Instructions to Authors
Writing Guide
Double-Blind Review And Evaluation Process
The decision to publish all articles submitted to the journal belongs to the editor in chief. However, editors shape these decisions in line with the reviewers' recommendations.
The double blind review process is the process of evaluating the work completely anonymously. In this system, only the editor knows each stage. In this system 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 get contact with 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 the equal opportunity.
For these reasons, all studies submitted to Comprehensive Medicine are subject to double-blind review. At least two reviewers expert in their fields, will evaluate each submitted work. Every effort is spent by the editors for 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 which do not comply with the publication rules and the publication policy of the journal 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 field editors. Field editors examine summary, introduction, material / method, discussion and conclusion sections of the manuscript as well as its scientific, and formal conformity to the writing rules of the journal. As a result of this review, manuscripts which are found suitable are taken into the process of reviewers’ evaluation.
Reviewers’ Evaluation Process
According to the content of the manuscript, at least two expert reviewers who had current studies in the relevant field are determined. Suggestions of the field editor regarding the selection of reviewers are appraised by the chief editor, 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 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 results of correction coming from the authors are reexamined by the reviewers and their decisions are reported to the editor. In case of disagreement between the assigned reviewers, the manuscript is sent to a designated third reviewer.
Statistical Analysis
Manuscripts deemed appropriate for publication by the reviewers are sent to the statistical editor. Articles that are approved by the statistical editor are accepted for publication
Publication Printing 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.
Checklist For Authors
Make sure that name of the author (s), information about the institution thank you letter about ethics committee etc. are not included in the study. This issue is important according to the ‘double- blind review principle’ concerning the evaluation process of your work so that it can be dealt with impartially.
You should not forget that your study will be subject to plagiarism audit if it is deemed to be adequate and appropriate in terms of the subject and you should avoid making quotations that will be covered by plagiarism when preparing the work
If your article is derived from a study, a thesis, abstract of a case report, poster, etc. be sure to cite it in a footnote and specify its date.
Please fill out the form and upload it to the system, as you cannot proceed to the next step without uploading the copyright transfer form to your system. It is sufficient to communicate it in the online system, you do not need to communicate this information in printed form.
If your work has been returned to you for revision, and you have made a change in the title and summary of your work, please update it during preparation of the article
There cannot be any changes in your article once its published. Therefore we advise you strongly to examine your article carefully when last check e-mail sent to you and if there is any neccesary revisions you have to make please send them to us before the journal is published.
Manuscript Preparation
Click for Copyright Transfer Form.
Table 1. Limitations for each manuscript type
|
Type of manuscript |
Word limit |
Abstract word limit |
Reference limit |
Table limit |
Figure limit |
Original article |
3000-3500 |
250 (Structured) |
30 |
6 |
6 |
Review |
4000 |
250 |
40 |
6 |
6 |
Case report |
1500 |
150 (Structured) |
15 |
1 |
3 |
Letter to the editor |
500 |
No abstract |
5 |
No tables |
No figures |
"Comprehensive Medicine" is the periodical of the Ministry of Health, Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Training and Research Hospital, published 3 times a year. Original research articles, case reports, reviews, and announcements of events such as panels and congresses covering gynecology, obstetrics, pediatrics, pediatric surgery and basic medical sciences are also published in the journal.
Manuscripts submitted to the journal must not have been published and accepted in another journal. Studies reported in congresses and scientific meetings and published as abstracts can be accepted provided that they are stated.
The articles whose formal correspondence is checked are sent to the evaluation of 2 reviewers by the editor.
In their cover letter addressed to the editor, the authors should state that all authors contribute to the article academically and scientifically and share the scientific and ethical responsibility of the article. Only articles submitted online will be considered. By registering on www.journalagent.com/cm/, writing and tracking can be completed.
After it is sent to the journal for publication, none of the authors can be deleted from the list of authors without the written consent of all authors, no new name can be added as an author, and the order of authors cannot be changed.
Scientific Responsibility
All of the mentioned aouthors in the journal must have directly contributed to the article. These authors must have work plan, write articles, revise, make statistical evolution or accept the final confirmation should be sent.
Statistical evolution of data is done with the examination of the hypothesis in the research articles. If the statistical evolution is done, the amount of findings and wrong measurement must be specified or confidence intervals should be indicated by the appropriate values. Statistical concepts, abbreviations and symbols must be defined. One of the responsibility of authors is the compliance with scientific rules of the articles.
Declaration of Artificial Intelligence (AI)–Assisted Technology in Scientific Writing
At submission, authors should disclose whether they used artificial intelligence (AI)– assisted technologies (such as Large Language Models [LLMs], chatbots, or image creators) in the production of submitted work. Authors who use such technology should describe, in both the Title Page and the submitted work, how they used it. Use of AI for writing assistance should be reported in the acknowledgment section. Authors who used AI technology to conduct the study should describe its use in the methods section in sufficient detail to enable replication to the approach, including the tool used, version, and prompts where applicable. Chatbots (such as ChatGPT) and AI assisted technologies should not be listed as an author or co-author nor cited because they cannot be responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work, and these responsibilities are required for authorship. Therefore, humans are responsible for any submitted material that included the use of AI-assisted technologies. Authors should carefully review and edit the result because AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete, or biased. Authors should be able to assert that there is no plagiarism in their paper, including in text and images produced by the AI. Humans must ensure there is appropriate attribution of all quoted material, including full citations.
Ethical Responsibility
By informing the people from whom the study was conducted that the approval and support of the ethics or supervisory board of the institutions were obtained or that the principles of human experimentation determined in the Helsinki Agreement (http://www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.htm) adopted in 1975 were followed or not, consent should be stated in the MATERIALS AND METHODS section of the article.
If animals are used in the study, the authors must state in the same section that they protect animal rights in their work and have received approval from the ethics committees of their institutions.
If there is a direct or indirect commercial link or an institution/company that provides financial support for the study, the authors must state on the front page what kind of commercial relationship they have with the commercial product, medicine, company (consultant, other agreements).
The compliance of the articles with the ethical rules is the responsibility of the authors.
Assesment in terms of writing language
The publication language of the journal is English. A Turkish title, abstract and keywords are also required.
Preparation of Manuscript
A separate Title Page should be submitted with all manuscripts 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, affiliation(s), ORCID ID, and highest academic degree(s) of the author(s),
- Details of any grant or other sources of support,
- Name, address, telephone (including mobile phone number) and fax numbers, and email address of the corresponding author,
- Acknowledgment of the individuals who contributed to the preparation of the manuscript but who do not fulfill authorship criteria.
- Authors should disclose whether they used artificial intelligence (AI)– assisted technologies (such as Large Language Models [LLMs], chatbots, or image creators) in the production of submitted work. Authors should assert that there is no plagiarism in their paper, including in text and images produced by the AI -if any- and must ensure there is appropriate attribution of all quoted material, including full citations.Authors who used AI technology to conduct the study should describe its use in the methods section in sufficient detail.
Manuscripts must be written on seperate pages and observed in the following order below;
Page1, Title, Full Title, Approved Financial Support
Page2, Summary and Keywords: The purpose, planning, setup, patient’s results, conclusions must be written under main headings and should not exceed 250 words. 3-10 keywords should be defined under the summary. Keywords at scientific articles must be selected from Turkey Science Terms or PubMed>MeSH these rules must be strictly observed. For this purpose, http://www.bilimterimleri.com internet adress should be used.
Page 3, English title, abstract and keywords will be prepared. This page will include page 3’s properties. This page will be used by foreign indexes. Keywords must be compatible with PubMed>MeSH.
Page 4, After the summary done, following sections below should be included to article, each as a seperate sheet.
Introduction
In the first two paragraphs, the background of the study should be summarized, and in the third paragraph, the reason for the current study should be stated by referring to the previous studies on the subject studied.
Materials and Methods
The date range of the study, the centres where it was conducted, the materials and methods used in the study should be adequately described. Authors who used AI technology to conduct the study should describe its use in this section in sufficient detail to enable replication to the approach, including the tool used, version, and prompts where applicable.
Results
Except for descriptive information (such as age, gender), any finding not included in the discussion should not be written in this section.
Findings should be summarized in a comprehensible way, independent of the table, and the analysis results should be written independently of the text. The text and tables should not be a repetition of each other.
Data (variables) must be presented with measurement accuracy.
For example, if the bodyweight value range is 34-91, its average should be 73 ± 31, not 72.6 ± 30.48.
Period “.” as decimal separator. Should be used, (8.4).
“L” should be used to express litres (mL, dL, L etc.).
The decimal values ??of the variables (2 decimals for the last <1 from the dot; 1 decimal for >1<10;
For example, it should be written as 0.98, 9.8, 98, respectively.
A decimal point should not be given when giving the percentages of groups with a case number of <200, 1 for >200.
Decimal should be given.
79%, > 200 79.2%, 79.2% (with “%” at the end of the numbers in English texts; 79%).
Space should be left before, and after the “±” “-” sign (8.4 ± 1.1), space should be left before the parenthesis sign, 73 (20).
• Italicized, CAPITAL “P” values should be given in text and tables; If correlation analysis has been made, the “r” value should be written before the P-value.
P <0.05 should not be used with signs in findings and tables.
If the exception statistical analysis method is used, only that should be written under the table.
The written values ??and the statistical comparison results should be compatible with each other.
Discussion
The order of materials-methods and findings should be preserved in the discussion and abstracts and arranged in this order.
The meaning of the findings should be compared with previous studies in the order of the findings one by one in separate paragraphs, and the directly related ones together in certain aspects, in separate paragraphs if necessary.
Therefore, when planning the study, a small number of the most important findings should be focused on and included.
Before the conclusion part of the discussion, the deficiencies of the study should be expressed.
Result(s) (Conclusion(s))
In a few sentences, the result of the study is expressed. It should be consistent with those in the abstracts and contain only the results of the study.
Thanks
People who participated in the study intellectually but did not participate in terms of authorship and their functions can be written here. For example, “scientific consultant”, “biostatistician”, “data collector”, or “clinician”. Permission must be obtained from these persons to write their names. Authors are responsible for obtaining written permissions.
Tables
Separate pages should be double-spaced, and the numbers should be titled and numbered according to the order in the subject. Tables should not be presented as photographs. Each column should be given a short title.
A column must be opened for the P-value.
Explanatory information should be given in footnotes, not in the title. The following symbols should be used for footnotes; a, b, c, d, e, f.
Tables should be prepared in Microsoft Word and uploaded as a separate Word file.
The guidelines in the tables should appear; single horizontal lines should be drawn at the top, under the column headings and at the bottom.
Horizontal and vertical lines should not be used between rows and columns in tables.
The number of tables should be prepared to contain the minimum number of possible information, and there should not be more than necessary or divided tables.
Tables and results should not contain more than necessary numbers.
Table Examples
Table 1. Results of groups. Data are mean ± SD and median (IQR).
|
|
Study group (n = …) |
Control group (n = …) |
P |
|
Male gender (%) |
52 |
51 |
0.836 |
|
Age (year) |
74 (38-82) |
70 (39-88) |
0.736a |
|
Variable A (mg/dL) |
98 ± 7.6 |
76 ± 5 |
0.045 |
|
Variable B (IU/L) |
9.8 ± 0.7 |
7.6 ± 0.5 |
0.041 |
|
Variable C (ng/mL) |
0.98 ± 0.07 |
0.76 ± 0.05 |
0.039 |
• aMann-Whitney U test
Figures: Figures must be carefully professionally drawn and photographed; hand-drawn or book-letter printing is not acceptable. Letters or identifying marks should be clear, and the font size should be fixed for each image. Capital letters should be used for descriptions in a picture. Symbols, inscriptions and numbers must be understandable to be legible even when reduced for printing. Titles and detailed descriptions should be in the text of the picture, not in the drawing itself. Pictures must be uploaded to the system as a separate file (in .jpg format) from the word document.
Abbreviations: The first occurrence of the word in the text is given in parentheses, and that abbreviation is used throughout the text. Sentence and paragraph beginnings do not start with abbreviations and numbers.
Explanatory information: Double-spaced sequentially on a separate page.
Permissions: Materials obtained from other sources must be supported by a written statement by the copyright holder who permitted the journal.
References
At the end of the text, references should be written on a separate page, double-spaced.
References should be numbered from smallest to largest, starting from the first place in the text.
The references mentioned for the first time in the tables and pictures must be specified in the text in which the table or picture is explained. Reference numbers should be written in square brackets.
Presentation, unpublished observations, personal evaluations should not be used as a source. Non-verbal written references (in parentheses) may be written. For articles that have been accepted as a source but have not been published, the journal should be indicated, and the expression "[Epub ahead of print.]" should be added. Sources should be verified from the original documents of the authors. The titles of the journals should be made according to the abbreviations specified in Index Medicus. All authors in the article should be written, but if the number is 6 or more, the first 6 authors should be written, and "et al." should be written in English articles.
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 cited in the text
References cited in the text should be numbered in order of their use in the text, and the list of references should be presented accordingly. The number of the reference should be indicated in paranthesis and as a superscript. If more than one reference is used, then a comma (,) should be placed between references.
Sample cited statements in the text:
Care provided by nurses is especially important in the diagnosis, and prevention of malnutrition, in the 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 the knowledge level, and approaches of Canadian nurses concerning nutritional problems of inpatients. In their study, they indicated that nurses failed to evaluate nutritional state of the patients adequately, and effectively which was attributed to inadequate number of auxillary 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 (ie: Index Medicus, Medline, Pubmed, Web of Science, TR Dizin, etc.), and if available, DOI numbers should be absolutely added. For abbreviations of the titles of the journals, please see the list of the journals published by NLM in website (http://bit.ly/2lJkey3). If 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 , then 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 are less than or equal to 6, then 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(1):82-8. doi: 10.4037/ccn2015701.
If the number of authors are 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 has not any DOI number then 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(3):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.
Chapter in a 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.
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_tr 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
Elektronik report:
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.
Articles of journal: These articles should be prepared for not to exceed 10 A4 pages. (including summary, table, figure, resources)
Case Reports: Case reports must be brief, informative, should not exceed 5 pages and consist of 1(one) table or figure, introduction, case report, discussion and resource section.
Reviews: Subjects belonging the content’s of the journal must be up to date and include latest innovations, should not exceed 10 A4 page, maximum 50 resources and must be approved by editors.
Post to editor: This section contains criticism of the recently published article in the journal. Letter should be brief, summary (not to exceed 400 words), double spaced and maximum 5 resources. Letters and responses must be suitble with journal’s format. Detailed adres, telefone , fax number and e-mail adres must be defined with the article.
Editor has the right to abbreviate letters and make other changes fort o match journal’s format.
Corrections: Corrections will be sent to the responsible author in case of no other explanation made. After the necessary revisions made by the consultant, rearranged article, where the suggested corrections are done, If rearrangement is not done “Edditional Response” including justification of articles with letters, all mentioned above will be sent back to the journal. Changes made during the correction, except spelling mistakes is the responsibility of authors.
Accepted manuscripts are copy-edited for grammar, punctuation, format, and clarity. Artificial intelligence technology is partially used in the English language correction of articles. A PDF proof of the manuscript is sent to the corresponding author and their publication approval is requested within 2 days of receipt of the proof.
Submission And Retraction Of The Manuscripts
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 it into our journal management system at www.journalagent.com/cm
Paying attention to the items in the checklist for authors prior to uploading will speed up the publication process of your work.
Article Withdrawal: As per our publication policies, the author of the article has to cooperate with editor of the journal in withdrawal procedures.
The author, who wants to withdraw his / her work during the evaluation process, should submit the petition containing his / her rationale to the editorial board electronically or in a printed wet signed form indicating that all authors have approved the withdrawal.
The Editorial Board scrutinizes the incoming request and returns to the author within ten days. If the copyright of the article was transferred to the İstanbul Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Hospital during submissİon process, the author can not send the work to another journal for evaluation unless the request for withdrawal of this work is approved.
