Writing Rules

Manuscripts submitted to the TURKBITIG Journal of Cultural Studies must be formatted in accordance with the specifications outlined below and uploaded to the system accordingly. Submissions that do not conform to this format will not be considered for evaluation.

        Page Layout

• Manuscripts must be prepared using Microsoft Word, and the page layout should conform to the following specifications:

• If footnotes are included in the article, they should be written in single spacing, with 0 pt paragraph spacing, and in 9-point font.
• If a font other than the specified one is used, the custom font must also be uploaded to the system along with the manuscript.
• Submitted manuscripts must not include page numbers, headers, footers, or similar details.
• Only the main title of the manuscript should be written in uppercase letters, while all other headings should have only the first letter capitalized. No additional formatting styles should be applied.
• Direct quotations of 40 words or fewer must be enclosed in quotation marks. Quotations exceeding 40 words should be indented 1.5 cm from both the left and right margins, in 10-point font, and single-spaced.
• At the beginning of the manuscript, a Turkish and English abstract of 150–200 words (10-point font) must be included, along with five Turkish and five English keywords. The abstract should provide information on the study’s scope, objectives, methodology, impacts, and conclusions.
• Manuscripts, including abstracts, main text, graphics, tables, figures, references, and appendices, should not exceed 30 pages.
• Spelling and punctuation should follow the Turkish Language Association’s (TDK) Orthography Guide, except in cases where the subject matter necessitates specific deviations.
• Tables, images, and figures should be inserted using Word’s formal insertion tools rather than copy-pasting, ensuring they are consistent with the manuscript’s page layout.
• The recommended manuscript structure is as follows:
  • 1. Turkish Title (uppercase, 12-point)
    2. English Title (first letters capitalized only, 11-point)
    3. Turkish Abstract and Keywords (5 keywords)
    4. English Abstract and Keywords
    5. Introduction
    6. Sections (section headings with only the first letter capitalized)
    7. Conclusion
    8. References
    9. Appendices

• At the end of the manuscript, include statements on: Author Contribution Statement, Funding and Acknowledgment Statement, Conflict of Interest Statement, Ethics Committee Approval.

This ensures compliance with TURKBITIG Journal of Cultural Studies formatting requirements.

If you want, I can now combine all the formatting rules you’ve sent into a single, fully polished academic English version ready for your guidelines section. Do you want me to do that?

When submitting a manuscript, researchers are required to use the provided template file. The template for the manuscript can be downloaded from this link. Click here for the sample article template.

• Use of References

  References cited in the manuscript should be listed at the end under the heading “References” in alphabetical order by the authors’ last names. If multiple works by the same author are used, they should be arranged chronologically by publication date. APA style must be used for in-text citations. Explanatory notes not suitable for inclusion in the main text should be presented as footnotes, numbered consecutively within the text as 1, 2, 3, etc. For works with multiple authors or editors, a comma should follow each person’s name.

For Books:

• In-Text Citation for Single-Author Books: (Author’s Last Name, Year of Publication, p. Page Number)

Example: (Ekici, 2007: 114)

Reference List Format for a Book: Author’s Last Name, First Name. (Year of Publication). Title of the Work (in italics). Place of Publication: Publisher.

Example: EKİCİ, Metin (2007). Halk Bilgisi (Folklor) Derleme ve İnceleme Yöntemleri, Ankara: Geleneksel Publishing.

• In-Text Citation for Books with Two or More Authors: (First Author’s Last Name et al., Year, p. Page Number)

Example: (Sakaoğlu vd., 2009: 95)

Reference List Format for a Book:  First Author’s Last Name, First Name, & Second Author’s First Name Last Name. (Year of Publication). Title of the Work (in italics). Place of Publication: Publisher.

Example: SAKAOĞLU, Saim ve Ali Berat ALPTEKİN (2009). Nasreddin Hoca, Ankara: Publication of Atatürk Cultural Center.

• In-Text Citation for Translated Books: (Author’s Last Name, Year of Publication, p. Page Number)

Example: (Cocchiara, 2017: 65)

Reference List Format for a Book:  Author’s Last Name, First Name. (Year of Publication). Title of the Work (Translator/Editor, Trans.). Place of Publication: Publisher.

Example: COCCHİARA, Giuseppe (2017). Avrupa’da Folklor Tarihi, translator: Yerke Özer, Ankara: Geleneksel Publishing.

• In book chapters: (Author’s surname, year of publication, p. page number)

Example: (Köprülü, 2010: 14)

Reference List Format for a Book: (Author’s surname, first name, year of publication, “Title of the Chapter,” Title of the Book, edited by Editor’s name, place of publication, publisher).

Example: KÖPRÜLÜ, M. Fuat (2010). “Millî Türk Destanı”, İslamiyet Öncesi Türk Destanları (İncelemeler-Metinler), editor. Saim Sakaoğlu and Ali Duymaz, İstanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat.

For Articles:

• In-Text Citation for Single-Author Articles: (Author’s surname, year of publication, p. page number)

Example:(Oğuz, 2018: 8)

Format of the work in the bibliography: (Author’s surname, first name, year of publication, “Title of the Article,” Title of the Journal, volume, issue, page range).

Example: OĞUZ, M. Öcal (2018). “Onuncu Yılında Somut Olmayan Kültürel Miras Listeleri: Görünürlük, Değerlik ve Güvenirlik”, Millî Folklor, 15/29, 116, ss. 5-17.

• In-text citation in articles with two or more authors: (First author’s surname et al., year of publication, p. page number).

Example: (Çoşar, 2016: 142)

Format of the work in the bibliography: (First author’s surname, first name; other author(s)’ first name and surname, year of publication, “Title of the Article,” Title of the Journal, volume, issue, page range).

Example: ÇOŞAR, Asiye Nevhibe and Çiğdem USTA (2016). “Nasreddin Hoca Fıkralarında Grice’nin İşbirliği İlkesinin İhlali”, Millî Folklor, 14/28, 109, ss. 141-152. 

• In-Text Citation for Translated Articles: (Author’s surname, year of publication, p. page number)

Example: (Dundes, 2006: 15)

Format of the work in the bibliography: (First author’s surname, first name, year of publication, “Title of the Article”, Title of the Journal, Name and surname of the translator, (for journal publications: volume/year and issue number), place of publication, publisher, page range)

Example: DUNDES, Alan (2006). “Halk Kimdir”, Halkbiliminde Kuramlar ve Yaklaşımlar 1, translator: Metin Ekici, Ankara: Geleneksel Publishing. ss. 11-36.

For Encyclopedias:

• In encyclopedia entries, in-text citations should follow this format: (Author’s surname, year of publication of the encyclopedia, and page number).

Example: (Okay, 1994: 398)

• Format of the work in the bibliography: (Author’s surname, first name, year, title of the entry (in quotation marks), full title of the encyclopedia or its abbreviation (in italics), volume number, place of publication, publisher, page range).

Example: OKAY, M. Orhan (1994). “Edebiyât-ı Cedîde”, DİA, 10, İstanbul: Turkish Religious Foundation, ss. 398-399.

For Theses and Dissertations:

• In-Text Citation for Theses/Dissertations: (Author’s Last Name, Year of Completion, p. Page Number)

Example: (Atlı, 2016: 789)

Reference List Format for a Thesis/Dissertation: Author’s Last Name, First Name. (Year of Completion). Title of the Thesis (Type of Thesis). Name of Department/Institute, Name of University, Location.

Example: ATLI, Sagıp (2016). Türkiye’deki Geleneksel Sohbet Toplantıları Üzerinde Bir İnceleme, Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Manisa: Manisa Celal Bayar University Institute of Social Sciences.

For Published Conference Papers:

• In-Text Citation for Conference Papers: (Author’s Last Name, Year of Publication, p. Page Number)

Example: (Sakaoğlu, 2017: 21)

• Bibliographic format for a conference paper: (Surname and first name of the author, year of publication of the proceedings, title of the paper (in quotation marks), title of the proceedings (in italics), volume number if applicable, place of publication, publisher, page numbers).

Example: SAKAOĞLU, Saim (2017). “Bir Konya Türküsü: ‘Aksinne’ye Vardım…’ Türküsünün Sözleri Üzerine”, 8. Milletlerarası Türk Halk Kültürü Kongresi, Volume 2, Ankara: Publications of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, ss. 15-26.

For Manuscript and Printed Works:

• In-text citation format for manuscript and printed works: (Title of the work, folio number).

Example: (Vekâyü’l-Füzelâ, 65b)

• Format for citing manuscript and printed works in the bibliography: (Author’s name, title of the work, name of the library, collection or section if available, catalogue number, folio number).

Example: Şeyhî Mehmed Efendi, Vekâyü’l-Füzelâ, Topkapı Palace Museum Library, Hazine 1308, vr. 95a.

For Informants:

• In-text citation format for infırmants: (Number assigned to the informant in the bibliography)

Example: (KK-1)

• Format for citing informants in the bibliography: (KK-1: Name and surname, date of birth, educational background, occupation, place of residence, date of the fieldwork/interview).

Example: KK-1: Ahmet YALÇIN, 12.10.1960, high school, farmer, Taşköprü-Kastamonu, 09.04.2018.

Internet Sources:

• In-text citation format for online sources: (coding of the URL as URL-1).

Example: (URL-1)

Format for citing online sources in the bibliography: (URL and access date).

Example:URL-1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYROSpyWw9I (10.04.2018)

Tables and Figures:

Table numbers and captions should be placed above the table in the format: “Table 1: …”, written in 10-point font and centered. Text within the table should be in 9-point font, single-spaced, with 0 pt paragraph spacing. Tables should be centered on the page.

Figure numbers and captions should be placed below the figure in the format: “Figure 1: …”, written in 10-point font and centered. Any text within the figure should be in 9-point font, single-spaced, with 0 pt paragraph spacing. Figures should be centered on the page.

• If multiple works by the same author published in the same year are cited, letters should be added to the year to distinguish them (e.g., Boratav, 1996a; Boratav, 1996b) in both in-text citations and the reference list.
• When citing multiple sources in the same place, they should be separated by semicolons (e.g., Boratav, 1996: 66; Ekici, 2007: 90).
• If the author’s name is mentioned in the text, only the publication year and page number need to be included in parentheses.
  Example: …According to Mehmet Kaplan… (1996: 26)
• If information about the publication location, publisher, or date is missing from the source, the following abbreviations should be used in the reference entry: [yyy] – publication place not provided, [yy] – publisher not provided, [ty] – date not provided
• For Arabic titles, capitalize only the first word and proper nouns; other words should be in lowercase.
• For Persian, English, and other foreign-language titles, as well as works in Ottoman Turkish, capitalize the first letter of each word.
• Quranic verses should be written in italics, with references in the text given in order (e.g., Surah name, Surah number/verse number).

Use of ORCID

To prevent issues arising from similarities in researcher names in academic publications, researchers are required to use an ORCID identifier. Name similarities, surname changes, names containing Turkish characters, variant spellings, or changes in affiliation can create challenges in tracking publications and citations. Therefore, it is important for researchers to obtain a unique identifying number (ID).

Our journal publishes authors with their ORCID ID starting from the first issue. Researchers submitting manuscripts to our journal are required to provide their ORCID number during submission.

Dear researchers, you can register for a free ORCID ID at http://orcid.org.

RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION ETHICS

1. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

TÜRKBİTİG Journal of Cultural Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal. The journal publishes in accordance with the ethical principles and publication policies it has adopted. Therefore, editors, authors, and reviewers are required to comply with internationally recognized standards, particularly the ethical principles determined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (see: https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read). In accordance with the principles of scientific research ethics, the processes of data collection, analysis, classification, interpretation, and the derivation of conclusions must be conducted through scientific methods, and non-scientific data must not be presented as research findings.

 Ethical Principles for Editors

1.      Editors accept manuscripts submitted to the journal for preliminary evaluation in accordance with the journal’s publication policies without discrimination based on author, institution, subject, or similar factors.

2.      Editors ensure that the journal’s publication schedule is maintained in accordance with the publication policies and guidelines.

3.      Editors are responsible for assigning two expert reviewers in the relevant field to each manuscript that has passed the preliminary editorial screening.

4.      Editors are responsible for continuously updating the journal’s reviewer list.

5.      In accordance with the journal’s publication policy, editors manage the blind peer-review process by establishing communication between reviewers and the corresponding author.

6.      Editors ensure the protection of personal data contained in submitted manuscripts and safeguard the personal information of authors and reviewers.

7.      Editors must maintain objective relationships with all authors and reviewers who submit work to the journal without discrimination.

8.      Editors supervise whether the articles published in the journal comply with ethical principles. If ethical violations such as plagiarism, use of false data, or fraudulent authorship are detected by editors or reviewers, the editorial or peer-review process will be terminated, the author will be informed of the reasons, and the submission will be rejected.

9.      Editors must provide clear and detailed justifications to authors when rejecting a manuscript.

10.  Editors must also consider the ethical standards of scientific research, publication, and peer review.

11.  Editors examine all complaints and suggestions submitted to the journal and provide necessary explanations to the relevant parties.

12.  Editors archive records of all manuscripts submitted to the journal, as well as other correspondence and documentation related to the journal, either electronically or in printed form.

 Ethical Rules for Authors

1.      Individuals who have not made a scientific contribution to the research or writing process of the study should not be listed as authors.

2.      Authors must avoid all forms of unethical behavior, including plagiarism, irresponsible authorship, piracy, fabrication, duplicate publication, salami slicing, biased referencing, biased publication, and violations of human and animal ethics.

3.      For studies involving animals, the environment, or humans that require an ethics committee approval, as well as studies requiring the protection of personal data, authors must provide an Ethics Committee Approval Document.

4.      Authors must comply with the citation system specified in the journal’s author guidelines during the preparation of their manuscripts.

5.      Authors must not cite unpublished or unpresented works as references.

6.      No part of any work may be used in the manuscript without permission or without proper citation (plagiarism).

7.      Manuscripts submitted to the journal must not have been previously published elsewhere or accepted for publication by another journal.

8.      Authors must indicate the financial sources of the study, if any.

9.      Authors must prepare their manuscripts in accordance with the Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive issued by the Council of Higher Education.

10.  Authors are responsible for informing the relevant individuals and institutions of any negative outcomes that may arise from their research.

11.  At the end of multi-author studies, authors must include the following statements: Author Contribution Statement, Acknowledgement and Funding Statement, Conflict of Interest Statement, and Ethics Committee Approval Statement. For detailed information, see the sample article template in the “Author Guidelines” section.

 Ethical Rules for Reviewers

1.      After accepting a reviewer invitation, reviewers must comply with all ethical rules specified for the peer-review process.

2.      Reviewers must be selected from experts in the fields addressed by the manuscript.

3.      Reviewers must present their opinions and criticisms objectively, clearly, and understandably. They must not adopt attitudes based on personal interests or views; if necessary, they should decline the review.

4.      Reviewers must not share any content or theoretical information related to the manuscripts they review with third parties.

5.      Reviewers must not use information obtained from manuscripts under review for their own work or for any academic or personal benefit.

6.      Reviewers must prepare their reports objectively and moderately. Reports should not contain insulting, derogatory, or accusatory expressions.

7.      If reviewers decide that a manuscript is “not publishable,” they must provide clear and detailed justifications.

8.      While evaluating manuscripts, reviewers must also consider the journal’s author guidelines, publication policies, and publication ethics rules.

 If the studies submitted by authors require Ethics Committee Approval, authors must provide the relevant approval document. Therefore, for studies requiring ethics committee approval, information about the approval (committee, date, and number) must be included at the end of the article. Studies based on data obtained before 2020 and articles derived from master’s or doctoral theses (provided that this is stated in the study) do not require retrospective ethics committee approval. Authors submitting manuscripts to the journal should prepare their work accordingly.

 Research Requiring Ethics Committee Approval

1.      Research conducted using qualitative or quantitative approaches that require data collection from participants through surveys, interviews, focus group studies, observation, experiments, or interview techniques,

2.      Experimental or other scientific use of humans and animals (including materials/data),

3.      Clinical research conducted on humans,

4.      Research conducted on animals,

5.      Retrospective studies requiring the protection of personal data in accordance with personal data protection legislation.

Furthermore, it is necessary to indicate that copyright regulations have been followed for the intellectual and artistic works used; permission has been obtained from the owners for the use of scales, questionnaires, and photographs belonging to others; and that informed consent forms have been obtained in case studies.

 Manuscripts submitted to TURKBITIG Journal of Cultural Studies are screened during the preliminary evaluation stage using plagiarism detection software such as Turnitin or iThenticate. In research articles, sections reflecting the author’s own views must constitute at least 80% of the manuscript, and the quotation rate must not exceed 20%. Manuscripts with a similarity index of up to 20% are accepted for evaluation, while those exceeding 20% are returned to the author(s) for revision without entering the review process. Regardless of the similarity rate, if expressions or blocks of text taken from a source without proper citation are detected, the manuscript will be returned to the author without evaluation. Plagiarism screening of submitted manuscripts is conducted by the editor or authorized journal personnel, and authors are not required to submit a plagiarism report. By submitting a manuscript to the journal, authors declare that no plagiarism has been committed in their work, that all responsibilities arising from plagiarism belong to them, and that the journal bears no responsibility in this regard. All legal liabilities concerning plagiarism belong entirely to the author(s).

 2. PUBLICATION POLICIES

1.      TURKBITIG Journal of Cultural Studies is a peer-reviewed journal published twice a year, in June and December. In addition to these issues, supplementary or special issues may be published if deemed appropriate by the editorial board.

2.      No submission or evaluation fee is charged for manuscripts submitted to the journal.

3.      Submitting a manuscript to TURKBITIG Journal of Cultural Studies is considered an application for publication. If the manuscript is published, no royalty payment is made to the author(s).

4.      The journal publishes articles, translations, book reviews, compilations, critiques, and interviews in the fields of Folklore, Old Turkish Literature, New Turkish Literature, Turkish Language, and Turkish-Islamic Literature.

5.      Manuscripts submitted to the journal must not have been previously published in any journal or symposium proceedings and must not be under consideration elsewhere. Papers presented at symposiums or congresses but not published, as well as articles derived from theses, may be published provided that this is indicated in a footnote.

6.      In addition to Turkish articles, the journal may also publish articles in English.

7.      All legal responsibility for the content of articles published in the journal belongs to the authors.

8.      Researchers submitting manuscripts must send their ORCID numbers, obtained free of charge from ORCID, together with their manuscripts.

9.      At the beginning of the article, there must be Turkish and English abstracts of 150–200 words (10 pt font), along with five Turkish and five English keywords. The abstract must include information about the scope, purpose, methodology, impact, and results of the study.

10.  The article, including the abstract, text, graphs, tables, visuals, references, and appendices, must not exceed 40 pages.

11.  The article should begin with an introduction explaining the hypothesis of the study; the development section (which may include subheadings) should consist of data, observations, opinions, interpretations, and discussions; and the conclusion section should present findings supported by recommendations.

12.  Manuscripts must be submitted in accordance with the journal’s publication principles and author guidelines. Manuscripts that do not comply with these rules will be rejected following examination by the Editorial Board/Editor.

13.  Each issue of the journal includes a maximum of 25 articles. This number may vary in special issues. Including translations, book reviews, compilations, critiques, and interviews, a maximum of 30 texts may be published.

14.  The manuscript evaluation period for submissions is 90 days, including the preliminary review, peer-review process, and editing stages. Manuscripts that receive a “publishable” decision within this period are placed in the publication queue.

 3.  Fee Policy

TURKBITIG Journal of Cultural Studies does not charge any fees from users, authors, or readers.

4. Open Access Policy

TURKBITIG Journal of Cultural Studies adopts the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI). Authors and copyright holders agree that all users have free access to the content under these conditions.

5. Licensing Policy

TURKBITIG Journal of Cultural Studies is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Under this license, readers are permitted to read, download, copy, search, link to full texts, scan, and index the works published in the journal provided that they are used for non-commercial purposes, proper attribution is given, and no modifications are made.

6. Copyright Policy

Submitting a manuscript to TURKBITIG Journal of Cultural Studies is considered an application for publication and initiates the publication process. By approving the Copyright Transfer Form available on the journal’s website during submission, authors waive their copyright claims, and no royalty payment is made. Authors are also responsible for uploading a signed and scanned copy of this form to the manuscript tracking system during the submission process.