Evaluation Process

The decision to publish all articles submitted to the Anatolian Journal of General Medical Research belongs to the editor-in-chief. However, the editors develop these decisions in line with the recommendations of the reviewers.

The double-blind review process is the process of evaluating the work completely anonymously. For this system, only the editors know each stage. Authors do not know who the reviewer is, and the reviewers do not know whose work they are evaluating. Thus, biased evaluation of the work by the reviewers is prevented. In addition, since the author does not know the reviewers, he/she can not possibly contact the reviewer and influence him/her through 'special routes'. From this point of view, the double-blind review process is thought to provide objective evaluation and increase equal opportunity.

For these reasons, all studies submitted to the Anatolian Journal of General Medical Research are subject to double-blind review. At least two reviewers, an expert in their fields, will evaluate each submitted work. The editors spend every effort on quick evaluation of the articles. The editor is the final decision-making authority in the evaluation processes of all articles.

First Evaluation
The relevant editor or journal secretary examines the work regarding the purpose and scope of the journal, its conformity to the rules of writing, and its English and Turkish language proficiency. As a result of this assessment, the manuscripts that do not comply with the publication rules and the journal's publication policy are returned to the responsible author.

Preliminary Evaluation Process
In the pre-evaluation process, the study that left a positive impression on the editor is directed to the section editors. Section editors examine summary, introduction, material/method, discussion and conclusion sections of the manuscript and its scientific and formal conformity to the writing rules of the journal. As a result of this review, manuscripts that are found suitable are taken into the process of reviewers' evaluation.

Reviewers' Evaluation Process
According to the manuscript's content, at least two expert reviewers who had current studies in the relevant field are determined. The chief editor appraises the suggestions of the section editor regarding the selection of reviewers, and reviewers are assigned for the assessments of the manuscripts. The reviewers evaluate the study and prepare a report.

Reports of the Reviewers
The reviewers evaluate the objective, material/method, results and discussion sections of the study and its conformity to scientific principles. The work may be accepted directly; its revision may be requested or rejected. If a correction in the manuscript is required, the suggestions coming from the reviewers are communicated to the authors, and the authors are asked to revise their work. The reviewers reexamine the correction results provided by the authors, and their decisions are reported to the editor. If the assigned reviewers disagree, the manuscript is sent to a designated third reviewer.

Statistical Analysis
The reviewers' manuscripts deemed appropriate for publication are sent to the statistical editor. Articles that the statistical editor approves are accepted for publication.

Publication Process
Clinical studies or experimental research articles accepted for publication are usually included in the first issue to be published. Case presentations can wait 6-9 months according to the intensity.

Authors should avoid all identifying information about patients such as name, initials, reference numbers or photographs to appear in the article.
All articles submitted will be subjected to peer-review by the editorial board. The authors will be informed within 8 weeks. All articles may be subject to revision by the editorial board. Manuscripts that do not comply with the journal requirements may be returned without review at the discretion of the editors.

The plagiarism similarity criterion is not a percentage of matching in this journal. All studies submitted to our periodicals and passed the evaluation of the reviewers blinded to the studies are evaluated by us using Turnitin or iThenticate software programs.

A specialized team carries out auditing excluding percentages of matching but considering the parameters, such as identification of matching paragraphs, whether or not citations and references are written correctly by the writing rules of the journal, the places of the matching sentences/paragraphs in the article, and the sources with which they are matched. The prepared plagiarism report is sent to the relevant editor of the study. In consideration of the report, the editorial board may request from the author correction of the errors in the manuscript and send it again or accept or reject it. The acceptance of the study is on the initiative of the editor in chief.

Manuscript Preparation
Articles should be typed in 12 pt (Times New Roman), double-spaced throughout with margins of 2.5 cm, and pages must be numbered on the right upper corner. Manuscripts must be in accordance with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors: Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (http://www.icmje.org/). Original articles should not exceed 15 double spaced typewritten pages, and case reports should not exceed 10 pages. Articles should be typewritten in either "doc" or "txt" format and organized as follows: Title page: The title page should contain the article title, authors' names and complete affiliations, a running title not exceeding 40 characters and the address for the manuscript correspondence including e-mail address and telephone and fax numbers. If the article was presented at a scientific meeting, the authors should provide a complete statement, including the date and place of the meeting.

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. The Clinical Trial Registration Policy has been implemented in our journal as of September 2023. 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:
www.anzctr.org.au
www.ISRCTN.org
www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index/htm
www.onderzoekmetmensen.nl/en
https://eudract.ema.europa.eu/

Use of Large Language Models and Generative AI Tools
AI tools cannot meet the requirements for authorship as they cannot take responsibility for the submitted work. As non-legal entities, they cannot assert the presence or absence of conflicts of interest nor manage copyright and license agreements. Authors who use AI tools in the writing of a manuscript, production of images or graphical elements of the paper, or in the collection and analysis of data, must be transparent how the AI tool was used and which tool was used. Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscript, even those parts produced by an AI tool, and are thus liable for any breach of publication ethics.” COPE Position Statement on Authorship and AI tools. Detailed information about the statement can be accessed at https://publicationethics.org/cope-position-statements/ai-author

After reviewing the COPE statement, the editors of the Anatolian Journal of General Medical Research have decided that papers should include a statement in a section called “Declaration Regarding the Use of AI and AI-Assisted Technologies” to let readers know if AI or AI-assisted tools were used in the writing process. It's important to remember that all authors are responsible for the content of their work. This declaration does not apply to the use of basic tools for checking grammar, spelling, or references (such as Mendeley, EndNote, Zotero, and others). If there is nothing to declare, there is no need to add a statement.

It is suggested that authors follow this format when preparing their statement:

During the preparation of this work, the author(s) utilized [NAME OF TOOL(S) USED] to [DESCRIPTION OF HOW THE TOOL(S) WERE UTILIZED AND HOW THE VALIDITY OF THE OUTPUTS WAS EVALUATED]. After carefully reviewing and editing the content as necessary, full responsibility for the publication's content is taken by the author(s). This incorporation of AI tool usage primarily impacted [SPECIFY WHICH ASPECTS OF THE STUDY, ARTICLE CONTENTS, DATA, OR SUPPORTING FILES WERE AFFECTED/GENERATED].

Example:
During the preparation of this work, the author(s) utilized OpenAI's ChatGPT to generate summaries of research articles related to the topic. These summaries were evaluated by comparing them to manually written summaries by experts in the field. Upon confirming the accuracy and relevance of the generated summaries, they were integrated into the literature review section of the manuscript. After carefully reviewing and editing the content as necessary, full responsibility for the publication's content is taken by the author(s). This incorporation of AI tool usage primarily impacted the efficiency of literature review process and the comprehensiveness of the gathered research insights.

Abstract and keywords: Original articles should include Turkish and English abstracts. Turkish abstracts and keywords will be written by the editorial board for foreign authors. Abstracts must be no more extended than 250 words. The structured abstract should include objectives, materials and methods, results and conclusions in original articles. A structured abstract is not necessary for case reports. Abbreviations should not be used in the abstract.

The authors should list three to five keywords or phrases taken from Index Medicus Medical Subject Headings (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.html).

Text: Original articles should be organized in four main headings: introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion. Define abbreviations first mentioned in the text and in each table and figure. If a brand name is cited, supply the manufacturer's name and address (city and state/country). Case reports should include the following identifiable sections: introduction, case report(s), and discussion. An "acknowledgement(s)" section may be added following these sections to thank those who helped the study or preparation of the article if any. The acknowledgements are placed at the end of the article, before the references. This section contains statements of gratitude for personal, technical or material help, etc.

References should be provided at the end of the article, under the title "References", and should be numbered and listed according to their order in the text. They should be referred to in parentheses within the text. If the number of authors is more than or equal to 6, all authors are indicated. If the number of authors is more than 6, then the first three authors are indicated. The author(s) are responsible for the accuracy of the references. Journal titles should be abbreviated according to Index Medicus. Refer to the "List of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus" for abbreviations of journal names, or access the list at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/serials/lji.html. Abbreviations are not used for journals, not in the Index Medicus. Only published articles or articles "in press" can be used as references. Examples of references are given below:

Journal:
Hull ML, Escareno CR, Godsland JM, et al. Endometrial-peritoneal interactions during endometriotic lesion establishment. Am J Pathol. 2008;173:700-15.

Ferrari A, Casanova M, Bisogno G, et al. Malignant vascular tumors in children and adolescents: a report from the Italian and German Soft Tissue Sarcoma Cooperative Group. Med Pediatr Oncol. 2002;39:109-14.

Abstract:
Heidenreich A, Olbert P, Becker T, Hofmann R. Microsurgical testicular denervation in patients with chronic testicular pain. Eur Urol. 2001;39(Suppl 5):126 (abstr).

Book:
Sadler TW. Langman's Medical Embryology. 5th ed. William and Wilkins, Baltimore. 1985. p.224-6.

Book Chapter: 
Folkman J. Tumor angiogenesis. In Bast Jr RC, Kufe DW, Polock RE, Weichselbaum RR, Holland JF, Frei E, editors. Cancer Medicine. 5th ed. London, B.C. Decker Inc.; 2000. p.132-52.

Online articles:
Abood S. Quality improvement initiative in nursing homes: the ANA acts in advisory role. Am J Nurs. (serial on the Internet). 2002;102 (about 3 p.). Available from:  http://www.nap.edu/books/0309074029/html/. 

Tables: Each table must be typed double-spaced on a separate page following the references. Tables should be numbered consecutively with Roman numerals in order of appearance in the text and should include a short descriptive title typed directly above and essential footnotes including definitions of abbreviations below. They should be self-explanatory and should supplement rather than duplicate the material in the text.

Figures: All figures should be numbered sequentially in the text with Arabic numbers and referred to in parentheses within the text. Art should be created/scanned and saved in either TIFF or JPEG format, submitted as a separate file, and not embedded in the text file. Electronic photographs, radiographs, CT scans, and scanned images must have a resolution of at least 300 dpi and 1200x960 pixels. If not necessary, typewritten texts on figures should be avoided.

Figure legends: Include legends for all figures. Legends should appear on a separate page after the tables, should be brief and specific, and should include magnification and the stain used. Abbreviations and symbols used in the figures must be denoted in the legend.

References 
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 the references. While writing references, the below-indicated rules should be attentively observed.

References in the text
References should be numbered for their use in the text, and the list of references should be presented accordingly. The reference number should be indicated in parenthesis and as a superscript. A comma (,) should be placed between references if more than one reference is used.

Sample cited statements in the text: 
Care provided by nurses is critical in the diagnosis and prevention of malnutrition, decreasing hospitalization period and hospital costs (9). Therefore, the nurses are expected to have adequate information, equipment, and skill in the field of nutrition (3,10,11). 
Duerksen et al. (14) evaluated Canadian nurses' knowledge level and approached concerning nutritional problems of inpatients. Their study indicated that nurses failed to evaluate the patients' nutritional state adequately and effectively, which was attributed to an inadequate number of auxiliary personnel, time restraints, and missing documents.

Indicating references at the end of the text 
At the end of the text, references should be written double-spaced on a separate paper. Titles of the journals should be abbreviated in accordance with the citation index, which includes the journal that published the article (i.e., Index Medicus, Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, TR Dizin, etc.), and if available, DOI numbers should be added. For abbreviations of the titles of the journals, please see the list of the journals published by NLM on the website (http://bit.ly/2lJkey3). If the title of the journal is not contained in these lists, it should be written in full. If Vancouver format is employed in the website you used for references, copy-pasting of the reference in your reference list is recommended. References indicated in the text should be written in compliance with the below-mentioned sample statements:

Journal: 
If the number of authors is less than or equal to 6, all authors are indicated.

Campbell MR, Fisher J, Anderson L, Kreppel E. Implementation of early exercise and progressive mobility: Steps to success. Crit Care Nurse. 2015;35:82-8.

If the number of authors is more than 6, then the first three authors are indicated. 

Aiken LH, Sermeus W, Van den Heede K, Sloane MD, Busse R, McKee M, et al. Patient safety, satisfaction, and quality of hospital care: Cross sectional surveys of nurses and patients in 12 countries in Europe and the United States. BMJ. 2012;344:e1717. doi: 10.1136/bmj.e1717
If the article does not have any DOI number, then the internet access address (website) is noted.
Pokorny ME, Koldjeski D, Swanson M. Skin care intervention for patients having cardiac surgery. Am J Crit Care. 2003;12:535-44. Available from:
http://ajcc.aacnjournals.org/content/12/6/535.full.pdf+html?sid=f587c6d5-92a3-4971-8367-f18cd1cd63f0

Supplement: 
Ahrens T. Severe sepsis management: Are we doing enough? Crit Care Nurse. 2003;23(Suppl 5):2-15. Available from: http://ccn.aacnjournals.org/content/23/5/S2.full.pdf+html

Book: 
Jarvis C. Physical Examination and Health Assessment. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company; 2000.
If any information about the editor is available:

Breedlove GK, Schorfheide AM. Adolescent pregnancy. 2nd ed. Wieczorek RR, editor. White Plains (NY): March of Dimes Education Services; 2001.

A chapter in the book: 
Finke LM. Teaching in nursing: the faculty role. In: Billing DM, Halstead JA, editors. Teaching in Nursing: A Guide for Faculty. 3rd ed. USA: Saunders & Elsevier; 2009. p. 3-17.

Translated book : 
Ferry DR. ECG in Ten Days [On Günde Temel Elektrokardiyografi]. Kahraman M, translator. İstanbul: Ekbil A.Ş.; 2001.

A chapter in a translated book:
Tolay E. Planlamanın temelleri. In: Robbins SP, Decenzo DA, Coulter M. editors. Yönetimin Esasları: Temel Kavramlar ve Uygulamalar. Öğüt A, translator. Ankara: Nobel Akademik Yayıncılık; 2013. p. 104-29.

Electronic book: 
Akdag R. The Progress So Far Health Transformation Program in Turkey. Ankara, Turkey: Ministry of Health; 2009. Available from: 
http://ekutuphane.tusak.gov.tr/kitap.php?id=174&k=progress_report_health_transformation_program_in_turkey_january_2009
Aminoff MJ, Greenberg DA, Simon RP. Clinical Neurology. 9th ed. New York: McGraw Hill Medical; 2015. Available from: http://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/book.aspx?bookID=1194

Electronic report/document:
World Health Organization. World Alliance for Patient Safety Forward Programme 2008-2009. 1st ed. France; 2008. Available from:
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/70460/1/WHO_IER_PSP_2008.04_eng.pdf

İzmir Halk Sağlığı Müdürlüğü. Sağlık Bakanlığı Yoğun Bakım Ünitelerinin Standartları. İzmir; 2007. Available from: http://www.ihsm.gov.tr/indir/mevzuat/genelgeler/G_13082007_1.pdf

Dissertations/Theses: 
Bayram TY. Üniversitelerde örgütsel sessizlik [master’s thesis]. Bolu: Abant İzzet Baysal Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü; 2010.
Borkowski MM. Infant sleep and feeding: a telephone survey of Hispanic Americans [dissertation]. Mount Pleasant (MI): Central Michigan University; 2002.

Submission and Retraction of the Manuscript
Submission of a manuscript: Authors who want to submit their articles for evaluation in our journal can upload their works by following the steps in the system after logging them into our journal management system at jag.journalagent.com/terh, Paying attention to the items in the checklist for authors before uploading will speed up the publication process of your work.

Article Withdrawal: As per our publication policies, the article's author has to cooperate with the journal editor in withdrawal procedures.
The author, who wants to withdraw his/ her work during the evaluation process, should submit the petition containing his/ her explanation to the editorial board electronically or in a printed wet signed form indicating that all authors have approved the withdrawal.

The Editorial Board analyses the incoming request and returns it to the author within ten days. If the copyright of the article was transferred to the Anatolian Journal of General Medical Research during the submission process, the author could not send the work to another journal for evaluation unless the request for withdrawal of this work is approved.