Author guidelines
Authors can use our online manuscript submission platform. You can find it here.
STYLE
Manuscripts should be written using clear and concise English, with English (U.K.) standard spelling and
conventions.
UNITS OF MEASUREMENT AND ABBREVIATIONS
Units of measurements should be expressed using the metric system. Abbreviations should be given in brackets
after their first mention in the text, and used thereafter.
FORMAT
Double spacing on one side of the paper only. Number each page top right. Number lines. Avoid underlining.
Differentiate clearly between the letters O, I and numbers 0, 1. Ensure unusual symbols are written clearly.
STRUCTURE (LISTED IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE ON PUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT)
TITLE
Should not exceed 25 words and should be specific and informative.
RUNNING TITLE
Should not exceed 50 characters.
AUTHORS
Give initials and family name of all authors.
ADDRESS
The department, institution, city and country should be given with postal code for each author. An e-mail address will be published for the corresponding author, who should be clearly identified. Current addresses should be provided for all authors.
ABSTRACT
Abstracts should clearly summarise the findings of the manuscript. Note that online abstracts are published for viewing in isolation to the main body of the manuscript and should be self-explanatory. The following articles should contain a structured abstract written in the following format and should contain a maximum of 250 words: Background, Objectives, Materials and Methods, Main outcome measures, Results, Conclusions, What is new?
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Original articles should not exceed 5000 words and should have a maximum of 4 Tables and 4 Figures with a maximum of 60 references.
REVIEW PAPERS
Review papers must contain a methods section which demonstrates clearly the search procedure and methods of analysis and summarization. They should have a maximum of 8000 words of text with a maximum of 150 references, 5 Tables and 5 Figures.
PhD SUMMARIES
Summaries of PhDs are expected to give an overview of different chapters/articles which are part of that particular PhD. They should have a maximum of 8000 words of text with a maximum of 100 references, 5 Tables and 5 Figures.
TECHNIQUE AND INSTRUMENTATION
Technique and Instrumentation manuscripts should present a new experimental or computational method, test or procedure. They should have a maximum of 2500 words, 25 references and five Figures and/or Tables.
The following articles should contain a regular abstract with a maximum of 200 words.
EDITORIALS
Editorials are no more than 1200 words in length and contain no more than one Figure or Table and a maximum of 10 references. Editorials usually provide commentary and analysis concerning an article in the issue of the Journal in which they appear. They may include 1 figure or table (Abstract maximum 100 words).
PERSPECTIVE, OPINION AND VIEWPOINT PAPERS
Perspective, Opinion and Viewpoint manuscripts cover a wide variety of topics of current interest in health care, medicine, and the intersection between medicine and society. Perspective, Opinion and Viewpoint articles are limited to 2500 words and should include a maximum of two Figures and/or two Tables. There is a maximum of 30 references. (Abstract maximum 200 words).
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS
Short communications should be limited to a maximum of 1800 words of text with a maximum of 20 references and two Figures and/or Tables. (Abstract maximum 200 words).
CASE REPORTS
Case Reports will only be accepted if they highlight important innovations with wide applicability, or previously unpublished complications of new techniques or medications. Case reports require an abstract of a maximum of 100 words and should be no more than 1800 words. Authors must confirm in their manuscript that they have obtained the written permission of those whose ‘case’ is being presented.
There is no abstract needed for:
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
They should refer to a recent Journal article and must be received within eight weeks after its publication. It must not exceed 400 words, not including references. A letter must have no more than five references and one figure or table.
KEY WORDS
Up to six key words must be supplied by the author. The key words, together with the title and abstract, are used for online searches. They should therefore be specific and relevant to the paper.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Personal acknowledgements should precede those of institutions or agencies.
REFERENCE CITATIONS WITHIN THE TEXT
Each reference should be cited by author and date. If there are two authors please list both, if there are more than two, please use first author then “et al”. Permission to cite personal communications (J.Smith, personal communication) should be obtained by the corresponding author. Unpublished data should be cited as (unpublished data) and should not be included in the reference list. References to papers accepted for publication, but not yet published, should be cited as such in the reference list e.g. Pennings G (2008) Ethical issues of infertility treatment in developing countries. Hum Reprod, in press.
REFERENCE LIST
A correct use of journal abbreviations is mandatory. Up to 3 authors can be included after which et al. should be used. Refer to the following examples:
De Sutter P, Delbaere I, Gerris J et al. Birthweight of singletons after assisted reproduction is higher after single- than after double-embryo transfer. Hum Reprod. 2006;21:2633-7.
Elst P, Ahankour F, Tjalma W. Management of recurrent cervical cancer. Review of the literature and case report. Eur J Gynaecol Oncol. 2007;28:435-41.
Serour GI. Attitudes and cultural perspectives on infertility and its alleviation in the middle East area. In Vayena E, Rowe PJ and Griffin PD (eds). Current Practices and Controversies in Assisted Reproduction. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland 2002, 41-9.
References are listed in alphabetical order at the end of the article.
TABLES
Each table should be numbered consecutively with Roman numerals. Tables should be self-explanatory and include
a brief descriptive title. Footnotes to the table indicated by superscript lowercase letters are acceptable but should
not include extensive experimental detail. References to the tables in the text should be indicated in the margins and
referenced sequentially as Table I, II etc.
FIGURES
Each figure should be numbered consecutively as Figure 1, Figure 2 etc. References to the figures in the text should be
indicated in the margins and referenced sequentially. In preparing graphs authors should avoid background tints.
Colour productions are free of charge.
FIGURE LEGENDS
Each legend must be self-contained, with all symbols and abbreviations used in the figure defined.
REVIEW PROCEDURE
All submitted manuscripts are peer reviewed. Each manuscript is pre-reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and if suitable allocated to an Associate Editor according to specific subject area. If the Associate Editor considers that a paper would have only a limited chance of acceptance following peer review, the Associate Editor may recommend rejection without peer review.
The expert reviewers’ reports are considered by the Associate Editor who provides a summary report and a recommendation regarding publication. The Editor-in-Chief is consulted if there is a disagreement between the Associate Editor’s and reviewers’ recommendations or if any other concern arises during the review process. The Editor-in-Chief also takes the final decision on papers classified by the reviewers and Associate Editor as having only low or medium priority for publication. The decision and reports are usually returned to the authors within six weeks of submission.
Articles submitted by the Editor-in-Chief or by Associate Editors will be considered completely independently of these people.
ETHICS
Submission of a paper implies that it reports unpublished work and that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. If previously published tables, illustrations or text are to be included, then this should be clearly indicated in the manuscript and the copyright holder’s permission must be obtained. Copies of such permission letters should be enclosed with the paper.
Plagiarism of a previously published manuscript by the same or another author is a serious publication offence. Small amounts of text may be used, but only where the source of the material quoted is clearly acknowledged. Fraudulent data or data stolen from other authors is also unethical and will be treated accordingly. Papers can be rejected on this basis alone. Other sanctions as recommended by COPE (such as informing the author’s institutional head, publishing a notice of retraction etc) may also be considered.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
The authors of all articles must inform the editors of any possible conflict of interest. This includes any financial interest the authors may have in the company producing products described in the article; as well as stock, stock options, direct employment, consulting status or membership in a speaker’s bureau.
STATISTICS
Inadequate or incorrect statistical analyses frequently cause rejection or delays in the review of manuscripts. Where
appropriate, authors should seek advice from a professional statistician before the manuscript is submitted.
GUIDELINES FOR PREPARATION OF VIDEO ARTICLES
- Authors should send their video by WeTransfer to centraloffice@esge.org
- Central Office will ensure the settings are set to “private” therefore only Central Office and authorised reviewers will be able to view the video.
- The video link will also be sent back to the author, who should include it in the main document or a supplementary file, when submitting the article.
VIDEO ARTICLES SHOULD FULFIL AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING AIMS:
- to facilitate further learning and understanding, especially when complex matters are involved
- to show and explain complicated cases and pathologies that need extensive writing to describe and great effort and time to understand
- to improve educational skills and shorten the learning curve
- to disseminate in the most authentic, concrete and robust way surgical procedures, imaging, clinical conditions and medical information that would be very difficult or impossible to express in a written form
STRUCTURE:
TITLE
Should not exceed 25 words and should be specific and informative.
RUNNING TITLE
Should not exceed 50 characters.
AUTHORS
Give initials and family name of all authors.
ADDRESS
The department, institution, city and country should be given with postal code for each author. An e-mail address will be published for the corresponding author, who should be clearly identified. Current addresses should be provided for all authors.
Structured abstract maximum 250 words, should address the following points:
- Background
- Objectives
- Materials and Methods
- Main outcome measures
- Results
- Conclusions
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Maximum 100 words.
INTRODUCTION
Maximum 250 words.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
Maximum 250 words.
RESULTS
Maximum 250 words.
DISCUSSION
Maximum 500 words.
CONCLUSIONS
Maximum 150 words.
TABLES AND/OR FIGURES
Maximum 3.
KEYWORDS
Minimum 3.
Video content should be relevant to the article.
VIDEO
Total time maximum 10 minutes.
VIDEO CODEC
MPEG-4 (752 x 584 pixels)
MINIMUM QUALITY REQUIREMENTS
752(Η) Χ584(V) pixels (PAL)
768(Η) Χ494(V) pixels (NTSC)
