Table of Contents

• 1. Website
• 2. Name of journal
• 3. Peer review process
• 4. Ownership and management
• 5. Governing body
• 6. Editorial team and contact information
• 7. Copyright and licensing
• 8. Author fees
• 9. Process for the identification of and dealing with allegations of research misconduct
• 10. Publication ethics
• 11. Publishing schedule
• 12. Access
• 13. Archiving
• 14. Revenue sources
• 15. Advertising
• 16. Direct marketing

1. Website

The URL of the Annals of Coloproctology (ACP) official website is https://coloproctol.org/. The ACP managing team endeavors to make a good website. ACP website demonstrates that care has been taken to ensure high ethical and professional standards. It does not contain any misleading information, including any attempt to mimic another journal/publisher’s site.

2. Name of journal

The official journal title is Annals of Coloproctology. The abbreviated title is Ann Coloproctol.
Annals of Coloproctology is a continuation of the Journal of the Korean Society of Coloproctology.

3. Peer review process

ACP has an online submission and peer review system at https://submit.coloproctol.org/.
All papers, including those invited by the Editor, are subject to peer review. A manuscript is first reviewed for its format and adherence to the aims and scope of the journal. If the manuscript does not fit the aims and scope of ACP or does not adhere to the Instructions for Authors, it may be returned to the author immediately after receipt and without a review. Before reviewing, all submitted manuscripts are inspected by Similarity Check, a plagiarism-screening tool powered by iThenticate (https://www.crossref.org/services/similarity-check/).

ACP uses double-blind peer-review, which means that the reviewers do not know the identity of the authors, and vice versa. All manuscripts undergo peer review by at least three reviewers with relevant expertise who are selected by the Editorial Board. If the data need professional statistical review by a statistician, statistical editing is performed.

The Eeditorial Bboard has the right to revise and edit the styles and structures of the submitted manuscripts within the context if necessary. Once the decision on publication as an accept, revision, or reject is made, it is directly notified to the corresponding author. After the final draft of the manuscripts are proven to be appropriate according to the publication policies and the styles of the journal, the decision of publication is finalizedfinalized, and the expected publication date will be given. Rejected manuscripts are not to be considered again.

The decision to publish will be made by the Editorial Board of the journal after peer review. ACP’s average turnaround time from submission to decision is 4 to 8 weeks. The Editor is responsible for the final decision whether the manuscript is accepted or rejected.

4. Ownership and management

This journal is owned by Korean Society of Coloproctology (KSCP; http://eng.colon.or.kr/), an academic society. The full names and affiliations of the journal management team members are displayed on the About tab (Journal managing team) of the journal website.

5. Governing body

The governing body is the journal's Editorial Board. The full list of the Editorial Board is available on the About tab (Editorial Board) of the journal website.

6. Editorial team and contact information

The full names and affiliations of the journal’s editors are displayed on the About tab (Editorial Board) of the journal website. The contact information for the Editor and the Editorial Office is also on the About tab (Contact us) of the journal website.

7. Copyright and licensing

1) Copyright policy

All published papers become the permanent property of KSCP. Copyrights of all published materials are owned by KSCP. Permission must be obtained from KSCP for any commercial use of materials. The corresponding author must sign and submit the copyright transfer agreement form.

2) Licensing information

This is an open access journal distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited for non-commercial purpose. All contents of the journal are available immediately upon publication without embargo period.

3) Deposit policy

According to the deposit policy (self-archiving policy) of Sherpa Romeo (https://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/), authors can archive preprint (i.e., pre-refereeing) and postprint (i.e., final draft post-refereeing). Authors can archive the publisher's version/PDF.

8. Author fees

Accepted manuscripts are published on the implicit understanding that the author(s) will pay the costs of publication, including page charges. The basic page charge for the article is USD 500 for all published manuscripts. Illustrations, photographs, electron micrographs, color plates, and other special illustrations will be reproduced at the author’s expense at cost prices.

9. Process for the identification of and dealing with allegations of research misconduct

When research ethics violations occur, the Editorial Board decides the disciplinary measure. The resolving process will follow the flowchart provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE; https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Flowcharts).

• • If duplicate or divided publication or any other ethical violation is confirmed, manuscripts, including the ones already published, will be retracted with a notice. The notice will be published in the next issue and the related academic institutions will be notified as well.
• • Retraction notice takes the same form as the general thesis and does not take a form of announcement or letter to the editor.
• • Authors who violate this policy or general ethics cannot submit to ACP for the next 2 years.

10. Publication ethics

ACP follows the Guideline on Good Publication of COPE (https://publicationethics.org), Recommendations of International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations), and Good Publication Practice Guidelines for Medical Journals of Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors (http://kamje.or.kr). Our publication ethics are displayed on the Editorial Policy (Publication ethics) tab of journal homepage.

11. Publishing schedule

ACP follows the Guideline on Good Publication of COPE (https://publicationethics.org), the Recommendations of International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/), and the Good Publication Practice Guidelines for Medical Journals of Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors (https://www.kamje.or.kr/). Our publication ethics are displayed on the Editorial Policy tab (Publication ethics) of the journal website.

12. Access

ACP is an open access journal distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

13. Archiving

ACP is accessible without barrier from PubMed Central (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/journals/2062/), Korea Citation Index (https://www.kci.go.kr/), or the National Library of Korea (https://nl.go.kr/) in the event the journal is no longer published.

14. Revenue sources

Revenue sources of this journal are from the support of the publisher (KSCP), the Korean government, and the advertising rates.

15. Advertising

ACP accepts advertising and sponsorship for its printed journal according to the following principles:

• • Advertising is separate from content. Advertisers and sponsors have no advance knowledge of our editorial contents, nor do the editors have advance knowledge of the advertisers. Content is never altered, added, or deleted to accommodate advertising. Advertisers and sponsors have no input regarding any of our editorial decisions or advertising policies.
• • We reserve the right to decline or cancel any advertisement at any time.
• • Advertisements for pharmaceutical products must conform to all regulations and policies of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Korea in every respect.

16. Direct marketing

Journal propagation has been done through the journal website and distribution of introduction pamphlets. Invitations to submit a manuscript are usually focused on the presenters at conferences, seminars, or workshops if the topic is related to the journal's aims and scope.