Instructions to Authors

Manuscript format must be in accordance with the ICMJE-Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (updated in December 2015 - http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf). Manuscripts that do not comply with the rules of the Journal will be returned to the author for correction without further review. Therefore, to avoid loss of time and work, authors must carefully review the submission rules. The journal evaluates only the manuscripts submitted through its online submission system on the web site http://kocaelimj.org/jvi.aspx. Manuscripts sent by other means will not be accepted.
Our journal's mission is to publish articles that are scientifically, technically, and ethically valid. A manuscript's novelty, originality, or potential for impact is not a consideration for publication.

All contents and opinions expressed in the manuscripts published in the Kocaeli Medical Journal reflect the views of the author(s). All liability for the advertisements rests with the appropriate organization(s). The University of Health Sciences, Kocaeli Derince Training and Research Hospital and the Editor-in-Chief do not accept any responsibility for articles and advertisements.
All manuscripts submitted to the journal should not have been accepted and published previously elsewhere in electronic or printed format even though the previous one was published in a different language. Authors who aim to send a manuscript evaluated and rejected by other journals should indicate previous Editor’s and reviewer’s reports to accelerate the evaluation process. If the submitted manuscript has been previously presented at a meeting, the name, date, city and country must be specified in Cover letter.

At the beginning of evaluation process, the authors must transfer all copyrights of the manuscript in the framework of national and international regulations to the University of Health Sciences, Kocaeli Derince Training and Research Hospital. A Copyright Transfer Form signed by corresponding author in order must be submitted to the journal with manuscript. At the end of evaluation process, if manuscript accepts for publication, all of authors must fill and sign Copyright Transfer Form. A separate form for each manuscript should be submitted.
Authors must submit a cover letter with their manuscript which should include the title of their manuscript and the type of manuscript it is (e.g. review, research, and case study). Then, briefly explain the background to their study, the question they sought out to answer and why. Also they must confirm that they will not submit the work to another journal, publish it in the original or another language and or allow a third party to use the manuscript without the written permission of the University of Health Sciences, Kocaeli Derince Training and Research Hospital.

All financial liability and legal responsibility associated with the copyright of submitted tables, figures and other visual materials protected by national and international laws rest with the authors. The authors take responsibility for any legal proceedings issued against the journal. Rejected manuscripts will not be returned to the authors.

To clarify scientific contributions and responsibilities and any conflict of interest issues relevant to the manuscript, all parts of the ‘Authors' Contribution’ form must be completed by the corresponding author and the ‘ICMJE Uniform Disclosure Form for Potential Conflicts of Interest ’must be completed online by all authors. Both forms should be included in the manuscript at the time of original submission.
The Medical Journal of Kocaeli will publish article across all medical disciplines. Authors are encouraged to submit their original work related to all disciplines of dentistry and nursing, with prime focus being on the clinical or experimental research studies. Case reports, either in form of single case or case series, are also welcome provided that they describe unusual presentation of a rare entity or a different treatment approach. Review articles will be considered if they deal with controversial topics and provide a clear synthesis of previously published data. The articles in related to dentistry and nursing will be published in a supplement of the journal once a year.

The format of the manuscripts must be in accordance with the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (updated in December 2014: http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf).
The presentation of the manuscripts must be in accordance with international guidelines. CONSORT should be used for randomized trials, STROBE for observational studies, STARD for diagnostic studies, PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses, ARRIVE for animal studies, and TREND for non-randomized behavior and public health studies.

The main text submitted to the journal must be in English. Manuscripts written in other languages are not accepted.

Manuscript files should be prepared with Microsoft Office Word and uploaded by using the online submission system of journal.
List of the Mandatory Files for Submission:
1. Title Page
2. Main Text
3. Tables, Graphs and Figures
4. Cover Letter
5. Authorship Contribution Form
6. Copyright Transfer Form
7. ICMJE Uniform Disclosure Form for Potential Conflicts of Interest

1.Title page
The journal is a double-blinded peer reviewed journal. Thus, information about the authors and their institutions should not be included in the main text, tables, figures and video documents. Information about the manuscript as specified below should be included on the title page. For each type of manuscript, it is mandatory to upload a title page as a separate Microsoft Word document through the online submission system. The title page should include the names of the authors with their latest academic degrees, and the name of the department and institution, city and country where the study was conducted. If the study was conducted in several institutions, the affiliation of each author must be specified with numbers. The correspondence address should contain the full name of the corresponding author, postal and e-mail addresses, phone and fax numbers. If the content of the manuscript has been presented before, the name, date and place of the meeting must be noted. Disclosure of conflict of interest, institutional and financial support, author contributions and acknowledgments should be included on the title page.

2. Main Text
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. Decimal points should be used in decimals throughout the manuscript. Measurements should be reported using the metric system according to the International System of Units (SI). Consult the SI Unit Conversion Guide, New England Journal of Medicine Books, 1992. When a drug, product, hardware, or software mentioned within the main text product information, including the name of the product, producer of the product, city of the company and the country of the company should be provided in parenthesis in the following format: “Discovery St PET/CT scanner (General Electric, Milwaukee, WI, USA)”.

The manuscripts submitted to our journal must be classified according to the manuscript types stated below. During editorial evaluation, the editorial office assess whether a manuscript’s format and sub-headings are prepared in accordance with the journal’s guidelines. Manuscripts that do not fulfill the writing rules and requirements are sent back to the authors at this stage.

A. Manuscript Types
Original Article
Brief Reports
Editorial Comment
Review Article
Case Report
Original Image
Letter to the Editor

B. References
C. Special Terms and Conditions

A. Manuscript Types
Original Article

Title
Structured Abstract: It should be structured with Objective, Methods, Results and Conclusion subheadings and should be limited to 250 words.

Keywords: This section should contain a minimum of three and a maximum of six items in accordance with Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms prepared by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and should be placed just below the abstract.

Main Text: It should consist of Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Limitations of the Study and Conclusion sections. 

-Introduction: This section should be succinct, with no subheadings.

-Materials and Methods: This part should contain sufficient detail that would enable all procedures to be repeated. It can be divided into subsections if several methods are described.

-Results: This section should contain main results of the study. 

-Discussion: This section may be divided into subsections or may be combined. In this section authors should discuss main results of the study and compare them with the relevant literature. Maximum length: 5000 words of text (not including abstract, tables, figures, references, and online-only material).

-Conclusions: This section should be included in the discussion section and should clearly explain the main conclusions of the article, highlighting its importance and relevance.

References: The reference list should be provided following the Main Text. Limiting the number of references to 50 is usually sufficient.

Tables: All tables should be submitted as separate files and in Word format. Tables should be cited consecutively in the text. Every table must have a descriptive title and if numerical measurements are given, the units should be included in the column heading.

Figure legends: They should be placed below the reference list and numbered according to their consecutive order in the main text.

Figures and Images: They should be provided after the reference list according to their order of appearance in the text and should be limited to ten.

For manuscripts in English submitted by Turkish authors or from Turkey, Title, Structured Abstract and Keywords should also be provided in Turkish. However, translations of these sections for manuscripts submitted by foreign authors outside Turkey will be the responsibility of the Journal.

Statistical Analysis: Statistical analysis should be conducted in accordance with the guidelines on reporting statistical data in medical journals [Altman DG, Gore SM, Gardner MJ, Pocock SJ. Statistical guidelines for contributors to medical journals. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1983 May 7;286(6376):1489-93.]. The software used for statistical analysis must be described. Data must be expressed as mean  ± standard deviation when parametric tests are used to compare continuous variables. For non-parametric tests, data must be expressed as median (minimum-maximum) or percentiles (25th and 75th percentiles). In advanced and complex statistical analyses, relative risk (RR), odds ratio (OR) and hazard ratio (HR) must be supported by confidence intervals and p values.

Brief Reports
Brief reports are short and peer-reviewed articles including small case series, negative trials, the preliminary results and others that are not to be published as a full text paper.

Title
Structured Abstract: It should be structured with Objective, Methods, Results and Conclusion subheadings and should be limited to 250 words.

Keywords: This section should contain a minimum of three and a maximum of six items in accordance with Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms prepared by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and should be placed just below the abstract.

Main Text: It should consist of Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Limitations of the Study and Conclusion sections. The main text should be less than 2000 words with a maximum 20 references.

Tables: All tables should be submitted as separate files and in Word format. Tables should be cited consecutively in the text. Every table must have a descriptive title and if numerical measurements are given, the units should be included in the column heading.

Figure legends: They should be placed below the reference list and numbered according to their consecutive order in the main text.

Figures and Images: They should be provided after the reference list according to their order of appearance in the text and should be limited to four.

Editorial Comment
Authors are selected and invited by the Editors. This type of manuscript aims at providing a brief commentary on an article published in the journal by a researcher who is an authority in the relevant field or by the reviewer of the article.

Title
Main Text: It should not include subheadings and should be limited to 1000 words.

References: The reference list should follow the main text and the number of references should be limited by 15.
Abstract, Keywords, Tables, Figures, Images and other visuals are not included in editorial comments.
The title should also be provided in Turkish for works submitted by Turkish authors or from Turkey. The title of the manuscripts submitted by foreign authors outside Turkey will not be translated into Turkish.

Review Article
Reviews prepared by authors with extensive knowledge on a particular field, which has been reflected in international literature by a high number of publications and citations, are evaluated. The authors may be invited by the Editors. A review should be prepared in the format describing, discussing and evaluating the current level of knowledge or topic that is to be used in the clinical practice and it should guide further studies.

Title
Abstract: It should be unstructured and not include subheadings and should be limited to 250 words.

Keywords: This section should contain a minimum of three and a maximum of six items in accordance with Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms prepared by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and should be provided just below the abstract.

Main Text: It should include Introduction, other subheadings and Conclusion sections and should be limited to 5000 words excluding the references.

References: The reference list should be placed just below the main text and the number of references should not exceed 50.

Tables: All tables should be submitted as separate files and in Word format. Tables should be cited consecutively in the text. Every table must have a descriptive title and if numerical measurements are given, the units should be included in the column heading.

Figure legends: They should be placed below the reference list and numbered according to their consecutive order in the main text.

Figures and Images: They should be provided after the reference list according to their order of appearance in the text and should be limited to ten.

For reviews submitted by Turkish authors or from Turkey, Title, Abstract and Keywords should also be provided in Turkish. For reviews submitted by foreign authors outside Turkey, will not be translated into Turkish.

Case Report
Journal will accept case reports which are related to rare cases and conditions that constitute challenges in diagnosis and treatment, offer new methods or suggest knowledge not included in books, and are interesting and educational.

Title
Abstract: It should be unstructured and not include subheadings and should be limited to 150 words.

Main Text: It should include Introduction, Case Report, Discussion and Conclusion sections and should not exceed 1500 words excluding the abstract and references.

References: The reference list should follow the main text and the number of references should be limited to 15.

Tables: All tables should be submitted as separate files and in Word format. Tables should be cited consecutively in the text. Every table must have a descriptive title and if numerical measurements are given, the units should be included in the column heading.

Figure legends: They should be placed below the reference list and numbered according to their consecutive order in the main text.

Figures and Images: They should be provided after the reference list according to their order of appearance in the text and should be limited to four. For manuscripts in English submitted by Turkish authors or from Turkey, Title, Structured Abstract and Keywords should also be provided in Turkish. However, translations of these sections for manuscripts submitted by foreign authors outside Turkey will be the responsibility of the Journal.

Original Image
Impressive and rare images that reflect significant findings based on clinical science, shed light on fundamental mechanisms of diseases, emphasize abnormalities or introduce new treatment methods are accepted for publication.
Title

Main Text: It should not include subheadings and it should be limited to 500 words.

Tables, Figures and Images: They should be provided after the main text according to their order of appearance in the text and should be limited to four.

Abstract, Keywords and References are not included.
For manuscripts in English submitted by Turkish authors or from Turkey, Title, Structured Abstract and Keywords should also be provided in Turkish. However, translations of these sections for manuscripts submitted by foreign authors outside Turkey will be the responsibility of the Journal.

Letter to the Editor
Letters to the Editor aim to discuss the importance of a manuscript previously published in the journal. This type of manuscripts should also include a comment on the published manuscript. Moreover, articles on topics of interest to readers within the scope of the journal, especially on educational issues, can be published in the format of a Letter to the Editor.

Title
Main Text: It should not include subheadings and it should be limited to 1000 words.

References: The reference list should follow the main text and the number of references should be limited to five. The volume, year, issue, page numbers, authors ’ names and title of the manuscript should be clearly stated, included in the list of references and cited within the text.

Abstract, Keywords, Tables, Figures and Images, and other visuals are not included.

For manuscripts in English submitted by Turkish authors or from Turkey, Title, Structured Abstract and Keywords should also be provided in Turkish. However, translations of these sections for manuscripts submitted by foreign authors outside Turkey will be the responsibility of the Journal.

B. References
References should be numbered in the order in which they are cited within the main text.
Only manuscripts published or accepted for publication should be cited.
Recent publications related to the topic of the manuscript should be reviewed.
References that are inaccessible and not indexed in any database should not be cited.
The titles of journals should be abbreviated in accordance with (Patrias K. Citing medicine: the NLM style guide for authors, editors, and publishers [Internet]. 2nd ed. Wendling DL, technical editor. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); 2007 - [updated 2011 Sep 15; cited Year Month Day].

For references with six and fewer authors, all authors should be listed. For references with more than six authors, the first six authors should be listed, followed by ‘et al ’. In the text they should be cited with Arabic numerals between parentheses.
The style and punctuation of the references should be formatted as in the following examples.

Journal Article: Þahin B, Akyol M, Özdoðan F, Özel HE and Genç S. Comparison of Bone Cement and Incus Transposition Outcomes in Repair of Incus Long Arm Defects. Kocaeli Med J. 2020; 9(3): 1-7.

Book: Jenkins PF. Making sense of the chest x-ray: a hands-on guide. New York: Oxford University Press; 2005. 194 p.

Book Chapter: Riffenburgh RH. Statistics in medicine. 2nd ed. Amsterdam (Netherlands): Elsevier Academic Press; c2006. Chapter 24, Regression and correlation methods; p.447-86.

Conference Paper: Rice AS, Farquhar-Smith WP, Bridges D, Brooks JW. Canabinoids and pain. In: Dostorovsky JO, Carr DB, Koltzenburg M, editors. Proceedings of the 10th World Congress on Pain; 2002 Aug 17-22; San Diego, CA. Seattle (WA): IASP Press; c2003. p. 437-68.

Scientific or Technical Report: Page E, Harney JM. Health hazard evaluation report. Cincinnati (OH): National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (US); 2001 Feb. 24 p. Report No.: HETA2000-0139-2824.

Thesis: Kaplan SI. Jones DL. The role of physical activity on the need for revision total knee arthroplasty in individuals with osteoarthritis of the knee [dissertation]. [Pittsburgh (PA)]: University of Pittsburgh; 2001. 436 p.

Manuscripts accepted for publication but not published yet: Tian D, Araki H, Stahl E, Bergelson J, Kreitman M. Signature of balancing selection in Arabidopsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Forthcoming 2002.

Epub ahead of print articles: Kording KP, Mensh B. Ten simple rules for structuring papers. BioRxiv [Preprint]. 2016 bioRxiv 088278 [posted 2016 Nov 28; revised 2016 Dec 14; revised 2016 Dec 15; cited 2017 Feb 9]: [12 p.]. Available from: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/11/28/088278 doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/088278

Journal article on the Internet: Abood S. Quality improvement initiative in nursing homes: the ANA acts in an advisory role. Am J Nurs [Internet]. 2002 Jun [cited 2002 Aug 12];102(6):[about 1 p.]. Available from: http://www.nursingworld.org/AJN/2002/june/Wawatch.htmArticle
For other reference styles, please refer to https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html

C. Special Terms and Conditions
For double-blinded peer-review process, the names of the corresponding author and other authors, their affiliations and any information on the study centers should not be included in any part of the submitted manuscripts and images, except the Title Page. This information should be added to the relevant section of the online submission system and included in the Title Page.

Pharmaceutical products should be written with their generic names and brand and company names, city and country should be specified for medical equipment and devices.

3. Tables, Graphs and Figures
Tables, Graphs, Figures and other visuals should be numbered in the order of their citation within the text and names of patients, doctors and institutions should not be disclosed.

Tables should be prepared in a Microsoft Office Word document using the command ‘Insert Table’ and inserted at the end of the references in the main text.

Tables should not be submitted in JPEG, TIFF or other visual formats. For microscopic images, the magnification ratio and staining technique used should be specified in addition to figure legends.

NOTE: All visuals should have a high resolution (minimum 300 dpi).

The thickness of the lines in graphs should be sufficient to minimize loss of quality if size reduction is needed during the printing process. The width of the graphs should be 9 cm or 18 cm. Drawings should be performed by professionals. No grey colors should be used.
Abbreviations should be explained in alphabetical order at the bottom of the tables, graphs and figures.
Roman numbers should be avoided in tables and figures within the text and their titles.

Decimal numbers used in text, tables and figures should be separated by commas in Turkish sections and by dots in English sections.
Tables should be easily understandable and should not repeat the data in the main text.

In addition to the pictures included in case reports and original images, video and movie images are published on the journal’s website. These images should be prepared in MPEG format with a maximum size of 2 MB. They should be submitted to the journal with the manuscript documents. The names of patients, doctors, institutions and places should be omitted from all documents.