Bozok Medical Journal

The journal aims to publish research, original work, review and case reports that contribute in its field on national and international levels in basic medical sciences and clinical branches.

Bozok Medical Journal is the official publication of Yozgat Bozok University, Faculty of Medicine that offers scientific content. It is printed 4 times in a year in the months of March, June, September and December.
Bozok Medical Journal is a national journal, based on peer-review consultation principles publishing clinic and basic science, original research articles, reviews, editor views and case reports in every field of medicine.

General Information
Articles are accepted for publication on the condition that they are original, are not under consideration by another journal, or have not been previously published. Direct quotations, tables, or illustrations that have appeared in copyrighted material must be accompanied by written permission for their use from the copyright owner and authors.
The Journal commit to rigorous peer review, and stipulates freedom from commercial influence, and promotion of the highest ethical and scientific standards in published articles. It is the authors’ responsibility to prepare a manuscript that meets scientific criterias and ethical criterias. During the evaluation of the manuscript, the research data and/or ethics committee approval form can be requested from the authors if it’s required by the editorial board.
All articles are subject to review by the editors and at least two referees. Acceptance is based on significance, and originality of the material submitted. Authors should upload the final version of the draft to the system as a single word file If the article is accepted for publication, it may be subject to editorial revisions to aid clarity and understanding without changing the data presented.
A copyright release form signed by all authors, a copy of conflict of interest and a copy of the approval of ethics committee must be uploaded to the system simultaneously with the manuscript. Submissions received without these forms (copyright, conflict of interest and approval of ethics committee) cannot be sent out for review. The form of IJME should be used for copyright release statement. This form can be dowloaded from the link below:

https://www.jmcp.org/pb-assets/pdf/ICMJE%20coi_disclosure-1554411604567.pdf

The publisher owns the copyright of all published articles. Statements and opinions expressed in the published material herein are those of the author(s). Manuscript writers are not paid by any means for their manuscripts

Editorial Policies
• Text should be double spaced with 2,5 cm margins on both sides of a standard A4 page, using 12-point font. Manuscripts should be written with Microsoft Office Word document or rich text format.
• Each section should start on a separate page.
• The pages should be numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page and the page numbers should be placed in the lower right corner of each page.
• The title page should be organized as follows: Full title of the article, both in Turkish and English, all author’s full names with academic degrees, and names of departments and institutions, short title of not more than 40 characters for page headings, at least 3 and maximum 6 key words, corresponding author’s e-mail, postal address, telephone and fax numbers, any grants or fellowships supporting the writing of the manuscript.
• Abstracts should written Turkish and English according to categories of articles.
• Key words should be minimally 3 and maximum 6, and should written Turkish and English. The words should be separated by semicolon (;), from each other. English key words should be appropriate to “Medical Subject Headings (MESH)” (Look: www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.html). Turkish key words should be appropriate to “Türkiye Bilim Terimleri (TBT)” (Look: www.bilimterimleri.com).
• All figures, pictures, tables and graphics should be cited at the end of the relevant sentence and numbered consecutively and kept separately from the main text. Explanations about figures, pictures, tables and graphics must be placed at the end of the article. All abbrevations used, must be listed in explanation which will be placed at the bottom of each figure, picture, table and graphic. Submit your figures as EPS, TIFF, JPG or PDF files, use 300 dpi resolution for pictures and 600 dpi resolution for line art.
• In acknowldgements section; conflict of interest, financial support, grants, and all other editorial (statistical analysis, language editing) and/or technical asistance if present, must be presented at the end of the text.
• The list of the references at the end of the paper should be given according to their first appearance in the text. Journal abbreviations should conform to the style used in the Cumulated Index Medicus (please look at: www.icmje.org). Citations in the text should be identified by numbers in brackets at the end of the relevant sentence. If reference numbers follow each other, the hyphen is placed between the starting and ending numbers. All authors should be listed if six or fewer, otherwise list the first six and add the et al. Declarations, personal experiments, unpublished papers, thesis can not be given as reference. Format for on-line-only publications; DOI is the only acceptable on-line reference.
• Choosing references from national magazines is recommend.
Examples for writing references (please give attention to punctuation):
• Format for journal articles; iinitials of author’s names and surnames, titles of article, journal name, date, volume, number, and inclusive pages, must be indicated.
* Rempel D, Dahin L, Lundborg G. Pathophysiology of nevre compression syndromes: response of peripheral nerves to loading. J Bone Joint Surg. 1999;81(11):1600-10.

• Format for books; initials of author’s names and surnames, chapter title, editor’s name, book title, edition, city, publisher, date and pages.
* Kozin SH, Bishop AT, Cooney WP. Tendinitis of the wrist. In Cooney WP, Linscheid RL, Dobins JH, eds. The wrist: diagnosis and operative treatment. Vol. 2. St. Louis: Mosby, 1998: 1181-96.
• Article with a Digital Object Identifier (DOI):
*Zhang M, Holman CD, Price SD, Sanfilippo FM, Preen DB, Bulsara MK. Comorbidity and repeat admission to hospital for adverse drug reactions in older adults: retrospective cohort study. BMJ. 2009 Jan 7;338:a2752. doi: 10.1136/bmj.a2752.
• For other reference style, please refer to “ICMJE Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Sample References”.

CATEGORIES OF ARTICLES
Original Research Articles:
Original prospective or retrospective studies of basic or clinical investigations in areas relevant to medicine.
Content: - Abstract (200-250 words; the structured abstract contain the following sections: Objective, material and methods, results, conclusion; both in Turkish and English)
- Introduction
- Material and Methods
- Results
- Discussion/ Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
- References
*Original articles should be no longer than 5000 words and should include no more than 6 figures / tables and 40 references.



Review Articles
The authors may be invited to write or may submit a review article. Reviews including the latest medical literature may be prepared on all medical topics. Authors who have published materials on the topic are preferred.
Content: - Abstract (200-250 words; without structural divisions; both in Turkish and English)
- Titles on related topics
- References
* These manuscripts should be no longer than 5000 words and include no more than 4 figures and tables and 100 references.
Short Communications
It should be no longer than 2000 words and include no more than 2 figures and tables and 20 references.
Case Reports
Brief descriptions of a previously undocumented disease process, a unique unreported manifestation or treatment of a known disease process, or unique unreported complications of treatment regimens. They should include an adequate number of photos and figures.
Content: - Abstract (average 100-150 words; without structural divisions; both in Turkish and English)
- Introduction
- Case report
- Discussion
- References
Letters to the Editor
These are the letters that include different views, experiments and questions of the readers about the manuscripts that were published in this journal in the recent year.
Content: - There’s no title, abstract, any figures or tables
- It should be no more that 500 words, the number of references should not exceed 5.
- Submitted letters should include a note indicating the attribution to an article (with the number and date) and the name, affiliation and address of the author(s) at the end.
- The answer to the letter is given by the editor or the author(s) of the manuscript and is
published in the journal.
Checklist
The manuscript should be prepared as separate files in the following order:
1. Cover Letter
2. Title Page
3. Abstract
4. Main Text (text, acknowledgments, references, tables, and figure legends)
5. Figures
6. Copyright Form

PUBLICATION ETHICS

The publication process at Bozok Medical Journal is the basis of the improvement and dissemination of information objectively and respectfully. Therefore, the procedures in this process improves the quality of the studies. Peer-reviewed studies are the ones that support and materialize the scientific method. At this point, it is of utmost importance that all parties included in the publication process (authors, readers and researchers, publisher, reviewers and editors) comply with the standards of ethical considerations. Bozok Medical Journal expects all parties to hold the following ethical responsibilities.
The following ethical duties and responsibilities are written in the light of the guide and policies made by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF AUTHORS
The authors who submit their manuscripts to Bozok Medical Journal are expected to comply with the following ethical responsibilities:
Author(s) must submit original studies to the journal. If they utilize or use other studies, they must make the in-text and end-text references accurately and completely.
People who have not contributed to the study at the intellectual level should not be indicated as author.
If the manuscripts submitted to be published are subject of conflicting interests or relations, these must be explained.
During the review process of their manuscripts, author(s) may be asked to supply raw data. In such a case, author(s) should be ready to submit such data and information to the editorial and scientific boards.
Author(s) should document that they have the participants' consent and the necessary permissions related with the sharing and research/analysis of the data that are used.
Author(s) bears the responsibility to inform the editor of the journal or publisher if they happen to notice a mistake in their study which is in early release or publication process and to cooperate with the editors during the correction or withdrawal process.
Authors cannot submit their studies to multiple journals simultaneously. Each submission can be made only after the previous one is completed. A study published in another journal cannot be submitted to Bozok Medical Journal.Author responsibilities given in a study (e.g.: adding an author, reordering of author names) whose review process has begun cannot be changed.

Ethical Responsibilities of Editors
The editor and field editors of Bozok Medical Journal should hold the following ethical responsibilities that are based on the guides "COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" and "COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors" published as open Access by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

General duties and responsibilities
Editors are responsible for each study published in Bozok Medical Journal. In this respect, the editors have the following roles and responsibilities:
Making efforts to meet the demand for knowledge from readers and authors,
Ensuring the continuous development of the journal,
Managing the procedures aimed to improve the quality of the studies published in the journal,
Supporting freedom of expression,
Ensuring academic integrity,
Following the procedures without making concessions on intellectual property rights and ethical standards,
Being transparent and clear in issues that require correction or explanation.

Relationships with Readers
Editors must make decisions taking into consideration the knowledge, skills and expectations of all readers, researchers and practitioners need. They must also ensure that the published studies contribute to literature and be original. Moreover, they must take notice of the feedback received from researchers and practitioners and provide explanatory and informative feedback.

Relationships with Authors
Editors have the following duties and responsibilities in their relations with authors:
Editors must make positive or negative decisions about the studies' importance, originality, validity, clarity in wording and suitability with the journal's aims and objectives.
Editors must accept the studies that are within the scope of publication into pre review process unless there are serious problems with the study.
Editors must not ignore positive suggestions made by reviewers unless there are serious problems with the study.
New editors, unless there are serious issues, must not change the previous editor's decisions about the studies.
"Blind Review and Review Process" must be published and editors must prevent possible diversions in the defined processes.

Relationships with Reviewers
Editors have the following duties and responsibilities in their relations with reviewers:
Editors must
Choose reviewers according to the subject of the study.
Provide the information and guidance reviewers may need during the review process.
Observe whether there are conflicting interests between reviewers and authors.
Keep the identities of reviewers confidential in blind review.
Encourage the reviewers to review the manuscript in an unbiased, scientific and objective tone.
Develop practices and policies that increase the performance of reviewers.
Take necessary steps to update the reviewer pool dynamically.
Prevent unkind and unscientific reviews.
Make effort to ensure the reviewer pool has a wide range.

Relationships with the Editorial Board
Editors must make sure that the members of the editorial board follow the procedures in accordance with the publication policies and guidelines, and must inform the members about the publication policies and developments. Moreover, editors must
Ensure that the members of the editorial board review the manuscripts in an unbiased and independent manner.
Select the new members of the editorial board from those who can contribute to the journal and are qualified enough.
Send manuscripts for review based on the subject of expertise of the editorial board members.
Regularly communicate with the editorial board.Arrange regular meetings with the editorial board for the development of publication policies and the journal.

Relationships with the Journal's Owner and Publisher
The relationship between the editors and publisher is based on the principle of the independency of editors. All the decisions made by the editors are independent of the publisher and the owner of the journal as required by the agreement made between editors and publisher.

Editorial and Double Blind Review Processes
Editors are obliged to comply with the policies of "Blind Review and Review Process" stated in the journal's publication policies. Therefore, the editors ensure that each manuscript is reviewed in an unbiased, fair and timely manner.

Quality Assurance
Editors must make sure that articles in the journal are published in accordance with the publication policies of the journal and international standards.

Protection of Personal Information
Editors are supposed to protect the personal information related with the subjects or visuals in the studies being reviewed, and to reject the study if there is no documentation of the subjects' consent. Furthermore, editors are supposed to protect the personal information of the authors, reviewers and readers.

Encouraging Ethical Rules and Protection of Human and Animal Rights
Editors are supposed to protect human and animal rights in the studies being reviewed and must reject the experimental studies which do not have ethical and related committee’s approval about the population given in such studies.

Precautions against possible Abuse and Malpractice
Editors are supposed to take precautions against possible abuse and malpractice. They must conduct investigations meticulously and objectively in determining and evaluating complaints about such situations. They must also share the results of the investigation.

Ensuring Academic Integrity
Editors must make sure that the mistakes, inconsistencies or misdirections in studies are corrected quickly.

Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
Editors are responsible for protecting the intellectual property rights of all the articles published in the journal and the rights of the journal and author(s) in cases where these rights are violated. Also, editors must take the necessary precautions in order to prevent the content of all published articles from violating the intellectual property rights of other publications.

Constructiveness and Openness to Discussion
Editors must
Pay attention to the convincing criticism about studies published in the journal and must have a constructive attitude towards such criticism.
Grant the right of reply to the author(s) of the criticized study.
Not ignore or exclude the study that include negative results.

Political and Economic Apprehensions
Neither the owner of the journal, publisher or any other political or economical factor can influence the independent decision taking of the editors.

Conflicting Interests
Editors, acknowledging that there may be conflicting interests between reviewers and other editors, guarantee that the publication process of the manuscripts will be completed in an independent and unbiased manner

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers
The fact that all manuscripts are reviewed through "Double Blind Review" has a direct influence on the publication quality. This process ensures confidentiality by objective and independent review. The review process at Bozok Medical Journal is carried out on the principle of double blind review. Reviewers do not contact the authors directly, and the reviews and comments are conveyed through the journal management system. In this process, the reviewer views on the evaluation forms and full texts are assigned to the author(s) by the editor. Therefore, the reviewers doing review work for Bozok Medical Journal are supposed to bear the following ethical responsibilities:
Reviewers must
Agree to review only in their subject of expertise.
Review in an unbiased and confidential manner.
Inform the editor of the journal if they think that they encounter conflict of interests and decline to review the manuscript during the review process.
Dispose the manuscripts they have reviewed in accordance with the principle of confidentiality after the review process. Reviewers can use the final versions of the manuscripts they have reviewed only after publication.
Review the manuscript objectively and only in terms of its content and ensure that nationality, gender, religious and political beliefs, and economic apprehension do not influence the review.
Review the manuscript in a constructive and kind tone, avoid making personal comments including hostility, slander and insult.
Review the manuscript they have agreed to review on time and in accordance with the ethical rules stated above.

Ethical Responsibilities of Publisher
Yozgat Bozok University, Faculty of Medicine is the publisher of Bozok Medical Journal. The Editors and the Editorial Board of Bozok Medical Journal are conscious of the fact that they must observe the ethical responsibilities below and act accordingly:
Editors are responsible for all the processes that the manuscripts submitted to Bozok Medical Journal will go through. Within this framework, ignoring the economic or political interests, the decision-makers are the editors.
The publisher undertakes to have an independent editorial decision made.
The publisher protects the intellectual property rights of all the articles published in Bozok Medical Journal and holds the responsibility to keep a record of each unpublished article.
The publisher bears all the responsibility to take the precautions against scientific abuse, fraud and plagiarism.

Unethical Behaviour
Should you encounter any unethical act or content in Bozok Medical Journal apart from the ethical responsibilities listed above, please notify the journal by e-mail at tip.editor@bozok.edu.tr.

ücretsiz