Current Issue

Volume: 5 Issue: 2, 9/3/24

Year: 2024

Research Articles

“International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research (IJTCMR)” is a publication of Duzce University, Traditional and Complementary Medicine Application and Research Center and it is an open access, independent, double blind peer-reviewed traditional and complementary medicine journal. Its peer-review policy is based on independent, unbiased, and double-blind review considering international and national guidelines. The journal is published three times a year, in April, August and December. It aims to publish qualified scientific experimental and clinical studies on traditional and complementary medicine.

The publication policy of "International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research" aims to publish traditional and complementary medicine practices (Acupuncture, Apitherapy, Phytotherapy, Aromatherapy, Herbal Medicine, Ozone Therapy, Homeopathy, Cupping Treatment (Hijamah), Leech Therapy (Hirudotherapy), Mesotherapy, Hypnosis, Prolotherapy, Osteopathy, Maggot (Larva) Treatment, Chiropractic, Reflexology, Music Therapy) and preclinical and clinical studies investigating the effects of medicinal plants, food supplements etc. used in these applications.

In addition to research articles, case reports, reviews, editorials and editorial comments will be included.

The journal publishes articles in English language.

There is no publication charge for submitted and published articles.

Article preparation

  • Accepted language is English title, short title, key words and abstract. The article submission can only be submitted via the online article upload and evaluation system at " https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ijtcmr". Compliance of submitted articles to journal writing rules will first be checked by the secretariat and articles not prepared for journal writing rules will be returned with technical correction requests.
  • All articles should be prepared separately as Title Page and Main Text file, and images and tables should also be uploaded into the main text to the system. Manuscripts must be typed in 11 fonts, justified, double-spaced and "Times New Roman" character as Microsoft Word® document.
  • For each article, the form "Copyright transfer" must be uploaded to the system at the time of submission as signed by all authors.
  • All abbreviations in the main text must be given in the place where they are used for the first time, followed by the abbreviation in brackets after the description. Product information including product name, manufacturer, city and country information should be given in parentheses in the main text.
  • Statistical analysis should be performed according to the rules for reporting statistical data in medical journals (Altman DG, Gore SM, Gardner MJ, Pocock SJ, Statistical guidelines for contributors to medical journals, Br Med J 1983: 7, 1489-93). The information about statistical analysis should be written in the Material-Methods section and the used software must be definite. Units are prepared in accordance with the International System of Units (SI), the international unit system.

Title page click

A separate "Title Page" file must be sent with all submitted articles. This page should include;
  • English title of the paper (It should be short, clear and adequately reflective of the content of the manuscript, initials should be written in capital letters and bold in Times New Roman 14 pt.)
  • Authors' names, institutions, ORCID numbers, e-mail addresses, country
    (Clicking on the OR icon should add the hyperlink to the person's ORCID site, when clicking on the person's NAME-SURNAME, a hyperlink to the mail address should be added)
  • The name, phone number and e-mail address of the Corresponding author,
  • For the studies presented in the scientific congresses, the full name of the congress, the date and place where it was made

Main Text file click

The content of the text file is summarized below and should begin on a new page using the page-end function in the Word:
  • English title of the article,
  • English abstract
  • English key words
  • Introduction,
  • Materials and Methods,
  • Results,
  • Discussion,
  • Acknowledgement (optional),
  • Disclosure Statement,
  • Author contributions,
  • Conflict of Interest,
  • References,

Abstract

  • All articles except “Letter to Editor” and “Editorial Comment” should have English abstract as "Abstract" of no more than 250 words.
  • Abstracts of “Original Research” articles should be prepared to include subheadings of Objective, Material-Method, Results and Conclusion.
  • For “Review” and “Case Report”, non-structured abstract is accepted. An abstract for "Case Report" should include introduction of case presentation with scientific background, presentation of the case and conclusion parts.
  • The abbreviation should not be used as much as possible within the abstract. The system should also be loaded again, with the title of the article at the top of the first page of the text file being uploaded.

Keywords 

  • All articles must be sent with at least 3 and at most 6 key words, and the keywords should be written as "Key words" just below English abstract. Abbreviations should not be used as keywords. The keywords should be selected from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) prepared by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and TR Index Keyword List or the Turkish Science Terms (www.bilgiterimleri.com) databases. As the keywords loaded to the online manuscript system, they should be written along with abstract on the first page of the text file.

Citation and sources:

  • References should be given in Times New Roman 10 font size at the end of the article. In the article, JAMA(or AMA) style in-text citation method should be used.
Book/Chapter from a book:
1. Gilman S, Newman SW. Manter and Gatz's Essentials of Clinical Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology. 10th ed. F.A. Davis; 2003.
2. Cohen M. Chronic and acute. In: Sapphire P, ed. The Disenfranchised. Baywood Publishing; 2013:109-122.
Article:
3. Hamilton GS, Naughton MT. Impact of obstructive sleep apnoea on diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Med J Aust. 2013;199(8):S27-30.
4. Johnson CL, Dohrmann SM, Kerckove VD, et al. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: National Youth Fitness Survey estimation procedures, 2012. Vital Health Stat 2. 2014;(168):1-25.
Electronic sources (e-book/online journals):
5. Thomas JL. Helpful or harmful? Potential effects of exercise on select inflammatory conditions. Phys Sportsmed. 2013;41(4):93-100. Accessed November 22, 2013. https://physsportsmed.org/psm.2013.11.2040
6. Surana NK, Kasper DL. Approach to the Patient with an Infectious Disease. In: Jameson J, Fauci AS, Kasper DL, Hauser SL, Longo DL, Loscalzo J. eds. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 20th ed. McGraw-Hill;2018:Chapter 115. Accessed October 15, 2020.https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=2129§ionid=192019106

The author is responsible for the WRONG REFERENCE information.

Article text properties by article type
  • Original research: The main text should include "Introduction", "Materials and Methods", "Results" and "Discussion" sections. The limitations, barriers and inadequacies of the original research must be mentioned before the conclusion paragraph in the Discussion section. The final paragraph of the discussion section should be designed as the final part of the article.
  • Review: Written reviews prepared by experts who have accumulated knowledge of the writing and whose accumulation is reflected in the number of international publications and citations. Authors can also be invited by the journal. In order to be valid for the compilations uploaded to the system as of 2022; at least one of its authors must have the title of professor. It should be prepared in a format that explains, discusses, evaluates, and carries out future work for the final level of knowledge or the use of the subject for clinical use. There are no defined subheading sections, but sections of the article should be specified by the author.
  • Case Report: Main text: "Introduction", "Case Presentation" and "Discussion" subheadings.
  • Editorial Comment: The purpose of the briefing is to be interpreted by a writer who is a specialist in that research. Authors are selected and invited by the journal. Uninvited editorial comments are not accepted.
  • Letter to Editor: Papers may be sent as a letter of editor to discuss the importance of a previously published article, an elaborate detail or missing parts. The number one reference of the article should belong to the posting of the letter written and should be included in the text. Abstract, keywords, tables, figures, images and other images are not used. The main text should be sub-titled. The maximum number of references should be more than ten.

ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY

  • In all studies that require an ethics committee certificate, the ethics committee document must be uploaded to the system. For studies that do not require an ethics committee certificate, it is required to be uploaded to the system by writing a letter that does not need to be obtained.
  • Compliance with The Principles of Helsinki Declaration (https://www.wma.net/what-we-do/medical-ethics/declaration-of-helsinki/) is required in all studies including “human” factor. In this kind of studies, authors must state that they perform the study in compliance with these principles, they have taken the approval from ethics committee of their institution and the “informed consent” from people participating the study, in the MATERIAL AND METHODS section.
  • If “animal” factor was used in the study, authors must state that they have protected the animal rights in line with the principles of Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/guide-for-the-care-and-use-of-laboratory-animals.pdf) and they have taken the approval from ethics committee of their institution, in the MATERIAL AND METHODS section.
  • In case reports, informed consent must be taken from patients.The information of the ethics committee approval should be indicated together with the name of the committee, approval date and number, in the MATERIAL AND METHODS section.
  • If there is a direct-indirect commercial relation or an institution giving financial support in the study, authors must state that they have no commercial relationship with the commercial product, medicine, company etc. used, or if any, what kind of a relationship they have (consultant, other agreements), in the cover letter to the editor.
  • The authors are responsible for reporting all personal and financial relationships that may be related with the study. It is necessary to state clearly whether there is any conflict of interest related to the submission and/or evaluation of the article.
    Compliance of the articles with the scientific and ethical rules is responsibility of authors.

All authors who submit a study to our journal are deemed to have undertaken the legal responsibility of the article they submit.

PUBLICATION ETHICS


The publication process at “International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research” 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. “International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research” 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 “International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research” 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 “International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research”. 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 “International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research” 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 “International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research”. 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 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 "Blind Review" has a direct influence on the publication quality. This process ensures confidentiality by objective and independent review. The review process at “International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research” 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 “International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research” 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
Editors and Editorial Board of “International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research” act with the awareness of the following ethical responsibilities:
• Editors are responsible for all the processes that the manuscripts submitted to “International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research” 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 “International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research” 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 “International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research” apart from the ethical responsibilities listed above, please notify the journal by e-mail at ijtcmr@yahoo.com

There is no publication charge for submitted and published articles.

Creative Commons License
This journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.