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 address of official web site is https://coloproctol.org/.
The Annals of Coloproctology (ACP) 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. Abbreviated title is Ann Coloproctol.

3. Peer review process

The 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 the Journal 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 powered by iThenticate (https://www.crossref.org/services/similarity-check/), a plagiarism-screening tool.

The journal uses a double-blind peer-review process: 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 editorial board has the right to revise and edit the styles and structures of 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 manuscripts are proven to be appropriate according to the publication policies and styles of the journal, the decision of publication is finalized and 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 the peer review. ACP’s average turnaround time from submission to decision is 4-8 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 the academic society, Korean Society of Coloproctology (http://eng.colon.or.kr/). The full names and affiliations of the members of the journal management team are displayed on the About (Journal managing team) tab of the journal homepage.

5 & 6. Governing body / Editorial team and Contact information

The governing body is the journal's editorial board. The full names and affiliations of the journal’s editors are displayed on the About (Editorial board) tab of the journal homepage, and the contact information for the Editor and editorial office is on the About (Contact us) tab.

7. Copyright and licensing

1) Copyright policy

All published papers become the permanent property of the Korean Society of Coloproctology (KSCP). Copyrights of all published materials are owned by the KSCP. Permission must be obtained from the KSCP for any commercial use of materials. Every author should sign and submit the copyright transfer agreement forms.

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 (http://www.sherpa.ac.uk), authors can archive preprint (i.e., pre-refereeing) and postprint (i.e., final draft post-refereeing). Authors can archive 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 Council decides a disciplinary measure. The resolving process will follow the flowchart provided by the COPE (http://publicationethics.org/resources/flowchart).

• • If duplicate or divided publication or any other ethical violation was confirmed, manuscripts even if already published will be retracted with a notice published in the next issue, as well as to related academic institutions.
• • Retraction notice take same form as the general thesis and not take a form like announcement or letter to the editor.
• • Author who violates this policy or general ethics cannot submit to ACP for 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 is published bimonthly (the last day of February, April, June, August, October, and December).

12. Access

This is an open access journal distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://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

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

14. Revenue sources

Revenue sources of this journal are from the support of the publisher (KSCP), Korea Government’s support, and 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 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, Republic of 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.