Submission of a manuscript implies that the work described has not been published elsewhere (except for conference abstracts). Furthermore, the work is not under consideration for publication anywhere else and its publication has been approved by all co-authors, if any, as well as by the responsible authorities tacitly or explicitly at the institute where the work has been carried out.
The Manuscript Should be in the Following Order:
- Cover letter
- Title page
- Abstract
- Keywords
- Text
- Acknowledgements (if any)
- Funding (if any)
- Author Contributions
- Conflict of Interest Disclosure
- Ethics Approval Statement
- References
- Tables and Figures
- Supplementary Material (uploaded separately)
- Title Page
The title page should include: ① A concise and informative title; ② The name(s) of the author(s) ORCID if available; ③ The affiliation(s) and address(es) of the author(s); ④ The e-mail address and telephone number of the corresponding author.
- Abstract
Abstracts are required for all types of manuscripts (except for opinions, commentaries and letters to the editor) and should consist of no more than 250 words. Abstracts should include the following structure: Objectives, Methods, Results and Conclusion.
- Keywords
All manuscript should include 4-6 keywords, not included in the title of the paper.
- Text
Manuscripts should be structured according to the type of article (see above).
- Acknowledgements (if any)
All contributors of the paper who are not named as co-authors should be mentioned in the acknowledgement section.
- Funding (if any)
Funding sources should be clearly stated
- Author Contributions
Please provide a contribution statement by indicating each author's contribution to the paper according to the ICMJE guidelines for authorship. For detailed information on these guidelines, please refer to the webpage: http://www.icmje.org
The statement should state how each author contributed to the article. Please include individual contributions to planning, conduct and reporting of the work in your paper. Conception and design, acquisition of data or analysis and interpretation of data, etc. may also be considered. Please note that persons listed as an author who do not fulfill all three of the criteria mentioned above should be moved to the acknowledgment section.
- Conflict of Interest Disclosure
Any interest or relationship, financial or otherwise that might be perceived as influencing an author's objectivity is considered a potential source of conflict of interest. These must be disclosed when directly relevant or directly related to the work that the authors describe in their manuscript. The existence of a conflict of interest does not preclude publication. If the authors have no conflict of interest to declare, they must also state this at submission. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to review this policy with all authors and collectively to disclose with the submission ALL pertinent commercial and other relationships.)
- Ethics Approval Statement (if relevant)
Our policy is to ensure that all articles published by GSS report on work that is morally acceptable and expects authors to follow the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki. To achieve this, we aim to appraise the ethical aspects of any submitted work that involves human participants, whatever descriptive label is given to that work including research, audit, and sometimes debate. If your study involves human subjects and/or animals, and also if your manuscript includes case reports/case series, you need to provide the following:
Authors must provide the name of the ethical approval committee/Institutional Review Board they have obtained consent form along with the approval number/ID.
Authors should specifically mention if a waiver was obtained for the study and the reason for the waiver. They should confirm that the study was conducted in accordance with Helsinki Declaration as revised in 2013.
Authors must state that written informed consent was obtained from the participants of the study (and the relevant document(s) must be provided when requested by the journal). If verbal informed consent was obtained, the reason(s) for the absence of written consent must be provided.
In addition, we welcome detailed explanations of how investigators and authors have considered and justified the ethical and moral basis of their work. If such detail does not easily fit into the manuscript, please provide it in the covering letter or upload it as a supplemental file when submitting the article. We will also be pleased to see copies of explanatory information given to participants. Even if we do not include such detailed information in a final published version, we may make it available to peer reviewers and editorial committees. We have already asked peer reviewers to consider and comment on the ethics of the submitted work.
- Permission to Reproduce Material from Other Sources (if relevant)
If your article makes use of any previously published material (including figures/diagrams, or short extracts, or content taken from websites) then you must first obtain the written permission of the copyright owner. The copyright owner is usually the publisher (for material taken from journal or proceedings articles), website owner/company (for material taken from websites) or the author or their employer (if the work is unpublished). Some publishers will also require that you seek the permission of the original author (you will need to check the terms of the publisher’s permission.
We ask you to submit written evidence:
- That all necessary permissions have been obtained by providing the actual written permission granted by the copyright owner, or
- That permission is not required, e.g. where the material is available under one of the Creative Commons licenses which allow commercial reuse and suits the purpose for which you want to reuse the content.
- References
During the initial submission, authors may choose any referencing style. However, the style needs to be consistent throughout the manuscript.
- Figures and Tables
Figures and tables should appear in the body of the paper near the place where they are mentioned. High-resolution images should also be uploaded separately as figure files. The figures and tables should be cited in numeric order in the text.
All image files for figures should be labeled with the figure number (label each part if figures include multiple parts, e.g, 2A, 2B). The figure legend should be placed below each figure and should include descriptions of each figure part and identify the meaning of any symbols or arrows. Terms used for labels and in the legend must be consistent with those in the text.
Color will be used in the Journal where needed (e.g, histology slides or surgical photographs). All other figures, such as bar graphs and charts, should be submitted in black and white.
Figures for papers accepted for publication must meet the image resolution requirements. Files for line-based drawings (no grayscale) should ideally be submitted in the format they were originally created; if submitting scanned versions, files should be 1200 dots per inch (dpi). Color photos should be submitted at 600 dpi and black-and-white photos at 300 dpi.
Charts and graphs can be submitted in the original form created (e.g, Word, Excel, or PowerPoint). Photographs or scanned drawings embedded in Word or PowerPoint are not acceptable for publication.
All photographs of patients that disclose their identity must be accompanied by a signed photographic release granting permission for their likeness to be reproduced in the article. If this is not provided, the patient’s eyes must be occluded to prevent recognition.
For tables, the system accepts most common word processing formats. Tables should have a title that describes the content and purpose of the table. Tables should enhance, not duplicate, information in the text.
If you include figures that have already been published elsewhere, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner(s).
- Supplementary Material
Authors are encouraged to include only concise Figures and Tables that directly support the study design and outcome to the main document of the manuscript. All other relevant information should be submitted as supplementary material.
GSS does not require special formatting during the initial submission. Authors may follow any scholarly format or layout. This also includes references, as long as the citation style is consistent throughout the entire manuscript. However, authors are required to follow the specific guidelines based on the article type outlined below:
Original Research
Original research articles are based on primary data collected through a systematic study and can be interventional or observational in nature. Special attention should be given to the description of the methods (i.e. the intervention). Cohort studies may only be considered if the activities of the cohort are described in detail and conclusions on exercise prescription are presented. The content of the study should be described concisely in the title of the paper. Furthermore, research articles must provide an abstract as well as a summary box presenting the key facts of the paper. Pre-registration for original research is recommended and mandatory for clinical trials. The registration ID should be reported in the manuscript. Authors of RCT’s are also asked to follow the CONSORT statement when drafting the manuscript and to upload the CONSORT checklist. In case the work does not comprise a randomized design, modifications to the CONSORT guidelines should be reported. Please consult the CONSORT webpage for further information: http://www.consort-statement.org. Cohort studies should follow the STROBE guidelines, the corresponding checklist should be uploaded. This may be found on the following webpage: https://www.strobe-statement.org/index.php?id=available-checklists
The Structure of Original Articles Should be as Follows:
Word limit: 4,000 words, excluding abstract, methods, references and figure legends.
Abstract: 250 words; must be structured, under the following sub-headings: Background and Purpose, Experimental Approach, Key Results, Conclusion and Implications. Minimise abbreviations and do not include any references.
Methods: Should be fully transparent with sufficient detail to enable replication by others. There is no word limit.
Discussion and Conclusions: 1,500 words.
References: Ideally, no more than 60 references, with a focus on primary publications.
Title: 160 characters (including spaces).
Keywords: Supply between 3 and 7.
Figures/Tables: Total of no more than 10 figures and tables (excluding supporting files).
Review Articles
The journal will primarily accept systematic reviews and meta-analyses, which are based on a mechanistic approach. However, narrative reviews (including consensus statements, opinions, commentaries and letters to the editor) may be considered for publication if they provide a substantial contribution to the field. Authors of narrative reviews, consensus statements, opinions, commentaries and letters to the editor should contact the editorial office prior to submission.
Systematic review articles should follow the detailed guidelines outlined below:
- Wherever possible, systematic reviews should be supported by meta-analytical data.
- The literature search should have been completed within 12 months of manuscript submission.
- Manuscripts should follow the PRISMAchecklist and each item should be addressed. Submission should also include a flow diagram.
- Systematic reviews should be registered and the number and registry have to be provided in the manuscript.
- Description: Reviews are comprehensive analyses of the literature. Authors of unsolicited reviews must submit them directly to GSS, following the standard submission procedure. As per GSSeditorial policy, authors are not allowed to include any original data in reviews.
The Structure of Review Articles Should be as Follows:
Word limit: 3,000-5,000 words excluding abstract, references and figure legends. (Please cite word count on your manuscript).
Title: Up to 160 characters (including spaces).
Abstract: Between 150 and 250 words; mut be non-structured.
References: Up to 100 references.
Structure: Authors should break up their reviews into headed sections.
Figures/Tables: There should be a minimum of two figures one of which should illustrate the major findings/pathways discussed. There should be a total of no more than 5 figures and tables (combined). The use of explanatory figures in the form of cartoons, flow diagrams, etc., is encouraged. Professional assistance can be provided – please contact the editorial office.
Authors should conform to the publication ethics.
