PAPER SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
This guideline has been prepared to set the standards for the preparation, submission, and evaluation processes of papers to be presented at the 10th Urban Studies Congress, which will be held in Skopje, North Macedonia, on October 22–24, 2025. The aim of the guideline is to enhance the scientific quality of the papers and to ensure that the evaluation process is conducted transparently.
a. Participation Requirements
• Authors are required to attend the congress in person for their papers to be published.
•An author may participate in the congress with one or more papers.
•For the acceptance of the abstracts, at least one presenting author must register for the congress.
•Sunumu yapılmayan bildiriler, kongre bildiri özet kitabında yayımlanmayacak ve sertifikalandırılmayacaktır.
b. Registration and Participation Fees
• Registration Process:Participation in the congress is free of charge!
c. Publication Requirements
•Hakem değerlendirme sürecinden geçen ve sunumu yapılan bildiriler, kongrenin “Yayın Süreci” menüsünde belirtildiği şekilde planlanmaktadır.
•Yazarların, bildirilerinin yayımlanabilmesi için ilgili yayın mecralarının aşağıdaki beyanlar ve diğer istediği şartları yerine getirmeleri zorunludur:
• Copyright Transfer: Confirmation of the copyright transfer of the paper to the congress.
• Ethical Statement: Declaration of compliance with ethical rules.
• Conflict of Interest Statement: Indication of any potential conflicts of interest in the study.
•Contribution Statement: Specification of individual contributions of each author to the study.
3.1. General Principles
•Abstracts must be sent to the congress system electronically (CMT)
•Submitted papers must be original, unpublished, and not under evaluation at another congress.
•Submissions to our congress are initially accepted in the form of abstracts. Participants are required to complete the abstract templatenu provided by the organizing committee and upload their abstracts (250–350 words) in Word format. Following the evaluation by the Scientific Committee, full text papers (2500–5000 words) will be requested from the accepted abstracts. Only full papers will be eligible for presentation at the congress.
• Abstracts of all submissions will be published in an e-abstract book.
•The subject of the paper must be aligned with the main theme of the congress: “Urban Development: Processes, Problems, and Solutions.”
•The study is expected to have the potential to contribute to the international literature.
3.2. Submission Timeline
•Deadline for Abstract Submission : June 15, 2025
• Deadline for Full-Text Submission: September, 1, 2025
3.3. Language Preferences
•The official languages of the congress are Turkish and English.
• For papers written in Turkish, an English title, abstract, and keywords are mandatory in order to enhance international accessibility and strengthen the visibility of the congress.
• For papers written in English, it is important to minimize grammar and spelling errors. Therefore, authors are advised to seek professional language editing services or have their papers reviewed by a native English-speaking academic before uploading them to the system.
• A scientific tone should be adopted, and unnecessarily long or complex expressions should be avoided. Texts should be clear, concise, and prepared in accordance with academic writing standards.
• Both Turkish and English papers must comply with spelling and punctuation rules. For writing standards, please refer to:
• For papers written in Turkish, the spelling and grammar rules of the Turkish Language Association (TDK) should be followed.
• For papers written in English, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) should be used as the primary reference for language and spelling standards.
3.4. Responsibilities of the Corresponding Author
•Ensure that all authors are included in the list and have approved the final version of the paper.
•Ensure proper communication and manage the revision processes.
4.1. File Format
•Papers must be prepared in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx).
•• Abstract submissions should comply with the guidelines and be between 250–350 words. Click here for the abstract template.
•Full papers, including the abstract, main text, tables, references, and appendices, should be between 2500 and 5000 words in total. Click here to download the full paper template.
4.2. Page Layout
• Paper size: A4 (21 x 29.7 cm)
• Margins: 2.5 cm on all sides (top, bottom, left, right)
• Font: Palatino Linotype
• Font size: 12 pt (Headings), 11 pt (Main text), 9 pt (Abstract and footnotes)
4.3. Title Information
•The title should reflect the content of the study and be written in Palatino Linotype, 12 pt, bold, and centered.
•The title should be in uppercase letters (except for conjunctions), bold, and centered.
•If the paper is derived from a postgraduate thesis, this should be indicated with a footnote attached to the title.
•If the study has sponsors, this should also be indicated with a footnote on the first page, attached to the title.
4.4. Author Information
Important: Author information will be added after the paper is accepted. It should be included according to the steps below:
•The name(s) and surname(s) of the author(s) should be placed under the title, centered on the page, written in 11 pt, Palatino Linotype.
•Only the first letters of the names and surnames should be capitalized.
•The author’s academic title, institution, email, and ORCID number should be added as a footnote in the specified order.
•Authors are required to include their ORCID information. ORCID registration can be completed at: https://orcid.org/register
4.5. Abstract and Keywords
•Full-text papers must include an abstract of 250–350 words on the first page, below the title, in the following format.
•Abstract submissions must also include a 250–350-word abstract.
•For Turkish papers: Turkish title, abstract, and keywords should come first, followed by the English title, abstract, and keywords.
•For English papers: Turkish title, abstract, or keywords are not required.
•The “Abstract” heading should be written in 12 pt, bold, left-aligned, with only the first letters capitalized.
•A spacing of 12 pt before and 6 pt after the heading should be added. Line spacing should be “multiple” and set to 1.15.
•Abstracts should be written in single spacing, Palatino Linotype font, 10 pt, and justified.
•The abstract must be written as a single paragraph and structured.
•The abstract should objectively state the purpose, methodology, findings, and originality of the study.
•No figures, tables, citations, or author information should be included in the abstract.
•Below the abstract, 3 to 5 keywords that reflect the content of the paper must be listed. For Turkish papers, English keywords must also be included.
4.6. Main Text
•The following main sections should be included in full-text papers:
• Introduction: Context, purpose, and significance of the study
• Theoretical Framework: The theoretical background and support of the study
• Methodology: Research design or methods used
• Findings: Presentation of data with tables/graphs.
• Discussion and Conclusion: Compare findings with the literature and explain contributions. Include conclusions, recommendations, and limitations.
•The text must be written in Palatino Linotype font with a font size of 11 pt.
• All text should be justified. Indents must be set to: Left: 0 cm, Right: 0 cm; with no indentation. Paragraph spacing should be set to 0 pt before and 6 pt after, and line spacing should be multiple, with a value of 1.15.
• Footnotes (if necessary): Justified, 9 pt, at the bottom of the page
•Do not include headers or footers
•In-text citations and references must conform to the latest APA format (APA7)
4.7. Declarations
•After the Discussion and Conclusion sections, the following declarations should be included:
• Acknowledgment (if any): Acknowledge contributors who are not listed as authors. Example:: "We would like to thank [name] for their support in conducting this study."
• Conflict of Interest Statement: Authors must disclose any conflicts of interest. Example:"The authors declare no financial or personal conflicts of interest related to this study."
• Author Contributions: Specify each author’s role. Example: "[Author Name] designed the study. [Author Name] conducted data collection and analysis. [Author Name] contributed to writing the manuscript."
• Ethics Statement:Declare ethical compliance. Example: "This study was conducted in accordance with ethical standards."
• Funding Acknowledgment (if any):Mention any financial support. Example: "This study was supported by [funding agency] under project number [number]."
4.8. Sections and Subheadings
•Sections and subheadings should be in 12 pt, bold, justified, with only the first letters capitalized.
•Section numbering should begin after the Introduction, using the decimal system (e.g., 1., 1.1., 1.1.1.).
•Use no more than three levels of headings.
•Introduction and Conclusion should not be numbered and should appear centered in uppercase.
4.9. Figures, Charts, and Tables
•Must include descriptive titles and numbering.
•Should not exceed page margins and must be centered.
•Titles must be placed above the figure/chart/table in 10 pt bold, centered, with only the first letters capitalized.
•For larger tables, smaller fonts may be used (no smaller than 8 pt). Tables should be created using Microsoft Word’s Table function.
•Source information must be placed below the table/chart in APA 7 format if applicable.
•Figures/charts/tables must appear near the first reference in the text.
•Tüm şekiller, şemalar ve tablolar; metnin tamamıyla uyumlu olacak şekilde görünüm numaralarına göre sırayla numaralandırılmalıdır (Şekil 1, Şekil 2, Grafik 1, Grafik 2, Tablo 1, Tablo 2 vb.).
•All visuals must be at least 300 DPI resolution with readable text and numbers.
•Şekil, şema ve tablolar için gerekli olması halinde sayfa şekli yatay olarak kullanılabilir.
•Tables/figures may be in color or black and white.
•Mathematical equations should be numbered, with the number right-aligned in parentheses.
4.10. References
•Font: Palatino Linotype, 10 pt, hanging indent (1.25 cm), justified
•Heading: “REFERENCES” should be centered and in uppercase.
•References must begin on a new page, listed alphabetically by the author’s last name.
•Multiple works by the same author should be ordered chronologically.
•Works by the same author in the same year should be labeled a, b, c (e.g., 2003a, 2003b).
•Single-author works should be listed before co-authored works.
•Include DOI numbers for journal articles, if available.
•All references and in-text citations must follow APA (7th edition) style. Submissions not following APA style will not be accepted.
•Papers submitted to the congress will be evaluated using a double-blind peer review system, ensuring that the identities of both authors and reviewers remain confidential.
•Reviewers will assess the papers based on originality, scientific contribution, methodological adequacy, presentation of findings, and writing quality.
•Following the peer review process, the outcome will be categorized as “accepted”, “rejected” or “equires revision.”
•For further details, please refer to the “Reviewer Evaluation Guidelines”.
•Authors whose papers are accepted are required to present their work in person at the congress.
a. Presentation Duration and Format
•Oral presentations should not exceed 15 minutes, followed by a 5-minute Q&A session. The session chair may adjust the schedule depending on session density.
•Presentations should be prepared in PowerPoint format and be compatible with devices recommended by the technical team.
b. Technical Requirements
•Presentation files must be submitted to the control desk at least 2 hours before the scheduled presentation time
•Presentations should be designed for a 16:9 screen ratio.
•All visuals must be in high resolution (minimum 300 DPI) and text sizes must be large enough to be legible from the back of the room.
a. Originality and Author Responsibility
•The responsibility for ensuring the originality of the papers lies entirely with the authors.
•By submitting their papers to the congress, authors declare that their work is original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere.
b. Anti-Plagiarism and Anti-Copying Policy
•The congress has a zero-tolerance policy toward unethical copying or plagiarism.
•Authors are strictly prohibited from using parts of other works, including their own previous works, without proper citation.
c. Plagiarism Check
•Before submission, papers must be checked for plagiarism using software such as Turnitin or iThenticate.
•İntihal oranı %20’nin altında olmalıdır. Yüksek benzerlik oranına sahip çalışmalar değerlendirilmeye alınmayacaktır.
d. Author Declarations
•All authors must include the following declarations in their papers:
• Contribution Statement: A detailed account of each author's contribution to the study.
• Conflict of Interest Statement: An explicit statement regarding any potential commercial or financial conflicts of interest.
• Ethical Statement:A declaration that the study was conducted in accordance with ethical guidelines.
e. Acts Constituting Plagiarism
•According to IEEE, plagiarism is defined as “the use of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit.” The following acts are considered plagiarism:
•Verbatim copying of another author’s work.
•Paraphrasing another author’s work without proper attribution.
•Using data or findings from another work without proper citation.
•Including any content generated by artificial intelligence in the paper without proper acknowledgment.
f.Compliance with COPE Guidelines
All ethical processes in our congress are conducted in accordance with the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).In this regard, authors, reviewers, and editors have the following ethical responsibilities:
Responsibilities of Authors:
•Authors must declare that the submitted work is original , has not been previously published elsewhere, and is not under review in another venue.
• The contributions of all authors must be clearly stated, and individuals who have not contributed to the work should not be included as authors.
• Any potential conflicts of interest must be explicitly disclosed.
• Authors must obtain the necessary ethical approvals for their research and declare that their study complies with ethical guidelines.
Responsibilities of Reviewers:
•Reviewers must remain impartial throughout the evaluation process and avoid conflicts of interest.
•They must maintain the confidentiality of the information provided during the review and focus solely on the scientific content of the submission.
•Reviews should be clear, constructive, and aligned with the academic standards of the congress.
Responsibilities of Editors:
•Editors are responsible for ensuring that the review process is conducted transparently and fairly .
•They must adhere to ethical principles when making final decisions, considering reviewer recommendations.
•In cases of ethical violations, editors must take appropriate actions in accordance with COPE’s decision trees.
Process Management in Cases of Ethical Violations:
•If an ethical violation is suspected, the process will be managed following COPE’s recommended decision trees.
•Ethical violations may include:
•Plagiarism (partial or complete use of another work without proper citation),
•Fabrication of data,
•Misleading authorship (adding individuals who did not contribute to the study as authors),
•Failure to disclose conflicts of interest.
•If a violation is confirmed, the related submission will be withdrawn, and the author(s) will be informed accordingly.
a. Copyright Transfer
•By submitting and having their papers accepted, authors transfer the copyright of their papers to the congress organization.
•All authors, through the corresponding author, must confirm the copyright transfer during the submission process.
•The copyright transfer covers the publication of the paper in the proceedings book and its distribution under an open-access model.
•Authors, by transferring the copyright, agree to the following:
•The paper does not violate the copyright of any third party.
•The paper is original and has not been published elsewhere.
b. Publication Rights
•Authors may benefit from the publication options announced on the congress website under the specified conditions.
•The congress organization reserves the right to publish accepted and presented papers in a proceedings book with an ISBN.
•To enhance international accessibility, all papers in the proceedings book will be published under an open-access model.
•All papers published in the proceedings book will be assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to ensure long-term accessibility.
•The authors are solely responsible for the originality of the content and references in their papers.
•The congress organization does not accept legal or ethical responsibility for any copyright infringement. In such cases, the responsibility rests solely with the authors.