Publication Principles

Mersin University Journal of Health Sciences is the official publication of the Mersin University Graduate School of Health Sciences. It is published three times a year (April, August, and December). As a multidisciplinary peer-reviewed scientific journal, it publishes scientific articles in fields such as Basic, Surgical, and Internal Medical Sciences, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Nursing, Health Management, Midwifery, First Aid and Emergency Care, Sports Health, Emergency Aid and Disaster Management, Social Work, and Psychology. Manuscripts submitted to the journal must not have been previously published elsewhere or be under consideration for publication in another journal. If the manuscript contains previously published quotes, tables, figures, drawings, etc. (in print or electronic media), the author must obtain written permission from the copyright holders and disclose this within the text.

Scientific Responsibility

Every individual listed as an author must meet the authorship criteria recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE - http://www.icmje.org/). ICMJE recommends that authorship be based on the following 4 criteria:

1. Substantial contributions to the design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
2. Drafting the manuscript or revising 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.

Ethical Responsibility

In all epidemiological studies involving humans or animals, the ethics committee decision must be stated in the "Methods" section. The "Ethics Committee Approval" must be uploaded to the system during the submission stage. To ensure the integrity of the double-blind peer-review process, the name of the authorized ethics committee/institution must be anonymized. Manuscripts without an ethics committee decision will be rejected without entering the evaluation process.

• Human Studies: Researchers must state in the "Materials and Methods" section that the study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and that "Informed Consent" was obtained from the participants.
• Animal Studies: The "Materials and Methods" section must state that animal rights were protected in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
• Case Reports: Informed consent must be obtained from patients and stated in the text. The "Informed Consent Form" must be uploaded to the system during submission.
• Commercial Connections: If there is a direct or indirect commercial connection or financial support, authors must declare their relationship (consultancy, agreements, etc.) or lack thereof regarding the products, drugs, or firms used in the Cover Letter to the Editor.

Submissions by Editorial Board Members

Per journal policy, double-blind peer review is guaranteed for all authors and reviewers. During the review process, the Editor-in-Chief can see all processes, while Section Editors can only see the processes of manuscripts assigned to them. If the Editor-in-Chief receives a manuscript from an editorial board member, they assign a different section editor to manage the evaluation, thereby ensuring the double-blind process. Therefore, editorial board members (excluding the Editor-in-Chief for their own papers) may submit manuscripts to the journal.

Manuscript Types

• Original Research Article: Word count (including abstract, excluding references) should not exceed 4000; the total number of tables, figures, and photos should not exceed 5. A maximum of 30 references is recommended.
• Review Article: Word count (including abstract) should not exceed 5000. A maximum of 50 references is recommended. Reviews must contain new and up-to-date information. The number of authors should not exceed three. At least one author must have a research article on the subject published in a journal indexed in SCI/SCI-Expanded. This published article must be uploaded as an "additional file" for the review to be considered.
• Case Report: Word count should not exceed 1000. A maximum of 15 references is recommended.
• Letter to the Editor: These concern articles published in the journal within the last year. They should not include an abstract. Word count should not exceed 500. A maximum of 5 references is recommended.

Writing Rules

The publication languages are Turkish and English. Accepted manuscripts must include both Turkish and English abstracts.

• Abbreviations: Defined in parentheses at first mention.
• Numbers: Numbers 1-9 are written as words; 10 and above as Arabic numerals. Sentences should not start with numerals.
• Formatting: MS Word, Cambria font, 11-point, double-spaced on A4 pages with 2.5 cm margins.
• Submission: Only accepted online via http://dergipark.ulakbim.gov.tr/mersinsbd.

Manuscript Sections:

1. Research Article: Title page, abstracts/keywords (TR/EN), Main text (Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion), Acknowledgments, References, Tables, Figures.
2. Review: Title page, abstracts/keywords (TR/EN), Introduction, Subheadings, References, Tables, Figures.
3. Case Report: Title page, abstracts/keywords (TR/EN), Introduction, Case Presentation, Discussion, References.

Preparation of the Manuscript

• Title Page: Downloadable from the system. Must include the title (TR/EN), all author names, corresponding author info, author contribution statement, presentation info (if any), and thesis info (including YÖKTEZ ID).
• Abstracts: 150–200 words for research; 100–150 for case reports. Structured as: Objective, Methods, Results, Conclusion.
• Keywords: 3 to 5. English must comply with MeSH; Turkish with TBT.
• References: Numbered in order of appearance as superscripts. Journal abbreviations follow "Index Medicus".

Reference Examples:

• Journal: Cooper PJ, Murray L. Postnatal depression. BMJ 1998;316(7148):1884-1886.
• Chapter: Terebuh BM, Johnson EW. In: Johnson EW, Pease WS Eds. Practical Electromyography, 2nd Ed., New York: Williams&Wilkins, 1997:1-13.

Evaluation Process

Manuscripts undergo a pre-check stage (2 weeks). Suitable manuscripts are assigned to a Section Editor for double-blind peer review by at least two reviewers.

Plagiarism Policy

A plagiarism report (Turnitin/iThenticate) must be submitted. The similarity index must not exceed 20% (excluding bibliography and matches of <10 words).

Open Access, Fees, and Copyright

• Fees: There are no submission or article processing charges (APC).
• Licensing: Content is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.
• Open Access: Compliant with the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI).
• Copyright: Authors must upload the signed Copyright Transfer Form during submission.

Mersin University Journal of Health Sciences is the official publication organ of the Mersin University Graduate School of Health Sciences and is published three times a year (April, August, and December). As a multidisciplinary peer-reviewed scientific journal, it publishes scientific articles in the fields of Basic, Surgical, and Internal Medical Sciences, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Nursing, Health Management, Midwifery, First Aid and Emergency Care, Sports Health, Emergency Aid and Disaster Management, Nutrition and Dietetics, Social Work, and Psychology. Manuscripts submitted for publication must not have been previously published elsewhere or currently be under consideration for publication in another journal.  

Ethical Committee and Evaluation Process  In all epidemiological studies involving human or animal subjects, the ethical committee decision must be stated in the "Materials and Methods" section. During the application stage, the "Ethical Committee Decision" must be uploaded to the system. To maintain the integrity of the double-blind peer-review process, the name of the ethical committee or institution from which permission was obtained must be anonymized. Any study without an ethical committee decision will be rejected without undergoing the evaluation process.  

Human and Animal Rights  Human Studies: Researchers must state in the "Materials and Methods" section that their study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/b3/index.html) and that "Informed Consent" was obtained from the participants. 

Animal Studies: It must be stated in the "Materials and Methods" section that animal rights were protected in line with the principles of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (http://www.nap.edu/catalog/5140.html).  

Case Reports: "Informed Consent" must be obtained from patients and stated in the article. The "Informed Consent" form must be uploaded to the system during the application stage.  

Conflict of Interest and Financial Support  If there is a direct or indirect commercial connection in the article or an institution providing financial support for the study, authors must declare in the "Cover Letter to the Editor" that they have no commercial relationship with the products, drugs, or companies used, or specify the nature of the relationship (e.g., consultant, other agreements), if any.