Manuscripts to be sent to our journal should be prepared as a Word document, single-spaced, with 2.5 cm margins at the top and bottom and on both sides, in 12-point Times New Roman font. Only standard abbreviations should be used in articles. If other expressions are to be abbreviated, they should be stated in parentheses at the first place they appear in the text.

The use of foreign words with Turkish equivalents should be avoided. Generic or chemical names of drugs should be used.

Manuscripts to be sent to the journal should consist of the following sections:

Title
Abstract
Text
References
Tables, figures and pictures
Title

The article title should be descriptive and understandable of the content of the article, should not contain abbreviations, and should not be more than 10 words except in mandatory cases.

Abstract

Turkish and English abstracts following Turkish and English titles should consist of at least 200 and at most 300 words, one of which is a translation of the other. Turkish summaries of articles coming from abroad will be edited by us. Research article summaries should be structured with the following subheadings: objective, material and methods, findings and conclusion. Abstracts of other types of articles do not require subheadings. Abstracts should be presented separately on the first and second page of the text.

Keywords

At least three and at most five keywords in Turkish and English should be added to the abstracts. Turkish keywords are in accordance with Turkish Science Terms (TBT) (for source, refer to www.bilimterimleri.com) and English keywords are in accordance with "Medical Subject Headings" (for source, refer to www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.html). should be given as . Keywords should be separated by a comma and the first letter of each keyword should start with a capital letter.

Text

It consists of the entire article content. It is structured differently for each type of article (research article, case report, review, etc.). The article text must be uploaded to the journal's electronic article acceptance system together with the Turkish and English article title, Turkish and English abstracts, Turkish and English keywords, references and tables/figures/images/graphs, without the names of the authors and institutions.

References

Vancouver Reference Style Guide should be followed when writing references:

Reference numbers should be given in parentheses '( )', at the relevant place in the sentence or before the period at the end. If more than one reference number is given, a comma ',' should be placed between them, and if more than two consecutive reference numbers are given, a dash '-' should be placed between the numbers [e.g.: (1, 2), (1-3)].

References should be listed in order of appearance within the article as a separate section after the text of the article. The names of all authors up to the sixth author should be stated, and from the seventh author onwards, 'et al.' should be added (if it is a foreign publication, 'et al.') should be added. Journal names should be abbreviated as used in Index Medicus.

The total number of figures, tables and pictures should not exceed 6. Each category should be numbered with numbers (1, 2, 3…). In tables, the table number and title should be at the top, and in figures and pictures, at the bottom. When non-standard abbreviations need to be used in figures, tables and images, this should be explained below the relevant visual. Tables, figures and images should be submitted in the relevant place within the text and uploaded to the article acceptance system. The analysis method used should be indicated with an icon just below the relevant visual. Black, white and gray colors should be preferred.

ARTICLE CATEGORIES

Research Paper

The text should be structured with the subheadings 'introduction, material and method, findings, discussion, conclusion'.

The summary should be structured with the subheadings 'purpose, material and method, findings, conclusion'.

Compilation

The text should be structured with 'introduction, headings on the relevant topic, conclusion' subheadings.

No structuring is required in the summary.

Case Report

The text should be structured with subheadings 'introduction, case presentation, discussion, conclusion'.

No structuring is required in the summary.

Letter to the Editor

There should be articles that focus on academic thoughts, including current and popular topics, findings, different opinions, problems and solution suggestions, or provide a critical perspective on the articles published in the journal in the last year.

Clinical Image/Video

All images and videos must be presented in high quality in terms of features such as exposure, focus, color and contrast. The figure should have a simple descriptive title and a brief description that includes relevant technical details and describes all labeled structures.

Table 1. Limitations on article categories

Ethical principles

SMJ has the highest ethical and scientific standards and the articles are free of commercial concerns. The Editorial Board works within the framework of the principles of the International Medical Journal Editors Council (ICMJE) and the Editorial Ethical Principles Commission (COPE).

For clinical research, the relevant ethics committee is in compliance with the "WMA Declaration of Helsinki - Ethical Principles in Medical Research with Humans", (for studies with experimental animals, "International Guiding Principles in Biomedical Research with Animals" and "Guide for the Use and Care of Laboratory Animals") approval must be obtained. While preparing case reports, the patient's privacy must be taken into consideration. Patient identifying information and photographs, hospital registration numbers and dates should not be used. For case reports, "Informed Consent" must be obtained. In experimental animal studies, the procedures performed to minimize pain and discomfort are included in the article should be explained.

Articles submitted for publication must not have been previously published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Plagiarism rules are followed by the journal and the maximum acceptable similarity rate is 20%.

Editorial policy

SMJ is published three issues a year (April, August, December). The language of the journal is both Turkish and English. Open access is provided. No fee is requested from the owners of scientific works published in the journal at any stage of the evaluation process. All responsibility for the opinions and conclusions in the articles published in SMJ belongs to the authors. The journal editors and editorial board do not accept any responsibility for the reliability and results of the research data. The journal recommends that all authors submit their own ORCID identifiers to be included in their articles. Articles are requested to be sent to the e-mail address 'smj@samsun.edu.tr' for evaluation.