Author Guidelines

Green Medical Journal (GMJ)

1. General Information

Green Medical Journal (GMJ) welcomes scholarly manuscripts in the field of medicine, health sciences, and related disciplines that fall within the journal’s scope. Authors are required to follow these Author Guidelines carefully before submitting their manuscripts.

All submissions must meet the journal’s requirements for scientific quality, originality, research ethics, manuscript preparation, referencing, and publication integrity. Manuscripts that do not comply with these requirements may be returned to the authors for correction before entering the editorial review process.

Submission of a manuscript to GMJ indicates that the work is original, has not been published previously in a journal, and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Authors must disclose any previous dissemination or submission of the manuscript, including conference presentations, preprints, or related publications, where applicable.

GMJ is committed to maintaining ethical and transparent scholarly publishing practices. Authors are expected to comply with the journal’s policies on publication ethics, plagiarism, authorship, conflicts of interest, copyright, and licensing.

2. Types of Manuscripts

GMJ accepts the following types of manuscripts, subject to editorial assessment and the journal’s scope.

2.1. Original Research Article

An Original Research Article reports the findings of an original scientific investigation conducted by the authors. It presents new empirical evidence obtained through quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, experimental, observational, or other appropriate research designs.

Original Research Articles should address a clearly defined research question, describe the methodology in sufficient detail to support critical appraisal and reproducibility, present the results accurately, and discuss their significance in relation to existing scientific evidence.

The manuscript should generally include the following sections:

Title
Abstract and Keywords
Introduction
Materials and Methods or Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusions
Declarations, including ethical approval, conflicts of interest, funding, and other applicable statements
References

The structure may be adjusted according to the research design and the nature of the study. Authors must ensure that the methods, results, and conclusions are consistent with the stated objectives and that all claims are supported by the data.

2.2. Review Article

A Review Article critically examines, synthesizes, and evaluates existing scientific literature on a clearly defined topic relevant to medicine or health sciences. Its purpose is to provide an organized overview of current knowledge, identify areas of agreement and disagreement, evaluate the strength of available evidence, and highlight gaps that may guide future research or clinical practice.

Review Articles may take the form of narrative reviews, systematic reviews, scoping reviews, or other recognized review methodologies, subject to the journal’s scope and editorial requirements.

Authors must describe the approach used to identify, select, evaluate, and synthesize the relevant literature. For systematic and scoping reviews, the manuscript should provide sufficient methodological detail to enable readers to understand and assess the review process. Appropriate reporting guidelines, such as PRISMA where applicable, should be followed.

A Review Article should generally include:

Title
Abstract and Keywords
Introduction
Review Methods or Literature Search Strategy, as applicable
Main Body or Thematic Synthesis
Discussion
Conclusions
Declarations, including conflicts of interest and funding
References

The organization may vary according to the type and purpose of the review. Review Articles must provide a meaningful synthesis and critical appraisal rather than merely listing previously published studies.

2.3. Case Report

A Case Report describes an individual patient or a small number of patients whose clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, outcome, or other relevant features provide meaningful educational or scientific value.

Case Reports may be considered when they describe unusual or diagnostically challenging presentations, rare conditions, unexpected treatment responses, clinically significant adverse events, novel observations, or other findings that contribute to medical knowledge and clinical practice.

A Case Report should clearly explain why the case is noteworthy, provide an accurate and chronological description of the clinical course, discuss its relevance to existing literature, and identify the principal clinical lessons.

A Case Report should generally include:

Title
Abstract and Keywords
Introduction
Case Presentation
Discussion
Conclusions or Clinical Lessons
Patient Consent Statement
Other applicable declarations
References

Authors must obtain appropriate informed consent for publication from the patient or the legally authorized representative, as applicable. Identifying information must be removed unless its inclusion is necessary and specifically authorized. Ethical committee requirements must be addressed in accordance with applicable institutional regulations and the journal’s ethical requirements.

3. Manuscript Submission

All manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the GMJ online journal submission system. Authors should register as users before submitting a manuscript.

Registration is available at:
http://greenmedicaljournal.umi.ac.id/index.php/gmj/user/register

Authors should complete the registration form accurately and provide all information marked as mandatory. After registration, authors can access the submission interface and select “New Submission” to begin the process.

The online submission process consists of the following five steps:

Step 1: Starting the Submission

Select the appropriate journal section and confirm the submission checklist. Authors must ensure that the manuscript complies with the journal’s requirements and that all required declarations and supporting documents are available.

Step 2: Uploading the Submission

Upload the manuscript file in an accepted document format, preferably Microsoft Word. Verify that the file has been uploaded successfully and that it contains the complete manuscript.

Step 3: Entering Submission Metadata

Enter the manuscript title, abstract, keywords, and complete information for all authors. Identify the corresponding author and ensure that author names, institutional affiliations, and contact details are accurate.

Step 4: Uploading Supplementary Files

Upload the required supporting documents, including the cover letter, author declarations, conflict-of-interest forms, ethical approval documents where applicable, and other documents requested by the journal.

Supporting documents should be provided in PDF format where appropriate.

Step 5: Confirming the Submission

Review all uploaded files and metadata before completing the submission. Click “Finish Submission” to submit the manuscript.

The corresponding author will receive an acknowledgment by email and may monitor the manuscript’s progress through the online submission system.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all information and files submitted are complete, accurate, and consistent.

4. General Submission Requirements

Before submission, authors must ensure that:

The manuscript falls within the scope of GMJ.
The work is original and has not been published previously in a journal or submitted simultaneously to another journal.
All authors have made appropriate contributions, approved the final manuscript, and agreed to its submission.
All sources of information, data, figures, tables, and previously published materials are properly acknowledged.
The manuscript follows the journal’s formatting and referencing requirements.
Relevant ethical approval and informed consent have been obtained where required.
Conflicts of interest and funding sources are fully disclosed.
All required supplementary documents have been provided.

A cover letter addressed to the Editor-in-Chief must accompany the submission. The letter should confirm the originality of the manuscript, its exclusive consideration by GMJ, and the approval of all authors. Authors must disclose any previous submission, publication, conference presentation, preprint, or related report that could be considered overlapping or redundant.

If the manuscript has previously been reviewed by another journal, authors may provide the previous reviewers’ comments and their responses to assist the editorial assessment.

Authors should use the relevant manuscript template provided by GMJ, where available.

5. Research Ethics

GMJ requires all research involving human participants, human data, or laboratory animals to comply with applicable ethical standards, institutional regulations, and relevant national and international guidelines.

Research involving human participants must receive approval from an appropriate independent research ethics committee or institutional review board when required. Authors must provide the name of the approving committee, approval number, and approval date where applicable.

Research involving animals must comply with applicable animal welfare regulations and receive approval from the relevant ethics committee when required.

Authors must explain how informed consent was obtained when applicable. For studies using previously collected data, biological materials, or identifiable personal information, authors must address the relevant ethical and privacy requirements.

When ethical approval is not required, authors should provide an appropriate explanation and identify the applicable institutional or regulatory basis where relevant. A waiver of ethical approval or consent should not be claimed without appropriate justification.

The editorial team may request additional documentation to verify compliance with ethical requirements.

6. Clinical Trial Registration

Authors are encouraged to register clinical trials in a publicly accessible clinical trial registry recognized by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), including an appropriate primary registry within the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP).

Examples include ClinicalTrials.gov and other eligible registries.

Prospective registration should be completed before the first participant is enrolled, in accordance with applicable registration requirements. The registry name, registration number, and registration date should be provided in the manuscript and, where applicable, in the abstract.

Authors must accurately disclose the trial registration status. Registration does not replace the requirement for ethical approval or informed consent.

7. Manuscript Preparation and Formatting

All manuscripts must be written in clear, grammatically correct English.

Unless otherwise specified by the journal, manuscripts should be prepared using Microsoft Word or compatible word-processing software with the following formatting requirements:

Font: Times New Roman, 12-point.
Paper size: A4.
Layout: Single-column format.
Margins: 2.54 cm on all sides.
Line spacing: 1.5 throughout the main text.
Title and abstract: Single-spaced.
Maximum length: 13 pages, subject to the applicable manuscript template and editorial instructions.

Authors should use consistent headings and subheadings throughout the manuscript. Abbreviations should be defined at first mention, and unnecessary abbreviations should be avoided.

The manuscript must be organized according to its article type. Authors should consult the relevant template and reporting guidelines where applicable.

8. Title and Author Information

8.1. Title

The title should accurately, clearly, and concisely describe the subject and purpose of the manuscript. It should be specific and informative without presenting an unsupported conclusion or merely summarizing the study results.

The title should not contain unnecessary abbreviations or overly broad expressions. In accordance with the journal’s existing formatting requirements, the title should generally contain no more than 14 words.

The title should be centered, bold, and formatted in Times New Roman, 12-point font, with single spacing.

8.2. Author Names and Affiliations

All author names should be written in full without academic titles, professional designations, or unnecessary abbreviations. Authors should provide their institutional affiliations, including the department or unit, faculty where applicable, institution, city, and country.

Affiliations should be linked to the relevant authors using superscript numerals where necessary.

All individuals listed as authors must have made substantial scholarly contributions, participated in drafting or critically revising the manuscript, approved the final version, and accepted accountability for their contributions in accordance with recognized authorship standards.

Individuals who do not meet the authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately, with their permission.

8.3. Corresponding Author

One author must be designated as the corresponding author. This individual is responsible for communication with the editorial office throughout submission, peer review, revision, and publication.

The corresponding author must provide a valid email address and complete contact information as requested by the submission system.

Any change to the author list, author order, or corresponding author after submission must be justified and approved by all affected authors, subject to the journal’s editorial policy.

9. Abstract and Keywords

9.1. Abstract

The abstract must be written in English and contain 150–250 words. It should be concise, informative, and understandable without requiring readers to consult the full manuscript.

For Original Research Articles, the abstract should generally be structured around the following elements:

Introduction or Background: Briefly introduce the research problem.
Objective: State the primary aim of the study.
Methods: Summarize the study design, setting, participants or data sources, and analytical methods.
Results: Present the principal findings, including relevant numerical results where appropriate.
Conclusion: State the main conclusion supported by the findings.

For Review Articles, the abstract should summarize the review objective, methods or literature search approach where applicable, principal findings, and conclusions.

For Case Reports, the abstract should summarize the clinical context, principal case findings, management or outcome where relevant, and the main clinical lesson.

Authors should avoid unsupported claims, unnecessary citations, and undefined abbreviations in the abstract. The applicable article template should be followed when it specifies a different abstract structure.

9.2. Keywords

Authors should provide 3–6 keywords or short phrases that accurately represent the main topics of the manuscript.

Keywords should be separated by semicolons, without a period after the final keyword. Authors are encouraged to use standardized terminology, including Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) where appropriate, to improve discoverability and indexing.

10. Main Text

10.1. Introduction

The Introduction should establish the research problem, explain its scientific or clinical significance, and provide the relevant theoretical or empirical background.

Authors should summarize the most relevant and current literature, identify the knowledge gap or unresolved issue, and explain why the study or article is necessary.

The section should conclude with a clear statement of the study objective, research question, or hypothesis, as applicable.

The Introduction should remain focused and should not include detailed methods, results, or conclusions from the current study.

10.2. Methods

For Original Research Articles, the Methods section must describe the study procedures in sufficient detail to enable readers to evaluate the validity of the findings and, where appropriate, reproduce the research.

Depending on the study design, the section should include the following elements:

Study Design and Setting

Identify the study design, location, and period of the research. Explain the rationale for the selected design when necessary.

Participants and Sampling

Describe the target population, eligibility criteria, recruitment procedures, sampling method, and sample size determination. Explain the inclusion and exclusion criteria and account for participant withdrawals or exclusions where relevant.

Variables and Procedures

Define the principal variables and outcomes. Describe the intervention, exposure, comparator, measurement procedures, instruments, and follow-up period where applicable.

Data Collection

Explain how the data were collected, who collected them, and which instruments or procedures were used. Provide relevant information on the validity and reliability of measurement tools where appropriate.

Statistical Analysis

Identify the statistical software and methods used. Explain how the data were analyzed and how missing data, confounding factors, and other relevant analytical issues were addressed where applicable.

Ethical Considerations

State the relevant ethics committee approval, approval number where available, and informed consent procedures. Explain any applicable exemption or waiver.

For Review Articles, the Methods section should describe the databases, search terms, eligibility criteria, selection procedures, and synthesis methods as appropriate to the review design.

10.3. Results

The Results section should present findings in a logical sequence corresponding to the study objectives and analytical plan.

Authors should report the principal findings first and provide sufficient information for readers to understand the study population, outcomes, and statistical analyses.

Quantitative data should be summarized using appropriate descriptive statistics, such as frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations, or medians and interquartile ranges, depending on the data distribution and measurement scale.

Where appropriate, authors should report effect estimates, confidence intervals, exact P values, and other information necessary to interpret the findings.

For studies involving multiple groups, the results should describe the groups and report relevant comparisons. Statistical tests presented in the Results section should be consistent with the methods described earlier.

Tables and figures may be used to clarify the findings but should not duplicate information unnecessarily. All tables and figures must be cited in the text.

Interpretations, extensive comparisons with previous research, and implications of the findings should be reserved primarily for the Discussion section.

10.4. Discussion

The Discussion should interpret the principal findings in relation to the study objectives and existing scientific evidence.

Authors should:

Summarize the most important findings.
Explain possible mechanisms or interpretations supported by the evidence.
Compare the findings with relevant previous studies.
Discuss the scientific, clinical, or public health implications.
Identify the strengths and limitations of the study.
Explain the implications for future research or practice where appropriate.

The Discussion should not simply repeat the Results section. Authors should distinguish between statistically significant and clinically meaningful findings and avoid causal claims that are not justified by the study design.

10.5. Conclusions

The Conclusions section should provide a concise answer to the research objective or question.

Conclusions must be supported by the results and should not introduce new findings, unsupported recommendations, or claims that exceed the scope of the study.

Authors may identify implications for clinical practice, public health, policy, or future research when justified by the evidence.

For Review Articles and Case Reports, conclusions should reflect the principal insights of the review or the clinical lessons of the case, respectively.

11. Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose all financial, professional, institutional, or personal relationships that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the research, its interpretation, or its publication.

Authors must disclose relevant relationships, including employment, consultancies, honoraria, research funding, financial interests, and other competing interests.

A conflict of interest does not automatically disqualify a manuscript. Full and transparent disclosure enables the editorial team and readers to assess the circumstances appropriately.

If no conflicts of interest exist, the authors should include a clear statement declaring that they have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

12. Acknowledgments

The Acknowledgments section may recognize individuals or organizations that contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship.

Acknowledgments may include technical assistance, administrative support, language editing, or other appropriate contributions.

Authors must obtain permission from individuals named in this section. Financial or material support should also be disclosed in the Funding Statement where applicable.

13. Funding Sources

All sources of financial support for the research and preparation of the manuscript must be disclosed.

Authors should identify the funding organization and provide the grant number or other identifying information where available. If the study received no specific funding, the authors should include an appropriate statement to that effect.

Authors must describe the role of the funder in the study design, data collection, data management, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, review, approval, and decision to submit the manuscript, as applicable.

If the funder had no involvement in these activities, this should be stated explicitly.

14. Tables and Figures

Tables and figures should be clear, relevant, and necessary to support the presentation of the findings.

Each table and figure must be numbered consecutively according to its order of appearance and cited in the manuscript text. Titles and legends should explain the content sufficiently for readers to understand the material.

Tables should use consistent formatting and clearly identify column headings, units of measurement, abbreviations, and relevant statistical information.

Figures should be of sufficient quality for publication. Authors must ensure that labels, symbols, legends, and other visual elements are readable.

Abbreviations and symbols should be explained in the relevant table footnotes or figure legends. Previously published or third-party material must be appropriately attributed, and permission for reuse must be obtained when required.

Images of patients or other potentially identifiable individuals must be handled in accordance with applicable privacy, consent, and ethical requirements.

15. References and Citations

All sources cited in the manuscript must appear in the reference list, and every reference listed must be cited in the text.

Authors should use reliable, relevant, and current scholarly sources. Original research articles and authoritative sources should be prioritized where appropriate.

References must be formatted consistently according to the citation style specified in the applicable GMJ manuscript template. Authors should verify the accuracy of author names, article titles, journal titles, publication years, volume and issue numbers, page ranges, and DOI information where available.

Authors must not cite sources they have not consulted or use references to support claims that the sources do not substantiate.

Unpublished data, personal communications, and other non-public sources should be identified appropriately and used only when necessary.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all borrowed ideas, quotations, data, and adapted materials are properly attributed.

16. Plagiarism and Publication Integrity

GMJ is committed to maintaining originality, transparency, and integrity in scholarly publishing.

All submitted manuscripts are subject to similarity screening using plagiarism-detection tools, including iThenticate and Turnitin, as part of the initial editorial assessment.

The journal generally expects a similarity index below 25%. However, the similarity percentage is not the sole basis for determining plagiarism. The editorial team will examine the nature, location, source, and context of matching text, including the treatment of quotations, references, standard terminology, and methodological descriptions.

Plagiarism includes the unauthorized use of another person's words, ideas, data, or other intellectual contributions without appropriate acknowledgment. It may include direct plagiarism, mosaic plagiarism, inadequate paraphrasing, and the use of another person's work without proper attribution.

Authors must also avoid inappropriate text recycling, duplicate publication, redundant publication, data fabrication, data falsification, and other forms of research or publication misconduct.

If a potential ethical violation is identified, GMJ may request an explanation or supporting documentation and take appropriate action in accordance with its editorial policies and recognized publication ethics standards.

A manuscript may be returned, rejected, or subjected to further investigation when concerns about originality or publication integrity arise.

17. Copyright and Licensing

Authors publishing in GMJ retain copyright of their work and grant the journal the right of first publication.

Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license, subject to the journal’s Copyright and Licensing Policy.

This license permits others to share and adapt the published work, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original authors and source, a link to the license is provided, changes are indicated where applicable, and adaptations are distributed under the same license.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that any third-party material included in their manuscripts is properly attributed and that the necessary permissions have been obtained where required.

By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that they have the authority to grant the rights required for publication under the journal’s licensing terms.

18. Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

Authors must remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and accountability of all content submitted to GMJ.

Artificial intelligence tools may be used to support appropriate tasks, such as language improvement or assistance with organizing information. However, such tools must not replace the authors’ responsibility for scientific reasoning, data interpretation, verification of references, and the validity of research findings.

AI tools must not be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the manuscript or fulfill authorship requirements.

Where AI tools have been used in ways that materially contribute to the manuscript’s content or research process, authors should disclose the tool used and the nature of its contribution in accordance with the journal’s applicable AI policy.

Authors must not use AI tools to fabricate data, generate false references, manipulate results, misrepresent findings, or produce misleading scientific content.

Authors remain fully accountable for the submitted manuscript, including content produced or modified with AI assistance.

19. Peer Review and Editorial Decisions

All submissions are subject to an initial editorial assessment to determine their suitability for GMJ, compliance with the Author Guidelines, originality, ethical acceptability, and basic scientific quality.

Manuscripts that pass the initial assessment may proceed to peer review in accordance with the journal’s peer-review policy.

Authors may be asked to revise their manuscripts in response to editorial or reviewer comments. Revised submissions should address the comments systematically and provide a clear response explaining the changes made or the reasons for not adopting particular suggestions.

Submission does not guarantee acceptance or publication. The final decision rests with the journal’s editorial team based on the manuscript’s quality, relevance, ethical compliance, and the results of the editorial and peer-review process.

20. Final Checklist Before Submission

Before completing a submission, authors should confirm that:

The manuscript falls within the scope of GMJ.
The appropriate manuscript type and structure have been selected.
The manuscript follows the formatting and language requirements.
The title, abstract, keywords, author details, and affiliations are complete.
All authors have approved the final manuscript and agreed to its submission.
The work is original and is not under consideration elsewhere.
Ethical approval, informed consent, and trial registration information have been provided where applicable.
Conflicts of interest and funding sources have been disclosed.
Tables, figures, citations, and references are complete and accurate.
Similarity and publication-integrity requirements have been considered.
The cover letter and all required supplementary documents have been uploaded.
The authors have reviewed the GMJ Copyright and Licensing Policy and other applicable editorial policies.

Incomplete submissions or manuscripts that do not comply with these guidelines may be returned for correction before further editorial processing.

21. Contact and Further Information

For questions concerning manuscript preparation, submission procedures, or editorial requirements, authors should contact the GMJ editorial office through the journal’s official website:

http://greenmedicaljournal.umi.ac.id/index.php/gmj

Authors are encouraged to consult the relevant GMJ editorial policies and manuscript templates before submitting their work.

21. Authorship Criteria

Green Medical Journal (GMJ) follows the authorship recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). To qualify for authorship, individuals must meet all four criteria:

Make substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
Draft the manuscript or critically revise it for important intellectual content.
Approve the final version of the manuscript for publication.
Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work and ensure that any questions concerning its accuracy or integrity are appropriately addressed.

All listed authors must meet these criteria. Individuals who do not qualify for authorship may be acknowledged for their contributions, with their permission.

The corresponding author is responsible for confirming that all authors meet the authorship criteria, have approved the final manuscript, and agree to its submission to GMJ. Any changes to the author list or order after submission must be justified and agreed upon by all affected authors, subject to editorial approval.

Guest, gift, and ghost authorship are not permitted. AI tools cannot be listed as authors, and all authors remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the submitted work.