Manuscript Guidelines
MANUSCRIPT REQUIREMENTS
Journal Style
Gender Medicine expects manuscripts to conform to the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals” (the Vancouver style; N Engl J Med. 1997;336:309-315 or www.icmje.org). A copy of our tips for authors is available on request. Reports of randomized controlled trials should conform to the CONSORT guidelines (www.consort-statement.org).
Authorship
As stated in the Uniform Requirements (see previous paragraph), credit for authorship requires substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; drafting of the manuscript or critical revision for important intellectual content; and final approval of the version to be published. At time of submission, Gender Medicine requires the responsible author to sign a statement that he or she accepts full responsibility for the conduct of the trial, had access to the data, and controlled the decision to publish. The author of a review article must sign a statement that he or she approved the search terms, article selection, and manuscript outline, and accepts full responsibility for all conclusions drawn. Any change in authorship after submission must be approved in writing by all authors.
MANUSCRIPT COMPONENTS
Original Research
Papers are to be organized as follows:
- Structured abstract including Introduction, Methods, Results and Conclusions (300 words or less), followed by 4-6 key words for indexing
- Introduction
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusions
- Acknowledgments
- References
- Tables
- Figures
Review Articles
Comprehensive reviews and meta-analyses of the literature are welcomed—topics may be clinical, methodological, or theoretical. Authors should contact the Editor to discuss the topic area to avoid duplication with previously submitted or accepted manuscripts. The review should include an accurate, succinct title; a structured abstract; an introduction that specifies the purpose of the review; methods section that identifies the databases that were searched, search terms used, and inclusion/exclusion criteria for identified articles; an assessment of the validity of reviewed studies, including contradictions, gaps, and inconsistencies; and a summary that includes future directions for studies in this area.
Abstract: 300 words
Text: 5500-6000 words
References: <95
Graphics: 4-8
Consensus Statements
These papers are guidelines developed by an independent panel of experts within the stated specialty and are based on the current state of knowledge in that area. The submission should include an unstructured abstract; an introduction clearly describing the objective, member selection, and development of the panel; details of how opinions were formalized (including how disagreements were addressed); a fully referenced description of each recommendation; a comprehensive conclusion; acknowledgment of financial and editorial support including detailed conflict of interest statements from all parties involved in the panel and manuscript creation; and references.
Abstract: 300 words
Text: 5000 words
References: 80
Graphics: 6
Contemporary Issues
These papers cover topical issues of general interest with bearing on scientific or clinical research. The submission should include all standard sections required in an original research report.
Abstract: 300 words
Text: 5000 words
References: 80
Graphics: 6
Commentaries
These papers address an important issue in clinical medicine, health policy, or medical research in a thorough, well-referenced, systematic or evidence-based manner. The submission should include a structured abstract, an introduction, pertinent information detailing the position of the paper, a discussion, a conclusion, and references.
Abstract: 300 words
Text: 3000–3500 words
References: 60
Graphics: 5
Brief Reports
We invite submission of brief reports in the interest of rapid publication of findings which suggest that a particular phenomenon or hypothesis deserves further investigation. These papers are reports of preliminary preclinical or clinical investigations that are narrowly focused or provide limited findings. The submission should include an accurate and succinct title, a structured abstract, an introduction that specifies the importance of the study, a methods section, results, a discussion, a conclusion, and references. The discussion must clearly indicate whether or not the findings will be tested by further investigation in broader or different populations, by an extension of methodology or modifications in the interventions described, and any protocols planned should be described and identified.
Abstract: 250 words
References: 30
Text: 2000–3000 words
Graphics: 3
Case Reports
These are new, unusual, or unexpected events in one or more patients that provide significant information about disease manifestations, adverse drug reactions, drug-drug interactions or drug-disease interactions. Data regarding suspected adverse drug reactions should provide a description of the event, details regarding the implicated medication (purpose, when initiated), previous adverse drug reactions with similar drugs, effects of dechallenge or rechallenge, and treatment for the reaction. Please do not submit cases purporting to establish drug efficacy. The report should be factual, concise, logically organized, and clearly presented. In the case of adverse drug events, please use the Naranjo ADR probability scale to determine the likelihood that the events were drug-related (Naranjo CA, et al. A method for estimating the probability of adverse drug reactions. Clin Pharmacol Ther 1981;30:239-245).
The report should include an accurate, succinct title, a structured abstract, an introduction, case description, discussion, conclusions, and references. A table or figure may be included. The introduction should announce the subject and purpose of the report, including statements of why the case is important and how the literature search was performed. The case description should include a narrative account of the case with brief, pertinent clinical, laboratory and medication information. The discussion should comment on evidence that the case is new or unusual and consider possible alternative explanations for case features. The conclusion should provide a summary of the adverse drug reaction-medication relationship, how to treat it, and how to avoid it.
For more information about what constitutes a good case report, see Vandenbrouke JP, In defense of case reports and case series. Ann Intern Med 2001;134:330-334 and DeBakey L and DeBakey S, The case report. I. Guidelines for preparation. Int J Cardiol 1983;4:357-364.
Abstract: 150-200 words
References: 15
Text: 1500 words
Graphics: 1
Letters to the Editor
These are objective, constructive, or educational critiques of papers published in Gender Medicine. Accepted letters will be sent to the author of the original paper for a response. Each letter and response is published together. Alternatively, letters may focus on topical issues that are of interest to readers of Gender Medicine.
Text: 600 words
References: 5
Graphic: 1
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Financial Disclosure Policy
All authors are required to disclose, in writing, any financial interests (eg, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, expert testimony) in the materials or subject matter dealt with in the manuscript. (Please consult the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals.”) Financial or material support of the research or project must be listed in an acknowledgment.
Manuscript Preparation: Any contributions to the research or assistance in manuscript preparation by persons other than the authors must be stated in this section.
References
The accuracy of all references cited is the responsibility of the author. References should be numbered in the order in which they appear in the text and the full references listed in the corresponding order at the end of the text. Data on file and material that has been “submitted for publication” should not be included in the references.
