INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS
For comprehensive information regarding the journal's policies on submission, peer-review, publication, and ethical standards, kindly visit the Journal Policies page. Similarly, for detailed information about the journal, please visit the About page.

It is strongly advised to review the journal's policies before submitting any manuscripts to ensure compliance with the journal's guidelines.

Manuscripts submitted for evaluation should be original and not previously presented or published in any electronic or print medium. If a manuscript was previously presented at a conference or meeting, authors should provide detailed information about the event, including the name, date, and location of the organization.

Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with ICMJE-Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (updated in May 2023).

Authors are required to prepare manuscripts in accordance with the relevant guideline listed below:
• Randomized research studies and clinical trials: CONSORT guidelines (for protocols, please see the SPIRIT guidance)
• Observational original research studies: STROBE guidelines
• Studies on diagnostic accuracy: STARD guidelines
• Systematic reviews and meta-analysis: PRISMA guidelines (for protocols, please see the PRISMA-P guidelines)
• Experimental animal studies: ARRIVE guidelines and Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, 8th edition
• Nonrandomized evaluations of behavioral and public health interventions: TREND guidelines
• Genetic association studies: STREGA
• Qualitative research: SRQR guidelines

To find the right guideline for your research, please complete the questionnaire by Equator Network here.
Medical Recordss encourages authors to follow the ‘Sex and Gender Equity in Research – SAGER – guidelines’ when preparing their manuscripts to promote the inclusion of sex and gender considerations in research. Before submission, authors can consult EASE Guidelines for Authors and Translators to produce clear, concise and accurate manuscripts that are easy to understand and free of common errors and pitfalls.
Manuscripts can only be submitted through the journal’s online manuscript submission and evaluation system. Manuscripts submitted via any other medium and submissions by anyone other than one of the authors will not be evaluated.

In addition to the manuscript files, authors are required to submit the following during the initial submission:
• Copyright Agreement and Acknowledgement of Authorship Form
• ICMJE Potential Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form (should be filled in by all contributing authors) during the initial submission. These forms are available for download at www.dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/medr

PUBLICATION FEE POLICY
Medical Recprds uses Dergi Park article tracking system software. With the journal infrastructure, instant open access to articles is provided and articles published in journals are made available online free of charge all over the world. You do not need to be a member to access the articles. All articles in the system can be accessed and read without being a journal user.

Article processing charges
There is for article submission, evaluation and publishing Medical Records journal were compensated by its own sources until now. Starting from November 30st of 2022, authors are required to pay an article processing charge to ensure articles are evaluated as quickly as possible and better consultancy and editing services.
Consulting, typesetting and editing services are provided by Effect Publishing.

As of October 10, 2024, the article processing charge has been updated to TL 5,000 (Turkish Liras) or $150 (US Dollars).

This fee must be paid in advance before providing consultancy and editing services. This amount will not be repaid in terms of the authors withdrawn or rejection of the articles in any stage and any reason. Article processing charge fee waivers are not available.

These charges are in no way related to our journal’s editors and reviewers who voluntarily contribute the scientific evaluations of manuscripts.

The Editor-in-Chief may reject articles without being sent to peers.

Medical Records has no legal or financial liability due to these fees.

Author fees or waiver status do not influence editorial decision making. All submissions are evaluated by the Editorial Board and the external reviewers in terms of scientific quality and ethical standards. Medical Records payments do not have any effect on the outcome of the article's evaluation and/or publication priority.

The liable corporation is:
Tıbbi kayıtlar Derneği (MEDİCAL RECORDS Association) for consultancy and editing services and for usage of online article submission and tracking system

Account Name: Tıbbi Kayıtlar Derneği
International Bank Account Number (IBAN) for TL is Ziraat Bankası
54- DÜZCE BRANCH NUMBER 97646173-5001
IBAN: TR82 0001 0000 5497 6461 7350 01

Account Name: Medical Records Association
International Bank Account Number (IBAN) for USD is Ziraat Bankası
54- DÜZCE BRANCH NUMBER 97646173-5002
TR55 0001 0000 5497 6461 7350 02

Preparation of the Manuscript

Title page: A separate title page should be submitted with all submissions and this page should include:

• The full title of the manuscript as well as a short title (running head) of no more than 50 characters,
• Include only full names of the authors directly affiliated with the work. The maximum number of authors is eight for original articles, five for case reports and “How to Do It” articles, three for interesting images, and correspondence. Exceeding numbers will have to be justified to the Editor. Include the name and location of no more than two institutional affiliations where the work was actually done. If more than one department or institution are given, indicate affiliation of each author.
• Name(s), affiliations, highest academic degree(s), and ORCID IDs of the author(s),• Grant information and detailed information on the other sources of support,
• Name, address, telephone (including the mobile phone number), and email address of the corresponding author,
• Acknowledgment of the individuals who contributed to the preparation of the manuscript but who do not fulfill the authorship criteria.

ORCID ID
The Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) number of each author must be submitted when creating an account for correspondence. To obtain an ORCID number, please visit https://orcid.org/

Abstract: An abstract should be submitted with all submissions except for Letters to the Editor. The abstract of Research Articles should be structured with subheadings (Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusion). Please check Table 1 below for word count specifications.

Keywords: Each submission must be accompanied by a minimum of three to a maximum of five keywords for subject indexing at the end of the abstract. The keywords should be listed in full without abbreviations. The keywords should be selected from the National Library of Medicine, Medical Subject Headings database (https://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.html).

Main Points: All submissions except letters to the editor should be accompanied by 3 to 5 “main points.” These main points should highlight the most important results of the study and emphasize the main message of the manuscript. The main points should be structured as a list and should be written in a clear and straightforward manner. Since the main points are intended for experts and specialists in the field, they should be written in plain language that is easy to understand. By including main points with the manuscript, authors can help ensure that the most important findings and messages of their study are conveyed clearly to the reader.

Manuscript Types

Original Articles: This is the most important type of article since it provides new information based on original research. Acceptance of original papers will be based upon the originality and importance of the investigation. The main text of original articles should be structured with Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, and Discussion subheadings. Please check Table 1 for the limitations of the Original Articles.

Clinical Trials
Medical Records adopts the ICMJE's clinical trial registration policy, which requires that clinical trials must be registered in a publicly accessible registry that is a primary register of the WHO International Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) or in ClinicalTrials.gov. By registering clinical trials in a publicly accessible registry, authors can help to promote transparency and accountability in their research.
Instructions for the clinical trials are listed below.
• Clinical trial registry is only required for prospective research projects that study the relationship between a health-related intervention and an outcome by assigning people.
• To have their manuscript evaluated in the journal, the author should register their research to a public registry at or before the time of first patient enrollment.
• Based on the most up-to-date ICMJE recommendations Medical Records accepts public registries that include a minimum acceptable 24-item trial registration dataset.
• Authors are required to state a data-sharing plan for the clinical trial registration. Please see the details under the “Data Sharing” section.
• For further details, please check ICMJE Clinical Trial Policy and COPE Data and Reproducibility guidelines.

Reporting Statistical Analysis
Statistical analysis to support conclusions is usually necessary. Statistical analyses must be conducted in accordance with international statistical reporting standards (Altman DG, Gore SM, Gardner MJ, Pocock SJ. Statistical guidelines for contributors to medical journals. Br Med J 1983: 7; 1489-93). Information on statistical analyses should be provided with a separate subheading under the Materials and Methods section and the statistical software that was used during the process must be specified.

Values for reporting statistical data, such as P values and CIs should be presented and rounded appropriately. P values should be expressed to 2 digits to the right of the decimal point unless the first 2 digits are zeros, in which case 3 digits to the right of the decimal place should be provided (eg, instead of P < .01, report as P = .002). However, values close to .05 may be reported to 3 decimal places because the .05 is an arbitrary cut point for statistical significance (eg, P = .053). P values less than .001 should be designated as P < .001 rather than exact values (eg, P = .000006).

Units should be prepared in accordance with the International System of Units (SI).

Reviews Articles
Reviews prepared by authors who have extensive knowledge on a particular field and whose scientific background has been translated into a high volume of publications with a high citation potential are welcomed. These authors may even be invited by the journal. Reviews should describe, discuss, and evaluate the current level of knowledge of a topic in both clinical and basic science review articles on all aspects of Vascular Surgery and should guide future studies. The subheadings of the review articles should be planned by the authors. However, each review article should include an “Introduction” and a “Conclusion” section. Please check Table 1 for the limitations for Review Articles.

Case Reports
Brief descriptions of a previously undocumented disease process, a unique unreported manifestation or treatment of a known disease process, or unique unreported complications of treatment regimens. Case reports should include an adequate number of images and figures. Case reports should be accompanied by “Informed Consent” whether the identity of the patients is disclosed or not. The “Informed Consent Form” is available at https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/medr Please check Table 1 for the limitations for Case Report.

Editorial Comments
Invited editorial comments on selected articles are published in the journal to provide expert insight and critical analysis of the research presented. These comments are written by authors who have demonstrated expertise or a high reputation in the topic of the research article. The journal carefully selects and invites these authors to contribute their comments. The editorial comments should not exceed 1000 words in length and should not include an abstract, keywords, tables, figures, images, or other media.

Letters to the Editor
This type of manuscript discusses important parts, overlooked aspects, or lacking parts of a previously published article. Articles on subjects within the scope of the journal that might attract the readers’ attention, particularly educative cases, may also be submitted in the form of a “Letter to the Editor.” Readers can also present their comments on the published manuscripts in the form of a “Letter to the Editor.” Author(s) of the criticized article has the right to reply. Letters must be sent to the Editor, within 4 weeks following publication of the commented article in the journal. The text should be unstructured. The manuscript that is being commented on must be properly cited within this manuscript.The text of a "Letter to the Editor" should be unstructured and should not include an abstract, keywords, Please check Table 1 for the limitations for letters to the editor.

Image of Month
The journal accepts original high quality images and videos related to cases that it has come across in clinical practices, that cite the importance or infrequency of the topic, that make the visual quality stand out, and that present important information that should be shared in academic platforms. Titles of the images should not exceed 10 words. Images may be signed by no more than five authors. Figure legends are limited to 250 words. The number of images are limited to 4 (or 3 images and a video). Please check Table 1 for the limitations for Image of the Month. The videos to be sent must be in MP4 format.

Video Article
A "Video Article" is a manuscript that presents a clinical case or new or advanced surgical techniques through a video. The video should be between 5-8 minutes in duration and accompanied by a structured abstract that includes sections on the objective, methods, results, and conclusion. The video should include a narration and may also include graphs and images to illustrate the key points and results. These articles should highlight the main idea and striking results of the research or case in a concise and engaging way. The video should not include music. Accepted formats are .wmv, .mov or .mp4.

Technical Note
A technical note is a concise description of a technique, procedure, modification of a method, or new equipment that is relevant to diagnosis of arterial, vein and lymphatic vessel diseases and their medical, endovascular and surgical treatments, and related fields. It should begin with a brief introduction, followed by a "Technique" section for case reports or a "Methods" section for case series. The "Discussion" should focus on the specific message of the technical note, including the uses and benefits of the technique, equipment, or software. Literature reviews and detailed case descriptions are not appropriate for technical notes. Please refer to Table 1 for the limitations of "Technical Note."

Short Communications
Short Communications are brief, focused articles that present new scientific research or theories. These articles should be written in the same format as a full-length original research article, with sections for Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion. Please refer to Table 1 for the limitations for “Short Communications.”

Brief Reports
Brief reports should present focused or highly innovative clinical research that is of interest to the journal's readership. They may also be appropriate for presenting research that builds upon previously published work, including additional controls and confirmatory results in different settings, as well as negative findings. Please refer to Table 1 for the limitations for “Brief Reports.”

References
While citing publications, preference should be given to the latest, most up-to-date publications. If an ahead-of-print publication is cited, the DOI number should be provided. References should be written in compliance with the AMA Manual of Style 11th Edition style (see. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7256/). Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references. Journal titles should be abbreviated in accordance with the journal abbreviations in Index Medicus/ MEDLINE/PubMed.

When there are four or fewer authors, all authors should be listed. If there are five or more authors, the first three authors should be listed followed by “et al.” In the main text of the manuscript, references should be cited using Arabic numbers in parentheses. The reference styles for different types of publications are presented in the following examples. References should be limited to 10 for letters to the editor, 20 for case reports, 40 for clinical/experimental reports, and review articles. Journal abbreviations should conform to the style used in the Cumulated Index Medicus (please see www.icmje.org). Journal articles, books, web pages, conference presentations, newspapers, audio-visual sources like CDs and DVDs, articles pending publication, theses, and dissertations can be used as references.

Reference Format for Journal Articles: Authors’ initials, surnames, and names, article titles, journal titles, date, volume, and the pagination must be indicated. E.g.
For Journal Articles
Celbis O, Karakoc Y, Ozdemir B, et al. Investigation of lead mobilization from the buckshot residues to the critical organs. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2011;143:688-94.
For Book References
DiMaio WJ, DiMaio D. Time of death. In: Forensic Pathology. 2nd edition. CRC Press, London, 2001;21-42.
Madea B, Henssge C. Timing of death. In: Payne-James J, Busuttil A, Smock W, eds, Forensic Medicine: Clinical Pathological Aspects. London: Greenwich Medical Media Ltd. 2003;91-114.
For Internet References
Beware: Toy Noise may be too loud for kids. http://hearingaiddocs. wordpress.com/tag/loud-toys access date 22.04.2013
For Congress Presentations
Brandes U, Wagner D. A Bayesian paradigm for dynamic graph layout. 11th International Symposium on Graph Drawing, 12-15 November 2003. New York, USA, 236-47.
For Newspaper References
Susan S. How to prevent breast cancer. Australian 23 October 2003.
For CD-ROM References
The Oxford English Dictionary [CD-ROM]. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 1992.
Online Journal Articles
Tamburini S, Shen N, Chih Wu H, Clemente KC. The microbiome in early life: implications for health outcometes. Nat Med. Published online July 7, 2016. doi:10.1038/nm4142
For Accepted Articles
Kaya A, Aktas EO. Perception differences between in violence against child. Med-Science. Published Online: Nov 19, 2013.
Epub Ahead of Print Articles
Cai L, Yeh BM, Westphalen AC, Roberts JP, Wang ZJ. Adult living donor liver imaging. Diagn Interv Radiol. 2016 Feb 24. doi: 10.5152/dir.2016.15323. [Epub ahead of print].
For Thesis
Karakoc Y. Biological effect of direct electrical current in essential (idiopathic) hyperhidrosis. Ph.D. thesis, Istanbul University, Istanbul, 1996.
In case of use of a previously published table, figure, or illustration, a reference of the material must be cited in the reference list.

Tables
Tables should be included in the main document, after the reference list, and they should be numbered consecutively in the order they are referred to within the text. Each table should have a descriptive title placed above it, and any abbreviations used in the table should be defined below the table by footnotes (even if they are defined in the main text). Tables should be created using the "insert table" command of the Word processing software, and they should be arranged clearly to make the data easy to read and understand. The data presented in the tables should not be a repetition of the data presented in the main text, but should support and enhance the main text.

Figures and Figure Legends
Figures should be submitted as separate files in TIFF or JPEG format, and they should not be embedded in the Word document or the main manuscript file. If a figure has subunits, each subunit should be submitted as a separate file, and the subunits should not be merged into a single image. The figures should not be labeled (a, b, c, etc.) to indicate subunits. Instead, the figure legend should be used to describe the different parts of the figure. Thick and thin arrows, arrowheads, stars, asterisks, and similar marks can be used on the images to support figure legends.Images should be anonymized to remove any information that may identify individuals or institutions. The minimum resolution of each figure should be 300 DPI, and the figures should be clear and easy to read. Figure legends should be listed at the end of the main document. Figures should be referred to within the main text, and they should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are mentioned.

Abbreviations
All acronyms and abbreviations used in the manuscript should be defined at first use, both in the abstract and in the main text. The abbreviation should be provided in parentheses following the definition, and it should be used consistently throughout the paper.

Identifying products
When mentioning a drug, product, hardware, or software program in a manuscript, it is important to provide detailed information about the product in parentheses. This should include the name of the product, the producer of the product, and the city and country of the company. For example, if mentioning a Discovery St PET/CT scanner produced by General Electric in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, the information should be presented in the following format: "Discovery St PET/CT scanner (General Electric, Milwaukee, WI, USA)." Providing this information helps to ensure that the product is properly identified and credited.

Supplementary Materials
Supplementary materials, including audio files, videos, datasets, and additional documents (e.g., appendices, additional figures, tables), are intended to complement the main text of the manuscript. These supplementary materials should be submitted as a separate section after the references list. Concise descriptions of each supplementary material should be included to explain their relevance to the manuscript. Page numbers are not required for supplementary materials.

Revisions
Submitting authors of manuscripts that require a "minor revision" or a "major revision" will receive the decision letter from the Editor in Chief. The decision letter will include the suggestions of the reviewers and editors along with a deadline to submit the revised and updated version of the manuscript.
When submitting a revised version of a paper, authors must submit a detailed "Response to the reviewers" that states point by point how each issue raised by the reviewers has been covered and where it can be found (each reviewer's comment, followed by the author's reply and line numbers where the changes have been made) as well as an annotated copy of the main document.
Revised manuscripts must be submitted within the time frame specified in the decision letter. If the revised version of the manuscript is not submitted within the allocated time, the revision option may be canceled. If the submitting author(s) believe that additional time is required, they should request an extension before the initial period is over.

Production
Once a manuscript has been accepted for publication, it goes through a copy-editing process by professional language editors to ensure that it is clear and well-written. This process may involve correcting grammar, punctuation, and formatting errors, as well as making changes to improve the overall clarity and readability of the manuscript.
After the copy-editing process is complete, the manuscript is published online as an "ahead-of-print" publication, which means that it is available to readers before it is included in a scheduled issue of the journal. This allows readers to access the latest research as soon as it becomes available.
Before the manuscript is officially published, the corresponding author is sent a PDF proof of the accepted manuscript for review. The corresponding author is asked to review the proof and approve it for publication within a specified time period, typically 2 days. This is an important step in the publication process, as it allows the author to catch any errors or make any final changes before the manuscript is published.

ARTICLE TYPE	SUMMARY WORD LIMIT	RESOURCE LIMIT	TABLE LIMIT	PICTURE LIMIT
Original Article	150-300	40	8	8
Review Article	150-300	50	6	5
Case Report	100-150	15	2	5
Letter To The Editor	No	10	2	2

OPEN ACCESS POLICY

Starting with the May 2021 issue, all content published in the Medical Records journal is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 International License. This license allows third parties to use the content for non-commercial purposes as long as they give credit to the original work. However, the content cannot be modified or adapted in any way. This policy promotes the dissemination and use of the research published in the journal while protecting the integrity of the original work.

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

A Copyright Agreement and Acknowledgement of Authorship form should be submitted with all manuscripts. By signing this form, authors agree that the article, if accepted for publication by the Medical Records will be licensed under a the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC- BY-NC-ND) which allows third parties to share the material for only non- commercial purposes by giving the appropriate credit to the original work. Adaptation and modification of the material is not permitted. For further details of the license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, please see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Authors retain the copyright of their published work in the Medical Records.

When using previously published content, including figures, tables, or any other material in both print and electronic formats, authors must obtain permission from the copyright holder. Legal, financial and criminal liabilities in this regard belong to the author(s).

PEER REVIEW GUIDELINES
This guide is designed to assist in the peer review of manuscripts submitted to the journal Medical Records. It aims to ensure that the review is accurate, comprehensive, and completed promptly.

Our Philosophy on Peer Review
Medical Records expects reviewers to evaluate manuscripts fairly, thoroughly, transparently, and promptly. As a result, peer reviewers are asked to submit their comments within 15 business days. All submissions to the journal are subject to double-blind peer review. We believe that the best way to obtain honest opinions about manuscripts is through double anonymous reviewers. Reviewers and authors are required not to communicate with each other. You should consider the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers before accepting to review a manuscript and throughout the peer review process.

Peer Review is Important
Peer reviewers’ comments and recommendations are crucial guides for making decisions about a manuscript. Peer review ensures that manuscripts receive impartial criticism and expert feedback, allowing authors to improve their work and enabling the publication of high-quality scientific research and reviews. It also helps readers trust the scientific integrity of the article and make informed decisions when reviewer comments are available.

Peer Review
After receiving a peer review request, it is important for reviewers to respond in a timely manner, especially if they are unable to complete the review, to prevent unnecessary delays in the process. Reviewers must keep all information regarding the content of the manuscript confidential. Peer review comments should be objective and constructive without being hostile or derogatory.

Reviewers should not enter unpublished draft files, images, or information into publicly accessible databases or tools that do not guarantee confidentiality and that may store or use this information for their purposes (e.g., generative AI tools like ChatGPT).

Reviewers should not use AI tools, including LLM-based tools like ChatGPT, to create manuscript review reports.

Reviewers are responsible for ensuring that all references included in their reports are accurate and verifiable.

More information about ethical peer review issues and conflicts of interest can be found in the COPE guidelines.

Medical Records will recruit external editors to handle peer review processes of manuscripts submitted by members of the editorial board.

If an article's peer review is an exception to the journal’s usual policy, the type of the review it received will be displayed on the article to ensure the transparency and accountability of the review process.

PUBLICATION FEE POLICY
Medical Recprds uses Dergi Park article tracking system software. With the journal infrastructure, instant open access to articles is provided and articles published in journals are made available online free of charge all over the world. You do not need to be a member to access the articles. All articles in the system can be accessed and read without being a journal user.

Medical Records is is an open-access journal, and all expenses are covered by the Medical Records Association (Tıbbi Kayıtlar Derneği). Starting from November 30st of 2022, authors are required to pay an article processing charge to ensure articles are evaluated as quickly as possible and better consultancy and editing services. This fee is deposited as a donation to the Medical Records Association.

Consulting, typesetting and editing services are provided by Effect Publishing.

As of October 10, 2024, the article processing charge has been updated to TL 5,000 (Turkish Liras) or $150 (US Dollars).

This fee must be paid in advance before providing consultancy and editing services. This amount will not be repaid in terms of the authors withdrawn or rejection of the articles in any stage and any reason. Article processing charge fee waivers are not available.

These charges are in no way related to our journal’s editors and reviewers who voluntarily contribute the scientific evaluations of manuscripts.

The Editor-in-Chief may reject articles without being sent to peers.

Medical Records has no legal or financial liability due to these fees.

The liable corporation is:
Tıbbi kayıtlar Derneği (MEDICAL RECORDS Association) for consultancy and editing services and for usage of online article submission and tracking system

Account Name: Tıbbi Kayıtlar Derneği
International Bank Account Number (IBAN) for TL is Ziraat Bankası
54- DÜZCE BRANCH NUMBER 97646173-5001
IBAN: TR82 0001 0000 5497 6461 7350 01

Account Name: Tıbbi Kayıtlar Derneği
International Bank Account Number (IBAN) for USD is Ziraat Bankası
54- DÜZCE BRANCH NUMBER 97646173-5002
TR55 0001 0000 5497 6461 7350 02

ADVERTISING POLICY
Medical Records accepts digital advertisements on its website. These ads must be approved by the journal's Editorial Board and management, and must be clearly labeled as advertisements. Advertisers have no influence on editorial decisions or advertising policies. Those interested in advertising in the journal should contact the Editorial Office.

PUBLICATION ETHICS
Medical Records aims to adhere to the guidelines and core practices set forth by several organizations, including the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines, the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (joint statement by COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, WAME), and Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals by ICMJE. These guidelines and recommendations are designed to promote transparency, integrity, and best practices in scholarly publishing. By adhering to these standards, the journal aims to ensure that the research it publishes is of high quality and meets the ethical standards of the scientific community.

Medical research involving human subjects including research on identifiable human material and data should follow the WMA Declaration of Helsinki amended in 2013 to provide guidance on issues such as obtaining informed consent from participants, protecting their privacy and confidentiality, and avoiding harm to study participants.

Medical Records also adheres to the WAME’s Recommendations on Publication Ethics Policies for Medical Journals. These recommendations provide guidance on how to handle conflicts of interest, how to deal with suspected research misconduct, and how to ensure the integrity and transparency of the peer review process. By following these recommendations, the journal helps to ensure that the research it publishes meets the highest ethical standards.

Authors are advised to use EASE Ethics Checklist for Authors to ensure that their manuscripts comply with ethical standards and practices.

All research involving human subjects, medical records, or human tissues must be reviewed and approved by a reviewer board, such as an institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee, before it is conducted. The name of the ethics committee that reviewed and approved the research, as well as the ethics committee approval number and date, should be included in the Methods section of the manuscript when it is submitted for publication. Additionally, the journal may require authors to provide a copy of the ethics committee approval as part of the manuscript submission process. This is to ensure that the research has been properly reviewed and approved, and to allow the journal to verify that the research meets the ethical standards required for publication.

If a study is exempted from the ethics committee approval, the authors must present a statement from the ethics committee explaining the reason for the exemption. This is to ensure that the research was reviewed by an ethics committee and that the decision to exempt the study was made in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations.

If a manuscript is submitted to Medical Records without ethics committee approval, the journal will review the manuscript according to the COPE’s Research, Audit and Service Evaluations guideline. This guideline provides guidance on how to handle manuscripts that do not have ethics committee approval, and allows the journal to assess the risks and potential ethical concerns associated with publishing the research.

If the journal determines that the lack of ethics committee approval is a significant concern, the manuscript may be rejected after editorial review. This is to ensure that the journal maintains high ethical standards and only publishes research that has been properly reviewed and approved by an ethics committee.

For manuscripts concerning research involving human subjects, it is required to include a statement indicating that written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Informed consent should be documented in writing, and a copy of the informed consent form should be retained by the researchers for future reference.

In the case of research involving children under the age of 18, the parent or guardian of the child must provide informed consent on behalf of the child. This is because children are considered to be a vulnerable population and may not have the capacity to fully understand the risks and benefits of participating in research.

Information on informed consent should be provided in the Methods section of the manuscript, along with any other relevant details about how the research was conducted.

It is the responsibility of the authors to protect the anonymity of study participants, and to ensure that the research is conducted in a way that respects their privacy and confidentiality. This is especially important for photographs that may reveal the identity of patients, as the publication of such photographs without proper consent could potentially violate the rights of the individuals depicted.

To protect the anonymity of patients in photographs, the authors should obtain signed releases from the patients or their legal representatives. These releases should indicate that the patients have given their consent for the publication of the photographs, and should specify any restrictions or conditions on the use of the photographs. Information on the publication approval for photographs should be provided in the Methods section of the manuscript and the publication approval form for identifying clinical images must be submitted during the initial submission.

For studies involving animals, it is required to obtain approval of research protocols from an ethics committee. The ethics committee should review the research protocols to ensure that they are in compliance with relevant guidelines and regulations, such as the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (8th edition, 2011) and the International Guiding Principles for Biomedical Research Involving Animals (2012). These guidelines provide detailed information on how to conduct research involving animals in an ethical and humane manner, and are widely recognized as the standard for such research.

Authors should provide detailed information on the ethical treatment of animals in their manuscript, including the measures taken to prevent pain and suffering. They can use the ARRIVE checklist, which is designed to help authors provide this information in a clear and comprehensive manner.

In addition to the ethical treatment of animals, authors should also provide information on the measures taken to prevent pain and suffering. This is to ensure that the research is conducted in a humane manner, and to allow readers to verify that the research meets the relevant ethical standards.

PLAGIARISM AND ETHICAL MISCONDUCT
Medical Records is extremely sensitive about plagiarism. All submissions are screened by a similarity detection software (iThenticate by CrossCheck) at any point during the peer-review and/or production process. Even if you are the author of the phrases or sentences, the text should not have an unacceptable similarity with the previously published data. Those with an overall similarity index of greater than 25%, or duplication rate at or higher than 5% with a single source are returned back to authors without further evaluation along with the similarity report.

When you are discussing others' (or your own) previous work, please make sure that you cite the material correctly in every instance.

Authors are strongly recommended to avoid any form plagiarism and ethical misconduct that are 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 to be 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. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately 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 that 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. However, they can still be acknowledged on the title page of the manuscript for their contributions to the research in order to recognize the contributions of these individuals and to provide transparency about who was involved in 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 INTEREST
Medical Records 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.
Medical Records 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 potential 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
Medical Records 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
Medical Records follows the guidelines outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) with regards 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. While AI can be employed for language corrections during the article writing process (and this should be explicitly stated in the article), it cannot be included as an author, as it is essential to maintain the originality and quality of the article.

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, 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 COMPLAINT
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
Medical Records 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 in the journal, it is the responsibility of the authors to update the archived preprint and link it to the published version of the article. This helps to ensure that readers can easily access the most up-to-date and accurate information.

PERMISSION POLICY
As of the May 2021 issue, the journal's content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC- BY-NC-ND)

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.
Medical Records Associationis the copyright holder of content published before May 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 Medical Records,
• Authors are required to make registration to a publicly accessible registry according to ICMJE recommendations and the instructions above.
• The name of the registry and the registration number should be provided in the Title Page during the initial submission.
• Data sharing statement should also be stated in the Title Page even if the authors do not plan to share it.
Clinical trial and data sharing policy of the journal will be valid for the articles submitted from January 2024.

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.

ERRATUM
The correction requests submitted by the authors are reviewed by the Editorial Board and the corrections are applied based on the decision of the Editorial Board. In case of corrections in the published text, the readers are informed by publishing the Erratum text in the number following the correction. The edited article is updated on the journal web page and in the indexes when the journal is scanned.

ARCHIVING POLICY
The content published by the Medical Records is electronically preserved by using LOCKSS

Medical Recprds uses Dergi Park article tracking system software. With the journal infrastructure, instant open access to articles is provided and articles published in journals are made available online free of charge all over the world. You do not need to be a member to access the articles. All articles in the system can be accessed and read without being a journal user. Article processing charges Medical Records is is an open-access journal, and all expenses are covered by the Medical Records Association (Tıbbi Kayıtlar Derneği). Starting from November 30st of 2022, authors are required to pay an article processing charge to ensure articles are evaluated as quickly as possible and better consultancy and editing services. This fee is deposited as a donation to the Medical Records Association. Consulting, typesetting and editing services are provided by Effect Publishing. As of October 10, 2024, the article processing charge has been updated to TL 5,000 (Turkish Liras) or $150 (US Dollars). This fee must be paid in advance before providing consultancy and editing services. This amount will not be repaid in terms of the authors withdrawn or rejection of the articles in any stage and any reason. Article processing charge fee waivers are not available. These charges are in no way related to our journal’s editors and reviewers who voluntarily contribute the scientific evaluations of manuscripts. The Editor-in-Chief may reject articles without being sent to peers. Medical Records has no legal or financial liability due to these fees. The liable corporation is: Tıbbi kayıtlar Derneği (MEDICAL RECORDS Association) for consultancy and editing services and for usage of online article submission and tracking system Account Name: Tıbbi Kayıtlar Derneği International Bank Account Number (IBAN) for TL is Ziraat Bankası 54- DÜZCE BRANCH NUMBER 97646173-5001 IBAN: TR82 0001 0000 5497 6461 7350 01 Account Name: Tıbbi Kayıtlar Derneği International Bank Account Number (IBAN) for USD is Ziraat Bankası 54- DÜZCE BRANCH NUMBER 97646173-5002 TR55 0001 0000 5497 6461 7350 02