General information

Journal of Bursa Faculty of Medicine (J Bursa Med) is an international double-blind peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes manuscripts describing both clinical and basic science research in medicine.
Manuscripts must describe original data that has not been published previously nor submitted for publication elsewhere.
Manuscripts that adhere to the J Bursa Med submission guidelines and are deemed appropriate for the scope of the journal are sent to two reviewers who are specialists in the field.
The members of the Editorial Board discuss the suitability, then consider the reviewers’ comments on each submission.
The final decision for all submitted manuscripts rests with the Editor-in-Chief.
Institutional review board/ethics committee approval (IRB)

If a study involves either human subjects, human-derived materials, and/or medical records, authors must include in the Methods section either a statement that an Institutional Review Board (IRB)/Ethics Committee approval has been obtained or a statement that the IRB/Ethics Committee had ruled that approval was not required for the study. When reporting experiments conducted with humans indicates that the procedures were in accordance with ethical standards set forth by the committee that oversees human experimentation. Approval of research protocols by the relevant ethics committee, in accordance with international agreements (Helsinki Declaration of 1975, revised 2002 available at http://www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.htm, “Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals” www.nap.edu/catalog/5140.html/), is required for all experimental, clinical, and drug studies. Patient names, initials, and hospital identification numbers should not be used. Manuscripts reporting the results of experimental investigations conducted with humans must state that the study protocol received institutional review board approval and that the participants provided informed consent.

Copyright transfer

The University of Health Sciences retains the copyright to all material published in the J Bursa Med. The University of Health Sciences is not responsible for any legal claims arising from the publication of a manuscript. A Copyright Transfer Agreement form may be downloaded at the website and must be submitted together with the manuscript at the time of initial submission. The corresponding author must sign the form on behalf of all authors, indicating that they agree to the publication of their manuscript in the J Bursa Med should their manuscript be accepted. A scanned file (PDF, TIFF, or JPEG) of the signed Copyright Transfer Agreement may be submitted at the time of online submission of the manuscript. The Editorial Office must receive the Copyright Transfer Agreement before any action can be taken regarding the manuscript.

Conflict of interest policy

Authors are required to disclose all conflicts of interest that may have influenced their research or the preparation and writing of their manuscript. Conflicts of interest may include both financial and non-financial relationships. Because it is often difficult to determine whether a conflict of interest exists, Editorial Board requests that all potential conflicts be declared at the time of initial submission of the manuscript on the title page. Other pertinent relationships that may be relevant should be disclosed to the Editor-in-Chief in the cover letter at the time of submission.

Manuscript submission

All manuscripts must conform to the language and writing style of the J Bursa Med. This includes submission of the manuscript with correct medical English as well as submission of any figures and tables in the formats specified. Authors should submit their manuscript and accompanying material to the J Bursa Med via the online Editorial Manager system by logging on to https://dergipark.org.tr/and uploading all manuscript files following the instructions given.

Authorship

All authors should have been directly involved in the work described in the manuscript. Additional contributors to a manuscript, such as professors or others who gave helpful advice or companies that donated material, may be thanked in the Acknowledgments section following the main text. There should be no more than six authors in the case reports. The J Bursa Med does not permit two or more authors to be “equal contributors” to a manuscript.

Permission

All figures, tables, and text passages that have been previously published require permission from the copyright owner(s) for the J Bursa Med. All expenses related to obtaining such permission must be borne by the authors. By signing the copyright form, you state that J Bursa Med owns the copyright to the material in your article. Permission must be obtained for any material to which the authors do not own the full copyright. No material such as clinical images or charts, photos, and graphs as well as images of devices that may have been obtained from their producers, can be published without such permission. To secure the right to publish material that you do not own, contact the holder of the copyright (journal in which it was published, book publishers, or company that developed the instrument) by e-mail describing in detail the material you wish to use and stating that you wish to include that material in your manuscript (including the title The copyright owner will usually reply stating that permission has been granted. A copy of the reply must be forwarded to the J Bursa Med offices with the number of your manuscript and a description of the materials in question. Most copyright permissions will specify conditions relating to the way in which reference to the permission should be stated. These conditions must be adhered to in full, otherwise, the permission may be invalid. Note that in some instances copyright owners may require payment. In these cases, the authors must bear all such costs. As papers cannot be changed once accepted, authors are advised to apply for copyright permission early to prevent the possibility of the paper having to be withdrawn from publication. Note that receiving permission may take up to eight weeks and that the paper cannot be processed for publication before such permission has been granted.

Manuscript preparation

Manuscripts should be created using Microsoft Word and be double-spaced with 2.5-cm margins on all sides. Pages should be numbered consecutively, with consecutive line numbering from the first through the last page, using the automatic numbering function of the software. The recommended font is Times New Roman and the recommended font size is 12 points. The entire manuscript for a full-length article, including references and tables, should be no more than 6000 words. Do not use field functions. For indenting, use tab stops, not the space bar. For tables, use the table function, not spreadsheets. For equations, use either the equation editor or MathType.

Abstracts

A structured abstract of no more than 500 words is required. The Abstract for all manuscripts except case reports should be divided into Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.

Keywords

Keywords are required for indexing and abstracting services. Up to six words should be listed.

Main text

The main text of an original article should be divided into the Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion sections. Abbreviations must be defined following their first use in the Abstract as well as in the main text and in the figures and tables. Only commonly accepted abbreviations should be used. Drug and chemical names should be stated using generic or standard chemical nomenclature. Units of measurement should conform to the International System (SI); however, clinical data may be presented in conventional units were deemed more appropriate.

Headings and subheadings

Use no more than three levels of headings.

Footnotes

Footnotes may be used to give additional information but should not consist of a reference citation, which is not included in the reference list at the end of the manuscript and must not contain figures or tables. Footnotes should be numbered consecutively and separately for the title page, the main text, and each table. Footnotes should be indicated by superscript lowercase letters or numbers, or by asterisks for significance values and other statistical data. Footnotes should be positioned at the bottom of the page or table in which they appear.

Acknowledgments

The Acknowledgments section should follow the main text. If data from other published sources are used, the authors must obtain permission as explained above and state full acknowledgment as indicated by the copyright owners. Acknowledgments should also be made of research grants, technicians and colleagues who assisted in the study, individuals or companies who provided materials, and mentors who provided advice and encouragement.

References

References should be consecutively numbered in order of appearance in the main text, and be cited using Arabic numerals in square brackets before the punctuation. Do not cite personal communications, manuscripts in preparation, or other unpublished data as references. They should only include works that are cited in the text and that have been either published or accepted for publication. Journal abbreviations should conform to those used in PUBMED. The style and punctuation of the references should follow the formats outlined in the examples below:

Journal
Less than six authors:

1. Duman N, Korkmaz NS, Erol Z. Tissue eosinophilia: a histopathological marker associated with stromal invasion but not histopathological grade in cutaneous squamous neoplasia. Eur Res J 2015;1:88-93.

More than six authors:

2. Budak E, Taymur I, Askin R, Gungor BB, Demirci H, Akgul AI, et al. Relationship between internet addiction, psychopathology and self-esteem among university students. Eur Res J 2015;1:128-35.

Chapter in Book:

3. Vinten-Johansen J, Zhao Z-Q, Guyton RA. Cardiac surgical physiology. In: Cohn LH, Edmunds LH Jr, eds. Cardiac Surgery in the Adult. 2nd ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2003: pp. 53-84.

Website/Web page:

4. University of Alabama School of Medicine. Interagency Registry for Mechanical Circulatory Support. Available at: www.uab.edu/intermacs. Accessed April 13, 2012.



Table

Create tables using Microsoft Word so that any corrections or revisions made can be tracked. Tables should be numbered using Arabic numerals and should follow the References section. Each table should have an appropriate title briefly explaining the contents of the table. Tables should always be cited in the text in consecutive numerical order. Identify any previously published material by giving the original source in the form of a reference at the end of the table caption. Footnotes to tables should be indicated by superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks for significance values and other statistical data) and included beneath the table body.

Figures

Each figure should be added to the main text following references or tables on separate pages. Number all figures consecutively. For figures with multiple parts, each part should be denoted by lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc.). If you use an appendix in your manuscript containing one or more figures, continue the consecutive numbering of figures from the main text. Do not number the appendix figures “a1, a2, a3, etc.”.

Figure legends

Legends for all figures should be included at the end of the manuscript, beginning with the word “Figure” in bold type, followed by the figure number also in bold type. Do not use any punctuation following the figure number, and do not place any punctuation at the end of the legend. The legend should define all elements included in the figure such as boxes, circles, and arrows. Identify previously published material by giving the original source in the form of a reference citation at the end of the figure legends.

Multicenter clinical trials

The J Bursa Med welcomes the submission of manuscripts reporting the results of multicenter clinical trials. These manuscripts may be submitted with authorship in one of the following styles:

The name of a study group only (collective authorship)
The names of no more than five individuals and the name of a study group
In each case, one individual must serve as the corresponding author and the names of all individuals specifically involved in the preparation of the manuscript should be listed under the heading Writing Committee following the Acknowledgments section. This should be followed by a list of investigators from each institution under the heading Study Group Investigators. The corresponding author on behalf of all authors and each Writing Committee member must sign the Copyright Transfer Agreement.

Proofreading

The purpose of proofreading is to check for typesetting or conversion errors and the completeness and accuracy of the text, tables, and figures. Substantial changes in content, e.g., new results, corrected values, or changes in title and authorship, are not allowed without the approval of the editor. After online publication, further changes can be made only in the form of an Erratum, which will be hyperlinked to the article.

Content responsibility

Content and scientific accuracy of all manuscripts as well as of any electronic supplementary material, are the sole responsibility of the authors. No responsibility will be assumed by the J Bursa Med for any legal claim arising from injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of product liability, negligence, or other circumstances; nor from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the published material. No test or procedure should be carried out unless the reader judges it to be safe. Independent verification of all diagnoses and drug dosages should be performed. Discussions, views, and recommendations regarding medical procedures, choice of drugs, and drug dosages are the sole responsibility of the authors.

Disclaimer

Although all advertising material in J Bursa Med is expected to conform to ethical (medical) standards, their inclusion in this publication does not constitute a guarantee or endorsement by the J Bursa Med regarding the quality or value of any product or of the claim made for it by its manufacturer.

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors must check off their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

Confirm that you have seen, read, and understood the publisher guidelines on copyright and author rights.
Confirm that the manuscript has been submitted solely to this journal and is not published in the press or submitted elsewhere
Confirm that all the research meets the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements of the study country.
Please confirm that you have added all of your co-authors. Failure to do so may result in your co-authors not being listed on the paper at publication.

Main Document must be structured as follows;

Title and running title

Abstract (Structured abstract for Original articles),

Introduction,

Methods,

Results,

Discussion,

Conclusion,

Acknowledgment

Conflict of interests,

References,

Tables,

Figure & Legends (high-resolution images may be required if accepted for publication)

6. References

References should be written according to Journal rules.

Section A: Publication and authorship
1. All submitted papers are subject to a strict peer-review process by at least two international reviewers that are experts in the area of the particular paper. Reviewers are being selected by Associate Editors and Editor in Chief. The author also can propose reviewers for some journals and article types.
2. The factors that are taken into account in the review are relevance, originality, readability, statistical validity, and language.
3. The possible decisions include acceptance, minor revisions, major revisions, or rejection.
4. If authors are encouraged to revise and resubmit a submission, there is no guarantee that the revised submission will be accepted.
5. Rejected articles will not be re-reviewed.
6. The paper acceptance is constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.
7. No research can be included in more than one publication, whether within the same journal or in another journal.

Section B: Authors’ responsibilities
1. Authors must certify that their manuscript is their original work.
2. Authors must certify that the manuscript has not previously been published elsewhere or even submitted and been reviewed in another journal.
3. The authors must participate in peer-review and follow the comments.
4. Authors are obliged to provide retractions or corrections of mistakes.
5. All Authors mentioned in the paper must have significantly contributed to the research. The level of their contribution also must be defined in the “Authors’ Contributions” section of the article.
6. The authors must state that all data in the paper are real and authentic.
7. The authors must notify the Editors of any conflicts of interest.
8. The authors must identify all sources used in the creation of their manuscript.
9. Authors must report any errors they discover in their published paper to the Editors.
10. Authors must not use irrelevant sources that may help other researchers/journals.
11. Authors cannot withdraw their articles within the review process or after submission, or they must pay the penalty defined by the publisher.

Section C: Peer review/responsibility for the reviewers
1. Reviewers should keep all information regarding papers confidential and treat them as privileged information.
2. Reviews should be conducted objectively, with no personal criticism of the author. No self-knowledge of the author(s) must affect their comments and decision.
3. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments in 500 to 1000 words.
4. Reviewers may identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.
5. Reviewers should also call to the Editor in Chief’s attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper they have personal knowledge of.
6. Reviewers should not review 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 papers.

Section D: Editorial responsibilities
1. Editors (Associate Editors or Editor in Chief) have complete responsibility and authority to reject/accept an article.
2. Editors are responsible for the contents and overall quality of the publication.
3. Editors should always consider the needs of the authors and the readers when attempting to improve the publication.
4. Editors should guarantee the quality of the papers and the integrity of the academic record.
5. Editors should publish errata pages or make corrections when needed.
6. Editors should have a clear picture of research funding sources.
7. Editors should base their decisions solely on the paper's importance, originality, clarity, and relevance to the publication’s scope.
8. Editors should not reverse their decisions or overturn previous editors' ones without serious reason.
9. Editors should preserve the anonymity of reviewers (in half-blind peer-review journals).
10. Editors should ensure that all published research material conforms to internationally accepted ethical guidelines.
11. Editors should only accept a paper when reasonably certain.
12. Editors should act if they suspect misconduct, whether a paper is published or unpublished, and make all reasonable attempts to persist in obtaining a resolution to the problem.
13. Editors should not reject papers based on suspicions; they should have proof of misconduct.
14. Editors should not allow conflicts of interest between staff, authors, reviewers, and board members.
15. Editors must not change their decision after submitting a decision (especially after rejecting or accepting it) unless they have a serious reason.

Section E: Publishing Ethics Issues

The Editorial Board of the Journal of Bursa Faculty of Medicine complies with the criteria of the International Council of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
1. All editorial members, reviewers, and authors must confirm and obey the rules defined by COPE.
2. The corresponding author is the main owner of the article, so she/he can withdraw the article when it is incomplete (before entering the review process or when a revision is asked for).
3. Authors cannot make major changes in the article after acceptance without a serious reason.
4. All editorial members and authors must will to publish any kind of corrections honestly and completely.
5. Any notes of plagiarism, fraudulent data, or other kinds of fraud must be reported completely to COPE.