Veterinary Sciences and Practices

Aims, Scope, and Audience
Veterinary Sciences and Practices aims to publish studies of the highest scientific level in all fields of veterinary medicine.

Veterinary Sciences and Practices is a comprehensive journal dedicated to the field of Veterinary Medicine and relevant Departments, i.e., Basic Veterinary Sciences (Anatomy, Biochemistry, Pshysiology, Histology, Occupational/Professional Ethics and Deontology), Preclinical Veterinary Sciences (Pharmacology and Toxicology, Microbiology, Parasitology, Pathology, Virology), Clinical Veterinary Sciences (Surgery, Internal Medicine, Animal Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reproduction and Artificial Insemination), Animal Science and Nutritional Sciences (Biostatistics, Genetics, Animal Nutrition and Nutritional Disorders, Animal Enterprises Economy, Animal Science), Animal-Originated Food Hygiene and Technology, with exotic animal science and laboratory animals. The primary focus of the journal is to publish original research that addresses significant clinical inquiries and contributes to the advancement of knowledge and treatment of veterinary conditions. The scope of the journal includes studies on the efficacy of different treatment modalities, innovative diagnostic tools or techniques, and novel approaches to the prevention and management of diverse veterinary diseases and injuries. Veterinary Sciences and Practices aims to foster the dissemination of high-quality research that can enhance the well-being and healthcare of animals, promote animal welfare, and improve the overall practice of veterinary sciences.

Veterinary Sciences and Practices publishes clinical and basic research articles, review articles, systematic reviews articles, and case reports.

The target audience of the journal includes specialists and professionals working and interested in all disciplines of veterinary medicine.

Abstracting and Indexing

To guarantee that all papers published in the journal are maintained and permanently accessible, articles are stored in Dergipark which serves as a national archival web site and at the same time permits LOCKSS to collect, preserve, and serve the content.

You can access the Article Submission Guidelines here.

You can access the Article Submission Guidelines video here.

For comprehensive information regarding the journal's policies on submission, peer-review, publication, and ethical standards, kindly visit the 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
• Case report: the CARE case report 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.

The style of manuscripts should follow the AMA Manual of Style, 11th Edition.

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 Disclosure Form (should be filled in by all contributing authors) and
· Checklist

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,
• 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.
• If the author(s) is a member of the journal’s Editorial Board, this should be specified in the title page.
• The corresponding author and the first-name author must have at least a PhD degree.

Keywords: Each submission must be accompanied by a minimum of three to a maximum of six 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).

Abstract: An abstract should be submitted with all submissions except for Letters to the Editor. Please check Table 1 below for word count specifications.

Manuscript Types
Research Articles
Research articles provide new information based on original research. The acceptance of research articles is typically based on the originality and importance of the research. The main text of a Research Article should be structured with subheadings, including Objective, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion.

Please check Table 1 for the limitations for Research Articles.

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.

When reporting statistical data in a research paper, it is important to present the values in a clear and consistent manner. P values, confidence intervals (CIs), and other statistical measures should be rounded appropriately and expressed according to the guidelines provided. For example, P values should be expressed to two digits to the right of the decimal point unless the first two digits are zeros, in which case three digits should be provided (eg, instead of P < .01, report as P = .002). However, values close to .05 may be reported to three decimal places because .05 is an arbitrary cut-off point for statistical significance (eg, P = .053). P values less than .001 should be designated as P < .001 rather than providing the exact value (eg, P = .000006).

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

Review Articles
Reviews prepared by authors who have experience knowledge in a particular field and possess a strong scientific background with a significant number of publications and high citation potential are welcomed. The journal considers both "Invited reviews" and review articles submitted by experts and experienced researchers. In instances where authors submit a review article, the corresponding author must have 3 publications on the subject in SCI and submit this publication information to the journal editor.

Review articles should comprehensively describe, discuss, and evaluate the current state of knowledge in a specific topic within the field of all veterinary topics. The main text of review articles should begin with an Introduction section and conclude with a Conclusion section. The other sections can be named according to the relevance and essence of the topic.

Systematic Reviews
Systematic Reviews provide a comprehensive synthesis of research on a topic, using defined methods to analyze and report evidence. Presenting the research question, search strategy, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and analysis plan, systematic reviews follow PRISMA reporting guidelines, including the PRISMA flow diagram (if applicable), and provide funding information (if applicable). Manuscripts should have headings: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.

Please refer to Table 1 for "Systematic Reviews" limitations.

Case Reports
The journal has limited space for case reports, and prioritizes publishing reports on rare cases or challenging conditions that provide new insights into diagnosis and treatment, offer novel therapies, or reveal knowledge not yet included in the literature. Interesting and educational case reports are also welcomed for publication. The text of a case report should include Introduction, Case Presentation, and Discussion sections. An unstructured abstract should also be included. Please check Table 1 for the limitations for Case Reports.

Table 1. Limitations for each manuscript type

*Word limit should not include the abstract, references, tables, and figure legends.
*The minimum reference limit for Research Articles and Review Articles is 20, whereas, for case reports, it is 10.

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.

References
Both in-text citations and the references must be prepared according to the AMA Manual of Style 11th Edition.

When citing publications, preference should be given to the latest, most up-to-date sources. Citing the latest sources can help to ensure that the paper is relevant and timely, and that it reflects the latest developments in the field. Regardless of the type of article (original research article, case report, review), at least one-fifth of the references used (according to the year the article was submitted) should be from the last 3 years.

It is the responsibility of the authors to ensure the accuracy of the references in their article. All sources must be properly cited, and the citations must be formatted correctly.

In the main text of the manuscript, references should be cited in superscript after punctuation.

If an ahead-of-print publication is cited, the DOI number should be provided in the reference list.

Journal titles should be abbreviated in the reference list in accordance with the journal abbreviations in Index Medicus/MEDLINE/PubMed.

When there are six or fewer authors, all authors should be listed. If there are seven or more authors, the first three authors should be listed followed by “et al.” in the reference list.

The reference styles for different types of publications are presented in the following examples.

Journal Article: Ammitzboll C, Andersen JB, Vils SR, et al. Isolation, behavioral changes, and low seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus or rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Care Res. 2022;74(11):1780-1785.

Book Section: Cohen EL. The multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary nature of health communication scholarship. In: Thompson TL, Harrington NG, eds. The Routledge Handbook of Health Communication. London: Routledge;2022:3-16.
Books with a Single Author: Haslwanter T. An Introduction to Statistics with Python. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Springer International Publishing; 2022.
Editor(s) as Author: Thompson TL, Harrington NG, eds. The Routledge Handbook of Health Communication. London: Routledge;2022.
Thesis: Chunga A. The Role of the Gastrointestinal Tract Microbiota in Colonisation Resistance Against Common Enteric Pathogens in Malawian Children. Dissertation. University of Liverpool; 2022.
Websites: International Society for Infectious Diseases. ProMed-mail. Accessed December 13, 2022. http://www.promedmail.org
Epub Ahead of Print Articles: Torres X, Bennasar M, Bautista-Rodríguez C, et al. The heart after surviving twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022 Mar 26. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.03.049. [Epub ahead of print].

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.

Open Access Policy
Veterinary Sciences and Practices is an open access publication.

Starting on April 2022, all content published in the journal is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 International License which allows third parties to use the content for non-commercial purposes as long as they give credit to the original work. This license allows for the content to be shared and adapted for non-commercial purposes, promoting the dissemination and use of the research published in the journal.

The content published before April 2022 was licensed under a traditional copyright, but the archive is still available for free access.

All published content is available online, free of charge at https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/vetsci.

Copyright Policy
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 Veterinary Sciences and Practices will be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) permits third parties to share and adapt the content for non-commercial purposes by giving the appropriate credit to the original work.

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).

Authors retain the copyright of their published work in the Veterinary Sciences and Practices.

Publication Fee Policy
Veterinary Sciences and Practices is funded by the Atatürk University. Authors are not required to pay any fees during the evaluation and publication process.

Advertising Policy
Veterinary Sciences and Practices 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.

Self-Archiving Policy
Authors retain the right to self-archive their work on their institutional or personal websites, as well as in open access repositories, after publication. It is expected that authors appropriately acknowledge the original publication and include the DOI number when sharing their articles. Additionally, authors are requested to provide a link from the deposited version to the URL of the publisher's website. This requirement is intended to safeguard the integrity and authenticity of the scientific record, with the online published version on the publisher's website clearly identified as the definitive version of record.

Peer Review Process
Manuscripts submitted to Veterinary Sciences and Practices will go through a double anonymized peer-review process where both authors and reviewers are anonymous to each other. Each submission will be reviewed by at least two external, independent peer reviewers who are experts in their fields in order to ensure an unbiased evaluation process.

Submissions will first go through a technical evaluation process during which the editorial office staff will ensure that the manuscript was prepared and submitted in accordance with the journal’s guidelines. Submissions that do not conform to the journal’s guidelines will be returned to the submitting authors with technical correction requests.

Submissions that conform to the journal’s guidelines will be assigned to the Editor in Chief who will assess each submission’s suitability to the journal in terms of scope and quality. Submissions that are not suitable for the journal can be rejected at this stage.

For papers that are suitable for the journal, the Editor in Chief will work with Associate Editors who will recruit reviewers for the manuscript. Once assigned, Associate Editors can decide to reject a manuscript, continue with the peer review process, or request revisions before further peer-review.

Associate editors will submit their recommendations that are based on reports submitted by the reviewers to the Editor in Chief. Revised manuscripts will be reassessed by the Associate Editors who will aim to work with the original reviewers to make a new recommendation.

The Editor in Chief is the final authority in the decision-making process for all submissions.

In the event of delays, authors will be informed of the reason for the delay and given the opportunity to withdraw their manuscript.

Once the peer-review process is completed, the authors will receive anonymous peer-review reports along with the editorial decision on their manuscript. Peer-review reports will not be posted publicly in any medium. The submitted material is considered confidential and must not be used in any way until after its publication. If it is suspected that a reviewer has appropriated an author’s ideas or data, the Editorial Board will handle the matter in accordance with the relevant COPE’s guideline.

Authors can recommend peer-reviewers during submission. The handling editor is the sole authority to decide whether or not recommended peer-reviewers will be invited to evaluate the manuscript.

Peer reviewers are required to adhere to the principles of COPE's Ethical Guidelines for Peer-reviewers and these guidelines provide a framework for reviewers to follow in order to ensure the integrity and fairness of the peer review process. The Editorial Board follows COPE’s relevant flowchart to minimize peer review manipulation. If there is suspicion of peer review manipulation after publication, the Editorial Board will follow the appropriate flowchart of COPE.

Potential peer reviewers should inform the Editor of any possible conflicts of interest before accepting an invitation to review a manuscript. Informing the editor of any potential conflicts of interest allows them to make an informed decision about whether or not to invite the potential reviewer to participate in the review process. It also helps to ensure the integrity and transparency of the review process.

Communications between Editors and peer reviewers contain confidential information that should not be shared with third parties.

Veterinary Sciences and Practices will recruit external editors to handle peer review processes of manuscripts submitted by members of the editorial board. If one of the editorial board sends an article; Atatürk University Scientific Journals Coordination Office searches for an expert in the field, outside Atatürk University and independent of the author's institution, and sends an editorial invitation for the article. The invited editor is asked to proceed with the double-blind reviewer evaluation process by creating a record in the system and to follow up. The invited editor is independent in his decision.

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.

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.

Publication Ethics
Veterinary Sciences and Practices 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 guide on issues such as obtaining informed consent from participants, protecting their privacy and confidentiality, and avoiding harm to study participants.

Veterinary Sciences and Practices 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 animal subjects, veterinary records, or animal tissues must adhere to ethical guidelines and be reviewed and approved by an appropriate committee, such as an institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) or an ethics committee, prior to its execution. In the Methods section of the manuscript submitted for publication in Veterinary Sciences and Practices, authors should clearly mention the name of the ethics committee that reviewed and granted approval for the research, along with the ethics committee approval number and date. Furthermore, the journal may request authors to provide a copy of the ethics committee approval during the manuscript submission process. This stringent review process ensures that the research involving animals has been appropriately evaluated and authorized, and allows the journal to confirm that the study adheres to the ethical standards necessary for publication.

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.

If the manuscript reports the findings of a survey or interviews, the author must confirm that the participants gave their informed consent to participate in the study and for their personal details to be recorded if that is the case. If quotations or other attributable statements are included, these must be deidentified, or the manuscript must state that the person agreed to be named in the manuscript.

An ethics committee decision is required for all research articles submitted to the journal, and an informed consent form is required for case reports. 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 Veterinary Sciences and Practices 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.

Plagiarism and Ethical Misconduct
All submissions are screened by a similarity detection software (Crossref Similarity Check Powered by iThenticate) multiple times during the peer-review and/or production processes.

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

Authors are strongly recommended to avoid any form of 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 Interests
Veterinary Sciences and Practices 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.

Veterinary Sciences and Practices 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
Veterinary Sciences and Practices 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
Veterinary Sciences and Practices 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
Veterinary Sciences and Practices 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 April 2022 issue, the journal's content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).

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.

Atatürk University is the copyright holder of content published before April 2022.

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 Veterinary Sciences and Practices,
• 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 September 2023.

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.

Veterinary Sciences and Practices is funded by the Atatürk University. Authors are not required to pay any fees during the evaluation and publication process.