INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

The Turkish Journal of Hematology accepts invited review articles, research articles, brief reports, letters to the editor, and hematological images that are relevant to the scope of hematology, on the condition that they have not been previously published elsewhere. Basic science manuscripts, such as randomized, cohort, cross-sectional, and case control studies, are given preference. All manuscripts are subject to editorial revision to ensure they conform to the style adopted by the journal. There is a double blind kind of reviewing system.

Manuscripts should be prepared according to ICMJE guidelines. Original manuscripts require a structured abstract. Label each section of the structured abstract with the appropriate subheading (Objective, Materials and Methods, Results, and Conclusion). Letters to the editor do not require an abstract. Research or project support should be acknowledged as a footnote on the title page. Technical and other assistance should be provided on the title page.

Submissions and publication are free of charge.

Original Manuscripts

Title Page
Title: The title should provide important information regarding the manuscript’s content. The title must specify that the study is a cohort study, cross-sectional study, case control study, or randomized study (i.e. Cao GY, Li KX, Jin PF, Yue XY, Yang C, Hu X. Comparative bioavailability of ferrous succinate tablet formulations without correction for baseline circadian changes in iron concentration in healthy Chinese male subjects: A single-dose, randomized, 2-period crossover study. Clin Ther. 2011; 33: 2054-2059).

The title page should include the authors’ names, degrees, and institutional/professional affiliations, a short title, abbreviations, keywords, financial disclosure statement, and conflict of interest statement. If a manuscript includes authors from more than one institution, each author’s name should be followed by a superscript number that corresponds to their institution, which is listed separately. Please provide contact information for the corresponding author, including name, e-mail address, and telephone and fax numbers.

Important Notice: The title page should be submitted separately.

Running Head: The running head should not be more than 40 characters, including spaces, and should be located at the bottom of the title page.

Word Count: A word count for the manuscript, excluding abstract, acknowledgments, figure and table legends, and references, should be provided not exceed 2500 words. The word count for an abstract should be not exceed 300 words.

Conflict-of-Interest Statement: To prevent potential conflicts of interest from being overlooked, this statement must be included in each manuscript. In case there are conflicts of interest, every author should complete the ICMJE general declaration form.

Abstract and Keywords: The second page should include an abstract that does not exceed 300 words. For manuscripts sent by authors in Türkiye, a title and abstract in Turkish are also required. As most readers read the abstract first, it is critically important. Moreover, as various electronic databases integrate only abstracts into their index, important findings should be presented in the abstract. 

Objective: The abstract should state the objective (the purpose of the study and hypothesis) and summarize the rationale for the study.

Materials and Methods: Important methods should be written respectively.

Results: Important findings and results should be provided here.

Conclusion: The study’s new and important findings should be highlighted and interpreted.

Other types of manuscripts, such as reviews, perspectives, and editorials, will be published according to uniform requirements. Provide 3-10 keywords below the abstract to assist indexers. Use terms from the Index Medicus Medical Subject Headings List

(for randomized studies a CONSORT abstract should be provided (http://www.consort-statement.org).

Introduction: The introduction should include an overview of the relevant literature presented in summary form (one page), and what ever remains interesting, unique, problematic, relevant, or unknown about the topic must be specified. The introduction should conclude with the rationale for the study, its design, and its objective(s).

Materials and Methods: Clearly describe the selection of observational or experimental participants, such as patients, laboratory animals, and controls, including inclusion and exclusion criteria and a description of the source population. Identify the methods and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other researchers to reproduce your results. Provide references to established methods (including statistical methods), provide references to brief modified methods, and provide the rationale for using them and an evaluation of their limitations. Identify all drugs and chemicals used, including generic names, doses, and routes of administration. The section should include only information that was available at the time the plan or protocol for the study was devised (https://www.strobe-statement.org/fileadmin/Strobe/uploads/checklists/STROBE_checklist_v4_combined.pdf).

Statistics: Describe the statistical methods used in enough detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the reported results. Statistically important data should be given in the text, tables and figures. Provide details about randomization, describe treatment complications, provide the number of observations, and specify all computer programs used.

Results: Present your results in logical sequence in the text, tables, and figures. Do not present all the data provided in the tables and/or figures in the text; emphasize and/or summarize only important findings, results, and observations in the text. For clinical studies provide the number of samples, cases, and controls included in the study. Discrepancies between the planned number and obtained number of participants should be explained. Comparisons, and statistically important values (i.e. P value and confidence interval) should be provided.

Discussion: This section should include a discussion of the data. New and important findings/results, and the conclusions they lead to should be emphasized. Link the conclusions with the goals of the study, but avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not completely supported by the data. Do not repeat the findings/results in detail; important findings/results should be compared with those of similar studies in the literature, along with a summarization. In other words, similarities or differences in the obtained findings/results with those previously reported should be discussed.

Study Limitations: Limitations of the study should be detailed. In addition, an evaluation of the implications of the obtained findings/results for future research should be outlined. 

Conclusion: The conclusion of the study should be highlighted.

References
Cite references in the text, tables, and figures with numbers in parentheses. Number references consecutively according to the order in which they first appear in the text. Journal titles should be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus (consult List of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus). Include among the references any paper accepted, but not yet published, designating the journal and followed by, in press.

Examples of References:
1. List all authors.
Deeg HJ, O’Donnel M, Tolar J. Optimization of conditioning for marrow transplantation from unrelated donors for patients with aplastic anemia after failure immunosuppressive therapy. Blood. 2006;108:1485-1491.
2. Organization as author
Royal Marsden Hospital Bone Marrow Transplantation Team. Failure of syngeneic bone marrow graft without preconditioning in post-hepatitis marrow aplasia. Lancet. 1977;2:742-744.
3. Book
Wintrobe MM. Clinical Hematology, 5th ed. Philadelphia, Lea & Febiger, 1961.
4. Book Chapter
Perutz MF. Molecular anatomy and physiology of hemoglobin. In: Steinberg MH, Forget BG, Higs DR, Nagel RI, (eds). Disorders of Hemoglobin: Genetics, Pathophysiology, Clinical Management. New York, Cambridge University Press, 2000.
5. Abstract
Drachman JG, Griffin JH, Kaushansky K. The c-Mpl ligand (thrombopoietin) stimulates tyrosine phosphorylation. Blood. 1994;84:390a (abstract).
6. Letter to the Editor
Rao PN, Hayworth HR, Carroll AJ, Bowden DW, Pettenati MJ. Further definition of 20q deletion in myeloid leukemia using fluorescence in situ hybridization. Blood. 1994;84:2821-2823.
7. Supplement
Alter BP. Fanconi’s anemia, transplantation, and cancer. Pediatr Transplant. 2005;9(Suppl 7):81-86

Brief Reports
Abstract length: Not to exceed 150 words.
Article length: Not to exceed 1200 words.
Introduction: State the purpose and summarize the rationale for the study.
Materials and Methods: Clearly describe the selection of the observational or experimental participants. Identify the methods and procedures in sufficient detail. Provide references to established methods (including statistical methods), provide references to brief modified methods, and provide the rationale for their use and an evaluation of their limitations. Identify all drugs and chemicals used, including generic names, doses, and routes of administration.
Statistics: Describe the statistical methods used in enough detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the reported findings/results. Provide details about randomization, describe treatment complications, provide the number of observations, and specify all computer programs used.
Results: Present the findings/results in a logical sequence in the text, tables, and figures. Do not repeat all the findings/results in the tables and figures in the text; emphasize and/or summarize only those that are most important.
Discussion: Highlight the new and important findings/results of the study and the conclusions they lead to. Link the conclusions with the goals of the study, but avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not completely supported by your data.

Invited Review Articles
Abstract length: Not to exceed 300 words.
Article length: Not to exceed 4000 words.
Review articles should not include more than 100 references. Reviews should include a conclusion, in which a new hypothesis or study about the subject may be posited. Do not publish methods for literature search or level of evidence. Authors who will prepare review articles should already have published research articles on therel evant subject. The study’s new and important findings should be highlighted and interpreted in the Conclusion section. There should be a maximum of two authors for review articles.

Review articles are solicited by the Editor in Chief. Authors wishing to submit an unsolicited Review Article should contact the Editor in Chief prior to submission in order to screen the proposed topic for relevance and priority.

Perspectives in Hematology
“Perspectives” are articles discussing significant topics relevant to hematology. They are more personal than a Review Article. Authors wishing to submit a Perspective in Hematology article should contact the Editor in Chief prior to submission in order to screen the proposed topic for relevance and priority. Articles submitted for “Perspectives in Hematology” must advance the hot subjects of experimental and/or clinical hematology beyond the articles previously published or in press in TJH. Perspective papers should meet the restrictive criteria of TJH regarding unique scientific and/or educational value, which will impact and enhance clinical hematology practice or the diagnostic understanding of blood diseases. Priority will be assigned to such manuscripts based upon the prominence, significance, and timeliness of the content. The submitting author must already be an expert with a recognized significant published scientific experience in the specific field related to the “Perspectives” article. There should be a maximum of two authors for perspectives.
Abstract length: Not to exceed 150 words.
Article length: Not to exceed 1000 words.
References: Should not include more than 50 references.

Images in Hematology
Article length: Not exceed 200 words. 
Authors can submit for consideration an illustration and photos that is interesting, instructive, and visually attractive, along with a few lines of explanatory text and references. Images in Hematology can include no more than 200 words of text, 5 references, and 3 figure or table. No abstract, discussion or conclusion are required but please include a brief title.

Letters to the Editor
Article length: Not to exceed 500 words.
Letters can include no more than 500 words of text, 5-10 references, and 1 figure or table. No abstract is required, but please include a brief title. The total number is usually limited to a maximum of five authors for a letter to the editor.

Tables
Supply each table on a separate file. Number tables according to the order in which they appear in the text, and supply a brief caption for each. Give each column a short or abbreviated heading. Write explanatory statistical measures of variation, such as standard deviation or standard error of mean. Be sure that each table is cited in the text.

Figures
Figures should be professionally drawn and/or photographed. Authors should number figures according to the order in which they appear in the text. Figures include graphs, charts, photographs, and illustrations. Each figure should be accompanied by a legend that does not exceed 50 words. Use abbreviations only if they have been introduced in the text. Authors are also required to provide the level of magnification for histological slides. Explain the internal scale and identify the staining method used.  Figures should be submitted as separate files, not in the text file. High-resolution image files are not preferred for initial submission as the file sizes may be too large. The total file size of the PDF for peer review should not exceed 5 MB.

Authorship
Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to assume public responsibility for the content. Any portion of a manuscript that is critical to its main conclusions must be the responsibility of at least 1 author.

Contributor’s Statement
All submissions should contain a contributor’s statement page. Each manuscript should contain substantial contributions to idea and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of findings. All persons designated as an author should qualify for authorship, and all those that qualify should be listed. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take responsibility for appropriate portions of the text.

Acknowledgments
Acknowledge support received from individuals, organizations, grants, corporations, and any other source. For work involving a biomedical product or potential product partially or wholly supported by corporate funding, a note stating, “This study was financially supported (in part) with funds provided by (company name) to (authors’ initials)”, must be included. Grant support, if received, needs to be stated and the specific granting institutions’ names and grant numbers provided when applicable.
Authors are expected to disclose on the title page any commercial or other associations that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted manuscript. All funding sources that supported the work and the institutional and/or corporate affiliations of the authors should be acknowledged on the title page.

Conditions of Publication
All authors are required to affirm the following statements before their manuscript is considered:  1. The manuscript is being submitted only to The Turkish Journal of Hematology; 2. The manuscript will not be submitted elsewhere while under consideration by The Turkish Journal of Hematology; 3. The manuscript has not been published elsewhere, and should it be published in The Turkish Journal of Hematology it will not be published elsewhere without the permission of the editors (these restrictions do not apply to abstracts or to press reports for presentations at scientific meetings); 4. All authors are responsible for the manuscript’s content; 5. All authors participated in the study concept and design, analysis and interpretation of the data, drafting or revising of the manuscript, and have approved the manuscript as submitted. In addition, all authors are required to disclose any professional affiliation, financial agreement, or other involvement with any company whose product figures prominently in the submitted manuscript.

Authors of accepted manuscripts will receive electronic page proofs and are responsible for proofreading and checking the entire article within two days. Failure to return the proof in two days will delay publication. If the authors cannot be reached by email or telephone within two weeks, the manuscript will be rejected and will not be published in the journal.

Copyright
At the time of submission all authors will receive instructions for submitting an online copyright form. No manuscript will be considered for review until all authors have completed their copyright form. Please note, it is our practice not to accept copyright forms via fax, e-mail, or postal service unless there is a problem with the online author accounts that cannot be resolved. Every effort should be made to use the online copyright system. Corresponding authors can log in to the submission system at any time to check the status of any co-author’s copyright form.

Note: We cannot accept any copyright that has been altered, revised, amended, or otherwise changed. Our original copyright form must be used as is.

Author Rights: 
Authors can use their articles, in full or in part, for scholarly, non-commercial purposes and with the condition of attribution such as:

• Use by an author in the author’s classroom education (including distribution of documents, paper or electronic)
• Distribution of documents (including through e-mail) to known research colleagues for their personal use (but not for Commercial Use)
• Inclusion in a thesis or dissertation (provided that this is not to be published commercially)
• Use in a subsequent compilation of the author’s work.
• Preparation of other derivative works (but not for Commercial Use)
• Otherwise using or re-using portions or excerpts in other works.

Units of Measurement
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.
An extensive list of conversion factors can be found at https://www.nist.gov/itl/ssd/software-quality-group/metrics-and-measures#Metrics_vs._Measures. For more details, see https://www.amamanualofstyle.com/page/si-conversion-calculator.  Example for CBC.

Abbreviations and Symbols
Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid abbreviations in the title and abstract. The full term for an abbreviation should precede its first use in the text, unless it is a standard abbreviation. All acronyms used in the text should be expanded at first mention, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses; thereafter the acronym only should appear in the text. Acronyms may be used in the abstract if they occur 3 or more times therein, but must be reintroduced in the body of the text. Generally, abbreviations should be limited to those defined in the AMA Manual of Style, current edition. A list of each abbreviation (and the corresponding full term) used in the manuscript must be provided on the title page.

Search Engine Optimization Policy
Authors should follow the guideline to enhance the visibility of their articles.
Keywords should consist of terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). MeSH is a standardized index of subject headings used in medical literature and is recommended by many international journals for selecting keywords.

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html

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 Turkish Journal of Hematology 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.

Online Manuscript Submission Process
The Turkish Journal of Hematology uses submission software powered by ScholarOne. The website for submissions to The Turkish Journal of Hematology is https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tjh. This system is quick and convenient, both for authors and reviewers.

Setting up an account
New users to the submission site will need to register and enter their account details before they can submit a manuscript. Log in, or click the “Create Account” button if you are a first-time user. To create a new account: After clicking the “Create Account” button, enter your name and e-mail address, and then click the “Next” button. Your e-mail address is very important. Enter your institution and address information, as appropriate, and then click the “Next” Button.  Enter a user ID and password of your choice, select your area of expertise, and then click the “Finish” button.

If you have an account, but have forgotten your log-in details, go to “Password Help” on the journal’s online submission system and enter your e-mail address. The system will send you an automatic user ID and a new temporary password.
Full instructions and support are available on the site, and a user ID and password can be obtained during your first visit. Full support for authors is provided. Each page has a “Get Help Now” icon that connects directly to the online support system. Contact the journal administrator with any questions about submitting your manuscript to the journal ([email protected]). For ScholarOne customer support, click on the “Get Help Now” link on the top right hand corner of every page on the site.

The Electronic Submission Process
Log in to your author center. Once you have logged in, click the “Submit a Manuscript” link in the menu bar. Enter the appropriate data and answer the questions. You may copy and paste directly from your manuscript. Click the “Next” button on each screen to save your work and advance to the next screen.

Upload Files
Click on the “Browse” button and locate the file on your computer.  Select the appropriate designation for each file in the drop-down menu next to the “Browse” button. When you have selected all the files you want to upload, click the “Upload Files” button. Review your submission before sending to the journal. Click the “Submit” button when you are finished reviewing. You can use ScholarOne at any time to check the status of your submission. The journal’s editorial office will inform you by e-mail once a decision has been made. After your manuscript has been submitted, a checklist will then be completed by the Editorial Assistant. The Editorial Assistant will check that the manuscript contains all required components and adheres to the author guidelines. Once the Editorial Assistant is satisfied with the manuscript it will be forwarded to the Senior Editor, who will assign an editor and reviewers.

The Review Process
Each manuscript submitted to The Turkish Journal of Hematology is subject to an initial review by the editorial office in order to determine if it is aligned with the journal’s aims and scope, and complies with essential requirements. Manuscripts sent for peer review will be assigned to one of the journal’s associate editors that has expertise relevant to the manuscript’s content. All accepted manuscripts are sent to a statistical and English language editor before publishing. Once papers have been reviewed, the reviewers’ comments are sent to the Editor, who will then make a preliminary decision on the paper. At this stage, based on the feedback from reviewers, manuscripts can be accepted, rejected, or revisions can be recommended. Following initial peer-review, articles judged worthy of further consideration often require revision. Revised manuscripts generally must be received within 3 months of the date of the initial decision. Extensions must be requested from the Associate Editor at least 2 weeks before the 3-month revision deadline expires; The Turkish Journal of Hematology will reject manuscripts that are not received within the 3-month revision deadline. Manuscripts with extensive revision recommendations will be sent for further review (usually by the same reviewers) upon their re-submission. When a manuscript is finally accepted for publication, the Technical Editor undertakes a final edit and a marked-up copy will be e-mailed to the corresponding author for review and to make any final adjustments.

Submission of Revised Papers
When revising a manuscript based on the reviewers’ and Editor’s feedback, please insert all changed text in red. Please do not use track changes, as this feature can make reading difficult. To submit revised manuscripts, please log into your author center at ScholarOne. Your manuscript will be stored under “Manuscripts with Decisions”. Please click on the “Create a Revision” link located to the right of the manuscript title. A revised manuscript number will be created for you; you will then need to click on the “Continue Submission” button. You will then be guided through a submission process very similar to that for new manuscripts. You will be able to amend any details you wish. At stage 6 (“File Upload”), please delete the file for your original manuscript and upload the revised version. Additionally, please upload an anonymous cover letter, preferably in table format, including a point-by-point response to the reviews’ revision recommendations. You will then need to review your paper as a PDF and click the “Submit” button. Your revised manuscript will have the same ID number as the original version, but with the addition of an R and a number at the end, for example, TJH-2011-0001 for an original and TJH-2011-0001.R1, indicating a first revision; subsequent revisions will end with R2, R3, and so on. Please do not submit a revised manuscript as a new paper, as revised manuscripts are processed differently. If you click on the “Create a Revision” button and receive a message stating that the revision option has expired, please contact the Editorial Assistant at [email protected] to reactivate the option.

English Language and Statistical Editing
All manuscripts are professionally edited by an English language editor prior to publication.

After papers have been accepted for publication, manuscript files are forwarded to the statistical and English language editors before publishing. Editors will make changes to the manuscript to ensure it adheres to TJH requirements. Significant changes or concerns are referred to corresponding authors for editing. 

Online Early
The Turkish Journal of Hematology publishes abstracts of accepted manuscripts online in advance of their publication. Once an accepted manuscript has been edited, the authors have submitted any final corrections, and all changes have been incorporated, the manuscript will be published online. At that time the manuscript will receive a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number. Both forms can be found at www.tjh.com.tr. Authors of accepted manuscripts will receive electronic page proofs directly from the printer, and are responsible for proofreading and checking the entire manuscript, including tables, figures, and references. Page proofs must be returned within 48 hours to avoid delays in publication.