The journal adheres to the guidelines and best practices published by professional organizations, including ICMJE Recommendations and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (joint statement by the Committee on Publication Ethics [COPE], Directory of Open Access Journals [DOAJ], World Association of Medical Editors [WAME], and Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association [OASPA]). Further, all processes of handling research and publication misconduct shall follow the applicable COPE flowchart (https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts).

Human & animal rights

Clinical research should be conducted in accordance with the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki (https://www.wma.net/what-we-do/medical-ethics/declaration-of-helsinki/) and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the institution where the experiment was performed. Animal experiments should also be reviewed by an appropriate committee (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee [IACUC]) for the care and use of animals. Studies involving pathogens requiring a high degree of biosafety should pass review of a relevant committee (Institutional Biosafety Committee [IBC]). Clinical studies that do not meet the Helsinki Declaration will not be considered for publication.

Statement of Informed Consent and Institutional Approval

The editor of PHRP may request submission of copies of informed consent forms from human subjects in all studies and IRB approval documents. For articles involving human subjects who can be identified through descriptions, photographs, or pedigrees, a signed informed consent statement must be provided. This consent must be obtained from each identifiable participant, or from a parent or legal guardian if the participant is unable to provide consent. The statement should explicitly permit the publication of the relevant descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees in both print and online formats. Articles describing the use of animals in experiments must be approved by the relevant authorities.

Protection of privacy and confidentiality

Patients have a right to privacy that must not be violated without informed consent. Identifying information, such as names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published unless essential for scientific purposes and with written informed consent from the patient (or parent or guardian). Nonessential identifying details should be omitted. If there is any doubt about maintaining anonymity, informed consent is necessary, as masking the eye region in photographs is inadequate. If identifying characteristics are deidentified, authors must assure, and editors must confirm, that these changes do not distort scientific meaning.

Originality

Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that no part of the work has been published previously in print or electronic format and the paper is not under consideration by another publication or electronic medium.

Secondary publication

It is possible to republish manuscripts if the manuscripts satisfy the conditions for secondary publication as described in the ICMJE Recommendations (http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf).

Plagiarism and duplicate publication

Attempting to publish substantially similar work more than once without attribution of the original source(s) is considered a redundant publication. The definition of “substantially similar” is as follows: (1) at least one of the authors is common to all reports (it is likely to be plagiarism if there are no common authors); (2) the subject or study populations are the same or similar; (3) the methodology is typically identical or nearly so and; (4) the results and interpretation vary little or not at all.

If all or part of the subject population has been reported previously, it should be declared in the Materials and Methods and must be appropriately referenced. In cases where authors are concerned with any potential overlap with published manuscripts or manuscripts being reviewed, the authors must include a letter explaining how the manuscript submitted to PHRP significantly differs from other materials. For more information, please refer to ICMJE Recommendation (Available at: http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/).

Authorship and author’s responsibility

Authorship credit must be based on (1) substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; (3) final approval of the version to be published; and (4) agreeing to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that the questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. The authors should meet these 4 conditions. If the number of authors exceeds 3, the specific role(s) of authors should be described at the end of the main text.

• Correction of authorship: Any requests for changes in authorship (adding author(s), removing author(s), or re-arranging the order of authors) after the initial manuscript submission and before publication should be explained in writing to the editor in a letter or e-mail from all authors. This letter must be signed by all authors of the paper. A copyright assignment must be completed by every author.
• Role of the corresponding author: The corresponding author takes primary responsibility for communication with the journal during the manuscript submission, peer review, and publication process. The corresponding author typically ensures that all of the journal’s administrative requirements, such as providing the details of authorship, ethics committee approval, clinical trial registration documentation, and conflict of interest forms and statements, are properly completed, although these duties may be delegated to one or more coauthors. The corresponding author should be available throughout the submission and peer review process to respond to editorial queries in a timely manner, and after publication, should be available to respond to critiques of the work and cooperate with any requests from the journal for data or additional information or questions about the article.
• Contributors: Any researcher who does not meet all 4 ICMJE criteria for authorship discussed above but contributes substantively to the study in terms of idea development, manuscript writing, conducting research, data analysis, and financial support should have their contributions listed in the Notes section of the article.
• Recommendations for working with people with personal connections: Authors who intend to include minors (under the age of 19) or their family members (such as spouse, children, and relatives) in their research, including when publishing or presenting papers jointly with them, should clearly indicate this in the cover letter. For further information, please refer to the "Guidelines for Preventing Illegitimate Authorship" by the National Research Foundation of Korea (https://www.nrf.re.kr/eng/).

Conflict of interest statement

The corresponding author must inform the editor of any potential conflicts of interest that could influence the authors’ interpretation of the data. Potential conflicts should be reported even if the authors believe they were not influenced in preparing the manuscript. All authors must disclose i.e., (1) financial relationships (such as employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony), (2) personal relationship, (3) academic competition, and (4) intellectual passion. These disclosures should be included on the title page.

Role of the funding source

The author is requested to identify who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication. If the funding source(s) had no such involvement, then this should be stated.

Inclusive Language

Authors are encouraged to use inclusive language that acknowledges diversity, respects all individuals, and promotes equal opportunities. Avoid assumptions about the reader's beliefs or identities, and refrain from language that implies superiority based on factors such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability, or health condition. Writing should be free of bias, stereotypes, and cultural assumptions. Gender neutrality is encouraged by using plural nouns (e.g., "patients") instead of gendered pronouns ("he/she"). Descriptors of personal attributes should only be used if relevant and valid.

Process for Managing Research and Publication Misconduct

When the journal faces suspected cases of research and publication misconduct such as redundant (duplicate) publication, plagiarism, fraudulent or fabricated data, changes in authorship, an undisclosed conflict of interest, ethical problems with a submitted manuscript, a reviewer who has appropriated an author’s idea or data, complaints against editors, and so on, the resolution process will follow the flowchart provided by the COPE (http://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts). The editorial boards of PHRP will carry out the discussion and decision for suspected cases. We will not hesitate to publish errata, corrigenda, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when needed.

Complaints and Appeals Policy

The policies of PHRP are principally intended to protect the authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher of the journal. The process of handling complaints and appeals follows the guidelines of the COPE (https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Guidelines).

Editorial Responsibilities

The Editorial Board will continuously work to monitor and safeguard publication ethics, including guidelines for retracting articles; maintenance of the integrity of the academic record; preclusion of business needs from compromising intellectual and ethical standards; publishing corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when needed; and excluding plagiarism and fraudulent data. The editors maintain the following responsibilities: responsibility and authority to reject and accept articles; avoiding any conflict of interest with respect to articles they reject or accept; promoting publication of corrections or retractions when errors are found; and preservation of the anonymity of reviewers.