Best Practice

Principles of transparency and best practice

1. Website

• The URL of the official journal website is https://www.e-acn.org/.
  
  
• ACN publishes scientific and creative research papers in clinical neuroscience and clinical neurophysiology supporting all of the academic fields of clinical neurology. Its scope therefore includes the following topics:
  
  - Nerve conduction studies
  - Electromyography
  - Evoked potentials
  - Electroencephalography
  - Brain mapping
  - Magnetoencephalography
  - Transcranial Doppler
  - Duplex sonography
  - Polysomnography
  - Neuromuscular sonography
  - Vestibular neurophysiology
  - Movement-related potentials
  - Transcranial magnetic stimulation
  - Functional neuroimaging
  - Therapeutic brain stimulation
  - Therapeutic spinal cord stimulation
  - Neural excitability testing
  - Autonomic function testing
  - Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring
  - Clinical neurophysiology evaluating peripheral or central pain pathways
  - Gastrointestinal neurophysiology
  - Neurophysiological monitoring
  - Neurourology
  - Experimental neurophysiology and neurobiology
  - Clinical trials utilizing parameters of clinical neurophysiology
  - Basic science contributing to advances in clinical neurophysiology
  - Diseases of the peripheral and central nervous systems requiring assessments by clinical neurophysiology
  
  
• Readership (https://www.e-acn.org/about/index.php) ACN provides clinicians and researchers with peer-reviewed articles in all of the academic fields of clinical neurology, including clinical neuroscience and clinical neurophysiology, with the aim of enhancing patient management, education, clinical and experimental research, and professionalism.
  
  
• Authorship criteria (https://www.e-acn.org/authors/authors.php)
  Authorship inclusion should be based on (1) substantial contributions to the study conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and (3) final approval of the version to be published. All of the listed authors should meet these three conditions. The corresponding author should (1) be responsible for all communications with this journal from submission to publication, (2) keep coauthors informed and involved during the review process, and (3) correspond with members of the scientific community after the manuscript has been published.
  
  
• Duplicate submission or publication, and redundant information
  (https://www.e-acn.org/authors/authors.php)
  
  Duplicate submission or publication is where a manuscript published or submitted for publication elsewhere is submitted to or published in ACN, or where a manuscript published or submitted for publication to ACN is reprinted in another journal (authors may wish to use a portion of previously published study results in their current study). This must be approved by the Editor-in-Chief of both journals, and the Editor-in-Chief for the second publication must be fully aware of the contents of the first publication. The readership must also be notified of the second publication when citing contents from the first publication.
  
  The cover letter to the Editor-in-Chief must declare that a submitted manuscript has not been published nor is under simultaneous consideration for publication elsewhere in whole or in part in any language, except in the form of an abstract.
  
  The cover letter must also state if any part of the manuscript contains redundant or duplicate information, defined as papers, data, tables, or figures that overlap substantially with already published information.
  
  
• pISSN: 2508-691X, eISSN: 2508-6960

2. Name of the journal

The official journal name is Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology. The abbreviated name is Ann Clin Neurophysiol.

3. Peer review process (https://www.e-acn.org/authors/authors.php)

All submitted manuscripts will be initially evaluated by more than two experts in accordance with the review and revision guidelines of The Korean Society of Clinical Neurophysiology. The acceptance criteria for all papers are based on the quality and originality of the research and its clinical and scientific significance. The corresponding author will normally be informed of the initial editorial decision about acceptance within 4 weeks of the Editorial Office receiving a manuscript, and he/she will also be sent the reviewers’ comments. Revised manuscripts must be submitted by the corresponding author. The corresponding author must indicate the alterations that have been made in response to the reviewers’ comments on an item-by-item basis. Failing to resubmit the revised manuscript within 8 weeks of receiving the initial editorial decision will be regarded as a withdrawal.

4. Ownership and management

This journal is owned and managed by the publisher, The Korean Society of Clinical Neurophysiology (http://www.kscn.or.kr/).

5. Governing body

The governing body is the Editorial Board of the journal.

6. Editorial team and contact information

Editor-in-Chief
Ki-Jong Park	Gyeongsang National University, Korea
Associate Editors
Ha Young Shin	Yonsei University, Korea
Suk-Won Ahn	Chung-Ang University, Korea
Daeyoung Kim	Chungnam National University, Korea
Jeong-Yoon Choi	Seoul National University, Korea
Young Hee Sung	Gachon University, Korea
Eun Joo Kim	Pusan National University , Korea
Seunguk Jung	Gyeongsang National University, Korea
Executive Editor
Eun Bin Cho	Gyeongsang National University, Korea
Editorial Board
Jong Kuk Kim	Dong-A University, Korea
Jeeyoung Oh	Konkuk University, Korea
Eun Hee Sohn	Chungnam National University, Korea
Sa Youn Kang	Jeju National University, Korea
Hyun Ah Kim	Keimyung University, Korea
Jung Im Seok	Catholic University of Daegu, Korea
Hyung Jun Park	Ulsan University, Korea
Jee Eun Kim	Ewha Womans University, Korea
Kee Hong Park	Chungnam National University, Korea
Dae Lim Koo	Seoul National University, Korea
Seung-Han Lee	Chonnam National University, Korea
Chaur-Jong Hu	Taipei Medical University, Taiwan
David Burke	Sydney University, Australia
Dongsheng Fan	Perking University, China
Kazumoto Shibuya	Chiba University, Japan
Matthew Kiernan	Sydney University, Australia
Michael Hornberger	Norwich University, UK
Nortina Shahrizaila	Malaya University, Malaysia
Satoshi Kuwabara	Chiba University, Japan
Steve Vucic	Sydney University, Australia
Yu-Ichi Noto	Kyoto Prefectural University, Japan
Steve Chung	University of Arizona, USA
Sung-Tsang Hsieh	National Taiwan University Hospital, Taiwan
Statistics Editor
Junhee Han	Pusan National University, Korea
Ethics Editor
Soo Young Kim	Hallym University, Korea
Advisory Board
Dae-Seong Kim	Pusan National University, Korea
Seung Hyun Kim	Hanyang University, Korea
Dong Kuck Lee	Daegu Catholic University, Korea
Myeong-Kyu Kim	Chonnam National University, Korea
Kwang-Kuk Kim	Ulsan University, Korea
English Editor
Hyon Lee	Gachon University, Korea
Manuscript Editor
Eun Ju Yu	Jin Publishing Company, Korea
Layout Editor
Mi Sun Im	Jin Publishing Company, Korea
Website and JATS XML File Producer
Younsang Cho	M2 PI, Korea
Publisher
Dae-Won Seo	The Korean Society of Clinical Neurophysiology

7. Copyright and licensing

• Copyright policy
  All published papers become the permanent property of The Korean Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, and must not be published elsewhere without written permission. A copyright transfer form should be submitted to the Editorial Office through the electronic submission system at http://submit.e-acn.org upon acceptance.
  
  
• Licensing information
  This is an open-access journal distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and it is used only for noncommercial purposes.
  
  

8. Author fees

The authors do not pay any page charges or article processing charges.

9. Process for identifying and dealing with allegations of research misconduct

The Editor-in-Chief has the right to reject a manuscript if research misconduct is suspected. When violation of the publication ethics related to a paper published in this journal is detected, the authors will be announced in this journal and their institutes will be informed, and there will also be penalties for the authors.

A submitted manuscript must not be associated with any type of research misconduct, including fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism with intent to deceive by the authors. The cover letter to the Editor-in-Chief must declare that a submitted manuscript has not been published nor is under simultaneous consideration for publication elsewhere in whole or in part in any language, except in the form of an abstract. The cover letter must also state if any part of the manuscript contains redundant or duplicate information, defined as papers, data, tables, or figures that overlap substantially with already published information.

10. Publication Ethics

• Journal policies on authorship
  Authorship credit should be based on (1) substantial contributions to the study conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and (3) final approval of the version to be published. All of the listed authors should meet these three conditions. The corresponding author should (1) be responsible for all communications with this journal from submission to publication, (2) keep coauthors informed and involved during the review process, and (3) correspond with members of the scientific community after the manuscript has been published.
  
  Inappropriate authorship includes where individuals who have made scientific or technical contributions to the study contents or results are not included as authors without reasonable grounds, or where individuals who have not made scientific or technical contributions are included as authors (e.g., as a token of appreciation or respect). The order of authors on published articles or other types of publications must be determined impartially based on the extent of their contributions to the study irrespective of the relative position or status of the individuals. Individuals who have made only minor contributions to the study or article preparation should be mentioned in footnotes or in the preface rather than including them as authors.
  
  
• How the journal will handle complaints and appeals
  The policies of the journal are primarily aimed at protecting the authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher of the journal.
  Except where described below, the process of handling complaints and appeals follows the guidelines of the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE) (https://publicationethics.org/appeals).
  
  
• Who can complain or lodge an appeal?
  The corresponding author, other authors, reviewers, and readers may register complaints and appeals in the following cases: falsification, fabrication, plagiarism, duplicate publication, authorship dispute, conflict of interest, unethical treatment of animals, absence of informed consent, bias or unfair/inappropriate competitive acts, copyright infringement, stolen data, defamation, and legal problems. Any individuals or institutions wanting to inform the journal about such cases can write to the Editor-in-Chief. Complaints or appeals should provide concrete data with answers to all factual questions, such as about who, when, where, what, how, and why.
  
  Who is responsible for handling and resolving complaints and appeals?
  The Editor-in-Chief, Editorial Board, or Editorial Office.
  
  What is the possible consequence or remedy?
  The consequence or remedy will the vary with the type or degree of misconduct, and will follow the COPE guidelines.
  
  
• Journal policies on conflicts of interest and competing interests
  (https://www.e-acn.org/authors/authors.php)
  The corresponding author must inform the Editor-in-Chief of any potential conflicts of interest that could have influenced how the authors have interpreted the data. Examples of potential conflicts of interest are financial support from or connections to pharmaceutical companies, political pressure from interest groups, and academic-related issues. In particular, all sources of funding related to the study should be stated explicitly.
  
  
• Journal policies on data sharing and reproducibility
  The authors should contact the Editorial Office with any inquiries about the depositing of data.
  
  
• Journal policy on ethical oversight
  When the journal encounters suspected cases of research and publication misconduct, such as a redundant (duplicate) publication, plagiarism, fabricated data, changes in authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, ethical problems with a submitted manuscript, a reviewer who has appropriated an author’s idea or data, or complaints against editors, the resolution process will follow the flowchart provided by COPE (http://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts). The Editorial Board will discuss suspected cases, reach a decision, and then publish errata, corrigenda, clarifications, retractions, and/or apologies as necessary.
  
  
• Journal policy on intellectual property
  All published papers become the permanent property of The Korean Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, and must not be published elsewhere without written permission.
  
  
• Journal options for postpublication discussions and corrections
  Postpublication discussions on any published articles can be initiated by sending a letter to the Editor-in-Chief. Any errors or mistakes in articles can be corrected via errata, corrigenda, or retractions.
  
  

11. Publishing schedule

ACN is published twice yearly on April 30 and October 31.

12. Access

This is an open-access journal distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and it is used only for noncommercial purposes.

13. Archiving

The journal will be accessible without barriers from the Korea Citation Index (https://kci.go.kr) or the National Library of Korea (http://nl.go.kr) in the event that it is no longer published.

14. Revenue sources

The journal receives financial support from the publisher (The Korean Society of Clinical Neurophysiology), the Korea government, and in-journal advertising.

15. Advertising

ACN accepts advertisements on the bases described below.

• Eligibility of advertised products or services
  All products or services should be safe and reliable, and not cause any harm to the health and welfare of humans. Advertisements may promote information and technologies relevant to authors, editors, reviewers, and readers. Pharmaceutical products may also be considered.
  - Advertising is separate from content. Advertisers and sponsors have no advance knowledge of the editorial contents, nor do the editors have advance knowledge of advertisers. Content is never altered, added, or deleted to accommodate advertising. Advertisers and sponsors do not influence any of the editorial decisions or advertising policies.
  - The journal reserves the right to decline or cancel any advertisement at any time.
  - Advertisements for pharmaceutical products must conform with all regulations and policies of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Republic of Korea.
  
  
• Orders
  Any individuals or organizations who are interested in advertising their products or services in the print copies of the journal or on its website are encouraged to contact the Editorial Office. The acceptance of advertisement will be discussed by the Editorial Board and will ultimately be approved by the publisher.
  
  
• Advertisement fee
  The cost of an advertisement will follow the code of fair competition policy.
  
  
• Disclaimer
  Liability: Neither the publisher nor the editors will be legally liable for advertisements published in the journal. In addition, they do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the information provided.
  Endorsement: The publisher and the editors do not endorse any products or services that are advertised.
  Disclaimer: Neither the publisher nor the editors will be legally liable for any of the content of advertisements.
  
  

16. Direct marketing

The journal is disseminated via the journal website. Invitations to submit a manuscript are usually directed at presenters at conferences, seminars, and workshops if the topics of their presentations are related to the aims and scope of the journal.