Blind Referee and Evaluation Phase

Blind referee is a method applied for the publication of scientific publications with the highest quality. This method forms the basis of the objective (nonsubjective) evaluation phase of scientific studies and is preferred by many scientific journals. Referee opinions have a decisive place in the publication quality of the Journal of Medieval Studies. All studies submitted to the Journal of Medieval Studies are evaluated according to the stages specified below.

Blind Referee Method

Journal of Medieval Studies  uses double blind method in the evaluation phrase of all studies. In the double-blind method, the author and referee identities of the studies are hidden.

Initial Evaluation Phrase

The works sent to the Journal of Medieval Studies are firstly evaluated by the editors. At this stage, works that do not comply with the purpose and scope of the journal, are weak in terms of language and expression rules in Turkish and/or English, contain scientifically critical errors, have no original value and do not meet publication policies. Authors of the rejected works are notified within one month at the latest from the date of submission. The studies deemed appropriate are sent to a member of the Editorial Board for the field in which the study is relevant for preliminary evaluation.

Preliminary Consideration Process

During the preliminary consideration, the field specialist examines the sections of the journal editorial board, the introduction and literature, methods, findings, conclusion, evaluation and discussion sections in terms of journal publication policies and scope, and originality. Studies that are found unsuitable as a result of this examination are returned within one month at the latest. The studies deemed appropriate are included in the process of appointing referees.

Referee Appointment Process

Arbitrators are appointed based on the work, the content and the expertise of the referees. The expert, editorial board member of the study area, suggests at least two referees from the referee pool of the Journal of Medieval Studies according to their area of expertise or may suggest a new referee suitable for the field of study. The recommendations of the referees coming from the field expert journal editorial board member are evaluated by the editors and the works are forwarded to the referees. Referees are obliged to guarantee that they will not share any processes and documents about the work they evaluate.

Referee Reports

Referee evaluations generally include; originality, method used, compliance with ethical rules, consistent presentation of findings and results, and review of the literature. This review is carried out according to the following elements:

    Introduction and Literature: The evaluation report includes an opinion about the presentation and objectives of the problem discussed in the study, the importance of the topic, the scope of the literature on the topic, its timeliness and the originality of the study.

    Method: The evaluation report includes information about the suitability of the method used, the selection and characteristics of the research group, validity and reliability as well as the data collection and analysis process.

    Findings: the evaluation report includes opinions regarding the presentation of the findings obtained within the framework of the method, the accuracy of the analysis methods, the consistency of the findings achieved with the research, the presentation of the needed tables, figures and images, and the conceptual evaluation of the tests used.

    Assessment and Discussion: The assessment report includes an opinion on the topic based on the findings, compliance with research questions and hypotheses, generalizability and applicability.

    Conclusion and Suggestions: The evaluation report contains an opinion about the contribution to the literature, suggestions for future studies and applications in the field.

    Procedure and Lecture: The evaluation report includes an opinion on the content of the title of the study, the proper use of Turkish, and the submission of the references and the language of the full text in accordance with the examples under the journal publication principles.

    General Assessment: The evaluation report contains an opinion about the originality of the study as a whole, its contribution to the literature and applications in the field.

During the evaluation process, referees are not expected to make corrections according to the typographic features of the study.

Referee Evaluation Process

The time given to the referees for the referee evaluation process is 15 days. The correction suggestions from the referees or expert editorial board members must be completed within 15 days by the authors in accordance with the "correction directive". Referees can decide the suitability of a study by examining its corrections, and may request corrections more than once if necessary.

Evaluation Result

Opinions from the referees are reviewed by the editors within 15 days at the latest. As a result of this review, editors make the final decision on the study.

Editorial Board Decision

The editors prepare the editorial board views related to the study based on the referee opinions. The prepared opinions are sent to the author (s) by the editor together with the referee suggestions within 1 week at the latest. In this process, works that are given negative opinions are returned without requesting plagiarism. For the studies with positive opinions, the final decision is made according to the results of the plagiarism inspection reports.

How long does the publication evaluation process take?

The publication evaluation process of the studies sent to the Journal of Medieval Studies is expected to be finalized in about 1 month. However, the period between the date when the referee or editors requested correction from the author (s) and the date on which the author (s) completed the corrections is not included in this 1 month period.

Appealing the Evaluation Result

In the Journal of Medieval Studies, the author (s) reserves the right to object to the evaluation result. The author (s) should send the reasons for objection regarding the comments and comments as a result of the evaluation made for their work in a scientific language and by e-mail to “ortacagarastirmalaridergisi@gmail.com” with reference to their basis. The objections made are examined by the editors within 1 month at the latest (opinions about the objections to the referees of the study can be requested) and a positive or negative return is provided to the author (s). If the objections of the author (s) to the evaluation result are found positive, the editorial board restarts the evaluation process by making a new referee appropriate for the subject area of the study.

After Acceptance

The studies accepted as a result of the evaluation in the Journal of Medieval Studies are as follows; Plagiarism control, bibliography editing, sending and citation control, layout and stringing, DOI numbering processes. Medieval Studies Journal does not charge any article processing fee (evaluation fee or printing fee) and subscription fee for accessing articles.

Issuance of DOI Number

Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a unique access number that allows identification and access of every work published electronically. After the acceptance stage, the studies prepared for plagiarism control, bibliography control and printing are given the DOI number by the editorial board. DOI number is provided free of charge by TÜBİTAK.

Language Proficiency

Studies submitted to the Journal of Medieval Studies should have a plain and clear language quality in accordance with the grammar rules and scientific literature of the full text language (Turkish or English). The works should be written in a clean and fluent language, free of foreign words. In this context, the fact that the studies have been edited before they are sent for evaluation, ensures that the publication processes are maintained in a healthier manner.

The editorial board can be requested to receive language proofreading services during the evaluation process or after the acceptance phase.