Instructions To Authors

Short Information About the Journal

The Rheumatology Quarterly is a peer-reviewed periodical journal that publishes quarterly (March, June, September, December) in English electronically. The journal publishes original contributions in the form of experimental and clinical research articles, case reports and litrerature review, reviews, news, letters to the editor and authors, as well as announcements related to all topics of rheumatology.

The Rheumatology Quarterly aims to constitute a current scientific discussion platform and archive in rheumatology with the contribution of the disciplines related to rheumatology together. The journal intends to share its experiences with the international scientific community in a prestigious way and provide an academic contribution to the development of rheumatology science.

Title: The Rheumatology Quarterly

Journal abbreviation: Rheumatol Q

E-ISSN: 2980-1559

Peer Review Process

The Rheumatology Quarterly uses an independent, unbiased, double-blind peer review process. Manuscripts are received and reviewed by the editor-in-chief, who directs them to the appropriate section editor. The section editor sends the manuscript to three independent referees. Referees are selected by the editorial board from among national and international experts in the area relevant to the study. The referees accept or reject the invitation to review the manuscript within two weeks. If they accept, they are expected to return their decision within 21 days. The associate editor reviews the referees’ decisions, adds their own feedback, and returns the manuscript to the editor-in-chief, who makes the final decision. In case of disagreement among referees, the editor can assign a new referee.

The editor-in-chief, associate editors, biostatistics consultant, and English language editor may make minor changes to accepted manuscripts before publication, provided they do not fundamentally change the text.

The editorial and publication processes of the journal are shaped in accordance with the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) , World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) , Council of Science Editors (CSE) , Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) , European Association of Science Editors (EASE) and National Information Standards Organization (NISO) . The journal is in conformity with the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing .

All submissions must be accompanied by a signed statement of scientific contributions and responsibilities of all authors and a statement declaring the absence of conflict of interests. Any institution, organization, pharmaceutical or medical company providing any financial or material support, in whole or in part, must be disclosed in a footnote ( ICMJE Disclosure Form for Potential Conflict of Interest(s) ).

The manuscript format must comply with the ICMJE-Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (updated in December 2018).

The presentation of the article types must be designed in accordance with trial reporting guidelines::

Human research: Helsinki Declaration as revised in 2013

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses: PRISMA guidelines

Case reports and litrerature review: the CARE case report guidelines

Clinical trials: CONSORT

Animal studies: ARRIVE and Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals

GENERAL RULES

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

• Cover Letter,
• "ICMJE Conflict of Interest Statement Form" (http://www.icmje.org/conflicts-of-interest/) for all contributing authors,
• A separate title page (Title Page should be submitted with all manuscripts and should include the title of the manuscript, name(s), affiliation(s), major degree(s) and ORCID ID of the author(s). The name, address, telephone (including the mobile phone number) and fax numbers and e-mail address of the corresponding author should be clearly listed. Grant information and other sources of support should also be included. Individuals who contributed to the preparation of the manuscript but did not fulfil the authorship criteria should also be acknowledged in the title page),
• Abstract divided into appropriate sections,
• Keywords (For indexing purposes, a list of 4-8 key words in English is essential),
• Article divided into appropriate sections,
• List of references styled according to "journal requirements",
• A blinded main text (Please exclude all information that may indicate an individual or institution from the main document to ensure a blinded review process),
• The Copyright Agreement and Acknowledgement of Authorship form (Please submit a wet-signed and scanned copy of the Copyright Transfer Form with your submission),
• Upload your title page and forms in the system to Potential Conflict of Interest category to ensure a blinded review process,
• Figures (Figures should be submitted as standalone images through the submission system in .JPG or .TIFF format),
• Ethics Committee Approval Statement (with decision/file no, date and name of the institution, for original articles).

Abstract

The research articles should consist of Objectives, Methods, Results and Conclusion sections and should not exceed 250 words. At least 3, a maximum of 6 keywords should be determined on the Abstract page, and the title of the article should be added.

Main Text

The introduction should consist of the Patients / Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion and References sections. Abbreviations should be standard and should be explained in parentheses when they are used first. Internationally accepted units should be used in the measurements.

Tables, Figures and Images

It should be numbered in the order of use in the text, and unnecessary use should be avoided. In the photographs used in the cases, permission should be obtained, and necessary measures should be applied to prevent recognition. Attention should be paid to the quality of photographs and drawings, if any. Editorial Board may request correction or renewal in tables, figures and pictures on the grounds that it is not of sufficient quality. Figures and pictures must be original. For the pictures, figures and graphics used in another publication to be published in our journal, the necessary permissions must be obtained by the authors and before applying for an article. A copy of the document indicating that the permit has been obtained must be sent to the journal with the article.

References

References should be selected from the ones that are up to date and necessary for the article. References in the text should be indicated in parentheses and numbered according to the order of use. The name of the journals should be abbreviated in accordance with PubMed rules, and abbreviations should not be used in the names of journals which are not included here. Citation of proceedings should be avoided. Manuscripts accepted by a journal but not yet published can be documented as required and used as a source. Information other than this, including unaccepted articles, can be used by stating "unpublished observation" in the article. References should be written according to the examples below, and all the authors should be presented in references up to 6 authors, references which have more authors should be arranged in a way that "et al." abbreviation will be placed at the end of the first three authors. The responsibility for the accuracy of the references belongs to the authors.

Preparation of the Manuscript

Title page: A separate title page should be submitted with all submissions 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(s), affiliations and major degree(s) of the author(s)
• Grant information and detailed information on the other sources of support,
• The name, address, telephone (including the mobile phone number) and fax numbers and e-mail address of the corresponding author,
• Acknowledgement of the individuals who contributed to the preparation of the manuscript but do not fulfil the authorship criteria.

Abstract: An abstract should be submitted with all submissions except for letters to the editor. The abstract of Original Articles should be structured with subheadings (Aim, Materials and Method, Results and Conclusion).

Keywords: Each submission must be accompanied by a minimum of three and a maximum of six keywords for subject indexing at the end of the abstract. The keywords should be listed in full without abbreviations.

Manuscript Types

REVISIONS

When submitting a revised version of a paper, the author must submit a detailed “Response to the reviewers” that states point by point how each issue raised by the reviewers has been covered and where it can be found (each reviewer’s comment, followed by the author’s reply and line numbers where the changes have been made) as well as an annotated copy of the main document. Revised manuscripts must be submitted within 30 days from the date of the decision letter. If the revised version of the manuscript is not submitted within the allocated time, the revision option may be cancelled. If the submitting author(s) believe that additional time is required, they should request this extension before the initial 30-day period is over.

Accepted manuscripts are copy-edited for grammar, punctuation, and format. Once the publication process of a manuscript is completed, it is published online on the journal’s webpage as an ahead-of-print publication before it is included in its scheduled issue. A PDF proof of the accepted manuscript is sent to the corresponding author, and their publication approval is requested within two days of their receipt of the proof.

WITHDRAWAL POLICY

Out of respect to the reviewers, journal staff and the Editorial Board, authors are asked to submit a withdrawal request only if the reasons are compelling and unavoidable. Withdrawal requests should be submitted in written form, signed by all contributing authors of the manuscript. Reasons for withdrawal should be stated clearly. Each request will be subject to the Editorial Board's review and manuscripts will only be assumed withdrawn upon Editorial Board's approval. Cases of plagiarism, authorship disputes or fraudulent use of data will be handled in accordance with COPE guidelines .

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