Writing Rules

Georgian Medical Journal · Author Guidelines

Writing Rules & Criteria for Publication

Public Health Institute of Georgia (PHIG) · Vancouver style · CC BY 4.0 · editor@gmj.ge · gmj.ge

1) Scope & Eligibility

Submissions are considered only if they:

— Fit GMJ scope: clinical medicine, surgery, epidemiology, public health, health services/management, patient safety and quality, medical education, bioethics, and health policy relevant to Georgia and the wider region.
— Are original, ethically compliant, and pass GMJ's plagiarism screening.
— Include all required declarations: Ethics, Funding, Competing Interests, Data Availability, AI Use.
— Are written clearly in Georgian or English.

Non-compliant submissions may be returned without review.

2) Article Types & Limits

Original Research — 4,000–5,500 words; ≤6 tables/figures; ≤50 refs
Systematic Review/Meta-analysis — 5,500–6,500 words; PRISMA; ≤80 refs
Brief Report — ≤2,000 words; ≤3 tables/figures; ≤25 refs
Case Report (CARE) — ≤2,000 words; 1–3 figures; ≤20 refs
Quality Improvement (SQUIRE) — ≤3,500 words; run/SPC charts encouraged
Guideline/Position Statement — by prior agreement
Editorial/Viewpoint — ≤1,500 words; ≤10 refs

Word counts exclude abstract, references, figure legends, and supplementary material.

3) Submission Files

— Manuscript: Word (.docx) or LaTeX (single .zip with .tex, .bbl, figures).
— Figures: TIFF/JPEG/EPS; photos ≥300 ppi; line art 600–1200 ppi (RGB).
— Tables: editable (Word/LaTeX), not images.
— Supplementary (optional): reporting checklists, protocols, datasets, code.
— Cover Letter: novelty, fit to GMJ, and policy disclosures (trial registration, ethics, data sharing, COI).
— Graphical Abstract (optional): 1200×800 px (PNG/JPG).

Figure file naming: Fig1_Surname.ext, Fig2_Surname.ext … (no spaces or special characters).

4) Manuscript Structure

1. Title — concise; no abbreviations; scientific names in italics.
2. Authors & Affiliations — department, institution, city, country; one corresponding author (*) with email; ORCID iDs recommended.
3. Abstract (≤300 words) — for original research: Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion; no citations.
4. Keywords — 4–6, title case, comma-separated.
5. Introduction — rationale, objectives, gap addressed.
6. Methods — design; setting; participants; outcomes; sample size/power; statistics (effect sizes with 95% CIs); ethics approval and consent; trial registration for interventional studies.
7. Results — primary outcomes first; effect sizes and CIs; avoid p-values alone.
8. Discussion — interpretation, comparison with literature, strengths/limitations, implications, generalisability.
9. Conclusion — concise, actionable.
10. Acknowledgements — non-author contributors (with permission).
11. CRediT Author Contributions — Conceptualization; Methodology; Investigation; Data curation; Formal analysis; Writing—original draft; Writing—review & editing; Supervision; Funding acquisition.
12. Funding — sources, grant numbers, role of funder.
13. Competing Interests — ICMJE-style or "None declared".
14. Ethics — IRB/committee name and approval number/date; consent/waiver; animal welfare approvals.
15. Data Availability — repository link/DOI or reasoned access restrictions.
16. References — Vancouver style.
17. Figure Legends — listed sequentially.
18. Tables — each with concise title and explanatory footnotes.

5) Style & Formatting

— Layout: single column; 11–12 pt; 1.15–1.5 line spacing; consistent font (Times New Roman or similar; LaTeX defaults acceptable).
— Headings: numbered (1; 1.1; 1.1.1), bold, sentence case, left-aligned.
— Abbreviations: define at first mention, e.g., Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).
— Units & Symbols: SI units; Greek characters (α, β, µ) where relevant.
— Equations: Word Equation Editor/MathType or LaTeX math.

Figures: cite in text (e.g., Fig. 1); upload as separate files; legends remain in manuscript; remove patient identifiers; written consent for recognisable individuals; written permission for third-party images.
Tables: number as "Table 1."; concise titles; explanatory footnotes; avoid exceeding one page where possible.

6) Reporting Standards

CONSORT (randomised trials) · STROBE (observational studies) · PRISMA (systematic reviews/meta-analyses) · CARE (case reports) · SQUIRE (quality improvement) · ARRIVE (animal research) · CHEERS (economic evaluations)

Clinical trials must include registry and number (ClinicalTrials.gov / ISRCTN / EudraCT). Upload checklist as Supplement.

7) References — Vancouver Style

— Number citations in order of appearance using bracketed numerals [1].
— Abbreviate journal names per Index Medicus; include DOIs where available.

Examples

1. Beridze A, Nadiradze S. Title of article. Georg Med J. 2024;12(3):101–10. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx
2. World Health Organization. Title of report. Geneva: WHO; 2023.

8) Ethics, Integrity & AI

— Human/animal research requires formal approvals; clinical images/data require consent.
— Disclose prior dissemination (preprints, theses, conference papers) and confirm no simultaneous submission elsewhere.
— AI tools: disclose name/version and purpose (e.g., language editing, figure generation). AI tools cannot be authors; authors remain responsible for originality, accuracy, and rights.
— See GMJ Plagiarism & Originality Policy for similarity thresholds and editorial actions.

9) Licensing, Permissions & Open Science

— Default licence: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0). Ensure you hold rights/permissions for third-party content under this licence.
— GMJ assigns DOIs (Crossref, prefix 10.66636) to all published items.
— Data and code sharing are encouraged via trusted repositories with persistent identifiers. Include a Data Availability statement.

10) Editorial & Production Process

— Initial checks: scope fit, policy compliance, plagiarism screening, technical completeness.
— Peer review: double-anonymised review by ≥2 independent reviewers; invited content at editor's discretion.
— Decisions: accept / revise / reject; similarity screening may be repeated after revision.
— Proofs: typeset proofs sent to authors; limit changes to factual corrections; reply promptly to avoid delay.

Corrections & Retractions — handled per COPE guidance: Correction, Expression of Concern, or Retraction as appropriate.
Authorship Changes — require written consent from all authors; changes after acceptance are exceptional.
Preprints — permitted; disclose preprint DOI/URL in cover letter and manuscript.
Patient & Public Involvement (PPI) — add a brief PPI statement where relevant.

11) Pre-submission Author Checklist

☐ Fits GMJ scope; originality confirmed; similarity check completed
☐ All required sections present (Abstract to Tables)
☐ CRediT roles, Funding, Competing Interests, Ethics, Data Availability included
☐ Reporting checklist uploaded (CONSORT/STROBE/PRISMA/CARE/SQUIRE/ARRIVE/CHEERS)
☐ Figures uploaded separately (≥300–1200 ppi); Tables editable in manuscript
☐ References in Vancouver style with DOIs where available
☐ ORCID iDs provided (recommended)
☐ Cover letter included; corresponding author email verified
☐ Preprint DOI/URL disclosed (if applicable)

12) Quick-Insert Templates

Competing Interests

"Author A reports grant support from ___ (grant No. ___). Author B served on an advisory board for ___. All other authors declare no competing interests."

Ethics & Consent

"This study was approved by the ___ Ethics Committee (No. ___, Date ___). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Consent for publication of identifiable images was obtained."

Data Availability

"De-identified data and code are available at ___ (DOI/URL) under CC BY 4.0. Additional materials are available upon reasonable request, subject to data-sharing agreements."

AI Use Disclosure

"Language editing was assisted by ___ (version ___). Authors verified all content and take full responsibility for accuracy and originality."

Georgian Medical Journal (GMJ) · Published by the Public Health Institute of Georgia (PHIG) · Led by Editor-in-Chief Prof. Giorgi Pkhakadze, MD, MPH, PhD · Open Access · CC BY 4.0 · editor@gmj.ge · gmj.ge