Gephyra

Gephyra - a Journal for the Ancient History and Cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean - is an open access publication platform for articles from all fields of research into Asia Minor and the Eastern Mediterranean, insofar as they shed new light on the ancient history and culture of this geographical and historical region.

Epigraphic, archaeological, numismatic and art historical contributions, commented and evaluated material presentations, as well as historical reflections and essays are all equally welcome, as long as they remain within the journal's periodic scope (i.e. antiquity up to 6th c. AD at most) and geographical area.

The Journal of Gephyra is an open access online journal published biannulay by Research Center for Mediterranean Languages of Akdeniz University. The journal publishes contributions in the fields of epigraphy, ancient history, classical philology, numisnmatics, archaeology, history of art, culture and philosophy as long as their subjects are connected to the ancient and middle ages of Mediterranean geography.

The authenticity of the submissions is under the responsibility of authors, though all the contributions are scanned by Ithenticate plagiarism detection software. By submitting a manuscript to the journal of Gephyra, the author is deemed to have accepted that the submitted material has not been formerly published and further it will not be published in any other platforms after its acceptance for publication in Gephyra. There are no charges demanded from the author for both submission and its processing.

The submissions should have confirmations from the editörs and reviewers prior to its publication. Each accepted submission is sent for evaluation at least to two reviewers, who are experts on the subject of the article. The information on the final decision is sent to the authors within 3 months at most. 

The requirements of application procedure:

• The manuscripts should be submitted in one of the following languages: English, German, French and Italian.
• It should at least contain an English abstract of 250-300. A Turkish abstract will also be necessary prior to the publication, this can be produced by Turkish editors in case the author cannot write one, it might be longer and more detailed if desired.
• 5-7 keywords should be provided.
• The files to be sent should be in Microsoft Word format (2007 or later versions).
• A Unicode font which includes multilingual support should be selected for the text.
• The body of text should be set as 11 points, and footnotes 9,5.
• For Greek texts, a polytonic Unicode font should be used.
• No manual hyphenation should be marked within the text, except for special occasions as may be needed in some lan-guages like Greek.
• The images should be selected carefully and the author should abstain from using unnecessary images that may sub-merge the text on a page.
• The images in the text should be properly indicated for us to know approximately where the author wishes them to be placed within the body of the text (using low quality images in the text will reduce the file size, and will be useful for e-mailing and computer handling; we will then place the original high quality images sent instead).
• The images to be sent should be of high quality, e.g. not less than 300 dpi.
• After online submission, contributions should be e-mailed to the addresses in inner front cover in both formats DOC(X) and PDF; if needed also two print copies and a CD/DVD which includes all the necessary files, i.e. the text, all the fonts used, images, drawings, tables etc.

Submissions should be made online via the website https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/gephyra. The files concerning submission can also be sent to e-mail adress gephyra.adkam@gmail.com, if necessary.

Citation

It is not compulsory to apply a certain citation system during the submission, but the accepted articles will be required to use the following bases. Gephyra basically uses the citation system of "DAI German Archaeological Institute”, since some prevalent systems (APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian etc.) don't completely meet the need. Please check with https://www.dainst.org/en/publikationen/publizieren-beim-dai/richtlinien for additional information. The submitters are expected to have organized their paper according to following basic citation criteria:

-         Monographs: “Last Name year, page(-s)”.

-         Articles: “Last Name year, page(-s)”.

-         The page numbers should be given in its exact intervals, meaning no use of the abbreviations “f.” or “ff.” etc.

-         Please use long dash spaced on both sides ( – ) to separate authors, while short dash without space (-) between the last names of the same author; and short dash without space (-) between the pages.

-       No abbreviations for iterant references, like idem, ibidem, op. cit should be used but repeated unless it is cited within the same footnote. Other abbreviations are as follows:

-        For the abbreviations of primary literary sources, epigraphic corpora, numismatic and papyrological sources and journals please use following lists:

-       Ancient Authors: Der Neue Pauly

-       Journal abbreviations: L'Année Philologique and CLAROS

-       Corpora (Inscriptions): AIEGL - List of Abbreviations of Editions and Works of Reference for Alphabetic Greek Epigraphy

-       Papyri: Duke Papyrus Archive

Citation Types and samples:

1. Articles in Journals:

In footnote: [Last Name] [year], [page(s)].

¹ Mitchell 1986, 19; Bremen 1994, 49.

In bibliography: [Initial(s)]. [Last Name], [Title], [Journal Abbreviation] [Vol/Number], [Year], [pages].

2. Articles/Sections in Edited Books

In footnote: [Last Name] [year], [page(s)].

¹ Mitchell 1999, 19; Bremen 2010, 449.

In bibliography: [Initial(s)]. [Last Name], [Title], [“in”]: [Initial(s)] [Last Name] [“(ed(d.)”], [Title], [Place] [year], [pages] [(if applicable, Series Name and Number)].

3. Monographs

In footnote: [Last Name], [year] [Page(s)].

¹ Mitchell 1993, 119; Bremen 2006, 119.

In bibliography: Initial(s)]. [Last Name], [Title], [Place] [year] [(if available, Serie Name and Number)].

4. Corpora

For citing a numbered item within the text and footnote: [Abbreviation of Corpus] [Vol.] [No].

For citing a page within the text and footnote: [Abbreviation of Corpus] [Vol.], [“p.”] [page(s)] (, [“no.”] [No. of Item])

Samples:

For an inscription: TAM II 51              for page: TAM II, p. 51

For an inscription: I.Perge 51              for page: I.Perge, p. 51 or .IPerge I, p. 51

For an inscription: I.Pergamon 51       for page: I.Pergamon, p. 51

PS: Widely known corpora shall not be included in bibliography.

5. Ancient Works

It will be cited according to the work's own order: [Abbreviation of the Author]. [abbreviation of work (if available)]. [book no].[section no].[paragraph. no]. [line no]. With no space between numbers and commas.

Strab. 14.31.3; Plin. epist. 10.39; Cic. Verr. 1.31.3.

Ancient works shall not be recorded in the bibliography, unless a textual analysis is in question.

6. Numbered Items in Articles

In text or footnote: [Last Name] [year], [page(s)] [“no.”] [No].

Şahin 1988, 103 no. 4.

PS: If a work has more than two authors, use the formula of “First Author et al.”

Postal Address:

Research Centre for Mediterranean Languages and Cultures
GEPHYRA Editorial Office
Akdeniz University, Faculty of Letters
Dept. of Ancient Languages and Cultures
Campus 07058 ANTALYA - TURKEY

E-mail: gephyra.adkam@gmail.com 

Publication Ethics
The publication process at Gephyra is the basis of the improvement and dissemination of information objectively and respectfully. Therefore, the procedures in this process improves the quality of the studies. Peer-reviewed studies are the ones that support and materialize the scientific method. At this point, it is of utmost importance that all parties included in the publication process (authors, readers and researchers, publisher, reviewers and editors) comply with the standards of ethical considerations. Gephyra 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 Gephyra 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 Gephyra.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 editors of Gephyra 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 Gephyra. 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.
• "Peer Review Policy" 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 Blind Review Processes

Editors are obliged to comply with the "Peer Review Policy" 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 "Blind Review" has a direct influence on the publication quality. This process ensures confidentiality by objective and independent review. The review process at Gephyra 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 Gephyra 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

The publisher of Gephyra

• The Editors and the Advisory Board of Gephyra 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 Gephyra 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 Gephyra 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 Gephyra apart from the ethical responsibilities listed above, please notify the journal by e-mail at gephyra.adkam@gmail.com
http://adkam.akdeniz.edu.tr/en

Article submission/process management is free of charge.