Author guidelines

Overall Conditions for Submission

The manuscript should be prepared according to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) and must comply with the ethical standards recommended by the Helsinki Declaration. 

The Editorial Process

A manuscript will be reviewed for possible publication with the understanding that it is being submitted to GMJ alone then and has not been published anywhere, simultaneously submitted, or already accepted for publication elsewhere.

The journal expects that authors would authorize one of them to correspond with GMJ for all matters related to the manuscript. On submission, editors review all submitted manuscripts initially for suitability for formal review. Manuscripts with insufficient originality, serious scientific or technical flaws, or lack of a significant message are rejected before proceeding for formal peer-review. Manuscripts that are unlikely to be of interest to the GMJ readers are also liable to be _rejected at this stage itself.

Manuscripts that are found suitable for publication in GMJ are sent to two or more expert reviewers. During submission, the contributor is requested to provide names of two or three qualified reviewers who have had experience in the subject of the submitted manuscript, but this is not mandatory. The reviewers should not be affiliated with the same institutes as the contributor/s. However, the selection of these reviewers is at the sole discretion of the editor. The journal follows a double-blind review process, wherein the reviewers and authors are unaware of each other’s identity. Every manuscript is also assigned to a member of the editorial team, who based on the comments from the reviewers takes a final decision on the manuscript. The comments and suggestions (acceptance/ rejection/ amendments in manuscript) received from reviewers are conveyed to the corresponding author. If required, the author is requested to provide a point by point response to reviewers’ comments and submit a revised version of the manuscript. This process is repeated till reviewers and editors are satisfied with the manuscript.

We expect authors, editors, and reviewers to adhere to best practices in publication ethics the details of Publication Ethics are here.

Manuscripts accepted for publication are copyedited for grammar, punctuation, print style, and format. Page proofs are sent to the corresponding author.

The corresponding author is expected to return the corrected proofs within seven days. It may not be possible to incorporate corrections received after that period.

The whole process of submission of the manuscript to the final decision and sending and receiving proofs is completed online. To achieve faster and greater dissemination of knowledge and information, the journal publishes articles online as ‘Ahead of Print’ soon after acceptance.

Clinical Trial Registry

The GMJ would consider publishing clinical trials that have been registered with a clinical trial registry that allows free online access to public. Registration in the following trial registers is acceptable:

http://www.irct.ir

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov

http://www.trialregister.nl

http://www.umin.ac.jp

Also, any registry that is a primary register of the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) (www.who.int/ictrp/network/primary/en/index.html).

Authorship Criteria

 As stated in the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations, credit for authorship requires:

1. Substantial contributions to the conception and design; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of the data,
2. The drafting of the article or critical revision for important intellectual content;
3. Final approval of the version to be published;
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the article are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Authorship credit should be based only on substantial contributions to each of the four components mentioned above.

Participation solely in the acquisition of funding or the collection of data does not justify authorship. General supervision of the research group is not sufficient for authorship. Each contributor should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content of the manuscript.

The order of naming the contributors should be based on the relative contribution of the contributor towards the study and writing the manuscript. Once submitted the order cannot be changed without written consent of all the contributors.

GMJ Authorship Standards

To respect the authorship right of authors and uphold scientific honesty, the authorship of GMJ should be compiled as follows:

1/ Author names should not be added, removed and changed the order after submitted the manuscript.

2/ Each article could have one corresponding author.

3/ Authors are not recommended to be co-first authors. Authors in the same institution could not be the co-first authors.

 The GMJ reserves the right of final explanations to the Authorship standard.

Contribution Details

Contributors should provide a description of contributions made by each of them towards the manuscript.

The description should be divided in following categories, as applicable: concept, design, the definition of intellectual content, literature search, clinical studies, experimental studies, data acquisition, data analysis, statistical analysis, manuscript preparation, manuscript editing, and manuscript review. One author should take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole from inception to published article and should be designated as ‘corresponding author’.

Conflicts of Interest/ Competing Interests

The Galen Medical Journal (GMJ) requires all participants in the publication process—authors, reviewers, and editors—to disclose any potential conflicts of interest or competing interests that could influence their work. Transparency in disclosing these interests is crucial to maintaining the integrity and trustworthiness of the scientific record.

1. Definition of Conflicts of Interest

A conflict of interest or competing interest occurs when an individual’s personal, financial, or professional relationships could inappropriately influence (or appear to influence) their actions, decisions, or interpretation of data. These interests may not necessarily be unethical, but they must be disclosed to ensure transparency.

2. Author Responsibilities

• Disclosure Statement: All authors must include a conflict of interest statement in their manuscript, declaring any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could be perceived as influencing the work. This includes, but is not limited to, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patents, and grants.
• Funding Sources: Authors must clearly state all sources of funding for the research and describe the role of the funders in the research design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation, as well as in the writing and publication of the manuscript.
• Absence of Conflict: If no conflicts of interest exist, authors should include a statement such as: "The authors declare no conflicts of interest."

3. Reviewer Responsibilities

• Confidentiality and Objectivity: Reviewers are required to conduct their reviews impartially and maintain the confidentiality of the manuscript. If a reviewer recognizes a conflict of interest (e.g., a close professional or personal relationship with the authors, or a financial interest in the research topic), they must recuse themselves from the review process.
• Disclosure: Reviewers must notify the editorial office if they are unable to provide an unbiased review due to a conflict of interest. The editor will assign the manuscript to another reviewer.

4. Editor Responsibilities

• Editorial Independence: Editors must handle manuscripts objectively and independently of any personal or financial interests. If an editor has a conflict of interest with a particular manuscript (e.g., if they are a co-author or have a close relationship with the authors), they must delegate the editorial decision-making process to another qualified editor.
• Disclosure: Editors are required to disclose any conflicts of interest that may influence their decisions and must ensure that the review process remains fair and unbiased.

5. Managing Conflicts of Interest

• Transparency: All disclosed conflicts of interest will be published alongside the manuscript to ensure full transparency to readers.
• Institutional Review: In cases where a conflict of interest is suspected to have influenced the integrity of the research or review process, GMJ may refer the matter to the author’s institution or an independent ethics committee for further investigation.
• Mitigation Measures: If a significant conflict of interest is identified after publication, GMJ may issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction, depending on the severity of the situation.

6. Consequences of Non-Disclosure

• Rejection or Retraction: Failure to disclose relevant conflicts of interest can lead to the rejection of a manuscript during the review process or the retraction of a published article if the omission is discovered post-publication.
• Institutional Notification: In serious cases, GMJ reserves the right to notify the author’s affiliated institution or other relevant bodies about the failure to disclose conflicts of interest.

By enforcing these policies on conflicts of interest and competing interests, GMJ aims to maintain the highest standards of transparency and integrity in scientific publishing. All participants in the publication process are urged to disclose potential conflicts promptly to ensure the credibility of the research and the trust of our readership.

Submission of Manuscripts

All manuscripts must be submitted on-line through the website: www.gmj.ir. First-time users will have to register at this site. Registration is free but mandatory.

Registered authors can keep track of their articles after logging into the site using their username and password. Authors do not have to pay for submission of articles.

If you experience any problems, please contact the editorial office by e-mail: gmj@salviapub.com

The submitted manuscripts that are not as per the “Author guidelines” would be returned to the authors for technical correction before they undergo editorial/ peer-review. Generally, the manuscript should be submitted in the form of several separate files:

[1] Font:

Times New Roman; 14 points font size(bold) title, 12 (bold) for subheadings, 12 for the manuscript body and 10 for other parts of the manuscript.

[2] Title page:

This file should provide

1. The title of the manuscript, names of all authors/ contributors and name(s) of department(s) and/ or institution(s) to which the work should be credited.

All information that can reveal your identity should be here. Use text/rtf/doc files. Do not zip the files.

2. The total number of pages, total number of photographs and word counts separately for abstract and for the text (excluding the references, tables figure legend, and abstract).
3. Acknowledgment, if any. One or more statements should specify 1) contributions that need acknowledging but do not justify authorship, such as general support by a departmental chair; 2) acknowledgments of technical help; and 3) acknowledgments of financial and material support, which should specify the nature of the support. This should be included on the title page of the manuscript and not in the main article file.
4. Registration number in case of a clinical trial and where it is registered (name of the registry and its URL).
5. The name, address, e-mail, Fax and telephone number of the corresponding author, who is responsible for communicating with the other authors about revisions and final approval of the proofs, if that information is not included on the manuscript itself.

[3] Cover letter:

This letter should be uploaded online as a word file. The author should state that the manuscript has not been and will not be published or submitted elsewhere. The financial disclosure should be declared. The letter must include a statement declaring that the study complies with current ethical considerations. Authors reporting experimental studies on human subjects must include a statement of assurance in the Materials and Methods section of the manuscript reading that: (1) informed consent was obtained from each patient included in the study and (2) the study protocol conforms to the ethical guidelines of the 1975 Declaration of Helsinki. The cover letter must also contain an "Agreement of submitting the manuscript by the corresponding author" statement, a signed form by the first 3 authors of the manuscript stating that the corresponding author has the right to communicate on their behalf in all correspondences regarding the submitted manuscript.

[4] Blinded Article file:

The main text of the article, beginning from Abstract till References (including tables) should be in this file. The file must not contain any mention of the authors’ names or initials or the institution at which the study was done or acknowledgments. Page headers/running title can include the title but not the authors’ names.

Manuscripts not in compliance with the Journal’s blinding policy will be returned to the corresponding author. Use rtf/doc files. Do not zip the files. Limit the file size to 1 MB. Do not incorporate images in the file. If the file size is large, graphs can be submitted as images separately without incorporating them in the article file to reduce the size of the file. The pages should be numbered consecutively, beginning with the first page of the blinded article file.

[5] Images:

Submit high-quality color images. Each image should be less than 4 MB in size. The size of the image can be reduced by decreasing the actual height and width of the images (keep up to 1600× 1200 pixels or 5–6 inches). Images can be submitted as JPEG files. Do not zip the files. Legends for the figures/images should be included at the end of the article file.

[6] The contributors' / copyright transfer form:

The copyright transfer form has to be submitted in original with the signatures of all the contributors within two weeks of submission via courier or email as a scanned image. Print ready hard copies of the images (one set) or digital images (only for Oversea authors) should be sent to the journal office at the time of submitting revised manuscript. High-resolution images (up to 5 MB each) can be sent by email. Contributors’ form/ copyright transfer form can be submitted online from the authors’area on.

Preparation of Manuscripts

The GMJ is a signatory journal to the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, issued by the ICMJE.

Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with “ICMJE Recommendations.” The uniform requirements and specific requirement of GMJ are summarized below.

Before submitting a manuscript, contributors are requested to check for the latest instructions available. Instructions are also available from the website of the journal (www.gmj.ir).

Copies of Any Permission(S)

It is the responsibility of authors/contributors to obtain permissions for reproducing any copyrighted material. A copy of the permission obtained must accompany the manuscript. Copies of any and all published articles or other manuscripts in preparation or submitted elsewhere that are related to the manuscript must also accompany the manuscript.

Types of Manuscripts

[1] Original Articles:

These include randomized controlled trials, basic medical studies, studies of screening and diagnostic test, outcome studies, cost effectiveness analyses, case-control series, and in vitro study. The text of original articles amounting to up to 3500 words (excluding Abstract, References, and Tables) should be divided into sections with the headings Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, Conflict of Interest, References, Tables, and Figure legends.

Abstract: The abstract of original articles in GMJ is a structured abstract, which includes the following four parts: Background, Materials and Methods, Results and Conclusions. The total number words abstract is no more than 250 words.

Introduction: State the purpose and summarize the rationale for the study or observation.

Materials and Methods: It should include and describe the following aspects:

Ethics Issue: When reporting studies on human beings, indicate whether the procedures followed were by the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional or regional) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (available at http://www.wma.net/e/policy/17-c_e.html). For prospective studies involving human participants, authors are expected to mention about approval of (regional/ national/ institutional or independent Ethics Committee or Review Board, obtaining informed consent from adult research participants and obtaining assent for children aged over 7 years participating in the trial. The age beyond which assent would be required could vary as per regional and/or national guidelines. Ensure confidentiality of subjects by desisting from mentioning participants’ names, initials or hospital numbers, especially in illustrative material. When reporting experiments on animals, indicate whether the institution’s or a national research council’s guide for, or any national law on the care and use of laboratory animals was followed. Evidence of approval by a local Ethics Committee (for both human as well as animal studies) must be supplied by the authors on demand. Animal experimental procedures should be as humane as possible, and the details of anesthetics and analgesics used should be clearly stated. The ethical standards of experiments must be in accordance with the guidelines provided by the CPCSEA and World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki on Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Humans for studies involving experimental animals and human beings, respectively). The journal will not consider any paper which is ethically unacceptable. A statement on ethics committee permission and ethical practices must be included in all research articles under the ‘Materials and Methods’ section.

Study design: Selection and Description of Participants; describe your selection of the observational or experimental participants (patients or laboratory animals, including controls) clearly, including eligibility and exclusion criteria and a description of the source population.

 Technical information: Identify the methods, apparatus (give the manufacturer's name and address in parentheses), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results.

 Give references to established methods, including statistical methods (see below); provide references and brief descriptions for methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new or substantially modified methods, give reasons for using them, and evaluate their limitations. Identify precisely all drugs and chemicals used, including generic name(s), dose(s), and route(s) of administration.

Reports of randomized clinical trials should present information on all major study elements, including the protocol, assignment of interventions (methods of randomization, concealment of allocation to treatment groups), and the method of blinding, based on the CONSORT Statement (http://www.consort-statement.org).

 Statistical Analysis: Whenever possible quantify findings and present them with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty (such as confidence intervals). Authors should report losses to observation (such as dropouts from a clinical trial). When data are summarized in the Results section, specify the statistical methods used to analyze them. Avoid non-technical uses of technical terms in statistics, such as 'random' (which implies a randomizing device), 'normal,' 'significant,' 'correlations,' and 'sample.' Define statistical terms, abbreviations, and most symbols. Specify the computer software used. Use upper italics (P=0.048). For all P values include the exact value and not less than 0.05 or 0.001. Mean differences in continuous variables, proportions in categorical variables and relative risks including odds ratios and hazard ratios should be accompanied by their confidence intervals.

 Results: Present your results in a logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations, giving the main or most important findings first. Do not repeat in the text all the data in the tables or illustrations; emphasize or summarize only important observations. Extra- or supplementary materials and technical detail can be placed in an appendix where it will be accessible but will not interrupt the flow of the text; alternatively, it can be published only in the electronic version of the journal.

When data are summarized in the Results section, give numeric results not only as derivatives (for example, percentages) but also as the absolute numbers from which the derivatives were calculated, and specify the statistical methods used to analyze them.

Restrict tables and figures to those needed to explain the argument of the paper and to assess its support. Use graphs as an alternative to tables with many entries; do not duplicate data in graphs and tables. Where scientifically appropriate, analyses of the data by variables such as age and sex should be included.

Discussion: Include summary of key findings (primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, results as they relate to a prior hypothesis); Strengths and limitations of the study (study question, study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation); Interpretation and implications in the context of the totality of evidence (is there a systematic review to refer to, if not, could one be reasonably done here and now?, what this study adds to the available evidence, effects on patient care and health policy, possible mechanisms); Controversies raised by this study; and Future research directions (for this particular research collaboration, underlying mechanisms, clinical research).

Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in the Introduction or the Results section.

 In particular, contributors should avoid making statements on economic benefits and costs unless their manuscript includes economic data and analyses. Avoid claiming priority and alluding to work that has not been completed.

New hypotheses may be stated if needed, however they should be clearly labeled as such. About 35 references can be included.

[2] Meta-analysis:

Only results of the meta-analysis are reported in this kind of article. The length of the article is within 3000-5500 words (not including Tables, Figures, and References).

The Meta-analysis should have the following headings: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Search Strategies, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, Conflict of Interest, Reference, Tables, and Figures in that order.

 to 7000 words excluding Tables, References, and Abstract. The manuscript may have about 130 References. The manuscript should have unstructured Abstract (250 words) representing an accurate summary of the article. The section titles would depend on upon the topic reviewed. Authors submitting review article should include a section describing the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting, and synthesizing data.

[3] Review Articles:

It is expected that these articles would be written by individuals who have done substantial work on the subject or are considered experts in the field. The prescribed word count is up

 [4] Short Communication:

These articles are short reports of original researches. They should not exceed 2000 words with no more than one Table, one Figure, and 20 References, and should have the following headings: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, Conflict of Interest, References, Tables and Figure legends in that order.

[5] Letter to Editor:

They should preferably be related to articles previously published in the Journal or views expressed in the journal or briefly report a case or research results. They do not contain an abstract, and there is no obligation to divide the text into sections. The letter could have up to 700 words and 10 references with one Table and/or one Figure.

[6] Editorial:

Editorials are usually commissioned. However, unsolicited editorials are also welcome. We are keen to consider editorials or ideas for editorials from authors outside Iran. Editorials can be up to 2000 words length with no more than 25 references. 

[7] Case Report:

Case reports are uncommon presentations of a common disease or common presentations of an uncommon disease. The maximum number of authors should be limited to six. The text of case report amounting to up to 2000 words (excluding Abstract, References, and Tables) should be divided into sections with the headings Abstract (include Background, Case Report and Conclusion ), Keywords, Introduction, Case Presentation, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, Conflicts of Interest , References (up to10 references), Tables and Figure legends.

Format of Reference

All references in the text must be numbered consecutively, place each citation immediately after the term or phrase and usually before the period; they should appear like the following: [1, 2, 5, 6] or [7-9].

Listing references, follow abbreviate names of journals according to the journal list in PubMed.

Citations in the reference list should contain named authors up to 6; if more than 6, list the first 6 authors followed by” et al”. Some examples of the journal's reference style are shown below. Please carefully follow the reference style precisely:

1. Journal Article:

Urita Y, Watanabe T, Imai T, Samana W, Heiram A, Ehsak A, et al. Influence of chronic ethanol consumption on extra-pancreatic secretory function in rat. N Am J Med Sci 2009; 1(4): 239-43.

2. Book Chapter:

Ramphal R. Infections due to Pseudomonas species and related organisms. In: Fauci AS, Braunwald E, Kasper DL. Eds. Harrison Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Medical; 2008:949-56.

3. Complete Book:

Margulis L: Origin of Eukaryotic Cells. New Haven: Yale University Press; 1970.

4. Link/URL:

U.S. positions on selected issues at the third negotiating session of the Framework

Convention on Tobacco Control. Washington, D.C.: Committee on Government Reform, 2002. (Accessed March 4, 2002, at http://www.house.gov/reform/min/inves_tobacco/index_accord.htm).

Unpublished work accepted for publication but not yet released should be included in the reference list with the words “in press” in parentheses beside the name of the journal concerned. References must be verified by the author(s) against the original documents.

Personal communications or manuscripts either “in preparation” or “submitted for publication” are unacceptable as a reference.

Note: You can download the GMJ Endnote style which available here

Format of Tables

Include a title for each table (no longer than 15 words) in a single file.

-Tables should be self-explanatory and should not duplicate textual material.

-Tables with more than 10 columns and 25 rows are not acceptable.

-Explain all nonstandard abbreviations in footnotes.

-For footnotes use the following symbols: *, †, ‡, §, ||,¶, **, ††, ‡‡-

-Tables with their legends should be provided at the end of the text after the references. The tables along with their number should be cited at the relevant place in the text

-Submit tables in a word processing—not an imaging—format.

- Identify statistical measures of variations, such as SD or SE. Do not merely repeat information in the text.

-All P values should be reported as exact numbers to 2 digits past the decimal point, regardless of significance, unless they are lower than 0.01, in which case they

should be presented to 3 digits. Express any P values lower than 0.001 as P<.001. P values can never equal 0 or 1.

-Obtain permission for all fully borrowed, adapted, and modified tables and provided a credit line in the footnote.

Format of Illustrations (Figures)

-Upload the images in JPEG format. The file size should be within 1024 kb in size while uploading.

-Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text.

-Labels, numbers, and symbols should be clear and of uniform size. The lettering for figures should be large enough to be legible after reduction to fit the width of a printed column.

-Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background and should be marked neatly with transfer type or by tissue overlay and not by pen.

-Titles and detailed explanations belong in the legends for illustrations not on the illustrations themselves.

-When graphs, scatter-grams or histograms are submitted the numerical data on which they are based should also be supplied.

-The photographs and figures should be trimmed to remove all the unwanted areas.

-If photographs of individuals are used, their pictures must be accompanied by written permission to use the photograph.

-If a figure has been published elsewhere, acknowledge the source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material.

A credit line should appear in the legend for such figures.

-Legends for illustrations: Type or print out legends (maximum 40 words, excluding the credit line) for illustrations using double spacing, with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations. When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are used to identify parts of the illustrations, identify and explain each one in the legend. Explain the internal scale (magnification) and identify the method of staining in photomicrographs.

-Final figures for print production: Send sharp, glossy, un-mounted, color photographic prints, with a height of 4 inches and width of 6 inches at the time of submitting the revised manuscript. Print outs of digital photographs are not acceptable. If digital images are the only source of images, ensure that the image has a minimum resolution of 300 dpi or 1800 x 1600 pixels in TIFF format. Send the images on a CD. Each figure should have a label pasted (avoid use of liquid gum for pasting) on its back indicating the number of the figure, the running title, top of the figure and the legends of the figure. Do not write the contributor/s' name/s. Do not write on the back of figures, scratch, or mark them by using paper clips.

-The Journal reserves the right to crop, rotate, reduce, or enlarge the photographs to an acceptable size.

Protection of Patients' Rights to Privacy

The Galen Medical Journal (GMJ) is committed to safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality of all patients involved in research studies published in the journal. We adhere to the highest ethical standards to ensure that patients' rights to privacy are fully respected throughout the research and publication process.

1. Patient Anonymity

• Identifiable Information: Authors must ensure that all patient-related information is anonymized before submission. Identifiable information includes, but is not limited to, names, initials, photographs, or any other personal details that could lead to the identification of the patient.
• Masking Identity: If any identifiable information is essential for the scientific validity of the manuscript (such as specific case studies or clinical images), authors must obtain explicit written consent from the patient (or their legal guardian) before submission. Even with consent, authors should attempt to limit the amount of identifiable information included.

2. Informed Consent

• Obtaining Consent: For studies involving human subjects, authors are required to obtain informed consent from all participants. This consent must include permission to publish any potentially identifiable information. The consent process must be clearly described in the manuscript, including how and when consent was obtained.
• Documentation: A statement confirming that informed consent was obtained must be included in the manuscript. Authors should retain copies of the consent forms and be prepared to provide them upon request by the editorial office.

3. Consent for Publication

• Written Consent: If the manuscript includes images or detailed descriptions that could reveal a patient's identity, authors must submit a completed GMJ Consent Form for Publication, signed by the patient or their legal representative.
• Patient Rights: Patients have the right to review the manuscript content that pertains to them before providing consent. They must be fully informed about the nature of the publication, how their information will be used, and the potential implications of its publication.

4. Confidentiality in the Review Process

• Reviewer Confidentiality: All reviewers are required to maintain strict confidentiality regarding any patient information encountered during the peer review process. Reviewers must not disclose or use this information outside of the review process.
• Editorial Confidentiality: The GMJ editorial team also upholds the confidentiality of patient information throughout the publication process. Only those involved in the editorial handling of the manuscript will have access to the relevant patient information, and it will be used solely for the purpose of ensuring the ethical publication of the research.

5. Post-Publication Privacy Protection

• Redaction of Information: If, after publication, a patient’s privacy is found to be compromised, GMJ may take steps to redact the identifiable information or, in extreme cases, retract the article to protect the patient's privacy.
• Patient Requests: If a patient or their representative contacts GMJ post-publication with concerns about their privacy, the journal will carefully consider the request and take appropriate action to address those concerns.

6. Ethical Oversight

• Ethics Committee Approval: All research involving human subjects must be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by an appropriate ethics committee. The manuscript should include a statement confirming that such approval was obtained, along with the name of the committee and any relevant reference numbers.
• Ethical Responsibility of Authors: Authors bear the primary responsibility for ensuring that their research adheres to ethical standards and that patients' rights to privacy are protected at all times.

7. Consequences of Breach

• Retraction: If a breach of patient privacy is identified after publication, GMJ reserves the right to retract the article to protect the patient’s rights.
• Institutional Notification: In cases of serious privacy violations, GMJ may notify the author’s institution or relevant regulatory bodies to take further action.

By following these regulations, GMJ ensures that the privacy and confidentiality of patients are rigorously protected, in line with the ethical standards expected in medical research and publication. Authors are urged to prioritize patient rights and confidentiality at all stages of their research and manuscript preparation.

Sending A Revised Manuscript

The revised version of the manuscript should be submitted online in a manner similar to that used for submission of the manuscript for the first time. However, there is no need to submit the “First Page” or “Covering Letter” file while submitting a revised version. When submitting a revised manuscript, contributors are requested to include, the ‘referees’ remarks along with point to point clarification at the beginning in the revised file itself. Also, they are expected to mark the changes as underlined or colored text in the article.

Withdrawal Regulations

The Galen Medical Journal (GMJ) maintains strict policies regarding the withdrawal of manuscripts to ensure the integrity of the publication process. Authors are advised to consider the following regulations carefully before requesting the withdrawal of a submitted manuscript.

1. Pre-Acceptance Withdrawal

• Author-Initiated Withdrawal: Authors may request to withdraw their manuscript before it has been accepted for publication. Such requests should be made formally in writing by the corresponding author, clearly stating the reason for the withdrawal.
• Procedure: The request should be sent to the editorial office via email, and it must include the manuscript title, submission ID, and the names of all co-authors. The request will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief, and a confirmation of withdrawal will be sent to the corresponding author if the request is approved.
• Conditions: Withdrawal requests made at this stage are generally accepted, provided that the manuscript has not yet been sent out for peer review or if there are valid reasons for the withdrawal (e.g., errors in data, submission to the wrong journal).

2. Post-Acceptance Withdrawal

• Author-Initiated Withdrawal: Once a manuscript has been accepted for publication, withdrawal requests are strongly discouraged. Authors who wish to withdraw an accepted manuscript must provide a compelling reason for the request.
• Procedure: The corresponding author must submit a formal withdrawal request, including a detailed explanation for the decision to withdraw. This request will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and the editorial board.
• Conditions: If the editorial board finds the reason for withdrawal acceptable, the manuscript may be withdrawn. However, the journal reserves the right to impose a withdrawal fee to cover the costs incurred during the review and editing process.

3. Editor-Initiated Withdrawal

• Reasons for Withdrawal: The editorial team reserves the right to withdraw a manuscript at any stage of the submission or publication process if there are significant concerns about the integrity of the research, violations of ethical standards, evidence of plagiarism, or if the manuscript is found to be a duplicate submission.
• Procedure: In such cases, the corresponding author will be notified immediately, and the reasons for the withdrawal will be clearly outlined. The journal may also notify the author’s institution or other relevant bodies about the withdrawal.

4. Consequences of Unapproved Withdrawal

• Unethical Withdrawal: Authors are discouraged from withdrawing a manuscript from GMJ after acceptance for the purpose of submitting it to another journal. Such practices are considered unethical and may result in a ban on future submissions to GMJ.
• Institutional Notification: In cases of unethical withdrawal, GMJ reserves the right to report the incident to the author’s affiliated institution, and the author may face sanctions from both the journal and their institution.

5. Withdrawal Fees

• Pre-Acceptance: Generally, no fee is charged for withdrawing a manuscript before acceptance unless significant editorial resources have already been expended.
• Post-Acceptance: A withdrawal fee may be imposed if a manuscript is withdrawn after acceptance, to cover the costs of peer review, editorial processing, and any other administrative tasks.
• No Waiver Policy: GMJ has a strict no waiver policy regarding the withdrawal fee. Once a manuscript is accepted, the withdrawal fee is mandatory, and exceptions will not be granted under any circumstances.
• Payment: The withdrawal fee of 500 GBP must be paid in full before the withdrawal is processed. Instructions for payment will be provided upon confirmation of the withdrawal request.

6. Withdrawal Notification and Confirmation

• Acknowledgment: Upon receipt of a withdrawal request, the editorial office will acknowledge the request and begin the review process.
• Final Confirmation: Once a decision is made, the corresponding author will receive a final confirmation of the withdrawal. If a withdrawal fee is applicable, details of the payment process will be provided.

By adhering to these withdrawal regulations, the GMJ aims to maintain the integrity of its publication process while respecting the rights of authors and the efforts of reviewers and editors. Authors are encouraged to carefully consider their decision before requesting the withdrawal of a manuscript.

Retraction Regulations

The Galen Medical Journal (GMJ) is committed to maintaining the integrity and accuracy of the scientific record. Retractions are an essential part of this commitment and are issued when there are significant concerns about the validity, integrity, or ethical conduct of the published research. The following regulations outline the circumstances under which a retraction may be issued, the process for issuing a retraction, and the implications for the authors involved.

1. Grounds for Retraction

A retraction may be issued under the following circumstances:

• Scientific Misconduct: Evidence of plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, or other forms of research misconduct.
• Errors in Data: Significant errors in data, calculations, or experimental results that invalidate the findings and conclusions of the study.
• Ethical Violations: Breaches of ethical standards, such as unauthorized use of data, failure to obtain necessary ethical approvals, or failure to obtain informed consent from research participants.
• Redundant Publication: Instances of duplicate publication (publishing the same data or findings in multiple journals) without proper citation or disclosure.
• Authorship Disputes: Serious disputes regarding authorship that cannot be resolved, particularly those involving unauthorized or uncredited contributions.
• Other Concerns: Any other issues that significantly undermine the reliability of the research or the integrity of the publication.

2. Retraction Process

• Initiation: A retraction may be initiated by the authors, the editors, or as a result of concerns raised by third parties such as readers, reviewers, or institutions. The party initiating the retraction must provide a detailed explanation of the reasons for the retraction request.
• Investigation: Upon receiving a retraction request or identifying a potential issue, the GMJ editorial board will conduct a thorough investigation. This may involve consulting with the authors, reviewers, and, if necessary, the authors' affiliated institutions.
• Decision: After completing the investigation, the editorial board will make a decision on whether to proceed with the retraction. The decision will be based on the severity of the issues identified and their impact on the scientific validity of the published research.
• Author Notification: The corresponding author will be notified of the decision to retract the article and will be given an opportunity to respond. All co-authors will be informed of the retraction.

3. Publication of Retraction Notice

• Retraction Notice: If a retraction is issued, a formal retraction notice will be published in the next available issue of GMJ and linked to the original article. The retraction notice will clearly state the reasons for the retraction and will be accessible to the public.
• Article Marking: The retracted article will be marked as "Retracted" on the GMJ website. A watermark or a similar identifier will be added to the online version of the article to indicate its retracted status.
• Permanent Record: The original article will remain available online to preserve the scientific record, but it will be clearly marked as retracted.

4. Implications for Authors

• Reputation: Authors involved in retracted publications may face reputational damage and may be subject to further investigation by their affiliated institutions.
• Future Submissions: Authors of retracted articles may be subject to restrictions on future submissions to GMJ, particularly if the retraction was due to misconduct or ethical violations.
• Institutional Notification: In cases of serious misconduct, GMJ reserves the right to notify the authors' institutions, funding agencies, or other relevant bodies.

5. Appeals and Disputes

• Appeal Process: Authors who disagree with the decision to retract their article may appeal the decision by submitting a formal request to the Editor-in-Chief. The appeal must include a detailed explanation of the reasons for contesting the retraction. The editorial board will review the appeal and make a final decision.
• Dispute Resolution: In cases where a retraction is contested, GMJ may seek advice from external experts or refer the matter to an independent committee for resolution.

6. Retraction vs. Correction

• Correction: In cases where errors are minor and do not undermine the overall findings or conclusions of the research, a correction may be issued instead of a retraction. The decision to issue a correction rather than a retraction will be made by the editorial board after careful consideration of the nature and impact of the errors.

7. Responsibility and Accountability

• Editorial Responsibility: The GMJ editorial board is responsible for ensuring that the retraction process is conducted fairly, transparently, and in accordance with COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines.
• Author Accountability: Authors are expected to take responsibility for the integrity of their research and to cooperate fully with the retraction process if necessary.

-A retraction note entitled “Retraction: [article title]” signed by the authors and/or the editor is published in the paginated part of a subsequent issue of the journal and listed in the contents list.

-In the electronic version, a link is made to the original article.

-The original article is retained unchanged saving for a watermark on the .pdf file version on each page to indicate that it is “retracted.”

-The HTML version of the document is removed.

For more detail information see the below:

Wager E, Barbour V, Yentis S, Kleinert S. Retraction Guidelines. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Sep 2009. Available from: http://publicationethics.org/files/retraction guidelines.pdf

By adhering to these retraction regulations, GMJ aims to uphold the highest standards of scientific integrity and ensure that the research published in the journal is accurate, reliable, and ethically conducted.

 

Plagiarism Policy

The Galen Medical Journal (GMJ) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and originality in all published content. Plagiarism, in any form, is a serious violation of ethical publishing standards and is strictly prohibited. This policy outlines GMJ's stance on plagiarism, the procedures for detecting and handling it, and the consequences for authors found to have engaged in this practice.

1. Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the practice of using someone else’s work, ideas, or expressions without proper attribution or permission, and presenting them as one’s own. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

• Direct Copying: Reproducing text from another source (such as a published article, book, or website) without citation.
• Paraphrasing: Rewriting someone else's ideas or findings without proper acknowledgment, even if the words are different.
• Self-Plagiarism: Reusing significant portions of one’s own previously published work without citing the original source. This includes "text recycling" without proper attribution.
• Data and Image Plagiarism: Using data, images, or other non-textual content from another source without permission or acknowledgment.
• Idea Plagiarism: Presenting someone else's original ideas or hypotheses as your own, even if expressed in different words.

2. Detection of Plagiarism

• Initial Screening: All submitted manuscripts are screened for plagiarism using advanced plagiarism detection software, such as iThenticate. This initial check helps identify any potential overlap with previously published works.
• Manual Review: If the software flags significant overlaps, the editorial team will manually review the similarities to determine whether they constitute plagiarism. Editors may also identify potential plagiarism during the review process, independent of the software.

3. Handling Plagiarism

• Minor Overlaps: If minor overlaps or unintentional errors in citation are detected, authors may be asked to revise their manuscript to properly cite the sources and remove any copied content.
• Major Plagiarism: If significant plagiarism is detected, the manuscript will be immediately rejected, and the authors will be notified of the reason. GMJ reserves the right to take further action, including banning the authors from submitting to the journal in the future.
• Self-Plagiarism: If significant self-plagiarism is identified, the manuscript may be rejected or the authors may be required to rewrite the affected sections with proper citations. The extent of permissible text reuse (e.g., in the methods section) will be determined by the editorial board.

4. Consequences of Plagiarism

• Manuscript Rejection: Manuscripts found to contain plagiarized content will be rejected outright, regardless of the stage of the review process.
• Retraction of Published Articles: If plagiarism is discovered after publication, GMJ will issue a retraction of the article and publish a retraction notice explaining the reason for the action. The retracted article will be clearly marked as such in the journal’s archives.
• Notification to Authors’ Institutions: In cases of serious plagiarism, GMJ may notify the authors' affiliated institutions, funding agencies, or other relevant bodies, which may result in further disciplinary action against the authors.
• Publication Ban: Authors found guilty of plagiarism may be banned from submitting to GMJ for a specified period or permanently, depending on the severity of the offense.

5. Author Responsibilities

• Original Work: Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submitted work is original and properly cited. They should familiarize themselves with what constitutes plagiarism and take care to avoid it.
• Proper Citation: Authors must ensure that all sources of data, ideas, or words that are not their own are correctly cited in the manuscript. Direct quotations must be clearly marked, and the original source must be cited.
• Declaration of Prior Work: Authors must disclose if their manuscript includes content that has been published elsewhere (e.g., in a thesis or as a preprint), and provide proper citations for any reused material.

6. Appeals

• Right to Appeal: Authors who believe their manuscript was wrongly accused of plagiarism may appeal the decision by submitting a detailed explanation to the Editor-in-Chief. The appeal will be reviewed by the editorial board, and a final decision will be made.

By enforcing this plagiarism policy, the Galen Medical Journal (GMJ) ensures the integrity and originality of the scientific literature it publishes. Authors are strongly encouraged to adhere to ethical standards and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in a responsible and honest manner.

Copyrights

The Galen Medical Journal (GMJ) publishes open-access articles that are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This license permits anyone to copy, redistribute, remix, transmit, and adapt the work, provided that the original work and source are properly cited. This approach ensures that the research published in GMJ is freely accessible to the global community, facilitating the wide dissemination and reuse of scientific knowledge.  

Checklist

Author Statement

• Signed by all contributors

 Covering letter

• Signed by all contributors
• Previous publication /presentations mentioned
• Source of funding mentioned
• Conflicts of interest disclosed

Authors

• Last name and given name provided along with Middle name initials (where applicable)
• Author for correspondence, with e-mail address provided
• Number of contributors restricted as per the instructions
• Identity not revealed in paper except title page (e.g. name of the institute in Methods, citing previous study as 'our study,' names on figure labels, name of institute in photographs,etc.)

Presentation and Format

• Double spacing
• Margins 2.5 cm from all four sides
• Page numbers included at bottom
• Title page contains all the desired information
• Abstract page contains the full title of the manuscript
• Abstract provided (structured abstract of 250 words for original articles, meta-analysis (Background, Materials and Methods, Results, Conclusions) and review articles (unstructured)

. Keywords provided (three or no more than 6 words) Introduction should be short and arresting

. State the purpose of the article and summarize the rationale for the study or observation. Give only strictly pertinent references

• The references cited in the text should be before punctuation marks
• References according to the journal’s instructions, punctuation marks checked
• Send the article file without ‘Track Changes.'

Language and Grammar

• Uniformly American English
• Write the full term for each abbreviation at its first use in the title, abstract, keywords and text separately unless it is a standard unit of measure. Numerals from 1 to 10 spelled out
• Numerals at the beginning of the sentence spelled out
• Check the manuscript for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors
• If a brand name is cited, supply the manufacturer's name and address (city and state/country).
• Species names should be in italics

Tables and Figures

• No repetition of data in tables, graphs, and main text
• Actual numbers from which graphs were drawn, provided
• Figures necessary and of good quality (color)
• Table and figure numbers in Arabic letters (not Roman)
• Labels pasted on back of the photographs (no names written)
• Figure legends provided (not more than 40 words)
• Patients' privacy maintained (if not permission was taken)
• Credit note for borrowed figures/tables provided
• Write the full term for each abbreviation used in the table as a footnote

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

1. As a part of the submission process, authors are required to check their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and the author's guidelines and submissions that do not adhere to these guidelines will be returned to the authors.

1. The submission has not been previously published, nor is it submitted before in another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
2. The submission file is in Microsoft Word (doc or docx) including Title page, Abstract, Keywords, Manuscript body, Acknowledgments, Conflicts of Interest, Tables, and Figures. Tables, Figures, and Graphs will also be submitted as supplementary files.
3. The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in About the Journal.
4. The authors’ full contribution to the article and declaration that the authors mentioned in the manuscript are the only contributors.
5. Due to the costs for the scientific editing of each paper (including language, technical, and copy editing) which are paid by the journal, authors are not permitted to withdraw the paper after it passes the peer review process and goes to the editing process unless they admit paying the costs which will be informed by the editor in that time.
6. Authors should introduce at least two potential reviewers to the editor of their paper by email or write in the "comments" section to hasten the review process.

Copyright Notice

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

• Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
• Authors can enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
• Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in the journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

 

Author Fees

The Galen Medical Journal (GMJ) operates as an open-access journal, which means that all articles published are freely available to the public. To cover the costs associated with high-quality open-access publishing, GMJ imposes certain fees on authors. These fees help fund the peer review process, editorial services, production, and online hosting. Below are the details regarding the fees that authors may be required to pay. (See here)