Dear Colleagues,

I am delighted to introduce the fourth issue of the “Journal of the Turkish German Gynecological Association (J Turk Ger Gynecol Assoc)” in the publishing year of 2018.

There are fake and LOW-QUALITY journals in the field of obstetrics and gynecology.  Despite their appearances on the internet, they are not real medical journals. These “fake,” “predatory,” or “pseudo” journals misrepresent their peer-review and publication processes. These journals accept and publish almost all submissions, are not transparent about article processing (or publication) fees, often mimic the names and formats of legitimate journals to mislead authors and readers, and may collect fees but never publish the accepted work.

Last years have showed that the appearance of journals from mainstream publishers are based entirely on pseudoscience. On the surface, these publications look and act just like real scientific journals, but it’s all just pretend. The publishers of these journals presumably care more about their bottom line than about scientific integrity.

Statistical analyses have verified that those who publish in predatory journals are, for the most part, young and inexperienced researchers from developing countries. Although most of the submissions in all of these journals have been from Third World scholars taking advantage of the low fees and the low standards for publication.

In fact, these journals are harmful on several counts. The first reason is that the “journals” are nothing of the sort. There is no telling how long they will be in existence. The second is that they take money under false pretenses; they are a fraud and they are polluting the field of science. Lastly, the reputation of such “journals” has become so bad that an impression has formed in some persons that all Open Access journals are of lowera than traditional journals. Worse, along these same lines, contributors may actually harm their professional standing and that of their institutions.

So the question remains, how can a scientist avoid the pitfalls of predatory journals? The answer, appropriately enough, is to do research before submission. Seeking the assistance of scientific mentors, senior colleagues, and others with many years of scholarly publishing experience may also be helpful. When choosing a journal, you want to keep in mind two factors: review times and policies on multiple submissions.

Dear Friends, Dear Researchers,

Unfortunately, there remains no validated mechanism to reliably define or identify fake, predatory, or pseudo journals. Researchers and readers must be aware of the existence of fake, predatory, or pseudo journals and avoid submitting research to them for publication or citing their content. Authors have a responsibility to evaluate the integrity, history, practices, and reputation of the journals to which they submit manuscripts.

The pressure to ‘publish or perish’ was another factor influencing many scholars’ decisions to publish in these fast-turnaround journals. When trust is diminished, the scientific enterprise itself is threatened. We are proud to say that J Turk Ger Gynecol Assoc is now more popular than it’s used to be.

In this issue, we are dealing with very interesting research articles. We worked hard to deliver you the journal with the best manuscripts in time. In this issue, you will read several good papers from all over the world. Please also enjoy solving a challenging quiz.

From now on we are going to accept video article in our journal. Video articles should include a brief introduction on case, surgery technique or a content of the video material. The main text should not exceed 500 words. References are welcomed and should not be more than 5. Along the main document, video material and 3 images should be uploaded during submission. Video format must be .mp4 and its size should not exceed 100 MB and be up to 10 minutes. Author should select 3 images, as highlights of the video, and provide them with appropriate explanations. Video and images must be cited within main text.”

I would like to wish you a happy new year in 2019 and we are looking forward to receiving your valuable submissions, thank you in advance for your contributions.

Sincerely,

Prof. Cihat Ünlü, M.D.

Editor in Chief of J Turk Ger Gynecol Assoc

President of TGGF