WRITING RULES
Manuscripts intended for submission to the Mediterranean Veterinary Journal can be prepared using the sample files. The sample title page, main text, and copyright release form files can be downloaded from the links below:
• Title Page
• Main Text/Manuscript
• Copyright Transfer Agreement
1. AUTHORSHIP RESPONSIBILITY
• Authorship responsibility of the articles lies with the authors. The authors of the submitted manuscript are expected to have contributed to the work.
2. PUBLICATION CHARGES
• Mediterranean Veterinary Journal does not charge any submission, processing, and publication fee.
3. ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY
3.1. For studies conducted on live humans/animals
• All the submitted manuscripts must comply with the ethical standards for animal studies. Experimental studies on animals must state the approval of study protocol by the institutional/local animal care and use committee(s). The authors are required to submit the documented approval of studies.
3.2. For use of previously published materials:
• The use of previously published text, table(s), or figure(s) is subjected to written permission from the copyright holder. The authors must indicate the used materials in the submitted manuscript. The editorial team may request the data and/or the specific codes used in the study.
3.3. Plagiarism policy
• Manuscripts submitted to the Mediterranean Veterinary Journal are evaluated for plagiarism and similarity through detection software packages (iThenticate or Turnitin).
• The acceptable threshold of the similarity index is 25%, however, the editorial team may decide to return the manuscript based on the plagiarism or the extent of similarity from a single document.
• Plagiarism detected in any published article will be immediately retracted along with the blacklisting of the author(s).
4. TYPES OF ARTICLES
Mediterranean Veterinary Journal publishes original research articles, case reports, review articles, short communication, and letter to the editor consistent with the aim and scope of the journal.
Original research article: original studies encompassing a conclusion based on sufficient scientific observation, investigation, and experimentation not exceeding 15 journal pages.
Case report: reporting rarely encountered clinical or laboratory cases. It can cover a maximum of 8 journal pages.
Review article: up-to-date evaluation of opinions and conducted investigations on an important topic. Only invited reviews are considered for publication in English language.
Short communication: includes new information and findings however short enough to be presented as original research. It should not exceed 6 journal pages.
Letter to the editor: illustration or short presentation of a topic bearing scientific or practical importance. It should not be more than 2 journal pages.
5. SUBMISSION CHECKLIST

• Title page

• Manuscript (Main text file)

• Similarity index report generated by iThenticate OR Turnitin

• Table(s) (All tables in a separate MS Word file)

• Figure(s) (Each Figure as a separate file either in TIFF or JPEG format with a resolution of at least 300 dpi and 1200 × 960 pixels)

• Approval letter from institutional or local animal care and use committee (optional for foreigners, however, mandatory for studies conducted in Turkey)

• Language editing certificate (mandatory for manuscripts from Turkey)

6. PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT
• Manuscripts submitted to the Mediterranean Veterinary Journal are published on the understanding that they are original work and that they are neither published before nor under consideration for publication elsewhere.
• All the manuscripts should be written in Microsoft Word with Garamond font, 11 pt., 1.5 line spacing, 2.5 cm indent, A4 page size (210 × 297 mm), single column, and justified. A continuous line number should be inserted whereas page number should be given in the middle of the header except for the first page.
• The authors are requested to use the following sample file for the preparation of their manuscripts. The files are given below.
6.1. Title page
The title page should be submitted as a separate file indicating the article type, the title (only first letter capital), author(s) list (first letters of names and surnames should be capital), affiliation(s) of each author indicated with numbered footnotes, the corresponding author indicated by an asterisk (*) should provide the address, phone, fax, and e-mail address. All authors are required to state their ORCID numbers. The authors mention the details if the study was presented in a conference, symposium, or workshop. Declarations should be listed in the Title Page. All manuscripts must contain the following sections under the heading 'Declarations':
6.1.1. Ethics approval
Manuscripts reporting studies involving human participants, human data or human tissue must:
• include a statement on ethics approval and consent (even where the need for approval was waived)
• include the name of the ethics committee that approved the study and the committee’s reference number if appropriate
• Studies involving animals must include a statement on ethics approval.
• If your manuscript does not report on or involve the use of any animal or human data or tissue, please state “Not applicable” in this section.
6.1.2. Conflict of interest
• All financial and non-financial competing interests must be declared in this section.
• Please use the authors’ initials to refer to each author’s competing interests in this section.
• If you do not have any competing interests, please state "The authors declare that they have no competing interests" in this section.
6.1.3. Consent for publication
• If your manuscript contains any individual person’s data in any form (including individual details, images or videos), consent to publish must be obtained from that person, or in the case of children, their parent or legal guardian. All presentations of case reports must have consent to publish.
• You can use your institutional consent form if you prefer. You should not send the form to us on submission, but we may request to see a copy at any stage (including after publication).
• If your manuscript does not contain data from any individual person, please state “Not applicable” in this section.
6.1.4. Author contribution
The individual contributions of authors to the manuscript should be indicated in this section with following subheading:
• Idea, concept, and design: XXX, XXX, XXX [Initials only]
• Data collection and analysis: XXX, XXX, XXX [Initials only]
• Drafting of the manuscript: XXX, XXX, XXX [Initials only]
• Critical review: XXX, XXX, XXX [Initials only]
6.1.5. Data availability
• All manuscripts must include an ‘Availability of data and materials’ statement. Data availability statements should include information on where data supporting the results reported in the article can be found including, where applicable, hyperlinks to publicly archived datasets analyzed or generated during the study. By data we mean the minimal dataset that would be necessary to interpret, replicate, and build upon the findings reported in the article. We understand that it is not always possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be compromised, and in such instances data availability should still be stated in the manuscript along with any conditions for access.
6.1.6. Acknowledgements
• Please acknowledge anyone who contributed towards the article who does not meet the criteria for authorship including anyone who provided professional writing services or materials.
• Authors should obtain permission to acknowledge from all those mentioned in the Acknowledgements section.
• If you do not have anyone to acknowledge, please write "Not applicable" in this section.
6.2. Manuscript (main text)
• The main manuscript should include the following sections (Abstract, keywords, text, declarations, and references) without any identifying information, such as author(s) name or affiliation(s).
• Tables should be uploaded as a single separate MS Word file. Each figure should be uploaded as a single separate MS Word file.
6.2.1. Abstract and key words
• The abstract should not exceed 250 words and should be written in a single paragraph. In short communications, the abstract should not exceed 100 words. Abstracts in English should contain brief information on purpose, material and method(s), results, and conclusion(s). In the abstract, abbreviations should not be used. Up to 7 keywords should be added below the abstracts.
6.2.2. Text
• Original research articles and brief communications should be organized under 4 main headings, including introduction, materials and method, results, and discussion. The introduction should contain information directly related to the subject of the article and the purpose of the investigation should be stated. Materials and methods should be written as detailed as possible and may be divided into subparts if more than one method is used. However, there is no need to elaborate the classical and frequently used methods. If a brand is specified, the manufacturer's name and address (city, country) should be given. Findings can be presented as text, table(s), graph(s), and figure(s). The discussion should be adequate and should be written directly using the relevant sources. In the conclusion section, the results of the study and the basic recommendations should be reported without recurring findings. Abbreviations should be explained in the text, table(s), figure(s), and graph(s) at their first use. Reviews should include introduction, text, and conclusion titles. Case reports should include introduction, case(s), and discussion sections.
6.2.3. References
• This journal uses the reference style according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition). The APA in text reference uses the (author, date) format. Your reference list should be ordered alphabetically by author and then chronologically by year of publication. Examples of frequently used references in this framework are given below. The author(s) is/are responsible for the accuracy of all references. The references should only include articles that are published or accepted. Do not include personal communications or unpublished data or materials (such as project final reports, personal websites, thesis, computer programs, poster papers, presentations, and manuscripts that are not accepted yet) as references. If the book includes a DOI, include the DOI in the reference after the publisher’s name. If a journal article has a DOI, include the DOI in the reference.
• If possible, the manuscripts submitted to the journal should not exceed 35 references for the research article, 15 references for the short communications, and 10 references for the case reports.
6.2.3.1. Journal article
• One author
In text citation: (Tutun, 2019) or Tutun (2019) has reported that ……
Tutun, H. (2019). Anti-Proliferative Effect of Melamine on Human Colon Adenocarcinoma Cells. Kocatepe Veteriner Dergisi, 12(3), 264-267. https://doi.org/10.30607/kvj.576695
One author, multiple works published in the same year
Karagoz, A., Tutun, H., Altintas, L., Alanbayi, U., Yildirim, D., & Kocak, N. (2020a). Molecular typing of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains from Turkey. Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance, 23, 130-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jgar.2020.08.012
Karagoz, A., Tutun, H., Arslantaş, T., Altintaş, Ö., Koçak, N., & Altintaş, L. (2020b). Detection of SARS-CoV-2 using five primer sets. Ankara Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi Dergisi, 68(1), 69-75. https://doi.org/10.33988/auvfd.775884
• Two authors
In text citation: (Tutun and Baydan, 2009) or Tutun and Baydan (2018) have found that
Tutun, H., & Baydan, E. (2018). Cannabinoid receptor type 2 agonist JWH-133 deteriorates the liver toxicity induced by cypermethrin. Turkish Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, 42(3), 211-221. https://doi.org/10.3906/vet-1712-13
• Three to 20 authors
In text citation: (Hokugo et al., 2010) or Hokugo et al. (2010) have reported that
Hokugo, A., Christensen, R., Chung, E. M., Sung, E. C., Felsenfeld, A. L., Sayre, J. W., Garrett, N., Adams, J. S., & Nishimura, I. (2010). Increased prevalence of bisphosphonate‐related osteonecrosis of the jaw with vitamin D deficiency in rats. Journal of bone and mineral research, 25(6), 1337-1349. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.23
List all authors in the reference entry
• More than 20 authors
In text citation: (Miller et al., 2018) or Miller et al. (2018) have reported that
Miller, T. C., Brown, M. J., Wilson, G. L., Evans, B. B., Kelly, R. S., Turner, S. T., Lewis, F., Nelson, T. P., Cox, G., Harris, H. L., Martin, P., Gonzalez, W. L., Hughes, W., Carter, D., Campbell, C., Baker, A. B., Flores, T., Gray, W. E., Green, G., . . . Lee, L. H. (2018).
6.2.3.2. Books
In text citation: (Sapolsky, 2017) or Sapolsky (2017) suggested
Sapolsky, R. M. (2017). Behave: The biology of humans at our best and worst. Penguin Books.
Percy, D. H., & Barthold, S. W. (2007). Pathology of laboratory rodents and rabbits (3rd ed.). Blackwell Publishing
6.2.3.3. Book chapter
In text citation: (Dillard, 2020) or Dillard (2020)
Goldschmidt, M. H., Hendrick, M. J. (2002). Tumors of the skin and soft tissues. In: D. J. Meuten (Ed.). Tumors in Domestic Animals (pp. 81-83). Iowa State Press.
Dillard, J. P. (2020). Currents in the study of persuasion. In M. B. Oliver, A. A. Raney, & J. Bryant (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (4th ed., pp. 115–129). Routledge.
6.2.3.4. A website
In text citation: (Bologna, 2019) or Bologna (2019) showed that
Bologna, C. (2019, October 31). Why some people with anxiety love watching horror movies. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anxiety-love-watching-horror-movies_l_5d277587e4b02a5a5d57b59e
For other reference formats not mentioned here, the relevant website should be used as a guide https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/
6.2.4. Figures and tables
• All tables and figures must be numbered consecutively as they are referred to in the text. Please refer to tables and figures with capitalization and unabbreviated (e.g., “As shown in Figure 2…”, and not “Fig. 2” or “figure 2”). All tables and figures must have a caption and/or legend and be numbered (e.g., Table 1, Figure 2), unless there is only one table or figure, in which case it should be labelled “Table” or “Figure” with no numbering.
• Tables (including titles, description, footnotes) should be submitted separately in Microsoft Word (doc.). Also, the tables should be given after the references, not in the running text, in the main manuscript. Tables should not be copy & paste as it makes processing of tables very difficult. The tables should be prepared using the Microsoft Word Table function (basic tables). The manuscript must contain up to 4 tables. The table title should be on the top of the table, the table descriptions and abbreviations should be on the bottom. The tables must be self-explanatory rather than repetitive in the text.
• All artworks, figures, images, illustrations, graphics, photos, pictures, plots, and schemes should be labeled as Figures. During submission, all figures must be submitted as separate files and named accordingly. All figures should be submitted in either TIFF or JPEG format with a resolution of at least 300 dpi and 1200 × 960 pixels. The authors should obtain written permission from the respective publishers to reproduce any images from other sources, even if they are quoted from their previous papers. The footnotes should be written in a short and concise manner, the staining/method used, and the original magnification should be given in footnotes. Symbols used in figures and abbreviations should be defined. The description and footnote characters must be the same as the figures and the fonts in the figures. No legends or titles should be included in the figures. Figure legends should be added at the end of the main manuscript, each on a separate page. Ensure all figure and table citations in the text match the files provided.
7. SUBMISSION OF ARTICLES (DOUBLE-BLIND PEER REVIEW)
• The article submission is only accepted online.
• The Corresponding authors, all the files to be sent along with the article, and the "Copyright Form" can be added to the system by clicking the submit new article icon at the above address.
• Authors must register on the Dergipark system before submitting a manuscript.
• The submitted main manuscript must not contain any identifying information, such as author information, institution, ethics committee or special permit address, during the preliminary evaluation phase.
• The manuscript that passes the preliminary evaluation (paper scientific qualification, language, conformity to Guide for author and checking plagiarism via iThenticate and Turnitin program,) are assigned to the Reviewers.
• The corresponding author can follow the article evaluation process from the section on the articles in the process.
• According to the double-blind peer-review rules, the main text, tables, graphics, and pictures of the manuscript are uploaded via the system and sent to the appointed reviewers for an article evaluation request via e-mail.
• The reviewers accept or reject the request by clicking on the link sent via e-mail.
• The reviewers who accept it must upload their decisions together with the reasons within a maximum of 1 month via the system. If the correction requested by the Reviewer is sent back to the author.
• If the requested corrections are not completed within 1 month, the article will be automatically cancelled. After the desired corrections are made, the article is uploaded back to the system by the author.
• The editor makes decisions to accept or reject papers based on their opinion of the papers' publication worthiness and reviewers' comments. As stated in the privacy statement, authors' identity information and e-mail addresses will not be used for any other purpose.

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND PUBLICATION POLICY
Mediterranean Veterinary Journal is a peer-reviewed journal committed to ensuring the highest standards of publication ethics. All parties involved in the act of publishing (editors, authors, reviewers and the publisher) have to agree upon standards of ethical behavior.
We state the following principles of Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement based on Elsevier recommendations and the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors of the Committee on Publication Ethics – COPE
We encourage the best standards of publication ethics and take all possible measures against publication malpractices.

1. Editors’ responsibilities

The editors is responsible to evaluate manuscripts submitted to the journal on the basis of its relevance to the journal’s scope, without regard to the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, political philosophy or institutional affiliation. The decision will be based on the manuscript’s importance, originality and clarity, and the study’s validity. The Editor-in-Chief has full authority over the entire editorial content of the journal and the timing of publication of that content.

Editors and editorial staff will not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher. Editors and editorial board members will also ensure that all the information related to submitted manuscripts is kept as confidential under review.

The editors ensure that all submitted manuscripts being considered for publication undergo the blind review process by at least two reviewers who are expert in the field by not revealing the identity of the author(s) of a manuscript to the reviewers of that manuscript, and vice versa.


The editors must ensure that the comments and recommendations of the reviewers are sent to the author(s) in due time and that the manuscripts are returned to the Editor-in-Chief, who take the final decision to publish them or not. The Editor-in-Chief may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

2. Authors and Authors responsibilities

Authors of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed and the results, followed by an objective discussion of the significance of the work. The manuscript should contain sufficient detail and references to public sources of information to permit others to replicate the work. Review articles should be accurate, objective and comprehensive, while editorial 'opinion' or perspective pieces should be clearly identified as such. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Authors may be asked to provide the raw data of their study together with the manuscript for editorial review and should be prepared to make the data publicly available if practicable. In any event, authors should ensure accessibility of such data to other competent professionals for at least 10 years after publication (preferably via an institutional or subject-based data repository or other data center), provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be protected and legal rights concerning proprietary data do not preclude their release.

Authors should ensure that they have written and submit only entirely original works, and if they have used the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately cited. Publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the work reported in the manuscript should also be cited. Plagiarism such as copying another's manuscript as the author's own, paraphrasing substantial parts of another's paper (without attribution) or claiming results from research conducted by others and in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

Papers describing essentially the same research should not be published in more than one journal or primary publication. Hence, authors should not submit for consideration a manuscript that has already been published in another journal. Submission of a manuscript concurrently to more than one journal is unethical publishing behavior and unacceptable. The publication of some kinds of articles (such as clinical guidelines, translations) in more than one journal is sometimes justifiable, provided that certain conditions are met. The authors and editors of the journals concerned must agree to the secondary publication, which must reflect the same data and interpretation of the primary document. The primary reference must be cited in the secondary publication.

Authorship is only limited to persons who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, data acquisition and analysis of the study. All other persons who assist the authors in technical help, writing, and other general support but do not meet the criteria for authorship are not considered authors of the manuscript. Rather, these people should be acknowledged in the “Acknowledgements” section.

Authors should—at the earliest stage possible (generally by submitting a disclosure form at the time of submission and including a statement in the manuscript)—disclose any conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or their interpretation in the manuscript. Examples of potential conflicts of interest that should be disclosed include financial ones such as honoraria, educational grants or other funding, participation in speakers’ bureaus, membership, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interest, and paid expert testimony or patent-licensing arrangements, as well as non-financial ones such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge or beliefs in the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. All sources of financial support for the work should be disclosed (including the grant number or other reference number if any).

Authors should ensure that they have properly acknowledged the work of others, and should also cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Information obtained privately (from conversation, correspondence or discussion with third parties) must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source. Authors should not use information obtained in the course of providing confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, unless they have obtained the explicit written permission of the author(s) of the work involved in these services.

If the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the authors must clearly identify these in the manuscript. If the work involves the use of animals or human participants, the authors should ensure that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committee(s) has approved them; the manuscript should contain a statement to this effect. Authors should also include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human participants. The privacy rights of human participants must always be observed.

When authors discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their own published work, it is their obligation to promptly notify the journal’s editors or publisher and cooperate with them to either correct the paper in the form of an erratum or to retract the paper. If the editors or publisher learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error or inaccuracy, then it is the authors’ obligation to promptly correct or retract the paper or provide evidence to the journal editors of the correctness of the paper.

Authors are obliged to participate in the peer review process and cooperate fully by responding promptly to editors’ requests for raw data, clarifications, and proof of ethics approval, patient consents and copyright permissions. In the case of a first decision of "revisions necessary", authors should respond to the reviewers’ comments systematically, point by point, and in a timely manner, revising and re-submitting their manuscript to the journal by the deadline given.

3. Reviewers' Responsibilities

Peer review assists editors and executive editorial board of the journal in making editorial decisions and, through editorial communications with authors, may assist authors in improving their manuscripts.

Any invited referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should immediately notify the editors and decline the invitation to review so that alternative reviewers can be contacted.
Unpublished material disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s own research without the express written consent of the authors. Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. This applies also to invited reviewers who decline the review invitation.

Reviewers must report to the editor of the journal if they are aware of copyright infringement and plagiarism on the author’s part.

Reviews should be conducted objectively and observations formulated clearly with supporting arguments so that authors can use them for improving the manuscript. Personal criticism of the authors is inappropriate.

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that is an observation, derivation or argument that has been reported in previous publications should be accompanied by the relevant citation.

Any invited referee who has conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies or institutions connected to the manuscript and the work described therein should immediately notify the editors to declare their conflicts of interest and decline the invitation to review so that alternative reviewers can be contacted.

Reviewers evaluate manuscripts based on content without regard to the authors’ race, age, gender, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, citizenship, political orientation or social class.

4. Publishers' Responsibilities

In cases of alleged or proven scientific misconduct, fraudulent publication or plagiarism, the publisher, in close collaboration with the editors, will take all appropriate measures to clarify the situation and to amend the article in question. This includes the prompt publication of an erratum, clarification or, in the most severe case, the retraction of the affected work. The publisher, together with the editors, shall take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, and under no circumstances encourage such misconduct or knowingly allow such misconduct to take place.

The publisher is committed to the permanent availability and preservation of scholarly research and ensures accessibility by partnering with organizations and maintaining our own digital archive.

5. Readers' Responsibilities

Journal readers should refrain from violating the copyright of scientific articles. Not share or disseminate full-text files of articles on social media or any other online platform without the permission of the publisher.