Aim & Scope
Black Sea Journal of Health Science (BSJ Health Sci) is a double-blind peer-reviewed journal published electronically 4 times (January, April, July, and October) in a year. BSJ Health Sci is an open-access international e-journal. The overall aim of BSJ Health Sci is to promote the professional development of its readers, researchers, and scientists related to all health sciences around the world. BSJ Health Sci publishes, in Turkish or English, full-length original research articles, innovative papers, conference papers, reviews, mini-reviews, rapid communications, or technical notes by scientists on technical and clinical studies related to all health sciences. The objective of BSJ Health Sci is to provide a platform for the scientific community to publish their research findings and also to open new perspectives for further research. BSJ Health Sci is published electronically only, and the online version is available for free.
Writing Rules
Instructions to Authors
Black Sea Journal of Health Science (BSJ Health Sci) is published 4 times (January, April, July, and October) in a year as an international double-blind peer-reviewed journal. BSJ Health Sci is an open-access international e-journal. BSJ Health Sci publishes, in Turkish or English, full-length original research articles, innovative papers, conference papers, reviews, mini-reviews, short communications, or technical notes on various aspects of technical and clinical studies related to all health sciences.
All scientific contributions are assessed initially by the Editor-in-Chief. Those manuscripts failing to reach the required priority rating, failing to comply with the Instructions to Authors, or not fitting within the scope of the journal are not considered further and are returned to authors without detailed comments. It should be noted that rebuttals that challenge rejections based on priority and/or scope alone will rarely be successful since such a decision is necessarily a matter of opinion.
Manuscripts meeting the requirements will be peer-reviewed on the criteria of originality and quality. Authors may suggest up to three potential referees as optional. Please provide their email addresses, institution, and academic title. If the decision following review is "reject subject to major revision", a revised version may be submitted, but if major issues with the revised version are still identified by the reviewers, it will be rejected outright. On acceptance, papers may be subjected to editorial changes. Responsibility for the factual accuracy of a paper rests entirely with the author.
All instances of publishing misconduct, including, but not limited to, plagiarism, data fabrication, image/data manipulation to falsify/enhance results, manipulation of the reviewing process, etc., will result in rejection/retraction of the manuscript.
All responsibility for the scientific content of the articles to be published in the journal belongs to the author(s). "Copyright Form" and "Conflict of Interest Statement" forms must be signed by all authors and uploaded to the journal's online application system as supplementary files by the responsible author. All authors must be registered in the DergiPark system, and during the upload of the article to the system, the names, the institution's addresses, e-mail, and DOI numbers of all authors must be entered in the metadata section. If any authors are not registered in the DergiPark system, the article is on hold, and the Editor is not appointed. In addition, the abstract and references of the article should be entered in the metadata section. If any mentioned information is missing, the article will be returned to the corresponding author to complete the information.
Ethical committee approval should be obtained for the studies on clinical or experimental in humans or animals, and ethics committee reports should be attached when submitting the manuscript. Additionally, this approval should be stated in the article. After the acceptance of the manuscript, the authors and the order of the authors cannot be changed.
After the referee evaluation, the articles that need revision are sent to the author/s electronically through the DergiPark system. The author/s should take into account the comments of the referee/s and explain the comments and criticisms one by one. They must also prepare a detailed explanation in case they disagree with the reviewers' criticism. The revisions of the articles that have passed the referee evaluations should be uploaded to the system with the correction list within 30 days at the latest, and the article revision process must be completed. The specified period may be extended by the author's request for additional time or by the decision of the Editor-in-Chief. Otherwise, the existing article is considered a newly submitted article. Before making the final decision, the Editor-in-Chief reviews the revisions and corrections made by the author/s and makes the final decision on whether to publish the article.
All instances of publishing misconduct, including, but not limited to, plagiarism, data fabrication, image/data manipulation to falsify/enhance results, manipulation of the reviewing process, etc., will result in rejection/retraction of the manuscript.
All responsibility for the scientific content of the articles to be published in the journal belongs to the author(s). "Copyright Form" and "Conflict of Interest Statement" forms must be signed by all authors and uploaded to the journal's online application system as supplementary files by the responsible author. All authors must be registered in the DergiPark system, and during the upload of the article to the system, the names, the institution's addresses, e-mail, and DOI numbers of all authors must be entered in the metadata section. If any authors are not registered in the DergiPark system, the article is on hold, and the Editor is not appointed. In addition, the abstract and references of the article should be entered in the metadata section. If any mentioned information is missing, the article will be returned to the corresponding author to complete the information.
Ethical committee approval should be obtained for the studies on clinical or experimental in humans or animals, and ethics committee reports should be attached when submitting the manuscript. Additionally, this approval should be stated in the article. After the acceptance of the manuscript, the authors and the order of the authors cannot be changed.
After the referee evaluation, the articles that need revision are sent to the author/s electronically through the DergiPark system. The author/s should take into account the comments of the referee/s and explain the comments and criticisms one by one. They must also prepare a detailed explanation in case they disagree with the reviewers' criticism. The revisions of the articles that have passed the referee evaluations should be uploaded to the system with the correction list within 30 days at the latest, and the article revision process must be completed. The specified period may be extended by the author's request for additional time or by the decision of the Editor-in-Chief. Otherwise, the existing article is considered a newly submitted article. Before making the final decision, the Editor-in-Chief reviews the revisions and corrections made by the author/s and makes the final decision on whether to publish the article.
Statement of Ethics in Research and Publication
The publication of peer-reviewed articles in agreement with the rules of Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement (https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/bshealthscience/policy) is an essential model for the Black Sea Journal of Health Science (BSJ Health Sci). It is necessary to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in publishing: the author, the journal editor, the peer reviewer, and the publisher.
Our ethics statements are based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), Council of Science Editors (CSE), and Editorial and International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) policy statements.
BSJ Health Sci endorses the Higher Education Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Guidelines rules and will pursue cases of suspected research and publication misconduct. Additionally, This journal is following of COPE and complies with the highest ethical standards in accordance with ethical laws.
PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT (APA 6.0 Style)
As the basic writing rules, the article sent must be written in accordance with the APA (6.0) style.
General Format
The authors should consider the following sections to provide guidelines on how to prepare and compose your manuscript. Please read these standards to ensure a smooth peer review and production process.
The manuscript must be double-spaced in Times New Roman font 12-point size. Leave a line space between paragraphs and sections. All pages should be numbered consecutively in the bottom center, beginning with the title page.
The lines on all pages, including references, figures, and tables, must be numbered consecutively in the left margin, beginning with the number one at the top of the title page. A 2.5 cm margin on both sides of the page is desirable.
Special words do not underline; use italics instead. Weights and measures must be expressed in the SI unit (metric) system, and temperatures in the Celsius (centigrade) scale.
Tables, double-spaced, and should be as few and as simple as is feasible. Each table should be on a separate sheet.
Figures and photographs should be carefully prepared so a clear image can be printed.
Authors must declare any financial support or relationships that may pose a conflict of interest.
Manuscript preparation is similar to original articles, reviews, and short communication or technical note.
Sectioning and Structure
The manuscript should be organized in the following sequence: title page, abstract, keywords, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conflict of interest, acknowledgments (optional), references, tables, and figures.
1) Title page
The title page should be included in the following items;
The title of the manuscript should be typed in bold-faced print using both upper and lower-case letters and set in the center of the page. The title length of the manuscript must be limited to 250 characters, including spaces. Abbreviations are not permitted in the title.
Full names of all authors should be provided with the family name and indications of professorial rank or other professional titles should not be used.
The address of the institution that was conducted should include the name of the institution, city, zip code, and country. The authors should be marked with "1" "2" "3", which should appear in superscript at the top right-hand corner of the author's name and at the beginning of each institution.
The name, e-mail, and telephone number of the corresponding author. The corresponding author should be marked with "*".
2) Abstract and keywords
The abstract is required for all article types (original research articles, reviews, case reports, etc.). The abstract should be one paragraph without sections and should not exceed 350 words for the Turkish abstract and 450 words for the English abstract (minimum of 100 words for both languages), following the title page. The abstract should be free of references and abbreviations. The abstract should summarize pertinent results in a brief but understandable form.
At the end of the abstract, at least three and up to six keywords that best describe the content of the research should be listed. The term "Keywords" should appear in bold, followed by a colon. The first letter of each keyword is capitalized, separated by a comma, and should be ordered in order of importance.
3) Introduction
The introduction should put forth the related background to the study, explain why the study was done and specifies the hypotheses to be tested. An extensive discussion of relevant literature should be included in the discussion of results, not in the introduction.
4) Materials and Methods
The materials and methods should present essential details, experimental design, and statistical analysis. A clear description or original reference is required for all biological, analytical, and statistical procedures used in the study. All modifications of procedures must be explained. Treatments and measurements should be described clearly. Statistical models and methods of analysis should be described clearly and fully.
5) Results
The results should present the findings of the study. The results of the study should be presented in the table, and data means (numbers) should not be repeated broadly in the text. The results should be separate from the discussion and written in the past tense. Results and Discussion can be combined if the editor accepts.
6) Discussion
The discussion should assess the results clearly and concisely in terms of biological mechanisms. Previous findings in the discussion should not be repeated, the author's results in the broader context of other studies on the subject interpreting them with a minimum of speculation. The discussion should integrate with the research findings of other studies to provide the readers with a broad base for understanding whether the hypotheses tested were accepted or rejected.
7) Conflict of interest
The corresponding author must inform the editor of potential conflicts of interest that could influence the author's interpretation of the data.
8) Ethical Consideration
Authors are required to provide information about ethical aspects of research, particularly where research involves human or animal participants or the use of biological material. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
9) Acknowledgments (optional)
The acknowledgments should be as brief as possible
10) References
References should be organized according to the APA system. Examples and exceptions are listed below;
In the text, references should be cited in brackets and sorted chronologically.
Samples;
Onder et al. (2015)
Sen and Kuran (2017)
Sen (2014)
(Wu et al., 2006; Kenyon and Blair, 2014; Sen, 2015)
In the references section, the references should be sorted alphabetically. All sources must be referred to in a consistent manner. Journals titles should be abbreviated according to the conventional ISO abbreviations used by PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals). Sample references are given below.
Journal Articles
Surname N, Surname N. Year. The full title of the article. Abbreviated Journal Name, Volume, and Issue: first and last page.
Sen U, Sirin E, Aksoy Y, Ensoy U, Ulutas Z, Kuran M. 2016. The effect of maternal nutrition level during mid-gestation on post-natal muscle fiber composition and meat quality in lambs. Anim Prod Sci, 56: 834-843.
Books and Book Chapters
Surname N, Surname N. Year. Title of the book or proceeding. Publisher, City, Volume, first and last page.
Field TG, Taylor RE. 2015. Scientific farm animal production: an introduction to animal science. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, New York, USA, 11th ed., pp 425.
Surname N, Surname N. Year. Title of the contribution. In: Surname N, editors. Title of the book or proceeding. Publisher, City, Volume, first and last page.
Preston ND, Daszak P, Colwell RR. 2013. The human environment interface: applying ecosystem concepts to health. In: Mackenzie JS, Jeggo M, Daszak P, Richt JA, editors. One health: the human-animal-environment interfaces in emerging infectious diseases. Springer-Verlag, New York, USA, 8th ed., pp. 83-100.
Conference Papers
Surname N, Surname N. Year. The full title of the conference paper. In: Title of proceeding book, Date, City, Country, Pages.
Moss KJ, Greening L. 2009. The effect of age and gender on the time taken for horses to learn an operant task. In: Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science, April 01-30, Southport, UK, p. 1.
Thesis
Surname N. Year. Title of the thesis. MSc or Ph.D. thesis, University, Faculty or Institute, City, Pages.
Sen U. 2014. Maturation temperature and the use of antioxidants in vitro embryo production in cattle. PhD thesis, Ondokuz Mayis University, Institute of Science, Samsun, pp. 182.
Internet Addressed Articles or Reports
Surname N. Year. The full title of the internet-addressed article. URL: http://www.xxxxxxxxxxx (accessed date: month, day, year).
Smith J. 2001. The emergence of infectious diseases. URL: http://www.edpsciences.org/docinfos/INRARND (accessed date: September 24, 2002).
Anonymous. 2012. US Department of agriculture nutrient database for standard reference, Release 14. URL: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp (accessed date: March 23, 2012).
11) Table
Any abbreviation used in a table must be defined in that table. Tables should be double-spaced with each table on a separate sheet. The font size can be changed according to the size of the Table/s. All tables should be cited in the text. The title of the table continues on the same line with only the first letter capitalized. For numerals less than 1, a zero should be inserted to the left of the decimal point, and if possible, columns should be center-aligned. If there are no data for a particular entry, a hyphen should be inserted. If an explanation is necessary, an abbreviation can be used in the body of the table (e.g., ND) and it should be explained clearly in the footnotes. References to footnotes in a table are to be specified by superscript numbers, independently for each table. Superscript letters are used to designate statistical significance. Use a upper-case P to indicate probability values (i.e., P < 0.05). Presentation of pooled standard errors, the general basis for statistical comparisons of means, is recommended when the variance is homogeneous. These should be presented in a separate column or row. Standard errors can be attached to each mean by ± signs when variance or SE is heterogeneous (e.g., unbalanced experiments or unequal numbers of observations in treatment means).
12) Figure
Figures should be placed at the end of the manuscript with each figure on a separate page. Figures should fit in one column (8 cm wide), or full-page width (17 cm wide). Unnecessary backgrounds and grid lines should be removed from graphs. Each axis should have a description and a unit. For bar charts, different fill patterns may be used if needed (black, white, gray, and stripes). The preferred file type for figures is JPEG, TIFF, or PPT. The minimum resolution is 300 dpi for color and grayscale figures, and 600 dpi for line art. A caption should be prepared to provide sufficient information and all abbreviations, and the symbols used in the figure should be defined in the caption. The figure caption should be prepared at the bottom of the figure.
13) Equations
The Equations should be numbered and the formula number should be shown in parentheses on the right side of the formula. The main characters and variables should be given in italics while numbers and mathematical expressions should be given with normal characters. The formulas should be given as 12 points. The equations should be cited in the text and given as "equation 1".
14) Manuscript file format
We request to submit an article in Microsoft Word format (.DOC). If you are using another word processor please save the final version of the manuscript (using the 'Save As' option of the File menu) as a Word document. In this case, please double-check that the saved file can be opened in Microsoft Word. We cannot accept PDF or any other text files.
Ethical Principles and Publication Policy
PUBLICATION ETHICS AND PUBLICATION MALPRACTICE STATEMENT
Black Sea Journal of Health Science (BSJ Health Sci) is an electronic international journal committed to providing a platform where the highest standards of publication ethics are the major aspect of the editorial and peer-review process.
The Editorial Process for a manuscript to the Black Sea Journal of Health Science consists of a review, blind and peer-reviewed, followed by a section of the editor's decision to accept or decline the submission. If accepted in the review stage of the Editorial Process, the submission goes through the editing stage, which consists of copyediting, layout, and proofreading. The manuscript is then scheduled for publication in an issue of the Black Sea Journal of Health Science.
Publication ethics and publication malpractice statement of the Black Sea Journal of Health Science are mainly based on the guidelines and recommendations published by recommendations for the conduct, reporting, editing of Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), Council of Science Editors (CSE), and International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) policy statements.
The relevant duties and expectations of all parties involved in the publishing process including editors, reviewers, authors, and others are required to adhere to the publication ethics guidelines and malpractice statements defined below.
PUBLICATION AND AUTHORSHIP
Black Sea Journal of Health Science (BSJ Health Sci) is published 4 times (January, April, July, and October) in a year as an international double-blind peer-reviewed journal. All contributions conforming to the Black Sea Journal of Health Science aim and scope can be found here: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/bshealthscience/aim-and-scope. The authors are required to provide a statement about the submission describing how the manuscript fits the journal content. All manuscripts should be written and organized following the guide for authors: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/bshealthscience/writing-rules. Manuscripts submitted to this journal must not be under simultaneous consideration by any other journal. Manuscripts submitted to this journal should not have been published elsewhere in identical or substantially similar forms.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PUBLISHER
Publishing Behavior and Unethical Broadcast Handling
The publisher takes all necessary precautions for alleged or proven scientific misconduct, fraudulent publication, plagiarism, or close collaboration with the editors to clarify the situation and to amend the article in question includes clarification or withdrawn of the affected work. The publisher, together with the editors, shall take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of the manuscript where research misconduct has occurred, and under no circumstances encourage such misconduct or knowingly allow such misconduct to take place.
Involvement and Investigations
Black Sea Journal of Health Science is responsible for responding to all allegations or suspicions of manuscripts misconduct raised by readers, reviewers, or other editors. Potential plagiarism or duplicate/redundant publication will be assessed by the journal. In other cases, the journal may request an investigation by the institution or other appropriate bodies. Every reported act of unethical publishing behavior must be looked into, even if it is discovered years after publication.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE EDITORS
Publication Decisions
Editors will ensure that all submissions go through fast and fair peer-review and editorial procedures. Editors take full responsibility for everything published in the Black Sea Journal of Health Science, hence the acceptance or rejection of the submitted work is the Editor’s sole decision.
The Principle of Neutrality
Editors should evaluate manuscripts on originality, quality, and intellectual content and should not be affected by race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, political philosophy, or any other influences. Editors should express their concern and act immediately if they receive inconclusive evidence of research or publication misconduct by the authors.
Confidentiality
The Editor and any other editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript will not be used by the editor or the members of the editorial board for their research purposes without the author's explicit written consent. Information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Editors should require all contributors or authors to disclose relevant conflicts of interest. If conflicts of interest are revealed after publication, corrections must be published or other appropriate actions should be taken, such as the publication of a retraction or expression of concern.
ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF EDITORS AND SECTION EDITORS
The chief editor(s) and section editors strive to meet the information needs of the referees, author(s), researchers, practitioners, and readers, to provide feedback when necessary, and to act by the principles of clarity in matters that require correction and explanation in the publication process. The chief editor(s) and section editors pay attention to the originality of the articles and their contribution to the scientific literature, readers, researchers, and practitioners when deciding whether to publish the articles. While making a positive or negative decision about the articles, the chief editor(s) and the section editors consider the original value of the articles, their contribution to the section, the validity and reliability of the research method, the clarity of the expression, and the purpose and scope of the journal. The chief editor/s and section editors take the submitted articles to the preliminary evaluation stage as long as they do not have significant problems, consider positive referee suggestions, and only change the decisions made by the previous chief editor/s and section editors if there are serious problems. Chief editor(s) and section editors implement the policies of blind refereeing and evaluation process, which are among the journal publication policies, keep the referees' identities confidential, and ensure that each article is evaluated impartially and in due time. The chief editor(s) choose the section editors of the manuscript, and the section editors select the referees taking into account their sections of expertise, and support the impartial and independent evaluations.
The editor-in-chief(s) and the section editors consider whether there is a conflict of interest between the editors, referees, and author(s) for the unbiased evaluation of the article. Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors are searching for a wide range of reviewers and their constant updating. Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors block reviews that do not follow academic etiquette and are unscientific. Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors ensure that the journal publication processes are by publication policies and guidelines, inform those in charge of the developments in publication policies, and prepare a training program when necessary. The chief editor(s) and section editors communicate effectively with everyone involved in the publication process and organize meetings at regular intervals. Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors protect personal data in the reviewed articles; they protect the individual data of authors, referees, and readers. Chief editor(s) and section editors; They pay attention to the protection of human and animal rights in their articles, they care about documenting the explicit consent of the participants of the article, they reject the article when they do not have the approval of the ethics committee for the participants of the article, and permission for experimental research. Chief editor(s) and section editors; take action against misconduct. When there are complaints about misconduct, he makes an objective investigation and shares the relevant findings. Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors ensure that errors, inconsistencies, or misdirection in articles are corrected. Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors protect the intellectual property rights of the published articles and defend the rights of the journal and the author(s) in case of infringement. In addition, they take the necessary measures to ensure that the content of the published articles does not violate the intellectual property rights of other publications; They perform the authenticity-similarity check. Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors take into account the consistent criticisms of the articles published in the journal and give the right to reply to the author(s) of the criticized articles. Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors also consider studies with negative results. The chief editor(s) and section editors examine the complaints submitted to the journal and make the necessary explanations.
Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors cannot be appointed work editors for articles written by themselves, their family members, or their department colleagues and cannot make any decisions about the work. For such works, the ordinary operation of the journal is carried out by a different editor who does not have a conflict of interest, and the process continues without including the editor with a conflict of interest in the evaluation process in the journal.
The chief editor(s) and section editors strive to meet the information needs of the referees, author(s), researchers, practitioners, and readers, to provide feedback when necessary, and to act by the principles of clarity in matters that require correction and explanation in the publication process. The chief editor(s) and section editors pay attention to the originality of the articles and their contribution to the scientific literature, readers, researchers, and practitioners when deciding whether to publish the articles. While making a positive or negative decision about the articles, the chief editor(s) and the section editors consider the original value of the articles, their contribution to the section, the validity and reliability of the research method, the clarity of the expression, and the purpose and scope of the journal. The chief editor/s and section editors take the submitted articles to the preliminary evaluation stage as long as they do not have significant problems, consider positive referee suggestions, and only change the decisions made by the previous chief editor/s and section editors if there are serious problems. Chief editor(s) and section editors implement the policies of blind refereeing and evaluation process, which are among the journal publication policies, keep the referees' identities confidential, and ensure that each article is evaluated impartially and in due time. The chief editor(s) choose the section editors of the manuscript, and the section editors select the referees taking into account their sections of expertise, and support the impartial and independent evaluations.
The editor-in-chief(s) and the section editors consider whether there is a conflict of interest between the editors, referees, and author(s) for the unbiased evaluation of the article. Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors are searching for a wide range of reviewers and their constant updating. Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors block reviews that do not follow academic etiquette and are unscientific. Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors ensure that the journal publication processes are by publication policies and guidelines, inform those in charge of the developments in publication policies, and prepare a training program when necessary. The chief editor(s) and section editors communicate effectively with everyone involved in the publication process and organize meetings at regular intervals. Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors protect personal data in the reviewed articles; they protect the individual data of authors, referees, and readers. Chief editor(s) and section editors; They pay attention to the protection of human and animal rights in their articles, they care about documenting the explicit consent of the participants of the article, they reject the article when they do not have the approval of the ethics committee for the participants of the article, and permission for experimental research. Chief editor(s) and section editors; take action against misconduct. When there are complaints about misconduct, he makes an objective investigation and shares the relevant findings. Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors ensure that errors, inconsistencies, or misdirection in articles are corrected. Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors protect the intellectual property rights of the published articles and defend the rights of the journal and the author(s) in case of infringement. In addition, they take the necessary measures to ensure that the content of the published articles does not violate the intellectual property rights of other publications; They perform the authenticity-similarity check. Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors take into account the consistent criticisms of the articles published in the journal and give the right to reply to the author(s) of the criticized articles. Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors also consider studies with negative results. The chief editor(s) and section editors examine the complaints submitted to the journal and make the necessary explanations.
Editor-in-chief(s) and section editors cannot be appointed work editors for articles written by themselves, their family members, or their department colleagues and cannot make any decisions about the work. For such works, the ordinary operation of the journal is carried out by a different editor who does not have a conflict of interest, and the process continues without including the editor with a conflict of interest in the evaluation process in the journal.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE REVIEWERS
Contribution to Editorial Decisions
Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and may also assist the author(s) in improving the manuscript through editorial communications. Black Sea Journal of Health Science declares that all scholars who wish to contribute to the scientific process must do a fair share of reviewing.
Promptness
Any selected reviewer who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.
Confidentiality
Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents by the referees. Reviewers must not be shown or discussed any manuscripts received for review with others except as authorized by the Editor-in-Chief, who would only do so under exceptional and specific circumstances. This situation also applies to arbitrators who do not accept the review invitation.
Standards of Objectivity
Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
Acknowledgment of Sources
Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.
Disclosure and Conflict of Interest
Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. This situation also applies to arbitrators who do not accept the review invitation. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the manuscript and this situation should immediately inform the relevant editor.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF AUTHORS
Reporting standards
Authors are expected to have made reasonable attempts to check and validate results submitted to the journal for publication. This should be followed by the statement to the Editor that all data are real and authentic. Authors of research reports should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the manuscript. A manuscript should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Authors are required to provide information about ethical aspects of research, particularly where research involves human or animal participants or the use of biological material. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
Originality and Plagiarism
Authors could be asked to provide the raw data of their study together with the manuscript for editorial review and should be prepared to make the data publicly available if practicable. In any event, authors should ensure accessibility of such data to other competent professionals for at least ten years after publication (preferably via an institutional or subject-based data repository or other data center), provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be protected and legal rights concerning proprietary data do not preclude their release.
Authors should ensure that they have written and submitted only entirely original works, and if they have used the work and/or words of others, this should be appropriately cited. Authors will submit only entirely original works, and will appropriately cite or quote the work and/or words of others. Publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work should also be cited. Plagiarism such as copying another's manuscript as the author's own, paraphrasing substantial parts of another's paper (without attribution), or claiming results from research conducted by others and in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
Manuscripts submitted to the Black Sea Journal of Health Science should be original and must not be plagiarized. Every submitted article is checked for plagiarism through Turnitin or similar software. If the similarity index (SI) of the article is above 15%, except for the introduction, materials methods, and references sections, it is sent back to the corresponding author to revise it and bring its SI below 15%, failure of which will result in rejection of article at the very first step. If plagiarism is proved after the publication of the article, that article will be immediately withdrawn and removed from the website and the concerned authors will be considered ineligible for publication of their articles in the Black Sea Journal of Health Science for five years.
Acknowledgment of sources
Authors should ensure that they have properly acknowledged the work of others, and should also cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Information obtained privately (from the conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties) must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source. Authors should not use information obtained in the course of providing confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications unless they have obtained the explicit written permission of the author(s) of the work involved in these services.
Authorship of the Paper
Author(s) who meet these authorship criteria should be listed in the manuscript as they must be able to take public responsibility for the content. Firstly, the author(s) made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, data acquisition, or analysis/interpretation of the study. Secondly, the author(s) drafted the manuscript or revised it critically for important intellectual content. Thirdly author(s) have seen and approved the final version of the paper and agreed to its submission for publication. All other persons who made substantial contributions to the work reported in the manuscript (such as technical help, writing and editing assistance, general support) but who do not meet the criteria for authorship must not be listed as an author but should be acknowledged in the "Acknowledgements" section after their written permission has been obtained. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors (according to the above definition) and no inappropriate co-authors are included in the author list and verify that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission for publication.
Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication
In general, a manuscript describing essentially the same research should not be published in more than one journal. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
Manuscripts that have been published as copyrighted material elsewhere cannot be submitted. Additionally, manuscripts under review by the journal should not be resubmitted to copyrighted publications. However, by submitting a manuscript, the author(s) retains the rights of the published material. In case of publication, they permit the use of their work under a CC-BY license [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/], which allows others to copy, distribute and transmit the work as well as to adapt the work and to make commercial use of it.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest and Financial Support
Authors should—at the earliest stage possible (generally by submitting a disclosure form at the time of submission and including a statement in the manuscript)—disclose any conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or their interpretation in the manuscript. Examples of potential conflicts of interest that should be disclosed include financial ones such as honoraria, educational grants or other funding, participation in speakers’ bureaus, membership, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interest, and paid expert testimony or patent-licensing arrangements, as well as non-financial ones such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge or beliefs in the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. All sources of financial support for the work should be disclosed (including the grant number or other reference number if any).
Hazards and Human or Animal Subjects
If the work involves chemicals, procedures, or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the authors must identify these in the manuscript. If the work involves the use of animals or human participants, the authors should ensure that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committee(s) has approved them; the manuscript should contain a statement to this effect. Authors should also include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human participants. The privacy rights of human participants must always be preserved.
Peer Review
Authors are obliged to participate in the peer-review process and cooperate fully by responding promptly to editors’ requests for raw data, clarifications, and proof of ethics approval, patient consents, and copyright permissions. In the case of the first decision of "revisions necessary", authors should respond to the reviewers’ comments systematically, point by point, and in a timely manner, revising and re-submitting their manuscript to the journal by the deadline given.
Fundamental Errors in Published Works
When authors discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their published work, they should promptly notify the journal’s editors or publishers and cooperate with them to either correct the paper in the form of an erratum or to retract the paper. If the editors or publisher learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error or inaccuracy, then the authors should promptly correct or retract the paper or provide evidence to the journal editors of the correctness of the paper.
Data Access and Retention
Authors may be asked to provide the raw data of their study together with the manuscript for editorial review and should be prepared to make the data publicly available if practicable. In any event, authors should ensure accessibility of such data to other competent professionals for at least ten years after publication (preferably via an institutional or subject-based data repository or other data center), provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be protected and legal rights concerning proprietary data do not preclude their release. Authors should only submit papers only on work that has been conducted in an ethical and responsible manner and that complies with all relevant legislation.
Price Policy
All articles published in the Black Sea Journal of Health Science (e-ISSN 2619-9041) are published in the full open-access model. All editors, authors, and readers registered in the DergiPark system subscribe to all issues and articles free of charge. Therefore, an article processing charge (APC) is requested from each manuscript sent to evaluation, regardless of the number of pages, to cover the expenses needed during the editorial process, referee evaluation process, acceptance for publication, publication, and post-publication processes.
For detailed information, please see "The Article Processing Charge (APC) Policy" page (https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/bshealthscience/page/11298).
Article Processing Fee for Developed Country Authors: 80.00 - 100.00 USD
Article Processing Fee for Developing Country Authors: 50.00 - 60.00 USD
Article Processing Fee for Turkish Authors: 500.00 TL
Article Processing Fee for Least Developed Country Authors: Free of Charge
