The Turkish Journal of Clinics and Laboratory (TJCL) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and integrity. The journal follows internationally accepted ethical publishing principles and editorial standards established by:
• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
• World Association of Medical Editors (WAME)
• Council of Science Editors (CSE)
• Declaration of Helsinki
• European Association of Science Editors (EASE)
• Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA)
All editorial and publication processes are conducted in accordance with these principles.
Responsibilities of Authors
Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted manuscripts are original, scientifically accurate, and ethically sound.
Authors must:
• Submit only original work.
• Ensure that the manuscript is not under consideration elsewhere.
• Properly cite all sources used.
• Obtain all necessary ethical approvals before conducting research.
• Disclose any financial support, sponsorship, or conflicts of interest.
• Provide accurate authorship information.
• Cooperate with the editorial office during review and publication processes.
Ethics Committee Approval
For all studies involving human participants, biological materials, clinical data, or animals, Ethics Committee Approval is mandatory.
The following information must be clearly stated in the manuscript:
• Ethics Committee Name
• Approval Number
• Approval Date
This information must appear in both the manuscript and the title page.
Informed Consent
For studies involving human participants, informed consent must be obtained from all participants or their legal representatives.
Human and Animal Rights
Clinical studies must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki.
Animal studies must comply with institutional, national, and international regulations concerning animal welfare and laboratory animal care.
Authorship Criteria
Authorship must comply with ICMJE recommendations.
All authors must have contributed substantially to:
• Study conception or design
• Data collection, analysis, or interpretation
• Manuscript preparation or critical revision
• Final approval of the submitted version
Guest authorship, honorary authorship, and ghost authorship are unacceptable.
Plagiarism and Research Misconduct
All submissions are screened using plagiarism detection software before peer review.
The journal does not tolerate:
• Plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism
• Duplicate publication
• Data fabrication
• Data falsification
• Image manipulation
• Citation manipulation
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest
In cases of suspected misconduct, TJCL follows COPE flowcharts and recommendations.
Manuscripts may be rejected, corrected, retracted, or reported to the relevant institutions when necessary.
Conflict of Interest
Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, academic, institutional, or personal conflicts of interest that may influence the evaluation or interpretation of a manuscript.
Peer Review Policy
TJCL operates a double-blind peer review system.
All manuscripts undergo:
- Editorial Screening
- Plagiarism Check
- Double-Blind Peer Review
- Statistical Review (when necessary)
- Editorial Decision
At least two independent reviewers evaluate each manuscript.
The Editor-in-Chief may appoint additional reviewers when necessary.
The final publication decision rests solely with the Editor-in-Chief.
Responsibilities of Reviewers
Reviewers must:
• Maintain confidentiality.
• Evaluate manuscripts objectively and constructively.
• Provide scientific and detailed comments.
• Declare conflicts of interest.
• Decline review invitations when lacking appropriate expertise.
Reviewers should not communicate directly with authors.
Responsibilities of Editors
Editors are responsible for:
• Maintaining editorial independence.
• Ensuring fair and unbiased review.
• Protecting confidentiality.
• Preventing conflicts of interest.
• Taking appropriate action regarding ethical concerns and misconduct.
Editorial decisions are based solely on scientific merit, originality, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal's scope.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy
Artificial intelligence tools, including ChatGPT and similar systems, cannot be listed as authors.
Any use of AI-assisted technologies during manuscript preparation must be clearly disclosed within the manuscript.
Authors remain fully responsible for the content, accuracy, and originality of their work.
Data Sharing Policy
Authors are encouraged to make research data available whenever possible.
The availability of datasets, supplementary materials, and supporting information should be clearly stated in the manuscript.
Open Access Policy
TJCL is an open-access journal.
All published content is freely available immediately upon publication.
Users may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles provided that proper citation is given.
Appeals and Complaints
Authors may appeal editorial decisions by submitting a detailed explanation to the Editorial Office.
Appeals and complaints are handled in accordance with COPE recommendations and are reviewed independently by the Editorial Board.
Corrections and Retractions
TJCL follows COPE recommendations regarding corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions.
When significant errors or ethical violations are identified, the journal reserves the right to publish corrections, retractions, or editorial notices.