INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS

Context
Medical Records (Med Records) is a peer-reviewed open-access periodical journal based on independent and unbiased double-blinded peer-reviewed principles, published three times a year, in March, July and October. Began its publication life in 2019, and all of its issues have been available electronically since 2019 (The journal will be published in January, May and September from 2021). Publication languages of the journal is English. The articles submitted are required to be unpublished and are not under review for publication elsewhere.

The aim of the Medical Records is to publish original research papers of the highest scientific and clinical value in all medical fields.

In all fields of general medicine, editorial comment/discussion, invited review, original research, case report, letters to the editor, and surgical technique studies in the basic and clinical sciences are evaluated for publishing.

The target audience of the journal includes researchers, physicians, and healthcare professionals who are interested in or working in all medical disciplines.

Manuscripts can only be submitted through the journal’s online manuscript submission and evaluation system, available at https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/medr Manuscripts submitted via any other medium and submissions by anyone other than one of the authors will not be evaluated.

Medical Records does not demand any subscription fee, publication fee or similar payment for access to electronic resources.

Appeals and complaint
The Editorial Board of the journal handles all appeal and complaint cases within the scope of COPE guidelines. In such cases, authors should get in direct contact with the editorial office regarding their appeals and complaints. When needed, an ombudsperson may be assigned to resolve claims that cannot be resolved internally. The Editor in Chief is the final authority in the decision-making process for all appeals and complaints.

Disclaimer
Statements or opinions expressed in the manuscripts published in Medical Recordsreflect the views of the author(s) and not the opinions of the editors, the editorial board, or the publisher; the editors, the editorial board, and the publisher disclaim any responsibility or liability for such materials. The final responsibility regarding the published content rests with the authors.

Manuscript Preparation
The manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with ICMJE-Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (updated in December 2019 - http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf). Authors are required to prepare manuscripts in accordance with the CONSORT guidelines for randomized research studies, STROBE guidelines for observational original research studies, STARD guidelines for studies on diagnostic accuracy, PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analysis, ARRIVE guidelines for experimental animal studies, and TREND guidelines for non-randomized public behavior. Please ensure your case report or case series is compliant with the SCARE Guidelines and submit a completed. Please ensure your case series is compliant with the PROCESS Guidelines.

Plagiarism and Ethical Misconduct
Policy of screening for plagiarism: Medical Records is extremely sensitive about plagiarism. All submissions are screened by a similarity detection software (iThenticate by CrossCheck) at any point during the peer-review and/or production process. Even if you are the author of the phrases or sentences, the text should not have an unacceptable similarity with the previously published data. Those with an overall similarity index of greater than 21%, or duplication rate at or higher than 5% with a single source are returned back to authors without further evaluation along with the similarity report.

When you are discussing others' (or your own) previous work, please make sure that you cite the material correctly in every instance.
Authors are strongly recommended to avoid any form plagiarism and ethical misconduct that are exemplified below.

Self- plagiarism (text-recycling): Overlapping sections or sentences with the author’s previous publications without citing them. Even if you are the author of the phrases or sentences, the text should not have unacceptable similarity with the previously published data.
Salami slicing: Using the same data of a research into several different articles. Reporting the same hypotheses, population, and methods of a study is into different papers is not acceptable.
Data Fabrication: It is the addition of data that never occurred during the gathering of data or the experiments. Results and their interpretation must be based on the complete data sets and reported accordingl.
Data Manipulation/Falsification: It means manipulating research data with the intention of giving a false impression. This includes manipulating images (e.g. micrographs, gels, radiological images), removing outliers or ‘inconvenient’ results, changing data points, etc.

In the event of alleged or suspected research misconduct, e.g., plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication, the Editorial Board will follow and act according to COPE flowcharts.

General Format
The manuscript should be typed in a Microsoft Word™ file, single-column format, double-spaced with 2.5 cm margins on each side, and 11-point type in Times New Roman font.

All abbreviations in the text must be defined the first time they are used (both in the abstract and the main text), and the abbreviations should be displayed in parentheses after the definition. Abbreviations should be limited to those defined in the AMA Manual of Style, current edition. Authors should avoid abbreviations in the title and abstract and limit their use in the main text.

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.

ORCID ID
The Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) number of each author must be submitted when creating an account for correspondence. To obtain an ORCID number, please visit https://orcid.org/

Writing rules
The submission should be split into separate files in the following order:
a. Title
b. Main Document (English abstract and keywords-Turkish abstract and keywords, main text, references, tables, and figure explanations should be included.)
c. Figures, pictures and graphics files in .jpeg or .gif formats should be uploaded separately.
d. Copyright Transfer Form and Authorship Contribution Form
e. Ethics committee approval forms should be available for research articles.

Declaration of Interest
Medical Records requires and encourages the authors and the individuals involved in the evaluation process of submitted manuscripts to disclose any existing or potential conflicts of interest, including financial, consultant, and institutional, that might lead to potential bias or a conflict of interest. Any financial grants or other support received for a submitted study from individuals or institutions should be disclosed to the Editorial Board. To disclose a potential conflict of interest, the ICMJE Potential Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form should be filled in and submitted by all contributing authors. The journal’s Editorial Board resolves cases of a potential conflict of interest of the editors, authors, or reviewers within the scope of COPE and ICMJE guidelines.

The Editorial Board of the journal handles all appeal and complaint cases within the scope of COPE guidelines. In such cases, authors should get in direct contact with the editorial office regarding their appeals and complaints. When needed, an ombudsperson may be assigned to resolve claims that cannot be resolved internally. The Editor in Chief is the final authority in the decision-making process for all appeals and complaints.

Authorship
Each author should have participated sufficiently in work to assume public responsibility for the content. Any portion of a manuscript that is critical to its main conclusions must be the responsibility of at least one author. Please check the definition of the role of authors and contributors in the following link: http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html

Abstract
An abstract should be submitted with all submissions except for Letters to the Editor. The abstract of Original Articles should be structured with subheadings (Objective, Materials and Methods, Results, and Conclusion). Please check Table 1 below for word count specifications.

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). Please check Table 1 below for word count specifications.

Article Type
Identification of article type is the first step of manuscript submission because article type dictates the guidelines that should be used (see below, Using Guidelines), including formatting and word limits of the manuscript. The main categories of article type are outlined below:

Original Article
This is the most important type of article since it provides new information based on original research. Acceptance of original papers will be based upon the originality and importance of the investigation. The main text of original articles should be structured with Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, and Discussion subheadings. Please check Table 1 for the limitations for Original Articles.

Original contributions are manuscripts containing substantial novel research. These articles can include randomized controlled trials, observational (cohort, case-control or cross-sectional) studies, descriptive studies, diagnostic accuracy studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, nonrandomized behavioral and public health intervention trials, experimental animal trials, or any other clinical or experimental studies. All papers but cell studies require ethical approval.

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.

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

Clinical Trials
Medical Records adopts the ICMJE’s clinical trial registration policy, which requires that clinical trials must be registered in a publicly accessible registry that is a primary register of the WHO International Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) or in ClinicalTrials.gov.

Instructions for the clinical trials are listed below.
• Clinical trial registry is only required for the prospective research projects that study the relationship between a health-related intervention and an outcome by assigning people.
• To have their manuscript evaluated in the journal, author should register their research to a public registry at or before the time of first patient enrollment.
• Based on most up to date ICMJE recommendations Medical Records accepts public registries that include minimum acceptable 24-item trial registration dataset.
• Authors are required to state a data sharing plan for the clinical trial registration. Please see details under “Data Sharing” section.
• For further details, please check ICMJE Clinical Trial Policy at http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/clinical-trial-registration.html

Data Sharing
Authors are required to provide a data sharing statement for the articles that reports 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 shared
• Whether additional, related documents will be available
• When the data will be available and for how long
• By what access criteria will be shared
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 Medical Records,

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 the authors do not plan to share it.

Review Articles
Reviews prepared by authors who have extensive knowledge on a particular field and whose scientific background has been translated into a high volume of publications with a high citation potential are welcomed. These authors may even be invited by the journal. Reviews should describe, discuss, and evaluate the current level of knowledge of a topic in clinical practice and should guide future studies. The main text should contain Introduction, Clinical and Research Consequences, and Conclusion sections. Please check Table 1 for the limitations for Review Articles.

Case Reports
Brief descriptions of a previously undocumented disease process, a unique unreported manifestation or treatment of a known disease process, or unique unreported complications of treatment regimens. Case reports should include an adequate number of images and figures. Case reports should be accompanied by “Informed Consent” whether the identity of the patients is disclosed or not. The “Informed Consent Form” is available at https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/medr/page/12584 Please check Table 1 for the limitations for Case Report.

Letters to the Editor
This type of manuscript discusses important parts, overlooked aspects, or lacking parts of a previously published article. Articles on subjects within the scope of the journal that might attract the readers’ attention, particularly educative cases, may also be submitted in the form of a “Letter to the Editor.” Readers can also present their comments on the published manuscripts in the form of a “Letter to the Editor.” Abstract, Keywords, and other media should not be included. The text should be unstructured. The manuscript that is being commented on must be properly cited within this manuscript. Please check Table 1 for the limitations for Letter to Editor.

References

While citing publications, preference should be given to the latest, most up-to-date publications. If an ahead-of-print publication is cited, the DOI number should be provided. References should be written in compliance with Vancouver style (see. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7256/). Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references. Journal titles should be abbreviated in accordance with the journal abbreviations in Index Medicus/ MEDLINE/PubMed. When there are four or fewer authors, all authors should be listed. If there are five or more authors, the first three authors should be listed followed by “et al.” In the main text of the manuscript, references should be cited using Arabic numbers in parentheses. The reference styles for different types of publications are presented in the following examples. References should be limited to 10 for letters to the editor, 15 for case reports, 40 for clinical/experimental reports and review articles. Journal abbreviations should conform to the style used in the Cumulated Index Medicus (please see www.icmje.org). Journal articles, books, web pages, conference presentations, newspapers, audio-visual sources like CDs and DVDs, articles pending for publication, theses, and dissertations can be used as references. Please check Table 1 below for word count specifications.

Reference Format for Journal Articles: Authors’ initials, surnames and names, article titles, journal titles, date, volume, number and pagination must be indicated. E.g.:

For journal articles
Celbis O, Karakoc Y, Ozdemir B, et al. Investigation of lead mobilization from the buckshot residues to the critical organs. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2011;143:688-94.

For book references
DiMaio WJ, DiMaio D. Time of death. In: Forensic Pathology. 2nd edition. CRC Press, London, 2001;21-42.
Madea B, Henssge C. Timing of death. In: Payne-James J, Busuttil A, Smock W, eds, Forensic Medicine: Clinical Pathological Aspects. London: Greenwich Medical Media Ltd. 2003;91-114.

For internet references
Beware: Toy Noise may be too loud for kids. http://hearingaiddocs. wordpress.com/tag/loud-toys access date 22.04.2013

For congress presentations
Brandes U, Wagner D. A Bayesian paradigm for dynamic graph layout. 11th International Symposium on Graph Drawing, 12-15 November 2003. New York, USA, 236-47.

For newspaper references
Susan S. How to prevent breast cancer. Australian 23 October 2003.

For CD-ROM references
The Oxford English Dictionary [CD-ROM]. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 1992.

For accepted articles
Kaya A, Aktas EO. Perception differences between in violence against child. Med-Science. Published Online: Nov 19, 2013.

For thesis
Karakoc Y. Biological effect of direct electrical current in essential (idiopathic) hyperhidrosis. Ph.D. thesis, Istanbul University, Istanbul, 1996.

In case of use of a previously published table, figure or illustration, reference of the material must be cited in reference list.

Table 1. Limitations for each manuscript type

Tables
Tables should be included in the main document, presented after the reference list, and they should be numbered consecutively in the order they are referred to within the main text. A descriptive title must be placed above the tables. Abbreviations used in the tables should be defined below the tables by footnotes (even if they are defined within the main text). Tables should be created using the “insert table” command of the word processing software and they should be arranged clearly to provide easy reading. Data presented in the tables should not be a repetition of the data presented within the main text but should be supporting the main text.

Figures and Figure Legends
Figures, graphics, and photographs should be submitted as separate files (in TIFF or JPEG format) through the submission system. The files should not be embedded in a Word document or the main document. When there are figure subunits, the subunits should not be merged to form a single image. Each subunit should be submitted separately through the submission system. Images should not be labeled (a, b, c, etc.) to indicate figure subunits. Thick and thin arrows, arrowheads, stars, asterisks, and similar marks can be used on the images to support figure legends. Like the rest of the submission, the figures too should be blind. Any information within the images that may indicate an individual or institution should be blinded. The minimum resolution of each submitted figure should be 300 DPI. To prevent delays in the evaluation process, all submitted figures should be clear in resolution and large in size (minimum dimensions: 100 × 100 mm). Figure legends should be listed at the end of the main document.

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.

When a drug, product, hardware, or software program is mentioned within the main text, product information, including the name of the product, the producer of the product, and city and the country of the company (including the state if in USA), should be provided in parentheses in the following format: “Discovery St PET/CT scanner (General Electric, Milwaukee, WI, USA)”

All references, tables, and figures should be referred to within the main text, and they should be numbered consecutively in the order they are referred to within the main text.

Limitations, drawbacks, and the shortcomings of original articles should be mentioned in the Discussion section before the conclusion paragraph.

REVISIONS
When submitting a revised version of a paper, the author 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 30 days from the date of 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 this extension before the initial 30-day period is over.

Accepted manuscripts are copy-edited for grammar, punctuation, and format. Once the publication process of a manuscript is completed, it is published online on the journal’s webpage as an ahead-of-print publication before it is included in its scheduled issue. A PDF proof of the accepted manuscript is sent to the corresponding author and their publication approval is requested within 2 days of their receipt of the proof.

Corrections, Retractions & Expressions of Concern
To provide a better service to the researchers in the academic community, the International Medical Records believes that clarity in the publishing record is a must for information distribution. Recognizing a published article as a finalized “Version of Record” indicates that it is accurate, complete, and citable. The Medical Records defines this Version of Record as the initial article publication for open access journals.
It is assumed that manuscripts report on the work based on honest observations. However, occasionally information becomes available which may contradict this. In such cases, the Medical Records applies Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines on corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern.

Corrections: Errors in published papers may be identified that requires publication of a correction in the form of a corrigendum or erratum. Since articles can be read and cited as soon as they are published, any changes thereafter could potentially impact those who read and cited the earlier version. The Medical Records provides authors an opportunity to review the article proofs prior to publication with the purpose of ensuring the accuracy of the content. Publishing an erratum or corrigendum increases the likelihood readers will find out about the change and also explains the specifics of the change.

Corrigenda and Errata will appear on a numbered page and contain the citation of the original article. If these corrections are insufficient to address an error, the Editor-in-Chief will handle them on a case-by-case basis. Inadequacies arising from the normal course of new scientific research are not within the scope of this and do not require any correction or withdrawal.

Expressions of Concern & Retractions: Where substantial doubt arises as to the honesty or integrity of a submitted or published article, it is the Editor-in-Chief's responsibility to ensure that the matter is adequately addressed, usually by the authors' sponsoring institution. In general, the Editor-in-Chief is not responsible for conducting the investigation or making a definite decision. The Editor-in-Chief should be promptly informed of the decision of the sponsoring institution and a retraction printed should it be determined that a fraudulent paper was published. Alternatively, the Editor-in-Chief may choose to publish an expression of concern over the aspects of the conduct or integrity of the work.

Retractions will appear on a numbered page and contain the citation of the original article.

Changes to authorship
Authors are expected to consider carefully the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Any addition, deletion or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the journal Editor. To request such a change, the Editor must receive the following from the corresponding author: (a) the reason for the change in author list and (b) written confirmation (e-mail, letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement. In the case of addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed.
Only in exceptional circumstances will the Editor consider the addition, deletion or rearrangement of authors after the manuscript has been accepted. While the Editor considers the request, publication of the manuscript will be suspended. If the manuscript has already been published in an online issue, any requests approved by the Editor will result in a corrigendum.

Editor in Chief

Assoc. Prof. Zülal Öner
Address: İzmir Bakırçay University, Department of Anatomy, İzmir, Turkey
E-mail: medrecsjournal@gmail.com