TR Index Application and Evaluation Processes

TR Index Application and Evaluation Processes

Creating a User Account and Submitting a Journal Submission

In order for the journal to be considered within the scope of TR Dizin, the journal owner, publisher and/or editor must create a user account on TR Dizin using the "Editor Application Form".

Before applying to TR Dizin, please read the "TR Dizin Journal Application Prerequisites" and "TR Dizin Journal Evaluation Criteria". Applications from journals that do not meet the conditions and criteria will be rejected. Completing any missing information before applying will save you time and effort.

The application form to be filled out for TR Dizin consists of sections containing information about "Editor", "Journal", "Publisher", "Contact" and "Other" information about the journal.

All process management operations for TR Dizin are carried out through TR Dizin. Therefore, all information in the areas mentioned above must be accurate, up-to-date, understandable, and complete.

Incomplete and/or inaccurate information in these sections will negatively affect your journal application and the communication we receive. Please provide accurate and complete information.

Post-Submission Processes and Journal Review Procedures

The publication, whose application process is initiated by filling in the journal information, will be considered submitted after uploading at least one issue and the peer review reports specified in the criteria. Journals whose applications are approved will be monitored for at least one (1) year from the date they upload the first issue and peer review reports (to complete any deficiencies in regular publication/submission and any criteria other than the application conditions), and journals that have just started publication will be monitored for 2 (two) years.

During the monitoring process;

By logging into TR Dizin with the username and password specified in the "Editor Application Form," long-running journals can upload PDFs of issues from at most the previous year as of the application date.

PDFs of the issues to be published (including the cover, inner cover pages, and table of contents) must be uploaded to TR Dizin. For journals that are only electronic, any missing sections from the aforementioned parts must be accessible on the website.

The PDF contents of the issue must be copyable.

The XML data file corresponding to the issue must be uploaded or the article information must be entered.(*)

Once your application is approved, you must continue uploading the journal issues and the peer review reports specified in the Journal Evaluation Criteria. Failure to upload any of these will result in your journal being rejected for the relevant year. Please upload your submissions promptly and regularly.

At the end of the monitoring period, a preliminary evaluation of the journal is conducted by TR Dizin experts. Based on the preliminary evaluation, journals found to have deficiencies are given necessary suggestions/warnings. Journals may be rejected during the preliminary evaluation phase due to deficiencies in fundamental qualitative and quantitative aspects. Alternatively, journals that have completed the monitoring process are submitted to the committee for evaluation.

Committee Evaluation Processes

The committee's evaluation is conducted using general publishing principles, journal evaluation criteria, peer review reports, and preliminary evaluation forms.

The journal was reviewed by the committee members;

Compliance with Research and Publication Ethics,

The peer review system, the contribution of the peer reviewers, the adequacy and effectiveness of the reports, the quality of the content, etc.,

The quality, competence, contribution, independence of the editorial board, publication rigor (language and spelling), product rigor (in terms of typesetting, etc.), the journal's international and geographical representation (reviewers, advisory and editorial boards), the presence of competent individuals, etc.,

Articles are evaluated based on aspects such as their formal characteristics, adherence to writing rules, accuracy and compliance with standards of article sources, article title, abstract, and keyword quality.

During the evaluation process, the committee may request additional information and documents if committee members deem the available documents insufficient.

 

Processes Following Committee Review

The committee's evaluation result (such as acceptance or rejection) is officially communicated to the publisher/editor in writing. If the journal is accepted, a "TR Index Participation Permission Agreement" is signed in two copies between the journal editor and the ULAKBİM Directorate.

Following the signing of the agreements, the journal will be submitted to the TR Dizin data entry and verification process.

New issues of journals "accepted" into TR Dizin must be uploaded in PDF format. The timely and regular submission of issues is entirely the responsibility of the editor and/or publisher. Failure to upload issues and related peer review reports to TR Dizin on time will result in the journal being removed from the index.

The new issues of the accepted journal must also comply with the conditions and criteria. Accepted journals are monitored and evaluated according to the criteria. Journals found to have deficiencies as a result of the evaluation are warned. If non-compliance with the criteria continues in the evaluation of the issues for the following year after the warning, the issues for that year are indexed, and they are removed from the index from the following year onwards. Journals found to be non-compliant with publishing, ethics, and transparency principles may be removed from the index without being included in the monitoring process.

In the case of post-rejection monitoring, the journal is followed for one year, during which time it must complete its new issues, upload peer review reports, and address any missing information. At the end of this period, it will be re-evaluated by the committee. If, as a result of the committee's second evaluation, the previously communicated deficiencies persist, the journal will remain in a state of rejection for the year under evaluation and the following year.

Journals that receive a "acceptance" or "rejection" decision from the committee must upload their new issues and any documents requested by the committee for evaluation (sample peer review reports, etc.) to TR Dizin in a timely manner.

General Considerations for TR Index

• The journal should not change its publication period or publication month when a new year/volume is published; any changes should be decided upon and announced before the start of the new year/volume.
• When a decision is made to change the journal's name, a new ISSN must be obtained for the new name. For at least two years, the journal's old name must be mentioned in every issue published under the new name and on the website. Information about the name change and the ISSN, along with the year ranges, must be stated under the "Journal History" heading in the "About the Journal" section. A request for a journal name change must be submitted using the "Journal Name Change Form" available on ODIS.
• If there are any changes to the information provided during the application process, this information must be updated in ODIS as soon as possible. Updates should be made immediately upon any changes (such as editor, journal URL address, or contact information). The editor is responsible for any incomplete or incorrect information. For fields where changes are restricted, the "Journal Information Change" Form should be used.
• Peer review reports must be kept for at least five years after the publication date to allow for review by the TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM TR Index Committee.
• Each issue of the journal, both in print and online, must include the journal's name, year, volume number (if applicable), and issue number.
• Supplements/special issues, subject-specific publications, or conference proceedings that adhere to article writing guidelines will be evaluated according to the relevant criteria.
• Supplementary/special issues are the responsibility of the journal editor. The journal's writing guidelines and policies also apply to these issues. There may be a guest editor for a supplementary/special issue.
• Every scientific paper should have a "Bibliography," and the sources should be written in the Latin alphabet. Care should be taken to ensure their presentation, accuracy, and accessibility.
• The bibliography should conform to international citation formats (APA, MLA, AIP, NLM, AMA, ACS, etc.), and the format used should be detailed in the "Rules of Article Writing".
• In scientific papers that use footnotes, the bibliography for those footnotes should be provided separately at the end of the article.
• The first page of the scientific articles in the journal, preferably at the top, should contain bibliographic information describing the article and usable for citation [journal name - usually, the “short name of the journal” determined by the editorial board is preferred, year; volume number (if any) (issue number if any): page ranges of the relevant article (Example: Akd. Araş Derg, 2014; 15(2): 15-22 etc.)] in accordance with the internationally accepted format.
• All journals included in the index are periodically re-evaluated by the TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM TR Index Committee. If the TR Index Journal Evaluation Criteria or other conditions are not met, the journal may be removed from the index.
• The journal should not list names in the "indexed sources" section that could mislead readers and authors.
• In the article acceptance process, if two reviewers have differing opinions, the editor or a third reviewer should be consulted before a final decision is made.

 

TR Index Application Requirements and Journal Evaluation Criteria

Prerequisites for TR Index Journal Application

• The following points are prerequisites for journal applications to be indexed in TR Dizin. Any missing or incorrect information will result in the rejection of the application. Therefore, please ensure that the relevant points are provided in the journal.
• To apply to TR Dizin, at least one issue must have been published.
• Journals in the fields of Health Sciences, Dentistry, and Pharmacy must publish at least 3 issues per year; journals in Engineering, Basic Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine must publish at least 2 issues per year; and journals in Social and Human Sciences must publish at least 1 issue per year.
• Print journals must have an ISSN, and electronic journals must have an Online ISSN. If publications are in both formats, both ISSNs must be obtained.
• The ISSN number must have been obtained from the Ministry of Culture, General Directorate of Libraries and Publications, ISSN Office.
• The format in which the journal name is presented on the cover/inside cover/website must match its ISSN registration with the Turkish Ministry of Culture.
• The ISSN information should be easily accessible in both the print and electronic versions of the journal, and should be on the homepage of the website.
• The journal must be a peer-reviewed, scientific journal. This should be stated in the journal and/or on the website.
• The journal should have a separate website designed to provide easy access to detailed information about the scientific journal. Information about the journal [full name of the journal, its name in another language if any (such as its English name), its abbreviated name if any, ISSN (print) and/or ISSN (online), its full address, the language of publication, the publication interval including the months of publication, its aims, scope and ethical statements, institutional contact and email addresses, the journal's history (if any, including year ranges, name and ISSN changes, etc.), editors and relevant boards, publisher, printing house, etc.] should be included on the journal's cover and/or website.
• The journal's purpose and scope must be stated in detail within the journal and/or on its website.
• Articles published in the journal must include an abstract and keywords in the language of the article. A word limit should be specified for the abstract, and this rule must be adhered to. The abstract and keywords should conform to international standards.
• Articles written in languages ​​other than Latin script must include a title, abstract, keywords, and bibliography (references) all written in Latin script.
• Articles published in the journal should be classified according to their type (research article, case report, review, etc.) and this classification should be indicated on the table of contents and the first page of the article.
• The first page of each scientific article published in the journal should preferably include, at the bottom, the submission and acceptance dates of the articles, the institutions and contact information of all authors, and their internationally recognized "ORCID" identification number.
• To maintain the integrity of scientific articles, advertisements and similar promotional materials should not be included within the text and should not be numbered.

TR Index Journal Evaluation Criteria

• Journals that meet the "Prerequisites for TR Index Journal Application" and whose applications are approved are evaluated by TR Index Experts and the Committee according to the criteria specified below, after a monitoring period of 1 (one) year. For journals that have recently started publication, this period is 2 (two) years.
• Journal issues must be published at the intervals announced throughout the year and uploaded to the TR Dizin Online Journal Monitoring System (ODIS) on time. The journal editor is responsible for ensuring timely and regular uploads. Journals that fail to upload their issues on time will not be accepted into TR Dizin.
• The institute and its broad-scope journals should have field editors.
• Journals should have language editors appropriate to the publication language. Attention should be paid to adherence to the writing rules of the relevant language.
• Editorial and Advisory Boards should have institutional representation, and at least one-third of the editorial board members should be from different institutions. The names of the institutions where the board members work, or at least their city and country information, should be included.
• The qualifications, publications, etc., of editors and editorial board members in their respective fields should be taken into consideration.
• Reviewers should be appointed from different institutions who are qualified in their field, and attention should be paid to the principles of impartiality and diversity.
• Articles published in the journal should prioritize institutional and author diversity.
• TR Dizin adopts the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) principles of “Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors” and “Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers” to ensure ethical assurance in scientific journal publishing. According to TR Dizin criteria, journals are expected to comply with international standards, including COPE, and editors are expected to ensure that each research project has been approved by the relevant boards and committees prior to publication and to request the necessary documentation.

In this context, the following points should be observed in journals:

• For research in all scientific disciplines that requires ethical committee approval (ethical committee approval must be obtained, this approval must be stated and documented in the article).
• In research requiring ethical committee approval, information regarding the approval (committee name, date, and number) should be included in the methods section, and also on one of the first or last pages of the article; in case reports, information indicating that an informed consent form was signed by the volunteers should be included in the article.
• The journal's website should include a statement confirming that the articles adhere to Research and Publication Ethics.
• The journal's website should provide information on ethical guidelines under separate headings for reviewers, authors, and editors.
• Ethical principles should be stated under a separate heading in the journal and/or on the website, citing national and international standards. For example, scientific articles submitted to journals should take into account the recommendations of the ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) and the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) International Standards for Editors and Authors.
• Copyright regulations must be observed for the intellectual and artistic works used.(*)
• Care should be taken to ensure that the number of articles in each issue of the journal is proportionate, and that the number of articles per issue/volume is balanced.
• The total number of scientific research articles in a year must constitute at least 50% of the total number of scientific articles (research, case report, review) in the natural sciences subject area. For the health sciences, dentistry, and pharmacy subject areas, the total number of scientific research articles in a year must be at least 12.
• The journal should provide detailed guidelines for article writing, and articles must strictly adhere to this format. For example, this includes the writing of tables, figures, headings, subheadings, abstracts, and bibliographies.
• The journal should include detailed information about the journal's publication process and policy (open access information, fee and fee policy if any, article review period and process, etc.) under the heading "publication policy".(*)
• At the end of the article, the following should be included: Researchers' Contribution Rate Statement, Support and Acknowledgment Statement (if any), and Conflict of Judgment Statement.(*)
• In journals that begin with a new volume number at the end of each year, page numbers should start with 1 in the first issue and follow consecutively in subsequent issues within the same volume. Journals published with issue numbers instead of volumes may have page numbers starting from 1 in each issue.
• Each article should have at least two reviewers, preferably from different institutions.
• The number of peer review reports and the relevant articles required for 2021 from all journals (accepted, pending review, or newly submitted) within the TR Index will be determined by the system after the full PDF issue of the journal is uploaded. The number of peer review reports will be 15% of the total number of articles in the journal issue (provided it is at least 2). For example, if an issue has 10 articles, reports will be required for 2 articles; if it has 20 articles, reports will be required for 3 articles. Additionally, one rejected article review report will be requested from the first issue. Which peer review reports are required can be seen in the "peer review reports" tab after the journal issue is uploaded. If the committee also requests additional peer review reports, they should be uploaded to ODIS using the same method. Peer review reports should demonstrate that a scientific evaluation has been conducted, in addition to a review of the articles (e.g., selective review form, reviewer notes on the article, scientific evaluation notes on the evaluation form). [* For the relevant article, a PDF file showing the entire peer review process should be uploaded (including the initial version of the article, the first reviewer's opinion, the second reviewer's opinion, any revisions, the names and institutions of the reviewers, and the dates of the evaluation, and preferably signed).
• The journal may only publish a combined issue once, for two consecutive issues within a three-year period.
• Special issues or supplementary issues are also evaluated depending on the criteria. Furthermore;

• Supplementary or Special Issue: These are issues published in addition to the regular issues of a journal. They should consist of conference/symposium proceedings or articles on a specific topic.(*)

  Supplementary or special issues should be numbered differently than regular issues throughout the year.

  The number of supplementary or special issues cannot exceed one-third of the normal period. Special issues containing congress abstracts are not included in this scope.

  Case reports, review articles, and research articles (excluding conference abstracts) published in supplementary or special issues will be included in the article ratios for other issues.

  Gift issues are not considered special or supplementary issues. They must be numbered and uploaded as regular issues.

  If any supplementary or special issues are not published in accordance with the rules, the journal will be removed from the index.

  The journals “Review” and “Case Report”:

  In addition to meeting the criteria mentioned above, compliance with the following points is also required.

  Compilation Journals

  The journal should only publish review articles, and this should be stated in the journal.

  These journals must meet all criteria of the TR Index except for the item related to "number and percentage of research articles".

  Journals slated for inclusion in the TR Index must be peer-reviewed. However, peer-review will not be required for "invited reviews." An invited review refers to a limited number of invited articles in a journal. These reviews must also have at least editorial approval.

  Compilation journals outside this scope will not be considered.

  Case Presentation

  Only case reports should be published, and this should be stated in the journal.

  Apart from the criterion regarding "number and percentage of research articles" from the TR Index criteria, the other criteria must also be met.

  RECOMMENDATIONS

  The journal editorial board reserves the right to announce the list of reviewers, however, lists may be provided according to issue/volume/year.

  The journal should provide article titles in both Turkish and English on the "Table of Contents" page.

  The use of plagiarism detection software and its announcement in the journal and/or on the website,

  The abbreviation of the journal name must be indicated in the journal.

  To increase the national and international impact of articles, it is recommended that the title, abstract, and keywords of the articles, in addition to the publication language, be published in your journal.