Cukurova Medical Journal

Cukurova Medical Journal  is one of the official journals of Cukurova University Faculty of Medicine. Original articles, case reports, and short communications related to the either basic or extended clinical experience in medical sciences (i.e general medicine, basic medical sciences, surgical sciences) will be considered for publication. Review articles will be accepted upon request of the editorial board. The journal does not accept unsolicited review articles for consideration. 

This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access. 

The manuscript should be sent to the Journal during submission with a Cover Letter which should indicate the name, signature, institution, correspondence address, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail address (if available) of the author (corresponding author) who is authorized to receive galley proofs.

An Author’s Form, indicating the contributions of the authors and co-authors to the manuscript, (authorship credits being defined as in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals) copyright transfer, and acknowledgments, should be attached to the cover letter in submission process.

  All other correspondences  should be addressed to Editor-in-Chief Cukurova Medical Journal via e-mail  editorcutf@cu.edu.tr

Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be organized as follows: Title page, abstract page, introduction, materials (or patients) and methods, results, discussion, references, tables, figures and legend page.

The Title Page should carry the following information:

(1) Title - meaningful and brief as possible. No longer than 135 characters. Do not use declarative titles.

(2) Names of authors - give full name, and certified degrees, but not academic degrees.

(3) Institutional affiliation - identify each author’s affiliation during the course of performing the study. Use superscript numbers, not symbols.

(4) Meeting presentation - if the material has been presented previously, supply names, places, and dates of meetings.

(5) Dual commitment – 1) For the Individual: disclose any financial interests, direct or indirect, of any author that might affect the conduct or reporting of the work they have submitted 2) For the Project: identify all sources in the form of grants, equipment, or drugs. Provide agency name and city, company name and city, and grant number.

(6) Running title - can be no longer than 40 characters.

Declaration of Ethical Conduct in the Text 

(Please also see  Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement (Ethical guidelines for publication) section at the end of this page)

When research involves human participants or animals, authors should state in the Title Page and Methods section the procedure used to ensure Ethical Conduct of Research. Research that involves human participants includes investigations that use only human blood or tissue, as well as work that entails only review of the medical records. The authors must confirm review of the study by the appropriate institutional review board or affirm that the protocol is consistent with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. If institutional review board approval was not obtained prior to the start of the study, the authors must state so and explain why this was the case. If the study was exempt from review by an institutional review board policy, the authors must provide assurance that such exemption was in compliance with their local institutional review board policy. The authors must assure adherence to ethical guidelines on informed consent and should affirm that such consent was obtained or that an institutional review board approved conduct of the research without explicit consent from the participants.

All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

If patients are identifiable from illustrations, photographs, pedigrees, case reports, or other study data, Release Forms (or copies of the figures with the appropriate release statement) giving permission for publication must be submitted with the manuscript.

Abstracts

1. Each manuscript must include a Structured Abstract of 250 words or less.
2. It should appear on a separate page immediately following the title page and should comprise for separate paragraphs: Purpose or Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusion.
3. Abstracts for short communications and case reports should not adhere to the above rules and not exceed 150 words.
4. Do not use abbreviations in abstract.
5. Below the abstract, authors should provide, and identify as such, 3 to 10 Key Words or short phrases that will assist indexers in cross-indexing the article and that may be published with the abstract.
6. Terms from the medical subject headings (MeSH) list of Index Medicus should be used; if suitable MeSH terms are not yet available for recently introduced terms, present terms may be used.
7. Turkish authors should also submit an abstract in Turkish with above-mentioned requirements. For international authors, editorial board will arrange and write Turkish abstracts and keywords.

Acknowledgement

1. Acknowledgement for personal or technical assistance should follow the discussion section on a separate page.
2. Use 12 points Times New Roman characters for the whole text. Number pages consecutively beginning with the title page. Put the page number in the lower right-hand corner of each page.
3. Place the page numbers and the last name of the first author on the right corner of each page including figures and legends.
4. The journal will print figures in color; and these illustrations will appear in their original colors on the Web version of the journal.

Style and punctuation of references
Journal article: [Reference number] Tunc O, Yucel B, Macit E, Gunal A, Gozubuyuk A, Gul H et al. Protective efficiacy of taurine against pulmonary edema progression: experimental study. J Cardiothorac Surg 2008; 28:57-9.

Book: [Reference number] Noback CR, Demarest RJ. The Human Nervous System, 2nd Ed. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1975.

Edited book: [Reference number] Phillips MK, Gain P. Hypertension and stroke. In Hypertension: Pathophysiology and Management, 2nd ed (Eds JH Laragh, BM Brenner): 495-498. London, Ran Press, 1985.

URL (Web Page): [Reference number] Stern M. Radial nerve entrapment. http://www.emedicine.com/orthoped/topic549.htm (accessed Dec 2005).

Format: Author, if available. Title of page as listed on the site. Address of page (date accessed). 

Tables. 

1. Each table should be given on a separate page.
2. Each table has a short, descriptive title.
3. Tables are numbered in the order cited in the text.
4. Abbreviations are defined as footnotes at the bottom of each table.
5. Tables should not duplicate data given in the text or figures.

Figures and Legends. 

The complete sets of original figures must be submitted. Legends should be in the present tense (e.g., ‘Illustration shows ...’). Subjects’ names must not appear on the figures. Labels should contrast well with the background. Images should be uniform in size and magnification. Illustrations should be free of all identifying information relative to the subject and institution. Line drawings should be professional in quality. Written permission for use of all previously published illustrations must be included with submission, and the source should be referenced in the legends. Written permission from any person recognizable in a photo is required. Legends must be double spaced, and figures are numbered in the order cited in the text. Submit color prints only if color is essential in understanding the material presented. Label all pertinent findings.
Use metric system and System International (S.I.) units to give all the numerical data in the text. When others are unavoidable use their S.I. equivalents in brackets. Use genuine names of drugs unless the trade name is directly relevant to the discussion.

Submission checklist

The following list will be useful during the final checking of an article prior to sending it to the journal for review. Please consult this Guide for Authors for further details of any item. 
Ensure that the following items are present:

One author has been designated as the corresponding author with contact details: 
• E-mail address 
• Full postal address 
• Phone numbers 

All necessary files have been uploaded, and contain: 
• Keywords 
• All figure captions 
• All tables (including title, description, footnotes) 

Further considerations 
• Manuscript has been 'spell-checked' and 'grammar-checked' 
• References are in the correct format for this journal 
• All references mentioned in the Reference list are cited in the text, and vice versa 
• Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Web) 
• Color figures are clearly marked as being intended for color reproduction on the Web (free of charge) and in print, or to be reproduced in color on the Web (free of charge) and in black-and-white in print 
• If only color on the Web is required, black-and-white versions of the figures are also supplied for printing purposes 

(These guidelines are based on existing  COPE’s Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.)

Contribution to editorial decisions

Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper. Peer review is an essential component of formal scholarly communication, and lies at the heart of the scientific method. Cukurova Medical Journal shares the view of many that all scholars who wish to contribute to publications have an obligation to do a fair share of reviewing.

Promptness

Any selected referee 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. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

Standards of objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Acknowledgement 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

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s own research without the express written consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. 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 papers.

CC License

Cukurova Medical Journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC-BY-NC-ND).

Publication Ethics

The publication process at Cukurova Medical Journal is the basis of the improvement and dissemination of information objectively and respectfully. Therefore, the procedures in this process improve 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. Cukurova 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 Cukurova 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 Cukurova 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 Cukurova 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 Cukurova 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.
Authors should be provided with explanatory and informative feedback.

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.

Complaints

Editors must examine the complaints from authors, reviewers or readers and respond to them in an explanatory and enlightening manner.

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 Cukurova 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 Cukurova 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

Cukurova University, Faculty of Medicine, publisher of Cukurova Medical Journal

The Editors and the Editorial Board of Cukurova 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 Cukurova 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 Cukurova 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 Cukurova Medical Journal apart from the ethical responsibilities listed above, please notify the journal by e-mail at editorcutf@cu.edu.tr.