plagiarism: Showing others' original ideas, methods, data, or works as their own work, partially or completely, without citing scientific rules,
• Forgery: Using data that does not actually exist or has been falsified in scientific research.
• Distortion: Falsifying research records or data obtained, showing the devices or materials not used in the research as being used, falsifying or shaping the results of the research in line with the interests of the people and organizations,
• Republishing: To present repetitive publications as separate publications for academic appointments and promotions,
• Slicing: Dividing the results of research into pieces in a way that disrupts the integrity of the research and inappropriately and publishing in more than one issue and presenting these publications as separate publications in academic appointments and promotions,
• Unfair authorship: Including people who have no active contribution among the authors or not including those who are, changing the author's order in an unjustified and inappropriate manner, removing the names of those who have an active contribution from the work in subsequent editions, using their influence to include their names among the authors, even though they have no active contribution,
• Not specifying the supporting persons, institutions, or organizations and their contributions in the publications made as a result of researches conducted with support,
• Using thesis or studies that have not been submitted yet or have not been accepted as a source without the permission of the owner,
• Failing to comply with ethical rules in human and animal research, not respecting patient rights in publications, harming animal health and ecological balance, not obtaining necessary permissions,
• Misusing resources, spaces, facilities, and devices provided or allocated for scientific research,
• Making false or misleading statements regarding scientific research and publications in academic appointments and promotions
  
  Plagiarism Policy
• Plagiarism (plagiarism) is an ethical violation, regardless of whether it is intended or not. It is unethical and unacceptable if the studies are similar to other sources, without reference, and that they are published as such.
• The Editorial Board can act following COPE rules against allegations and suspicions of plagiarism, citation manipulation and data fraud related to the articles submitted to the journal.
• Articles submitted to be published in BELLEK are subjected to double-blind referee evaluation by at least two referees. Besides, a special program used to detect plagiarism confirms that the articles have not been published before and do not contain plagiarism.
• Similarity acceptance rate cannot exceed 20%. Articles exceeding this rate are examined in detail and, if necessary, sent back to the authors for review or correction, and if plagiarism or unethical behavior is detected, their publication is rejected.
  
  Notifying the Editor of Non-Compliance with Ethical Principles
  In case of an unethical situation related to an article that is in an early view or an article in the process of evaluation or an act that does not comply with ethical principles regarding editors, referees and authors of BELLEK, it should be reported to bellek@mku.edu.tr address by message.
  

Free