Instruction for Authors

Types of articles published in journal

The journal Opšta medicina publishes original, previously unpublished works:

 

  • Original research article or Case report (an article is considered original research if it is the report of the study written by the researchers who actually did the study).
  • Review article containing original, detailed and critical review of the research problem or an area in which the author has already made a contribution, presented in the form of self quotations.
  • Short or preliminary announcement which includes original scientifi c work in full format, but in smaller volume. 
  • Scientifi c criticism, or controversy on a particular scientific topic, based on scientifi c argumentation.
  • Exceptionally: monographic studies, historical archives, lexicographical and bibliographical studies, or data reviews, under the condition that these are summarized data that were previously unavailable to the public.

If the work was previously announced at a professional meeting, state the official name of the meeting, place and time.

 

General instructions

The articles of the Serbian authors submitted in the Serbian language will be translated into English. Serbian authors should submit their articles in the Latin alphabet. If the article is in Serbian it should contain an abstract in English or if the article is in English it should contain an abstract in the Serbian language. Authors out of Serbia should submit their articles exclusively in English.

Text should be typed in “Word” ® word processing program, using Times New Roman font size 12 on A4 page size, with left justification and one tab indentation for the first line of paragraph. Do not hyphenate. Place only one blank character after each punctuation mark.

For special characters use the Symbol font. It is important to indicate with the red colour phrases, names, abbreviations etc that will remain in Latin and must not be transliterated in Cyrillic alphabet, such as units, medicament names, chemical formulas, abbreviations of foreign phrases etc.

The names of foreign authors mentioned in the text should be translated into Serbian and the official name should be given in parentheses, for example: Blekbern (Blackburn), Grinič (Greenwich), etc.

 

Pages should be numbered within the lower margin on the right, beginning with the title page. References from bibliography mark with Arabic numerals indexes, for example, Diabetes1,2 in the order in which they appear in the text. Use short and clear sentences.

All foreign words or phrases, for which there is an appropriate name in the Serbian language, should be replaced by that name, e.g adekvatno-odgovarajuće, 

 Use only generic names for medicaments. Equipment and devices are designated by factory names, with the name and location of the manufacturer stated in parentheses. If combination of letters and numbers are used in the text precisely denote superscript or subscript (e.g. 99Tc, IL-6, О2, Б12, CD8, etc.).

Authorship

All persons listed as authors of the paper should qualify for authorship. All persons listed as authors of the paper should qualify for authorship. Each author should participate sufficiently in the work on the manuscript to be able to take responsibility for the full text and for the results presented in this paper. Authorship are based solely on: essential contribution to the concept of work, obtaining results or analysis and interpretation of results, planning or critical revision of the manuscript that is of considerable intellectual importance in polishing the final version of the manuscript in preparation for printing.

The collection of data or general supervision of the research group can not justify authorship by themselves. All others who contributed to the work, but are not the authors of the manuscript, should be listed in acknowledgements, with a description of their work, with the written consent. If the paper is part of the research project, that fact should be specifically indicated in the note at the end of the text. Also, if the work has previously been presented at a scientific meeting, indicate the official name of the event, place and time.

Acknowledgements

Indicate any associates who have contributed to the creation of paper, but do not meet the criteria for authorship, such as those that provide technical assistance, help with writing work or managing department which provides general support. Financial and material support in the form of sponsorships, scholarships, grants, equipment, drugs, etc., should be given.

Front page

On the first page of the manuscript indicate the following: title of the paper without abbreviations; full names of all authors (with titles), indexed with Arabic numerals, ORCID number (if they have one), the official name of the institution where the authors work, city and country (in the order corresponding to the indexed numbers of the authors). At the bottom of the page indicate the name, contact address, telephone number, fax number and e-mail address of the author responsible for correspondence. The author of the review work must indicate at least three self quotations - references that have been published in peer-reviewed journals where they were first authors.

Abstract

Abstract of 150–250 words accompanies original researches, preliminary, announcement and case report. An abstract of the original work should have the following structure: Introduction, Objective, Method, Results and Conclusion. Each of these segments should be written as a separate paragraph that begins with a word in bold typeface. State the most relevant results (numerical values), statistical analysis and significance level. Abstract of case reports includes the following: Introduction, Case Report and Conclusion. Each of these segments should be written as a separate paragraph that begins with a word in bold typeface. For other types of articles summary has no particular structure.

Key words

After the abstract, specify three to six key words that do not appear in the title, use defined terms from the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) PUBMED.

Translation to Serbian language

Separate page contains title of the paper in Serbian, full names and titles of authors indexed with Arabic numerals, the official title of the institution in Serbian, the city and state,  ORCID number (if they have one). Translated abstract should have the following structure: Uvod, Cilj, Metod, Rezultate i Zaključak. Abstract of  Case reports includes the following: Uvod, Prikaz slučaja i Zaključak. Translate the names of the tables, graphs, pictures, and schemes.

Structure of the article

Titles and subtitles should be written in capital and small letters and in bold typeface. Original and review papers include: Introduction, Objective, Method, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, References. Case reports include: Introduction, Case Report, Discussion and References. Do not use patient’s name, initials or numbers of medical records, especially in the illustrations. Use only standard abbreviations. Indicate the full phrase and the abbreviation in parentheses when first mentioned in the text.

Introduction contains very clear hypothesis or special problem which the author explores. The starting point is generally known attitude or knowledge, and from there explains what the author has decided to investigate through modern information and problems and it moves from the general to the specific facts. Do not present extensive considerations on the subject of the work and do not present data or conclusions from the work being reported on.

 

Objective. Intention of the author should be clearly defined in the aim of the research.

Method should include the design and research plan, data source, forming a sample, time and place of research instruments and the importance of research. Statistical methods used in research in order to process the results should be clearly defined and stated. Do not forget that statistical analysis is only a tool that serves the presentation of evidence for the author’s assumptions or claims, and not the goal by itself.

Results are a function of hypotheses or studies on specific problems. Obtained statistical significance should be clearly marked. Display results in logical sequence in the text, tables and illustrations. In text emphasize or summarize only important observations. For decimal numbers use comma as a decimal mark in the text in Serbian language. In text in English language, in tables, charts and on other contributions, decimal mark is a point (e.g. in the text will be 12,5 ± 3,8 and in table 12.5 ± 3.8). Whenever possible, the number should be rounded to one decimal place. 

Discussion includes evaluation and interpretation of the results in the scope of the research objectives, and comparing of the results with results in the literature, their theoretical and practical implications and suggestions for future research. Emphasis should be on new knowledge gained by the research and fulfilment of the research objectives. Opposed to the introduction, discussion flows from general to particular conclusions and provides interpretation and importance of the results (analysis and synthesis). Do not repeat results in discussion.

Conclusion should contain clear and substantiated facts in short form. Connect them with the goals of the work, but avoid arguments and conclusions that are not fully supported by the data.

Graphics (Graph), chemes (drawings) - create charts in Excel, and attach the original program – a file with the table from which the graph was constructed (do not import and do not link from other programs). Create schemes in CorelDraw H3 program, or in earlier version of the program (do not import and do not link to the Corel Draw from other programs), mark them with Arabic numerals in order of appearance in the text and specify the name. For all data use font Times New Roman size 12. Charts and diagrams attach as separate file and in the text indicate the place for them (e.g. Figure 1… Scheme 1… in red letters). Explain abbreviations in the legend below the graph or scheme in serbian and English language.

Tables are numbered in Arabic numerals with the name in Serbian and English language (Table 1). For creation of tables use “MSWord” table tool. Do not import and do not link tables created in other programs to “MS Word”. Use single spacing for tables. Tables attach to text as separate files, and in the text indicate the place for the tables in red letters. Explain abbreviations in the table footnote (not in the header). If you are using someone else’s data, be sure to specify them as well as any other information from the literature.

Figures are denoted with Arabic numerals in order of appearance in the text (Figure 1), with title in Serbian and English language. Photos recorded with digital camera or scanned with resolution of 300 dpi in size not less than 6 cm x 8 cm attach to the text as separate file, and in the indicate the place for the photo (e.g. Figure 1, Photography… red letters). If the pictures or photos were already published, cite the source.

References. Assign references with Arabic numerals in order of appearance in the text. References should be recent and, if possible, not older than 5 years. Avoid using abstracts as references. Citations of national authors are welcomed. References are cited according to the Vancouver Style, established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (http://www.icmje.org). Examples of quoting the publications, articles, books and other monographs can be found on the website: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bds/uniform_requirements.html. Quoting of literature must comply with the aforementioned standards, because it is one of the three most important factors for indexing in classification of scientific journals.

 

The volume of the manuscript

The entire manuscript with the title page, summary, text, list of references, all attachments and legends (tables, pictures, graphs, diagrams, drawings), with front page and abstract translated in English must not exceed 5,000 words for original research, announcement, article on history of medicine, or literature review. Maximal size for case presentation is up to 3.500 words. Papers should be sent online  https://scindeks.ceon.rs/journaldetails.aspx?issn=0354-7132&lang=en  submit a manuscript    

Additional information is available on the General Medicine Section website http://www.casopisopstamedicina.org, by email ompm@sld.org.rswith “Journal General practice” in subject, and by phone to.+381 66 5598 422; +381 11 3234 261. The articles should be sent online, through SCIndex  section https://aseestant.ceon.rs/index.php/index/login„Article submission“.

Pictures with high resolution, tables, and figures (submit in Excel) should be attached as separate files.

Cover Letter

The author`s statement should also be submitted as a separate file and it should contain: signatures of all the authors, the statement that the article hasn`t been published anywhere else before or hasn`t been submitted at the same time in some other journal, the statement that all the authors, who fulfill authorship criteria, read and approved the article. It should also contain contacts, emails, phone numbers, and date births of all the authors. The copies of all the licenses should also be submitted: the license for the reproduction of the previously published material, the license for the use of illustrations, and the license for publishing information about famous people. Name those who contributed to the article. 

 Author`s statement

Hereby. I confirm I understand the instructions for the authors and author`s commitments defined by the journal`s editorial policy and therefore I abided by them while writing the article.

I also understand the journal`s policy to withdraw the article if it had already been published. The manuscript I sent to the Journal of General Medicine is an original/review article written and signed by the here mentioned authors and it hasn`t been published anywhere else before. The manuscript is not under consideration for publication or sent for simultaneous review in any other journal. I checked and approved the version of the manuscript sent to the Journal of General Medicine. The article and the attachments do not contain the claims that could be considered slander or unlawful or materials that could jeopardize, in any way, personal or ownership rights of individual or legal entities. The authors have no conflicts of interest which could question their integrity and credibility of the published results. I`ve got the confirmation of the copyright holders for the use of all the citations from the books and other materials protected by copyright law that were used in the article. I cited them in the manuscript and attachments. Details and pictures of the patients, research subjects and other persons used in the article are published with their consent, which was acquired by law and the journal`s editorial policy. I notified all the co-authors of the contract conditions. If you have used any of the artificial intelligence programs in your work, you are obliged towrite that, as well as for what purposes, that program was used.
All authors must confirm with their signature that they agree with the final text that has been prepared for publication - download the form from the General Medicine website http://www.generalpracticejournal.org/Page/authorship-disclosure
The signatures of all the authors, middle initial, birth date, phone numbers, emails, as well as ORCID number if they have one.
Detailed instructions on the conflict of interest can be found on the web page http://www.icmje.org/conflicts-of-interest/