Open Access Policy
Eurasian Journal of Molecular and Biochemical Sciences is a free open-access journal, meaning that all published content is freely accessible to readers. There is no fee for submission and publication, and all of its contents are freely available at cost.
Starting on October 25, 2021, all content published in the journal is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 International License, which allows third parties to use the content for non-commercial purposes as long as they give credit to the original work. This license allows for the content to be shared and adapted for non-commercial purposes, promoting the dissemination and use of the research published in the journal.
The content published before October 2021 was licensed under a traditional copyright, but the archive is still available for free access.
All published content is available online, free of charge, at https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ejmbs
Bioethics
All research submitted to the Eurasian Journal of Molecular and Biochemical Sciences for consideration must have been conducted in accordance with Eurasian Journal of Molecular and Biochemical Sciences guidelines on study ethics. In accordance with COPE guidelines, the Eurasian Journal of Molecular and Biochemical Sciences reserves the right to reject any manuscript that editors believe does not uphold high ethical standards, even if authors have obtained ethical approval or if ethical approval is not required. Eurasian Journal of Molecular and Medical Sciences encourages authors to follow the ARRIVE guidelines for the design, analysis, and reporting of scientific research.
Studies Involving Animal Subjects
An approval of research protocols by the Ethics Committee in accordance with international agreements (World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki “Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects,” amended in October 2013, www.wma.net) is required for experimental, clinical, and drug studies. If required, ethics committee reports or an equivalent official document will be requested from the authors. For manuscripts concerning experimental research on humans, a statement should be included that shows that written informed consent of patients and volunteers was obtained following a detailed explanation of the procedures that they may undergo. For studies carried out on animals, the measures taken to prevent pain and suffering of the animals should be stated clearly. Information on patient consent, the name of the ethics committee, and the ethics committee approval number should also be stated in the Materials and Methods section of the manuscript. It is the authors’ responsibility to protect the patients’ anonymity carefully.
All research involving regulated animals (i.e., all live vertebrates and higher invertebrates) must have been reviewed and approved by an ethics committee prior to commencing the study and performed in accordance with relevant institutional and national guidelines and regulations. Eurasian Journal of Molecular and Medical Sciences follows the International Association of Veterinary Editors guidelines for publication of studies, including animal research. Clinical studies involving animals and interventions outside of routine care require ethics committee oversight as per the AVMA (Animal Health Studies Database). Authors must provide ethics approval information within the submission system, which generates an ethics statement to be included in the submission file.
Should the study be exempt from ethics approval, authors need to state the reasons for exemption within the generated statement. Studies involving client-owned animals (non-commercially available animals, e.g. pets or livestock) should demonstrate the best practice veterinary care and confirm that written informed consent has been granted by the owner(s), or the legal representative of the owner(s). An example of a generated statement for a study involving client-owned animals can be found below:
“The animal study was reviewed and approved by [Full name and affiliation of ethics committee]. Written informed consent was obtained from the owners for the participation of their animals in this study.”
1.1. Humane Endpoints
All manuscripts describing studies where death is an endpoint will be subject to additional ethical considerations. Eurasian Journal of Molecular and Medical Sciences reserves the right to reject manuscripts lacking appropriate justification.
Studies Involving Human Subjects
Research involving human subjects should have been conducted in accordance with the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki. Studies involving human participants must be performed in accordance with relevant institutional and national guidelines, with the appropriate institutional ethics committee's prior approval and informed written consent from all human subjects involved in the study including for publication of the results. Confirmation of this approval is required upon submission of a manuscript to Eurasian Journal of Molecular and Medical Sciences; authors must provide ethics committee information within the submission system, which generates an ethics statement to be included in the submission. Information regarding subjects’ (or when appropriate, the parent’s or guardian’s) consent for participation should be provided within the submission system. Eurasian Journal of Molecular and Medical Sciences requires that consent for participation is both informed and written unless waived by an ethics committee or otherwise not required as per local legislation.
“The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by [Full name and affiliation of ethics committee]. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.”
Should the study be exempt from ethics approval or consent procedures, authors need to clearly state the reasons in the generated statement. Eurasian Journal of Molecular and Medical Sciences may request a letter from the authors, obtained from an ethics committee in cases where full review and approval has been waived by the committee.
In order to protect subject anonymity, identifying information should not be included in the manuscript unless such information is absolutely necessary for scientific purposes AND explicit approval has been granted by the subjects.
Plagiarism and Ethical Misconduct
All submissions are screened by similarity detection software (Crossref Similarity Check Powered by iThenticate) multiple times during the peer-review and/or production processes.
When you are discussing others' (or your own) previous work, make sure that you cite the material correctly in every instance.
Authors are strongly recommended to avoid any form of plagiarism and ethical misconduct that is exemplified below.
Citation manipulation: The practice of manipulating the number of citations received by an author, journal, or other publication through various means, such as self-citation, excessive citation of articles from the same journal, or the inclusion of honorary citations or citation stacking.
Self-plagiarism (text-recycling): The practice of using overlapping sections or sentences from the author's previous publications without properly citing them. This is considered a form of plagiarism, as it involves using someone else's work (in this case, the author's own work) without proper attribution.
Salami slicing: The practice of using the same data from a research study in several different articles. This is considered to be unethical, as it involves reporting the same hypotheses, population, and methods of a study in multiple papers.
Data Fabrication: The addition of data that never occurred during the gathering of data or experiments. This is considered to be a form of research misconduct, as it involves presenting false or misleading information as if it were real data.
Data Manipulation/Falsification: The practice of manipulating research data with the intention of giving a false impression. This can include manipulating images, removing outliers or "inconvenient" results, changing data points, and other forms of manipulation. This is also considered to be a form of research misconduct, as it involves presenting false or misleading information as if it were real data.
In the event of alleged or suspected research misconduct such as plagiarism, citation manipulation, or data falsification/fabrication, the Editorial Board will follow the appropriate COPE flowcharts to ensure that the allegations or suspicions are handled in a fair, transparent, and consistent manner.
Authorship
All individuals listed as an author should meet the authorship criteria recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The ICMJE recommends that authorship is based on the following four criteria:
1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work.
2. Drafting the work or reviewing it critically for important intellectual content.
3. Final approval of the version to be published.
4. The agreement includes accountability for all aspects of the work, ensuring that any questions regarding the accuracy or integrity of any part are properly investigated and resolved.
In addition to being accountable for the parts of the work they have done, authors should also be able to identify which co-authors are responsible for specific other parts of the work to ensure that the contributions of all authors are accurately and appropriately acknowledged. Authors may use CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) to provide information about individual contributions at the time of submission. It is expected that all authors agreed upon their individual contributions as shared by the corresponding author. The authors’ contribution statement will be published with the final article and should accurately reflect contributions to the work.
Furthermore, authors should have confidence in the integrity of the contributions of their co-authors. This means they should trust that their co-authors have conducted the research in an ethical and responsible manner and that the data and results presented in the manuscript are accurate and reliable.
Individuals who do not meet all four of the authorship criteria should not be included as authors on the manuscript. But they can still be recognized on the manuscript's title page for their contributions to the research.
If the editorial board suspects a case of ghost, honorary, or gift authorship, the submission will be suspended, and the relevant COPE flowchart and COPE policy on authorship and contributorship will be followed.
Change of Authorship
Any requests for changes to authorship, such as the removal or addition of authors, or changes in the order of authors, should be submitted to the editorial office with a letter stating the reasons for the change. The letter must be signed by all authors, including any who have been removed.
The journal’s Editorial Board will handle all requests for changes to authorship in a consistent and transparent manner, following the relevant COPE flowchart guidelines. These procedures are in place to protect the integrity of the research and the reputation of all involved authors.
Declaration of Interests
Eurasian Journal of Molecular and Biochemical Sciences requires the ICMJE Disclosure Form to be filled in and submitted by all contributing authors of each manuscript in order to be informed about potential conflicts of interest of authors.
Eurasian Journal of Molecular and Biochemical Sciences also requires and encourages individuals involved in the peer review process of submitted manuscripts to disclose any existing or potential competing interests that might lead to bias.
The Editorial Board will handle cases of potential competing interests of editors, authors, or reviewers within the scope of relevant COPE flowcharts and ICMJE recommendations.
Financial Disclosure
Eurasian Journal of Molecular and Biochemical Sciences requires authors to disclose any financial support they received to conduct their research. This information should be included in the funding statement, which should be provided when the manuscript is submitted to the journal.
The funding statement should include the name of any granting agencies, the grant numbers, and a description of each funder's role in the research. If the funder had no role in the research, this should be stated in the funding statement as well. This information is important for readers to understand the potential biases and conflicts of interest that may exist in the research.
The Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Manuscript Preparation
Eurasian Journal of Molecular and Biochemical Sciences follows the guidelines outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) with regard to the utilization of AI and AI-assisted technology in manuscript preparation. Authorship encompasses a range of tasks that can only be performed by humans, and authors are accountable for ensuring the article's originality and possessing the requisite qualifications for authorship. AI can be used to correct language in articles, but it cannot be credited as an author to preserve the article's quality and originality.
The journal is committed to upholding existing copyright laws and recognized best practices in publication ethics. We generally do not permit the use of AI-generated visual content in our publications due to ongoing legal uncertainties—except in the following cases:
For images that are directly referenced in research on artificial intelligence, the description should state “Created by Artificial Intelligence.”
Authors must verify the accuracy and appropriateness of the images generated by AI and clearly state the AI methodology used within the manuscript. Any AI-generated content must comply with scientific standards and ethical guidelines.
Post-Publication Correction Requests and Retractions
All post-publication correction requests are subject to editorial review. The editorial board will review the request and determine whether the correction is necessary and appropriate. The decision to publish a correction will be based on the nature of the error, its potential impact on the article, and the availability of supporting evidence. The editorial board may also consult with the authors, reviewers, and other experts as needed to make its decision. If the correction request is approved, the article will be corrected in the journal's archive.
The Editorial Board reviews cases following journal policies and ICMJE and COPE guidelines.
If misconduct allegations are made by whistleblowers directly, the Editorial Board will follow the relevant COPE’s flowchart. The journal will act in accordance with the COPE's flowchart on how to respond to whistleblowers when concerns are raised about a published article on a social media site.
In some cases, an ombudsperson may be assigned to resolve claims that cannot be resolved internally.
To investigate potential ethical misconduct, the editorial board may share information with other editors-in-chief to conduct investigations more efficiently and effectively. If communication with the editor-in-chief is necessary, the editorial board will follow the relevant COPE's recommendations.
If necessary, the journal may also contact institutions to inform them of suspected misconduct by researchers and provide evidence to support these concerns, following COPE guidelines in the process.
In the event of ethical misconduct concerns, the editors will investigate the case according to COPE guidelines. If the investigation verifies the concern, the editors may issue a retraction notice. The retraction notice will be published in the journal, and the article's record will be updated to reflect the retraction. The article will remain in the archives of the journal, but it will be clearly marked as retracted. The article's record will also be updated in the relevant indexes to reflect the retraction.
Withdrawal Requests
Withdrawal requests for an article are reviewed by the editorial board of the journal. To request the withdrawal of an article, the authors must send a letter signed by all authors stating their request and the reasons for withdrawal to the journal editor. The editorial board will then review the request and make a decision based on the reasons provided by the authors. If the request is approved, the article will be withdrawn from the journal, and the authors will be notified of the decision. It is important to note that authors should not submit their work to another journal for evaluation until the withdrawal request has been approved. This is to avoid any potential conflicts of interest or duplication of publication.
Appeals and Complaints
The editorial board of the journal is responsible for addressing appeals and complaints in accordance with the guidelines and recommendations of the COPE. If an author has an appeal or complaint, they should contact the editorial office directly to discuss their concerns. The editorial board will review the case and make a decision based on COPE guidelines.
The editor-in-chief has the final authority in the decision-making process for all appeals and complaints. In some cases, an ombudsperson may be assigned to resolve claims that cannot be resolved internally. It is important to note that the journal follows a fair and transparent process for handling appeals and complaints, with the goal of preserving the integrity of the scientific record.
Preprint Policy
Eurasian Journal of Molecular and Biochemical Sciences does not consider preprints as prior publication, which means that authors are allowed to present and discuss their findings on a non-commercial preprint server before submitting their work to the journal.
However, authors must provide the journal with the preprint server deposition of their article, along with its DOI, during the initial submission process.
If the article is accepted and published, the authors must update the archived preprint and link it to the published version. This helps to ensure that readers can easily access the most up-to-date and accurate information.
Permission Policy
As of the April-October 2021 issue, the journal's content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
Under this license, users are allowed to share, adapt, reproduce, and distribute the journal's content for non-commercial purposes, provided that they give appropriate credit to the original author and the journal.
Erzurum Technical University is the copyright holder of content published before April 2021.
Data Sharing Policy
As of 1 January 2019, a data sharing statement is required for the registration of clinical trials. Authors are required to provide a data sharing statement for articles that report the results of a clinical trial. The data sharing statement should indicate the items below, according to the ICMJE data sharing policy:
• Whether individual deidentified participant data will be shared,
• What data in particular will be made available,
• Whether additional, related documents will also be provided,
• When the data will become accessible and for how long it will remain available,
• The criteria for accessing the data, including who will have access, the purpose of the analysis, and the mechanism for obtaining the data,
Authors are recommended to check the ICMJE data sharing examples at
http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/clinical-trial-registration.html
While submitting a clinical trial to Eurasian Journal of Molecular and Biochemical Sciences,
• Authors are required to register with a publicly accessible registry according to ICMJE recommendations and the instructions above.
• The name of the registry and the registration number should be provided on the title page during the initial submission.
• Data sharing statement should also be stated on the title page even if the authors do not plan to share it.
The clinical trial and data sharing policy of the journal will be valid for the articles submitted from October 2021.
Disclaimer
The statements or opinions expressed in the manuscripts published in the journal reflect the views of the author(s) and not the views of the editors, editorial board, and/or publisher. The editors, editorial board, and publisher are not responsible for the content of the manuscripts and do not necessarily endorse the views expressed in them. It is the responsibility of the authors to ensure that their work is accurate and well-researched and the views expressed in their manuscripts are their own. The editors, editorial board, and publisher simply provide a platform for the authors to share their work with the scientific community.