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 applicable policy disclosures (trial registration, ethics/consent, data availability, competing interests, preprint status, and substantive AI use).
— 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 required for all authors.
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. AI Use Disclosure — disclose substantive generative/content-producing AI use, including tool/system and purpose; AI cannot be an author.
17. References — Vancouver style.
18. Figure Legends — listed sequentially.
19. 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)

Interventional clinical trials must report the registry name and registration number and satisfy applicable ICMJE registration requirements. Upload the applicable reporting checklist as supplementary material.

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. Author AA, Author BB. Title of article. Georg Med J. 2026;1(1):1–10. doi:10.66636/[article-doi]
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, citations, confidentiality, and rights. See the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy.
— See GMJ Plagiarism, Originality & Similarity Screening Policy. Similarity reports are interpreted in context; GMJ does not use a fixed percentage as an automatic definition of plagiarism.

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.
— Published scholarly content receives a persistent DOI, as applicable; current Crossref registrations use prefix 10.66636.
— Research articles must include a Data Availability Statement. Data and code should be shared through trusted repositories with persistent identifiers where ethically, legally, and practically appropriate; legitimate restrictions must be explained.

10) Editorial & Production Process

— Initial checks: scope fit, policy compliance, plagiarism screening, technical completeness.
— Peer review: scholarly research manuscripts that pass initial editorial screening undergo double-anonymised review, normally by at least two independent reviewers. Non-research/editorial content follows the review process specified for its article type.
— 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) Preprints & Prior Dissemination

Recognised preprints do not constitute prior publication. Authors must disclose the preprint server and DOI or persistent URL at submission. Theses, conference abstracts/papers, and other related dissemination must also be disclosed where relevant. See the Preprint Policy.

12) Pre-submission Author Checklist

 

☐  Fits GMJ scope; originality confirmed; prior dissemination/overlap disclosed
☐  All required sections present (Abstract to Tables)
☐  CRediT roles, Funding, Competing Interests, Ethics/Consent, Data Availability, and AI Use statements 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 for all authors (required)
☐  Cover letter included; corresponding author email verified
☐  Preprint DOI/URL disclosed (if applicable)

13) 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/or code are available at ___ (DOI/URL) under the repository licence stated there. Additional materials are available subject to applicable ethical, legal, privacy, and data-sharing restrictions."
 

AI Use Disclosure

"The authors used ___ (tool/system, version where known) for ___. All AI-assisted output was reviewed and verified by the authors, who take full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, citations, confidentiality, and integrity of the submitted work."

Related Policies

Author Guidelines · Peer Review Policy · Research Ethics Policy · AI Policy · Preprint Policy · Corrections & Retractions.

Writing Rules & Criteria for Publication last reviewed and updated: September 2026.

 

Georgian Medical Journal (GMJ)
Published by the Public Health Institute of Georgia (PHIG)
3 Betlemi Rise, 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia
ISSN 3088-4322 · DOI prefix 10.66636 · Open Access · CC BY 4.0
editor@gmj.ge · gmj.ge