Reporting guidelines for International Journal of Gastrointestinal Intervention (IJGII) complies with the reporting guidelines for many study types presented in the equator network (https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/). As the official journal of the Society of Gastrointestinal Intervention, IJGII delivers original, peer-reviewed articles for gastroenterologists, interventional radiologists, surgeons, gastrointestinal oncologists, nurses and technicians who need current and reliable information on the interventional treatment of gastrointestinal and hepatopancreaticobiliary diseases. Regular features also include 'state-of-the-art' review articles by leading authorities throughout the world. IJGII will become an international forum for the description and discussion of the various aspects of interventional radiology, endoscopy and minimally invasive surgery. The Journal is published four times a year on the last day of January, April, July, and October, which has effected from January 1 in 2019. Its ISO abbreviated title is Int J Gastrointest Interv.

1. Manuscript Submission

Manuscripts for IJGII may be submitted using online ((http://www.ijgii.org/submission). For editorial questions, please contact us via e-mail office@ijgii.org, telephone (+82-2-473-0089), or fax (+82-505-273-0089).

Important information

• Articles should be prepared and submitted in Microsoft Word (*.doc or *.docx). Manuscripts must be typed in English, double-spaced and 10 or 12-point type. All pages must be numbered consecutively starting from the title page.
• You may use automatic page numbering, but do NOT use other kinds of automatic formatting such as footnotes.
• Put text, references, tables, and legends in one file, with each table on a new page.

• Please ensure that the following submission documents are also included, where applicable:
• (1) Cover letter must include corresponding author's name, address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address, and state that all authors have contributed to the paper and have not submitted the manuscript, in whole or in part, to other journals.
• (2) A conflict of interest disclosure statement (see relevant section below).
• (3) Articles covering the use of human samples in research and human experiments must be approved by the relevant review committee (see relevant section below).
• (4) Articles covering the use of animals in experiments must be approved by the relevant authorities.
• (5) Articles where human subjects can be identified in descriptions, photographs or pedigrees must be accompanied by a signed statement of informed consent to publish (in print and online) the descriptions, photographs and pedigrees from each subject who can be identified (see relevant section below).
• (6) Clinical trials should be registered in a primary national clinical trial registration site such as www.clinicaltrials.gov, http://ncrc.cdc.go.kr/cris, or other sites accredited by World Health Organization or the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. This journal follows the data sharing policy described in "Data Sharing Statements for Clinical Trials: A Requirement of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors". The ICMJE's policy regarding trial registration is explained at http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishingand-editorial-issues/clinical-trial-registration.html#two. If the data sharing plan changes after registration this should be reflected in the statement submitted and published with the manuscript, and updated in the registry record.
• (7) Where material has been reproduced from other copyrighted sources, letter(s) of permission from the copyright holder(s) to use the copyrighted sources must be supplied.
• (8) Articles should be written in English (using American English spelling) and meet the following basic criteria: the material is original, the information is important, the writing is clear, concise and grammatically correct, the study methods are appropriate, the data are valid, and the conclusions are reasonable and supported by the data. The submitted manuscript will be edited by an English proofreading service. In case the manuscript has already gone through an English proofreading service, the author should submit a certificate of English editing.

2. Types of Articles

2.1. Editorials

Editorials are invited articles or comments concerning a specific paper in the Journal or a topical issue in the field. Although editorials are normally invited or written by an Editor, unsolicited editorials may be submitted.
Typical length: 2000 words, 40 references.

2.2. Review Articles

These should aim to provide the reader with a balanced overview of an important and topical subject related to gastrointestinal and hepatopancreaticobiliary diseases, and highlight unresolved questions and future directions. Most reviews are solicited by the editors, but unsolicited submissions may also be considered for publication. Section headings should be: Abstract, Introduction, brief main headings, and References.
Typical length: 4000 words, 100 references.

2.3. Original Articles

These may be randomized trials, intervention studies, studies of screening and diagnostic tests, laboratory and animal studies, cohort studies, cost-effectiveness analyses, casecontrol studies, and surveys with high response rates, which represent new and significant contributions to the field. Section headings should be as follows: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments (if applicable), References.
The Introduction section should provide a brief background to the subject of the paper, explain the importance of the study, and state a precise study question or purpose.
The Methods section should describe the study design and methods (including the study setting and dates, patient samples or animal specimens used, inclusion and exclusion criteria, laboratory methods followed, or data sources and how these were selected for the study, essential features of interventions, the main outcome measures), and statistical procedures employed.
Ensure correct use of the terms sex (when reporting biological factors) and gender (identity, psychosocial or cultural factors), and, unless inappropriate, report the sex and/or gender of study participants, the sex of animals or cells, and describe the methods used to determine sex and gender. If the study was done involving an exclusive population, for example in only one sex, authors should justify why, except in obvious cases (e.g., prostate cancer). Authors should define how they determined race or ethnicity and justify their relevance.
The Results section should comprise the study results presented in a logical sequence, supplemented with tables and/ or figures. The text not repeat data presented in the tables and/or figures.
The Discussion section should be used to emphasize new and important aspects of the study, placing the results in context with published literature, the implications of the findings, and the conclusions that follow from the study results.
Typical length: 3000 words, 80 references.

2.4. Case Reports

These are short discussions of a case or case series with unique features not previously described that make an important teaching point or scientific observation. Section headings should be: Abstract, Introduction, Case Report, Discussion, Acknowledgments (if applicable), References.
The Introduction should describe the purpose of the report, the significance of the disease and its specificity, and briefly review the relevant literature.
Case reports should include the general data of the case, medical history, family history, chief complaint, present illness, clinical manifestation, methods of diagnosis and treatment, and outcome.
The Discussion should compare, analyze and discuss the similarities and differences between the reported case and similar previously reported cases. The importance or specificity of the case should be restated when discussing the differential diagnoses. Suggest the prognosis of the disease and possibility of prevention.
Typical length: 1200 words, 30 references.

2.5. Complication Forums

These are short description of a single case with complication encountered that makes an important teaching point or possibility of prevention. Section headings should be: Abstract, Event Details, Discussion, Prevention, Teaching Point, Acknowledgments (if applicable), References.
Abstract should describe the summary of event and teaching point.
Event Details section should include the general data of the event, medical history, family history, chief complaint, present illness, clinical manifestation, methods of diagnosis and treatment, complications, and patient's outcome.
Prevention section should include how to avoid this complication or what to do differently such as case selection, alternative procedure, different approach, etc.
Teaching point section should include the important point to learn from this complication or possibility of prevention.
Typical length: 1000 words, 10 references, 6 figures.

2.6. Letters to the Editor

These include brief constructive comments concerning previously published articles in the journal. Letters should have a title and include appropriate references, and include the corresponding author's e-mail address. Letters are edited, sometimes extensively, to sharpen their focus. They may be sent for peer review at the discretion of the Editors.
Typical length: 600 words, 5 references; 1 table and/or 1 figure may be included.

2.7. VideoScript

VideoScript, is a kind of manuscript format of the International Journal of Gastrointestinal Intervention, to serve patients with digestive diseases. VideoScript publishes original, double-blinded peer-reviewed video case reports and case series of endoscopic/interventional radiologic/surgical procedures used in the study, diagnosis, and treatment of digestive diseases. Videos demonstrate use of endoscopic/interventional radiologic/surgical systems, devices, and techniques; report outcomes of endoscopic/interventional radiologic/surgical interventions; and educate physicians and patients about gastrointestinal interventions. VideoScript, serves the educational needs of endoscopists/intervational radiologists/surgeons/nurses/health professionals in training as well as endoscopy staff and industry, and patients. VideoScript brings video commentaries from experts, legends, committees, and leadership of the society. Careful adherence to submission guidelines will avoid unnecessary delays, as incomplete submissions may be returned to the authors before initiation of the peer review process.

VideoScript will consider the following types of submissions. Authors should consider these categories and review recent issues of the journal when preparing submissions.
VideoScript will publish the following 3 sections in the journal.

Video Case Report: Report of the diagnosis and management of digestive diseases using a single case.

• Submission must include a Word file with a description (limited to 600 words) of the case, procedure, and outcome (references are encouraged), 6 to 9 images that tell the story, and legends for figures and video (maximum 300 MB; file format MP4 or MOV; 8 minutes maximum). Include IRB approval document.

Case Series: Report of the diagnosis and management of digestive diseases using 3 or more cases.

• Submission must include a Word file with a description (limited to 2,000 words) of the case, procedure, and outcome (references are encouraged); an abstract limited to 300 words with the following headings: Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion; 6 to 9 images that tell the story; and legends for figures and video (maximum 300 MB; file format MP4 or MOV; 8 minutes maximum). Include IRB approval document.

Tools and Techniques: Educational videos demonstrating the use of a particular endoscopic/interventional radiologic/surgical tool or technique. The goal of this section is to help trainees, endoscopy nurses, and technicians learn how best to use the tools of endoscopic/interventional radiologic/sur-gical for high-quality care.

• Submission must include a Word file with a description (450 to 1,500 words) of the demonstrated tool or tech-nique (references are encouraged), 6 to 9 images, and legends for figures and video (maximum 300 MB; file format MP4 or MOV; 8 minutes maximum).
• Sample Case Form.pptx
• Video Sample_Venovo stent Shin JH AMC.mp4

Submission Requirements

• Original submissions will be considered for publication with the understanding that they are contributed solely to VideoScript. If any material related to the submission (other than a brief abstract) has been published in any medium or has been submitted for publication elsewhere, the authors should provide copies of all related manuscripts, and outline the relationship of all materials for the Editors, to avoid allegations of duplicate publication.
• Each submission requires inclusion of a video, figures in a TIFF or .eps format, legends for figures and video, Word file, and disclosure statement. Refer to "Manuscript Types" above for word length.
• Title slide should include the title and a maximum of 5 authors for Video Case Reports, a maximum of 4 authors for Tools and Techniques, and a maximum of 8 authors for Case Series.
• Funding source(s) and disclosure of conflict of interest should be included in the video immediately after the title slide and displayed for a minimum of 3 seconds.
• Provide 4 to 6 keywords based on the organ of interest, endoscopy performed, pathology observed, treatment, and accessories used.
• Maximum length of videos is 8 minutes for Video Case Reports, Case Series, and Tools and Techniques.
• Maximum size of any video is 300 MB. File format should be MP4 or MOV.
• Avoid any names, dates, or numbers on the videos (black them out or ask your endoscopy vendor to set up your system to record a clean video without any names, dates, or alphabets on the video). Videos should focus on the technical aspects using close-up shots and avoiding wide shots that show the room.
• The audio portion of the video must be in English. Please speak clearly and at an average rate of speech. As a guide, the maximum average word count per 10 seconds should be 15 words. Avoid recording the heart rate monitor and extraneous sounds.
• In animal studies, subjects must be covered completely.
• Articles can include up to 9 figures, submitted in TIFF or .eps format.
• Articles must be written in standard English and submitted in a Word file, along with figure and video legend(s).
• Include a title page, description of the case, technique, and legends to figures and video.
• Accepted manuscripts are subject to copyediting for conciseness, clarity, grammar, spelling, and journal style.
• Authors who are not native English speakers are strongly encouraged to have their manuscript proofread by a native English-speaking researcher PRIOR TO SUBMISSION.
• Articles that refer to currency must use U.S. currency.
• For all instances of the word "complications," substitute "adverse events."

3. Manuscript Preparation

3.1. Title Page

The title page should include: category of paper, article title, names of all authors, the institutions with which they are affiliated; indicate all affiliations with a superscripted lowercase number after the author's name and in front of the appropriate affiliation, short running title not exceeding 30 characters, separate word count for abstract and text, and the corresponding author details (name, address, e-mail information, and corresponding author's ORCID number [ORCID, Open Researcher and Contributor ID; https://orcid.org]).

3.2. Abstract and Keywords

An abstract and 3-5 relevant keywords (in alphabetical order) are required for the following article categories: Review Article, Original Article, and Case Report.
Abstracts should be no more than 300 words in length. Abstracts for Original Articles should be structured, with the section headings: Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion. Abstracts for Review Articles and Case Reports are unstructured in one single paragraph. For Case Reports, it should include the significance and purpose of the case presentation, the diagnostic methods of the case, the key data, and brief comments and suggestions with regard to the case.
For selecting keywords, use Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) keywords (National Library of Medicine (US). MeSH [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); 1954 [updated 2009, cited 2009 Nov 1]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh).

3.3. Main Text

The text for Original Articles should include the following sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion. The Introduction should be as concise as possible, without subheadings. The Methods section should be sufficiently detailed. Subheadings may be used to organize the Results and Discussion. Each section should begin on a new page.
Ethics statement should be included in methods section, as the following examples. The study protocol was approved by the institutional review board of #### (IRB No. ##-##-###). Informed consent was confirmed (or waived) by the IRB. The animal studies were performed after receiving approval of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) in ### University (IACUC approval No. ##-##-###).

Abbreviations

Where a term/definition is 3 times or more in the text, it written in full when it first appears, followed subsequently by the abbreviation in parentheses (even if it was previously defined in the abstract); thereafter, the abbreviation is used.

Gene nomenclature

Current standard international nomenclature for genes should be adhered to. Genes should be typed in italic font and include the accession number. For human genes, use genetic notation and symbols approved by the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (http://www.genenames.org/) or refer to PubMed (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez).

Units

Systeme International (SI) units must be used, with the exception of blood pressure values which are to be reported in mmHg. Please use the metric system for the expression of length, area, mass, and volume.

3.4. References

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references and for correct text citation.

3.4.1. In the main text, tables and figure legends

• References should be identified using superscripted numbers, in numerical order, and be placed after punctuation.
• References cited in tables or figure legends should be included in sequence at the point where the table or figure is first mentioned in the main text.
• Do not cite abstracts unless they are the only available reference to an important concept.
• Uncompleted work or work that has not yet been accepted for publication (i.e., "unpublished observation", "personal communication") should not be cited as references.

3.4.2. In the references list

• References should be limited to those cited in the text and listed in the order in which they appear in the text.
• References should include, in order, authors' surnames and initials, article title, abbreviated journal name, year, volume and inclusive page numbers. The last names and initials of all the authors up to 6 should be included, but when the number of authors is 7 or more list the first 6 authors followed by "et al". Abbreviations for journal names should conform to those used in MEDLINE.
• If citing a website, provide the author information, article title, website address and the date you accessed the information.
• Reference to an article that is in press must state the journal name and, if possible, the year and volume.

Examples are given below.

Standard journal article

Bisdas T, Pichlmaier M, Wilhelmi M, Bisdas S, Haverich A, Teebken O. Effects of the ABO-mismatch between donor and recipient of cryopreserved arterial homografts. Int Angiol. 2011;30:247-55.

Journal supplement

Kaplan NM. The endothelium as prognostic factor and therapeutic target: what criteria should we apply? J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 1998;32(Suppl 3):S78-80.

Journal article not in English but with English abstract

Kawai H, Ishikawa T, Moroi J, Hanyu N, Sawada M, Kobayashi N, et al. Elderly patient with cerebellar malignant astrocytoma. No Shinkei Geka. 2008;36:799-805. [In Japanese, English abstract]

Book with edition

Bradley EL. Medical and surgical management. 2nd ed. Saunders; 1982, p. 72-95.

Book with editors

Letheridge S, Cannon CR, editors. Bilingual education: teaching English as a second language. Praeger; 1980.

Book chapter in book with editor and edition

Greaves M, Culligan DJ. Blood and bone marrow. In: Underwood JCE, editor. General and systematic pathology. 4th ed. Churchill Livingstone; 2004, p. 615-72.

Book series with editors

Wilson JG, Fraser FC, editors. Handbook of teratology, vols. 1-4. Plenum Press; 1977-78.

Bulletin

World Health Organization. World health report 2002: reducing risk, promoting healthy life. World Health Organization; 2002.

Electronic publications

Duchin JS. Can preparedness for biological terrorism save us from pertussis? Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004;158. Accessed June 12, 2004. Available from: http://archpedi.amaassn.org/cgi/content/full/158/2/106

Smeeth L, Iliffe S. Community screening for visual impairment in the elderly. Cochrane Database Syst Rev .2000; (2):CD001054. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001054

Item presented at a meeting but not yet published

Khuri FR, Lee JJ, Lippman SM. Isotretinoin effects on head and neck cancer recurrence and second primary tumors. In: Proceedings from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, May 31-June 3, 2003; Chicago, IL. Abstract 359.

Item presented at a meeting and published

Cionni RJ. Color perception in patients with UV- or bluelightfiltering IOLs. In: Symposium on cataract, IOL, and refractive surgery. San Diego, CA: American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery; 2004. Abstract 337.

Thesis

Ayers AJ. Retention of resin restorations by means of enamel etching and by pins [MSD thesis]. Indiana University; 1971.

Website

American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Wisdom teeth. AAOMS Website. Published 2008. Accessed September 25, 2010. Available from: http://www.aaoms.org/wisdom_teeth.php

Company/manufacturer publication/pamphlet

Eastman Kodak Company, Eastman Organic Chemicals. Catalog no. 49. Eastman Kodak; 1977, p. 2-3.

3.5. Acknowledgments

General acknowledgments for consultations, statistical analysis, etc., should be listed after main body of text, before the references, including the names of the individuals involved.

3.6. Funding

All financial and material support for the research and the work should be stated here clearly explicitly.

3.7. Data Sharing Statement

• IJGII supports the principle that all data should be made available to facilitate research reproducibility, while protecting patient privacy and confidentiality. We encourage authors to include a data availability statement in the manuscript (eg, a link to a data repository). Authors also have the option to explain why data may not be shared.
• Clinical trials: IJGII accepts the ICMJE Recommendations for the data sharing statement policy (http://icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf). All manuscripts that report clinical trial results should be submitted with a data sharing statement following the ICMJE guidelines from September 1, 2018. Authors may refer to the data sharing statement of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/clinical-trial-registration.html#two).

3.8. Tables

Tables are numbered consecutively, in the order of their citation in the text. Table legend example: Table 1 Demographic Characteristics of Patients [note: "Table 1" in bold font without end period; no end period after legend]. Shortening of some words inside table (NOT in table legend): year(s) → yr; month(s) → mo; hour(s) → hr; minute(s) → min; second(s) → sec; and → &. Use en dashes for empty entries. Footnotes are indicated using these symbols (in order of appearance): *, †, ‡, §, ||, ¶, ** [note: when > 10 footnotes, use superscripted lowercase letters]. Abbreviations used in the table, even when already defined in the text, should be defined and placed after the footnotes and presented like in this example: CT, computed tomography; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging. [note: the use of "," with a space on either side, semi-colon to separate, and a period after the last].

3.9. Figures

Figure legends should be submitted for all figures and should be brief and specific and placed on a separate sheet after the reference section. Figures must be in numerical order using Arabic numerals in the order of their citation in the text. Figures should be uploaded as separate files, not embedded in the manuscript file. Regardless of the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalized, please "save as" or convert the images to one of the following formats (note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):

• EPS: Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text as "graphics".
• TIFF: Color or grayscale photographs (halftones)-use a minimum of 300 dpi.
• TIFF: Bitmapped line drawings-use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
• TIFF: Combination of bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale)-use a minimum of 600 dpi.
• DOC, XLS or PPT: If your electronic artwork is created in any of these Microsoft Office applications, please supply "as is".

Please do not:

• Supply files that are optimized for screen use (like GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG) as the resolution is too low;
• Supply files that are too low in resolution;
• Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.

Please note that the cost of color illustrations will be charged to the author.

4. Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

The corresponding author must inform the editor of any potential conflicts of interest that could influence the authors interpretation of the data. Examples of potential conflicts of interest are financial support from or connections to pharmaceutical companies, political pressure from interest groups, and academically related issues. Conflict of interest statements will be published at the end of the text of the article, before the 'References' section. Please consult the COPE guidelines (http://www.publicationethics.org/) on conflict of interest. Even when there is no conflict of interest, it should also be stated.

Policy for submissions by members of the editorial team
As all editors and Editorial Board members at the IJGII are active professionals and researchers, it may happen that they would want to submit their articles to the IJGII. This represents a potential conflict of interest, especially in cases of submissions from decision-making editors. In reviewing submissions from its editors and Editorial Board members, the IJGII follows the guidelines for good editorial practice set by international editorial organizations, such as World Association of Medical Editors (WAME; http://www.wame.org/resources/publication-ethics-policies-for-medicaljournals#conflicts) and Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE; https://publicationethics.org/case/editor-author-own-journal). The review of such manuscripts will not be handled by the submitting editor(s); the review process will be supervised and decisions made by a senior editor who will act independently of other editors. In some cases, the review process will be handled by an outside independent expert to minimize possible bias in reviewing submissions from editors. Also, conflict of interest statement should be included in on the title page, as the following examples. AAA has been an editor (Editor-in-Chief) of the International Journal of Gastrointestinal Intervention (IJGII) since 20XX; however, AAA has not been involved in the peer reviewer selection, evaluation, or decision process of this article. No other potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

5. Ethical Approval of Studies

For human or animal experimental investigations, appropriate institutional review board or ethics committee approval is required, and such approval should be stated in the methods section of the manuscript. For those investigators who do not have formal ethics review committees, the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki (2013) should be followed (World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects. Available at: https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/).

6. Redundant Publication or Duplicate Submission

Redundant (or duplicate) publication is publication of a paper that overlaps substantially with one already published in print or electronic media. Submitted manuscripts are considered with the understanding that they have not been published previously in print or electronic format (except in abstract or poster form) and are not under consideration in totality or in part by another publication or electronic medium. For more information, please refer to 'Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication' (Available at: http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/archives/2008_urm.pdf).
For the policies on the research and publication ethics not stated in this instruction, 'Ethical Policies' section of this Journal can be applied.

7. The Editorial and Peer Review Process

As a general rule, the receipt of a manuscript will be acknowledged within 2 to 4 weeks of submission; authors will be provided with a manuscript reference number for future correspondence. If an acknowledgment is not received in a reasonable period of time, the author should contact the Editorial Office.
Submissions are reviewed by the Editorial Office to ensure that it contains all parts. Submissions will be rejected if the author has not supplied all the material and documents as outlined in these author instructions.
Manuscripts are then reviewed by the Editors, who make an initial assessment. If the manuscript does not appear to be of sufficient merit or is not appropriate for the Journal, the manuscript will be rejected without review. Rejected manuscripts will not be returned to authors unless requested. All other manuscripts are sent to 2 or more expert consultants for double-blind peer review. Authors will usually be notified within 12 weeks of the initial acknowledgment of whether the manuscript is accepted for publication, rejected, or subject to revision before acceptance. However, do note that delays are sometimes unavoidable.

IJGII has a specific process for handling submissions by members of the editorial board to ensure an impartial review, treating the editorial board member as any other author, with no access to the internal editorial process for that submission.

Editorial Interest in Conflict of Interest
Editors who make final decisions about manuscripts must have no personal, professional, or financial involvement in any of the issues they might judge. Other members of the editorial staff, if they participate in editorial decisions, must provide editors with a current description of their financial interests (as they might relate to editorial judgments) and recuse themselves from any decisions in which a conflict of interest exists. Editorial staff must not use information gained through working with manuscripts for private gain. Editors should publish regular disclosure statements about potential conflicts of interests related to the commitments of journal staff. IJGII complies with the Guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors on editorial conflict of interest (http://www.icmje.org/#conflicts).

Appeals of an editorial decision
Appeals of a rejection decision are only successful in a handful of cases and usually only when you can provide strong evidence or new data that can respond to and alleviate the concerns of the editor and reviewers. As appeals are matters of journal policy they are given lower priority than new submissions and may take at least several weeks, if not longer, to resolve. Appeals must be rational arguments not emotional ones so be sure you have enough evidence before trying to change the editor's mind.

If you do decide to go ahead with an appeal letter you should:
Clearly explain why you disagree with the decision and provide any new information that you would like the editors to take into consideration. This should not be a repetition of what you have included in your original submission or cover letter.
If the editors or reviewers have highlighted shortcomings with your paper that you think you can address please indicate how you would do this, such as providing further data.
Include a point-by-point response to any reviewer comments.
Provide any evidence to support your opinion when you believe a reviewer has made technical errors in their assessment of your manuscript or has been biased.

Editors will consider one appeal per article and all decisions on appeals are final. The timely review and decision-making process for new submissions will take precedence over appeals.

8. Errata/Retractions Policy

Definitions

Errata—Errata are corrections to previously published articles. IJGII does not differentiate between errors that originate in the publication process and those that result from errors of scientific logic or methodology.
Expressions of Concern—An expression of concern about the integrity and accuracy of a published article is typically written by an editor, including that phrase in the item title. It is the editor-in-chief's responsibility to initiate appropriate investigative procedures, discover the outcome of the investigation, and notify readers of that outcome in a subsequent issue of IJGII. The outcome may lead to the publication of a retraction notice.
Retractions—Articles may be retracted because of pervasive errors or unsubstantiated or irreproducible data. A partial retraction—when a single paragraph, table, or statement in an article is retracted—may occur if the authors realize that they have drawn the wrong conclusions from their research and wish to subsequently retract those conclusions, even though all of the scientific data reported in an article are sound and valid.

Journal IJGII Policy

This policy applies to all content published in IJGII. The policy was designed to address the need for post-publication corrections, comments, or retractions and to take into account current best practice in scholarly publishing.
As standards evolve and change, IJGII staff will revisit this document. When appropriate, IJGII also publishes letters to the editor (with approval from the editor-in-chief) to allow those with alternative opinions a way to voice them and further the scientific discourse.
The purpose of publishing an erratum, expression of concern, or a retraction is to ensure the integrity of the scientific literature. The following are the policies of IJGII:

• Errors in published articles that affect the meaning, interpretation, and understanding of the article require a published correction or erratum. Errata are not published for simple mistakes such as typographical errors or misspellings that do not affect the meaning or intent of the content.
• Substantive corrections must be published as quickly as possible, must be transparent to the publication's audience, and should be published only after careful consideration.
• Errata, retractions, and expressions of concern should enable the reader to identify and understand the correction in context with the errors made, should explain why the article is being retracted, or should explain the editor's concerns about the contents of the article.
• The title of the erratum, retraction, or expression of concern should include the words "Erratum," "Retraction," or "Expression of Concern," respectively.
• IJGII does not correct articles after they have been published by altering the original material; rather, the erratum is appended as page 1 to the online PDF version of the original article (published on IIJGII's website) to ensure that anyone who downloads the article will have the corrected information. Post-publication corrections are also published separately.
• Errata, retractions, or expressions of concern will be published in print and online, and will be listed in the print table of contents, the online table of contents, and Journal GII's electronic table of contents (eTOC), which is e-mailed to subscribers, for the issue in which they appear.
• Errata, retractions, or expressions of concern must cite the original article, including the title, author(s), month and year of publication, and volume and issue numbers.

9. Similarity Check

Similarity Check is a multi-publisher initiative to screen published and submitted content for originality. To find out more about Similarity Check, visit http://www.crossref.org/crosscheck/index.html. All manuscripts submitted to IJGII may be screened, using the iThenticate tool, for textual similarity to other previously published works.

10. Copyright

Published manuscripts are copyrighted to the Society of IJGII, and published under a Creative Commons license. A copyright transfer form should be downloaded in the submission site and submitted to the editorial office by fax or e-mail containing a scanned copyright transfer form on acceptance.
IJGII applies the Creative Commons Attribution License to works it publishes. Under this license, even though the publisher owns the copyright, anyone can download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute and/or copy the contents.

11. Publication Fees

The publication of article is free of charge, while the authors could be requested to pay actual cost when the special design or reprinting is necessary.

12. Preprint Policy

IJGII supports the posting of submitted manuscripts on community preprint servers such as arXiv, bioRxiv or similar platforms. We do, however, ask the authors to respect the following summaries of our policies:

• (1) Preprint information must be disclosed at submission for reviewers and editors to be able to evaluate the preprinted information and compare it with the submitted manuscript.
• (2) The accepted version may be posted 6 months after publication. However, the author must acknowledge publication by providing a link to the published version from any previously posted versions of the manuscript as follows: “This article has been published in IJGII following peer review and can also be viewed on the journal’s website at [insert DOI].”