1. Article Types & Word Limits
Word count excludes abstract, references, figure legends, and tables.
| Type | Max Words | Max Refs | Abstract | Figs/Tables |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original Research | 3,500 | 40 | Structured (≤350w) | 6 |
| Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis | 5,000 | 80 | Structured (≤350w) | 8 |
| Technical Note | 2,000 | 25 | Unstructured (≤200w) | 4 |
| Case Report | 1,500 | 20 | Unstructured (≤200w) | 4 |
| Editorial | 800 | 10 | None | 1 |
| Letter to the Editor | 400 | 5 | None | 0 |
2. Manuscript Structure (required order)
- Title Page. Separate page; not counted in word limit. Title (max 20 words, no abbreviations), short running title (max 8 words), all authors with degrees and affiliations, corresponding author (name, email, postal address, ORCID), word count, number of figures and tables.
- Abstract. Original Research & Systematic Reviews: STRUCTURED (Background / Methods / Results / Conclusions), max 350 words. Technical Note & Case Report: UNSTRUCTURED, max 200 words. Editorials & Letters: no abstract.
- Keywords. 4 to 8 keywords. Use MeSH terms where possible. Do not repeat words from the title.
- Introduction. State the problem, knowledge gap, and study objective. Max 3 paragraphs. End with a clear statement of the study aim(s).
- Methods. Study design, setting, participants, interventions. Statistical methods: software, version, significance threshold. Must state IRB/ethics approval and informed consent.
- Results. Report data in logical sequence. Do not repeat methods or discuss findings here.
- Discussion. Interpret results in context of existing evidence. State limitations explicitly. Max 5 paragraphs.
- Conclusions. Concise, no new data. State clinical relevance.
- References. AMA 11th edition style. Numbered in order of appearance. See References section for limits.
- Tables. Each on a separate page, with title above. Simple borders, no vertical lines. Footnote symbols: *, †, ‡, §, ¶.
- Figures. Each on a separate page, with legend below. TIFF/EPS/PNG, min 300 DPI. Color free of charge. Intraoperative photos must be de-identified.
3. Ethical Requirements
All studies involving human participants or human data must provide: name of approving IRB/ethics committee, protocol/approval number, and date of approval. Retrospective studies with waived consent must state the waiver explicitly. Case reports require written patient consent and de-identification. Animal studies must comply with ARRIVE 2.0.
Reporting Guidelines (mandatory)
- Randomized Controlled Trials → CONSORT checklist
- Observational Studies → STROBE checklist
- Systematic Reviews → PRISMA checklist
- Case Reports → CARE checklist
- Diagnostic Accuracy → STARD checklist
4. Author Declarations
Every author must individually declare conflicts of interest (honoraria, consulting, equity, speaker bureau, industry grants, patents, board membership). State all funding sources and grant numbers. Author contributions must follow the CRediT taxonomy. Any AI-tool use in writing or analysis must be disclosed; AI tools cannot be authors. Submission to AIJS implies consent for processing through the AIJS AI editorial pipeline.
5. References
Style: AMA 11th edition. Numbered sequentially in order of appearance and cited as superscripts. Self-citation should not exceed 15% of total references; ≥30% of references should be from the last 5 years (except historical/methodological work). Do not cite retracted articles; if unavoidable, label as [RETRACTED].
6. Figures & Tables
Figures: TIFF, EPS, or PNG (≥300 DPI). Color is published free. Each figure has a standalone legend; abbreviations defined in the legend. Tables: simple borders only (no vertical lines), title above, footnote symbols *, †, ‡, §, ¶ in order. Supplementary material is welcome (label as “Supplementary Table S1”, “Supplementary Figure S1”).
7. Cover Letter (required)
- Article type and working title
- A 2–3 sentence novelty statement (what the study adds)
- Confirmation manuscript is not under consideration elsewhere
- Confirmation all authors have read and approved the final version
- Statement of any previous presentation (conference, etc.)
- Suggested reviewers (welcome but not required)
8. Language & Formatting
English (American or British, consistent throughout). Times New Roman 12pt, double-spaced, 2.5 cm margins, continuous line numbers (mandatory). Define abbreviations at first use; do not define in title or abstract. Report exact p-values (not p<0.05) and 95% CIs for primary outcomes. SI units preferred.
9. Submission Checklist
The following are validated by the submission form:
- Manuscript title (≤200 chars)
- Article type
- Structured abstract (≥100 words for research types)
- Corresponding author name
- Corresponding author email (valid format)
- Ethics statement
- Conflict of interest declaration
- All three author confirmation checkboxes
- Word count not provided or exceeds limit
- No manuscript file uploaded (abstract used)
- Cover letter not provided
- Funding statement not provided
Author confirmations
- This manuscript has not been published and is not under consideration elsewhere.
- I have read and agree to the AIJS Author Guidelines and Ethics Policy.
- I consent to this manuscript being processed by AI systems as part of the AIJS editorial pipeline.
10. AI Review Workflow
Every AIJS submission moves through a hybrid AI + human pipeline. The diagram below shows each phase, the expected duration, and exactly where a human editor intervenes or approves.
Submission
Author submits manuscript via /submit form. System validates required fields, ethics statement, and checklist.
AI Desk Screening
Automated checks: scope fit, plagiarism, image manipulation, statistical sanity, reporting-guideline compliance, ethics declarations.
Human Editor Triage
Human Editor-in-Chief reviews the AI screening report. Decides: send to full review, request minor fixes, or desk-reject.
AI Peer Review Pipeline
Multi-agent AI review: methodology, statistics, clinical relevance, novelty, language, references. Generates structured review report with scores and comments.
AI Recommendation
AI synthesizes a draft decision: Accept · Minor Revisions · Major Revisions · Reject — with full reasoning.
Human Editorial Decision
Human editor reviews the AI report and recommendation, then issues the FINAL decision. The human can override the AI at any point.
Author Notification
Author receives the full AI review report (regardless of outcome) plus the human editor's signed decision letter.
Revisions (if requested)
Minor: 14 days · Major: 30 days. Author submits revised manuscript and point-by-point response. Pipeline re-runs from step 2.
Production & Publication
Accepted manuscripts are typeset, assigned a DOI, and published open-access (CC BY 4.0) on the AIJS site.
11. AIJS Editorial Policy
Diamond open access (zero APCs, forever). All articles CC BY 4.0; authors retain copyright. Decision timeline: desk screening ≤24h, full review 5–7 days. All authors receive the full AI review report regardless of decision. Minor revisions due in 14 days; major revisions in 30 days. Resubmission after rejection allowed after 6 months with substantial new data. Preprints allowed — declare the preprint DOI at submission.