Peer Review Policy
The manuscript evaluation process and ethical principles in this publication conform to the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (ICMJE Recommendations) (http:// www.icmje.org) and The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (https://publicationethics.org/).
Submission is considered on the conditions that papers are previously unpublished and are not offered simultaneously elsewhere; that authors have read and approved the content, and all authors have also declared all competing interests; and that the work complies with the ethical approval requirements and has been conducted under internationally accepted ethical standards. If ethical misconduct is suspected, the Editorial Board will act by the relevant international rules of publication ethics (i.e., COPE guidelines).
Editorial policies of the journal are conducted as stated in the rules recommended by the Council of Science Editors and reflected in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication. Accordingly, authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to adhere to the best practice guidelines on ethical behavior contained in this statement.
Gülhane Medical Journal operates a double-blind review process, meaning that the identities of both reviewers and authors are concealed from each other throughout the review. Therefore, any identifying information should be removed from the manuscript before submission. Other steps to be taken to ensure the manuscript is correctly prepared for double anonymized peer review the third person should be used to refer to work the authors have previously published. For example, it is correct to write "Becker et al. have demonstrated" rather than "we/the authors have demonstrated that"; figures and tables should not contain any reference to author affiliations; acknowledgments and any references to funding sources should be excluded from the main text and supplementary material, conflict of interest should be provided on the title page; file names should be chosen with care and document properties should not include author information as they will be open to the authors for download.
All submissions are initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor-in-Chief’s decision is final. Any submission is subject to all of the journal's usual procedures, with peer review handled independently of the relevant editor.
Ethical Policy
Human and Animal Rights
For the experimental, clinical, and drug human studies, approval by the ethical committee and a statement on the adherence of the study protocol to the international agreements (World Medical Association of Helsinki "Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects," amended October 2013) are required. In experimental animal studies, the authors should indicate that the procedures followed were by animal rights (Guide for the care and use of laboratory animals), and they should obtain animal ethics committee approval. The Ethics Committee approval document should be submitted to the Gülhane Medical Journal together with the manuscript.
The approval of the ethics committee; a statement on the adherence to international guidelines mentioned above; and proof that the patient's informed consent is obtained should be indicated in the `Material and Method` section. These items are required for case reports whenever data/media could reveal the identity of the patient.
For persons under 18 years of age, please provide a consent form that includes both parents' signatures or the person's legal guardian or supervisor.
Plagiarism and Ethical Misconduct
The Gülhane Medical Journal uses a plagiarism screening service to verify the originality of content submitted before publication. This journal does not accept articles that indicate a similarity rate of more than 15%, according to iThenticate reports.
Authors need to avoid all forms of plagiarism and ethical misconduct, such as:
Plagiarism: To republish whole or part of a content in another author's publication without attribution.
Fabrication: To publish data and findings/results that do not exist.
Duplication: Using data from another publication; this includes republishing an article in different languages.
Salamisation: Creating multiple publications by abnormally splitting the results of a study.
Data Manipulation/Falsification: Manipulating or deliberately distorting research data to give a false impression.
We disapprove of such unethical practices and of efforts to influence the review process with such practices as gifting authorship, inappropriate acknowledgments, and references in line with the COPE flowcharts.
Submitted manuscripts are subjected to automatic software evaluation for plagiarism and duplicate publication. Authors are obliged to acknowledge if they published study results in whole or in part in the form of abstracts.
Withdrawal Policy
Out of respect to the reviewers, journal staff and the Editorial Board, authors are asked to submit a withdrawal request only if the reasons are compelling and unavoidable. Withdrawal requests should be submitted in written form, signed by all contributing authors of the manuscript. Reasons for withdrawal should be stated clearly. Each request will be subject to the Editorial Board's review and manuscripts will only be assumed withdrawn upon Editorial Board's approval. Cases of plagiarism, authorship disputes or fraudulent use of data will be handled in accordance with COPE guidelines.
Appeals and Complaints
Gülhane Medical Journal treats appeals, complaints, and allegations of misconduct with utmost seriousness, regardless of the individuals' affiliation or the publication status. Appeal and complaint cases are handled within the scope of COPE guidelines by the Editorial Board of the journal.
The editor-in-chief will review appeals to editorial decisions, seeking additional input from the editorial board or external reviewers if the appeal is deemed valid.
If misconduct is reported, and either proven or strongly suspected, the journal is obligated to notify the relevant individual's institution, which may then initiate its own investigation.
If an individual has a complaint about an editorial decision, the editorial process, or actions by journal members, they should first contact the editor-in-chief. If the response is unsatisfactory or if the complaint is against the editor-in-chief, the matter should be raised with the publisher, who will investigate following COPE guidelines.
In instances involving allegations against a member of the publisher’s team, senior management will be apprised to oversee and supervise the investigation. In cases of potential conflicts of interest, independent individuals may lead the investigation, and when deemed necessary, the journal may contact other institutions to seek legal advice.
Authors should get in contact with the Editor in Chief regarding their appeals and complaints via e-mail at info@galenos.com.tr.
Correction
Occasionally, errors in published papers may come to light, necessitating the publication of a correction in the form of a corrigendum or erratum. Since articles are accessible and citable as soon as they are published, any subsequent alterations have the potential to affect those who have read and cited the initial version.
Retraction
In order to maintain the integrity and completeness of the scholarly record, the following policies will be applied when published content needs to be corrected; these policies take into account current best practice in the scholarly publishing and library communities.
Articles may be retracted for several reasons, including:
* honest errors reported by the authors (for example, errors due to the mixing up of samples or use of a scientific tool or equipment that is found subsequently to be faulty)
* research misconduct (data fabrication)
* duplicate or overlapping publication
* fraudulent use of data
* clear plagiarism
* unethical research
For any retracted article, the reason for retraction and who is instigating the retraction will be clearly stated in the Retraction notice. The retraction notice will be linked to the retracted article (which usually remains on the site) and the article will be clearly marked as retracted (including the PDF).
An article is usually only retracted at the authors’ request or by the publisher in response to an institutional investigation. It is important to note in the context of Gülhane Medical Journal's publication model, that ‐ as in traditional journals ‐ a retracted article is not ‘unpublished’ or ‘withdrawn’ in order for it to be published elsewhere. The reasons for retraction are usually so serious that the whole study, or large parts of it, are not appropriate for inclusion in the scientific literature anywhere.
The content of a retracted article would only be removed where legal limitations have been placed upon the publisher, copyright holder or author(s), for example, if the article is clearly defamatory or infringes others’ legal rights, or if the article is the subject of a court order. In such cases, the bibliographic information for the article will be retained on the site along with information regarding the circumstances that led to the removal of the content.
Under rare circumstances, for example, if false or inaccurate data have been published that, if acted upon, pose a serious health risk, the original incorrect version(s) may be removed and a corrected version published. The reason for this partial removal would be clearly stated on the latest version.
Editorial Note
If there is a potential, not yet resolved, problem with an article, it may be appropriate to alert readers with an Editorial Note. Such an Editorial Note may be added, for example, if Gülhane Medical Journal receives information that research or publication misconduct might have taken place, or that there is a serious dispute between authors or between the authors and third parties. The Editorial Note will usually be posted while further investigations take place and until a more permanent solution has been found (e.g. the publication of a revised ‘corrected’ version, or a Retraction).
Expression of Concern
In rare cases, Gülhane Medical Journal may decide to publish an Expression of Concern, which is linked to the problematic article, if there are serious concerns about an article but no conclusive evidence can be obtained that would unequivocally justify a Retraction. This may include:
* if there is inconclusive evidence of research or publication misconduct
* there is evidence that there are problems with the article, but the authors’ institution will not investigate the case
* an investigation into alleged misconduct has not been impartial or conclusive
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
All sources of financial support should be disclosed. All authors ought to disclose a meaningful conflict of interest in the process of forming their study. Any financial grants or other support received for a submitted study from individuals or institutions should be disclosed to the Editorial Board of Gülhane Medical Journal. The ICMJE Potential Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form should be filled in and submitted by all contributing authors to disclose a potential conflict of interest. The journal’s Editorial Board determines cases of a potential conflict of interest of the editors, authors, or reviewers within the scope of COPE and ICMJE guidelines.
Conditions that provide financial or personal benefit bring about a conflict of interest. The reliability of the scientific process and the published articles is directly related to the objective consideration of conflicts of interest during the planning, implementation, writing, evaluation, editing, and publication of scientific studies.
Financial relations are the most easily identified conflicts of interest, and it is inevitable that they will undermine the credibility of the journal, the authors, and the science. These conflicts can be caused by individual relations, academic competition, or intellectual approaches. The authors should refrain as much as possible from making agreements with sponsors in the opinion of gaining profit or any other advantage that restrict their ability to access all data of the study or analyze, interpret, prepare, and publish their articles In order to prevent conflicts of interest, editors should refrain from bringing together those who may have any relationship between them during the evaluation of the studies. The editors, who make the final decision about the articles, should not have any personal, professional or financial ties with any of the issues they are going to decide. Authors should inform the editorial board concerning potential conflicts of interest to ensure that their articles will be evaluated within the framework of ethical principles through an independent assessment process.
If one of the editors is an author in any manuscript, the editor is excluded from the manuscript evaluation process. In order to prevent any conflict of interest, the article evaluation process is carried out as double-blinded. Because of the double-blinded evaluation process, except for the editorial board members, none of the international advisory board members, or reviewers are informed about the authors of the manuscript or institutions of the authors.
Our publication team works devotedly to ensuring that the evaluation process is conducted impartially, considering all these situations.
The conflict of interest form that each author has to sign must be uploaded during the manuscript submission.
Editorial Duties
Editorial policies of the journal are conducted as stated in the rules recommended by the Council of Science Editors and reflected in the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly work in Medical Journals. Accordingly, authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to adhere to the best practice guidelines on ethical behavior contained in this statement.
A. DUTIES OF PUBLISHER
Handling of unethical publishing behavior
The publisher will take all appropriate measures to modify the article in question, in close cooperation with the editors, in cases of alleged or proven scientific misconduct, fraudulent publication, or plagiarism. This includes the prompt publication of an erratum, disclosure, or retraction of the affected work in the most severe case. Together with the editors, the publisher will take reasonable steps to detect and prevent the publication of articles in which research misconduct occurs and will under no circumstances promote or knowingly allow such abuse to occur.
Editorial Autonomy
The Gülhane Medical Journal is committed to ensuring the autonomy of editorial decisions without influence from commercial partners.
Intellectual Property and Copyright
The Gülhane Medical Journal protects the property and copyright of the articles published in the journal and maintains each article's published version of the record. The journal provides the integrity and transparency of each published article.
Scientific Misconduct
The Gülhane Medical Journal’s publisher takes all appropriate measures regarding fraudulent publication or plagiarism.
B. DUTIES OF EDITORS
Decision on Publication and Responsibility
The editor of the journal strives to meet the needs of readers and authors and to provide a fair and appropriate peer-review process. The editor is also responsible for deciding which articles submitted to the journal should be published and guided by the policies subjected to legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The editor might discuss such policies, procedures, and responsibilities with reviewers while making publication decisions. The editor is responsible for the contents and overall quality of the publication.
Objectivity
Articles that are submitted to the journal are always evaluated without any prejudice.
Confidentiality
The editor must not disclose any information about a submitted article to anyone other than editorial staff, reviewers, and publisher.
Conflicts of Interest and Disclosure
The Gülhane Medical Journal does not allow any conflicts of interest among authors, reviewers, and editors. Unpublished materials in a submitted article must not be used by anyone without the express written assent of the author.
Fundamental Errors in Published Works
Authors are obliged to notify the journal's editors or publisher immediately and to cooperate with them to correct or retract the article if significant errors or inaccuracies are detected in the published work. If the editors or publisher learn from a third party that a published work contains a material error or inaccuracy, the authors must promptly correct or retract the article or provide the journal editors with evidence of the accuracy of the article.
C. DUTIES OF REVIEWERS
Evaluation
Reviewers evaluate manuscripts without regard for the origin, gender, sexual orientation, or political philosophy of the authors. Reviewers also ensure a fair, blind peer review of the submitted manuscripts for evaluation.
Confidentiality
All the information relative to submitted articles is kept confidential. The reviewers must not be discussed with others except if authorized by the editor.
Disclosure and Conflict of Interest
The reviewers have no conflicts of interest among authors, funders, editors, etc.
Contribution to editor
Reviewers help the editor make publishing decisions and may also assist the author in improving the manuscript.
Objectivity
Reviewers offer objective judgments and evaluations. The reviewers express their views clearly with appropriate supporting arguments.
Acknowledgment of Sources
Reviewers ought to identify a relevant published study that the authors have not cited. Reviewers also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.
Clinical Trial Policy
All clinical trials, which are any research projects that prospectively assign individuals or a group of people to an intervention, with or without concurrent comparison or control groups, in order to study the relationship between a health-related intervention and a health outcome, must be registered in a public trials registry acceptable to the International Committee of Medical Journals Editors (ICMJE). Authors of randomized controlled trials must adhere to the CONSORT guidelines , and provide both a CONSORT checklist (for protocols, see the SPIRIT guidance) and flow diagram. We require that you choose the MS Word template at www.consort-statement.org for the flow chart and cite/upload it in the manuscript as a figure. In addition, submitted manuscripts must include the unique registration number in the Abstract as evidence of registration. For more detailed instructions regarding clinical trials, please visit the guideline below:
Clinical Trials Guidelines
You can register for clinical trials by visiting the following link: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ To register the relevant record in the system and learn more about the protocol to be followed, please review the link below: https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/manage-recs/how-register
The other registries are accepted by ICJME:
Digital Archiving and Preservation Policy
Digital preservation is a set of processes and activities that ensure the retrieval and distribution of information now available in digital formats to guarantee long-term, perpetual access. The preservation policy includes the following measures:
Website Archiving
All of the electronic content (website, manuscript, etc.) is stored in three different sources. Content on a server is online and accessible to readers. A copy of the same content is deposited as a backup on two other sources. Should a server fail, other resources can be brought online, and the website is expected to be available in 24-36 hours.
Abstracting/Indexing Services
Abstracting/Indexing services for the journal store essential information about articles. In addition, some Abstracting/Indexing services archive metadata about the article and electronic versions of the articles. In this way, copies of articles are presented to the scientific community as an alternative to journal’s electronic archive.
Copyright
After the publication decision is made and accepted, the "Copyright Agreement Form" should be attached to the submissions. The form can also be downloaded from the journal's article submission system. The Copyright Agreement Form must be signed by all contributing authors and a scanned version of this wet-signed document must be submitted. By signing the Copyright Agreement Form, the authors agree to transfer the commercial rights to the Gülhane Faculty of Medicine, University of Health Sciences Türkiye, if the article is accepted for publication. The copyright of the published article belongs to its author under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
By citing the author and the journal at the same time, without any profit-making motive, and only for educational purposes, the readers can copy the article without the permission of the copyright holder.
Gülhane Medical Journal is an open access publication, and the journal’s publication model is based on Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) declaration. All published content is available online, free of charge at https://gulhanemedj.org/. The journal’s content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 International License which permits third parties to share and adapt the content for non-commerical purposes by giving the appropriate credit to the original work.
Free-of Charge Publication
No fee is charged from the authors during the submission, evaluation and publication process. Journal practices, ethical rules, technical information and necessary forms are specified on the journal's web page.
The manuscripts must be submitted via the JournalAgent online article system, represented on the journal website.
