Volume: 7 Issue: 3, 1/19/24

Year: 2023

The Balıkesir Medical Journal (BMJ) is an open access, scientific, peer-reviewed journal in accordance with independent, unbiased, and double-blinded peer-review. The journal is published every 4 months in February, June, November in electronically. The publication languages of the journal are English and Turkish.
This journal aims to contribute to science by publishing high quality, peer-reviewed publications of scientific and clinical importance address current issues at both national and international levels, start debates, and exert an influence on decision-makers all over the world by integrating science in everyday life. The journal publishes intradisciplinary or interdisciplinary clinical, experimental, and basic researches as well as original case reports, reviews, invited reviews, or letter to the editor. BMJ is committed to serve the public and influence people’s lives in a positive way by making science widely accessible. Believing that the only goal is improving lives, and research has an impact on people’s lives, we select the best research papers in line with this goal. The journal scopes various academic disciplines in medicine.
The target audience of the journal includes health care professionals such as academicians, specialists, and residents in different academic disciplines in medicine.
Balıkesir Medical Journal is currently indexed by Türkiye Atıf Dizini, OpenAIRE, SOBİAD ve Google Scholar.

Balıkesir Medical Journal (BMJ), which started its publication life in 2017, evaluates the publications in the form of original articles, reviews, case reports and letters to the editor in all fields of health sciences, especially basic sciences, clinical sciences, experimental research and alternative medicine sciences.

GENERAL INFORMATION
- Articles that are submitted to be published can’t have been published or submitted to be published anywhere else.
- If there are any citations, tables, pictures etc. that have been published before in the article, the author must get a written consent from the copyright holder and refer it in the article.
- Abstracts presented in scientific meetings are accepted on condition that they are referred in the article.
PUBLISHING RULES
- Articles that are written in Turkish are based on the official Turkish dictionary of the Turkish Language Institution or http://www.tdk.org.tr and Turkish Societies of Medicine can refer to their own glossaries.
- The authors are advised to get permission in terms of biostatical compatibility for articles that include biostatical data. Authors can reach http://www.icmje.org for additional information.
SCIENTIFIC RESPONSIBILITY
- All authors must be directly involved with the article academically and scientifically. The author must:
- Plan or do the study in the article,
- Write or revise the article,
- accept the final state of the article.
ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY
Studies requiring an Ethics Committee Approval are as follows;
• All kinds of studies conducted by qualitative and quantitative approaches using surveys, interviews, focus group studies, observations and experiments to collect data from the participants.
• Using humans or animals (including materials/data) in experiments or for other scientific purposes,
• Clinical researches on humans,
• Researches on animals,
• Retrospective studies in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Law.
- All studies that have “human” factor in it must be in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration Principles (http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/b3/index.html). In these kinds of studies, authors must indicate in “Materials and Methods” section that they did their research in accordance with these principles and that they obtained “informed consent” from the ethics committee of their institutions (Issue and Date) and from the people that took part in the study.
- If the study has “animal” factor in it, authors must indicate in “Materials and Methods” section that they protected human rights in accordance with the principles of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (http://www.nap.edu/catalog/5140.html) and that they obtained “informed consent” from the ethics committee of their institutions (Issue and Date).
- In case reports, “informed consent” is requested from the patients regardless of their identity being disclosed and the form must be submitted with the article.
- If there are any institutions that have direct or indirect commercial ties or that provide financial support for the study in the article, authors must indicate that they have no ties with the commercial products, drugs, companies etc. or if they do, what kind of connection they have (consultant, other agreements), in “cover letter”.
- If an “Ethics Committee Approval” is required, the form must be submitted with the article.
- ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) advices and COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) International Standards for Editors and Authors are taken into consideration in our journal.
- In studies that require an ethics committee approval, information concerning the approval (institution name, date and issue) must be given in “Materials and Methods” section and also in the first/last page of the article.
- Copyright regulations must be abided by in term of the Intellectual and Artistic Works.
- If a previously published figure, image, table or graphic is used, a written consent must be obtained and this consent must be indicated in the footnotes.
COPYRIGHT
- According to the Copyright Act of 1976, all publication rights of the articles that are accepted to be published belong to the publisher. All thoughts and suggestions in articles are completely under the responsibility of the author.
- For every article, authors must fill the “Copyright Transfer Form” on our website with a wet signature, then scan and submit it with the article.
TYPES OF ARTICLES
- Articles submitted to our journal must be in accordance with the specifications below:
Original Research: It includes prospective, retrospective and all kinds of experimental studies.
Structure
- Abstract: (Minimum: 150 – Maximum: 250 words; it must be composed of Aim, Materials and Methods, Results, Conclusion and Keywords, it must be written in both Turkish and English.)
- Introduction
- Materials and Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgement
- References
Review Article: It must be prepared directly by the author or by invitees. It can be prepared in accordance with every medical subject including the latest developments. It’s preferable that the author has publications about the given subject.
Structure
- Abstract: (Minimum: 150 – Maximum: 250 words; it must be composed of Aim, Materials and Methods, Results, Conclusion and Keywords, it must be written in both Turkish and English.)
- Relevant headings
- References
Case Report: They present unusual and novel occurrences. They must be supported by a sufficient number of images and tables.
Structure
- Abstract: (Minimum: 100 – Maximum: 250 words; it must be composed of Aim, Materials and Methods, Results, Conclusion and Keywords, it must be written in both Turkish and English.)
- Introduction
- Case Report
- Discussion
- References
Editorial Comment: It is the evaluation of the published original research article by an expert of the subject other than the author. It should be published at the end of the article.
Structure
- No headings and abstracts
- Introduction
- References
Letter to the Editor: It is an article consisting of maximum 500 words and includes various opinions, experiences and questions of readers regarding the articles published in the journal in the last one-year period.
Structure
- No headings and abstracts
- The number of references is limited to 5
- It must be indicated to which article (issue and date) it is attributed and there must be the name, institution and address of the author at the end. The letter is replied by the editor or the authors of the article and gets published in the journal.
ARTICLE WRITING RULES
- The article must be written in Times New Roman 12-pt in 1.5 lines spacing and with 2.5 cm of margin from all sides.
- The Article must comply with the following specifications:
ABBREVIATIONS: They must be put in a parenthesis immediately after the word and must be used throughout the article.
FIGURES, IMAGES, TABLES AND GRAPHICS
- It must be indicated where figures, images, tables and graphics are mentioned at the end of the sentence.
- Figure legends should be listed at the end of the article.
- Figures, graphics and photographs must be submitted as separate files in JPG or GIF format. The minimum resolution of each submitted figure should be 300 DPI and all submitted figures should be clear in resolution and large in size (average dimensions 500x400 mm).
- Abbreviations used in figures, images, tables and graphics must be defined below them by footnotes (even if they are defined within the main text).
- Tables must be numbered consecutively in the order they are referred to within the article.
- Tables must be included in the article and must be presented after the reference list.
- A descriptive title must be provided for all tables and the titles must be placed above the tables.
- If a previously published figure, image, table or graphic is used, a written consent must be obtained and this consent must be indicated in the footnotes.
COVER LETTER: The type of the article, whether it’s been sent to another journal, individuals and institutions supporting the study financially and the connection between these institutions and the authors if there are any must be indicated.
TITLE PAGE: The title of the journal (Turkish and English), names and surnames, academic titles, institutions, phone numbers, e-mails, ORCID numbers and addresses of all the authors must be indicated. The title page must be submitted separately as well.
ABSTRACTS: They must be prepared as instructed in TYPES OF ARTICLES and placed in the article.
KEYWORDS: One of the most important factors for the researchers to reach a published article is keywords. It is crucial that keywords must be in accordance with the subject of the article, have sufficient amount and include the necessary terminology in the matter of the article being referred and its contribution to science.
- There must be minimum 3, maximum 6 keywords both in Turkish and in English.
- Semicolons (;) must be used to separate words.
- Keywords in English must be given in accordance with “Medical Subject Headings” (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.html).
- Keywords in Turkish must be given in accordance with “Türkiye Bilim Terimleri (TBT)” (http://www.bilimterimleri.com).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: If there are any conflicts of interest, financial, editorial and/or technical support (statistical analyses, evaluations in Turkish/English), they must be indicated at the end of the article.
REFERENCES:
-If the number of the authors is 6 or less the authors’ names must be written. If they are 7 or more, first 6 names must be written and “et al.” for English and “ve ark.” for Turkish must be added after them.
- Conference proceedings, personal experiences, unprinted publications, theses and domain names cannot be references.
- If there is a DOI number for the article, it must be added.
Some reference examples:
For an article, the surname(s) and the first letter of the name(s) of the author(s), the title, the name of the journal, year, volume, issue, page number and DOI must be written respectively.
Example:
Paksoy S, Altun E, Başbuğ M, Söyleyici NA, Submüköz Kolon Lipomu: Bir Olgu Sunumu, Balıkesir Medical Journal,2019:3(3);122-128, DOI: 10.33716 bmedj.630340
For a book, the surname(s) and the first letter of the name(s) of the author(s), chapter title, the editor’s name, the name of the book, its edition, the name of the province, the publishing house, year and relevant pages must be written respectively.
Examples:
For the books in foreign languages;
Underwood LE, Van Wyk JJ. Normal and aberrant growth. In: Wilson JD, Foster DW, eds. Wiliams’ Textbook of Endocrinology. 1 st ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders; 1992. p.1079-138.
For the books in Turkish;
Tür A. Acil Hava Yolu Kontrolü ve Endotrakeal Entübasyon. Şahinoğlu AH, editör. Yoğun Bakım Sorunları ve Tedavileri. 2. Baskı. Ankara: Türkiye Klinikleri;2003. p.9-16.
For the books the authors and the editors of which are the same, the surname(s) and the first letter of the name(s) of the author(s) and editor(s), chapter title, the name of the book, its edition, the name of the province, the publishing house, year and relevant pages must be written respectively.
Examples:
For the books in foreign languages;
Solcia E, Capella C, Kloppel G. Tumors of the exocrine pancreas. Tumors of the Pancreas. 2 nd ed. Washington: Armed Forces Institute of Pathology; 1997. p.145-210.
For the books in Turkish;
Eken A. Kozmesötikler: Kozmetiklerle İlaçlar Arası Ürünler. Eken A, editör. Kozmesötik Etken Maddeler. 1. Baskı. Ankara: Türkiye Klinikleri; 2006. p.1-7.1 Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manuel for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 6th ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994.

ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY
Researches requiring Ethics Committee permission are as follows;
• All kinds of research conducted with qualitative or quantitative approaches that require data collection from participants using questionnaire, interview, focus group study, observation, experiment, interview techniques.
• Use of humans and animals (including material / data) for experimental or other scientific purposes,
• Clinical trials on humans,
• Research on animals,
Retrospective studies in accordance with the law on protection of personal data,
- The principle of compliance with the Principles of Helsinki Declaration (http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/b3/index.html) is sought in all studies involving the element of "human". In the presence of such studies, the authors should state that they conducted the study in accordance with these principles in the MATERIAL AND METHODS section of the article, and that they received "informed consent" from the ethics committees of their institutions (Issue and Date) and people who participated in the study.
- If the "Animal" item is used in the study, the authors must say that they protect animal rights in their work in line with the principles of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (http://www.nap.edu/catalog/5140.html) in the MATERIAL AND METHODS section of the article and (Number and Date) that they have received approval from their board.
- Regardless of revealing the identity of the patient in case presentations, patients are asked to receive an "informed consent form" and the document is requested to be sent with the article.
- If the article has a direct or indirect commercial link or financial support for the study, the authors; used commercial product, drug, company etc. He should indicate to the editor on the presentation page that he has no commercial relations with him and what kind of a relationship (consultant, other agreements), if any
- If the article requires "Ethics Committee Approval"; The document received must be sent with the article.
- In our journal, ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) recommendations and COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) International Standards for Editors and Authors are taken into consideration.
- In studies requiring ethics committee approval, information about permission (name of the board, date and number) should be included in the method section and also on the first / last page of the article.
- It is necessary to comply with copyright regulations for the intellectual and artistic works used.
- If previously published figures, pictures, tables and graphics are used, written permission should be obtained and this permission should be stated in the description of the figure, picture, table and graphic.

COPYRIGHT
- According to the 1976 Copyright Act, all publishing rights of the articles accepted for publication belong to the institution that publishes the journal. The opinions and suggestions in the articles are entirely the responsibility of the authors.
- For each article, authors must fill in the "Copyright Transfer Form" on the website of our journal, scan the wet signed version and send it to the journal with the article.

Our journal has adopted the Open Access Policy and no fee is charged from the authors, including evaluation and publication, for the publications sent to our journal.