The editorial processes of the Atatürk University publications are carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the International Council of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the Council of Science Editors (CSE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the European Association of Science Editors (EASE), and National Information Standards Organization (NISO). Journals conform to the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (doaj.org/bestpractice).
ETHICAL GUIDELINES
Ethics Committee reports prepared in accordance with international agreements (World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki “Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects,” amended in October 2013, www.wma.net) are required for experimental, clinical, and drug studies. For some case reports, ethics committee reports or an equivalent official document will be requested from the authors if the editorial board requires it. Submissions which do not have ethical approval will be evaluated according to COPE’s Research, Audit and Service Evaluations guideline. This type of submissions can be rejected after editorial review due to the lack of ethics committee approval.
For manuscripts concerning experimental research on humans, a statement should be included that written informed consent of patients and volunteers was obtained following a detailed explanation of the procedures that they may undergo. Information on patient consent, the name of the ethics committee institution from which the approval is obtained, the ethics committee approval number and date should also be stated in the Methods section.
It is the authors’ responsibility to carefully protect the patient confidentiality.
For photographs that may reveal the identity of the patients, signed releases of the patient or their legal representative, and the publication approval should also be sent.
For studies carried out on animals, an approval of research protocols by the Ethics Committee in accordance with international agreements (Guide for the care and use of laboratory animals, 8th edition, 2011" and/or “International Guiding Principles for Biomedical Research Involving Animals, 2012”) is required. Also, the measures taken to prevent pain and suffering of the animals should be stated clearly in such studies.
PLAGIARISM AND ETHICAL MISCONDUCT
All submissions are screened by a similarity detection software (iThenticate by CrossCheck) at any point during the peer-review and/or production process.
Authors are strongly recommended to avoid any form plagiarism and ethical misconducts 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. Using the same hypotheses, population, and methods of a study into different papers is not acceptable.
Data Fabrication: 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 accordingly.
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.
The Editorial Board will follow and act according to COPE flowcharts against alleged or suspected research misconduct, e.g., plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication.
AUTHORSHIP
Each person listed as an author should fulfill the authorship criteria recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE - www.icmje.org). 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; AND
2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
3. Approval for the final version to be published; AND
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work by 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 he/she has done, an author should be able to identify which co-authors are responsible for specific other parts of the work. Also, authors should have confidence in the integrity of the contributions of their co-authors.
All those designated as an author should meet all four criteria for authorship, and all who meet the four criteria should be identified as an author. Those who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged in the title page of the manuscript.
All journals require the authors to submit a signed and scanned version of the Copyright Agreement and Acknowledgement of Authorship form (available for download at the related journal’s website) during the initial submission process to act appropriately on authorship rights and to prevent ghost or honorary authorship. If the editorial board suspects a case of “gift authorship”, the submission will be rejected without further review. As part of the manuscript submission, the corresponding author should also send a short statement declaring that he/she accepts to undertake all the responsibility for authorship during the submission and review stages of the manuscript.
CHANGE OF AUTHORSHIP
Atatürk University publications review the authorship according to the author’s declaration in the Title Page; thus, it is the authors responsibility to send the final order of the complete author names. Requests in the change of authorship (e.g. removal/addition of the authors, change in the order etc.) after submission are subject to editorial approval. Editorial Board will investigate this kind of cases and act following COPE flowcharts.
Change of authorship requests should be submitted to the Editorial Office with an official letter stating the reasons for the change. The letter must be signed by all authors and include their approval of the change of authorship. If the request is approved by the Editorial Board, authors need to submit a new Copyright Agreement and Acknowledgement of Authorship Form according to the final order list.
DECLARATION OF INTEREST
All journals require and encourage the authors and the individuals involved in the evaluation process of submitted manuscripts to disclose any existing or potential conflicts of interests, 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.
POST-PUBLICATION CORRECTION REQUESTS AND RETRACTIONS
All post-publication correction requests are subjected to editorial decision. Editors review the cases considering journal policies and the highest editorial standards that are adhered to ICMJE and COPE guidelines. If the correction/change is accepted to be implemented, the article will be updated with an Erratum or Correction Notice and the journal record will be updated in the related indexes.
WITHDRAWAL REQUESTS
Withdrawal requests for an article are reviewed by the Editorial Board of the journal. A letter signed by all authors stating their request and reasons for withdrawal should be sent to the editorial board. Authors should not send their work to another journal for evaluation unless the request to withdraw is approved.
APPEALS AND COMPLAINT
The Editorial Boards of the journals handle 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 Atatürk University journals reflect the views of the author(s) and not the opinions of the editors, the editorial board, the university, or the publisher; the editors, the editorial board, the university and the publisher disclaim any responsibility or liability for such materials. The final responsibility regarding the published content rests with the authors.