PHWR Public Health Weekly Report

It is available at: https://eng.phwr.org/content/policy/research_ethics.html

1. Copyright

Authors of papers published in the PHWR transfer the copyright to KDCA. In accordance to the copyright policy, all authors are required to sign the copyright transfer form to complete peer review.

2. Open Access Policy

PHWR is an Open Access journal distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

3. Data Sharing

PHWR complies with ICMJE recommendations for data sharing policies (https://icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf). All manuscripts reporting clinical trial results should submit a data-sharing statement in accordance with ICMJE guidelines and provide a link if necessary.

4. Archiving

PHWR provides electronic data storage and access to journal content by preserving it in the National Library of Korea (http://nl.go.kr) when the journal is no longer published. The author can archive the issuer’s version or a PDF of the same.

5. The Process for Handling Cases Requiring Corrections, Retractions, and Editorial Expressions of Concern

PHWR follows the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) (http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf) and the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (https://publicationethics.org/guidance) for this process, if not described as below:
PHWR aims to ensure the integrity of the academic record of all published or potential publications. Whenever it is recognized that a significant inaccuracy, misleading statement, or distorted report has been published, it must be corrected promptly and with due prominence. If, after an appropriate investigation, an item proves to be fraudulent, it should be retracted. The retraction should be clearly identifiable to readers and indexing systems.

Correction: Errors in published papers may be identified in the form of a corrigendum or erratum when the Editor-in-Chief considers it appropriate to inform the journal readership about a previous error and makes a correction to the error in the published article. The corrigendum or erratum will appear as a new article in the journal and will cite the original published article.

Retractions: An article may be retracted when the sincerity of the published work is undermined due to the errors in the conduct, analysis and/or reporting of the study. Violation of publication or research ethics may also result in a study’s retraction. The original article is marked as retracted, but a PDF version remains available to readers, and the retraction statement is bi-directionally linked to the original published paper. Retraction statements will typically include a statement of assent or dissent from the authors.

Editorial expression of concern: Where a certain amount of doubt arises as to the honesty or integrity of a submitted or published article, journal editors may issue an expression of concern. However, it should only be issued if an investigation into the problems relating to the article has proven inconclusive, and if there are strong indicators that the concerns are valid.

1. Submission of Papers

Corresponding authors who wish to submit papers to PHWR can do so through the online submission system (https://www.phwr.org/submission) and refer to Instruction for Authors and Reporting guideline.

2. Review Process

It is available at: https://eng.phwr.org/content/policy/publishing_policies.html

3. Acceptance of Papers

For papers that have been confirmed to be published, download the form for copyright transfer in the online submission system. All authors are required to sign it before submission.

The papers published in PHWR can be categorized into surveillance/survey reports, outbreak reports, notes from the field, original articles, reviews & perspectives, recommendation report, policy notes, and etc.

Surveillance/Survey Reports: Surveillance/survey reports are categorized into two types: (1) surveillance reports and (2) survey reports. It includes analysis and reporting of epidemiological changes in diseases, pathogens, and health issues based on national or international investigation/monitoring system data. The manuscript must be within 2,000 words, and a maximum of three tables and figures each can be included. Not more than ten references can be included. Outbreak reports should consist of an abstract, key messages, introduction, method and results, discussion (conclusions), declarations, and references.

Outbreak Reports : Reports on outbreaks or epidemics occurring in community residents, population groups, facilities, or institutions. These reports should chronologically describe the investigation from the initial onset to its conclusion. The manuscript must be within 2,000 words, and include a maximum of three tables and figures each. A maximum of ten references can be included. Outbreak reports should consist of an abstract, key messages, introduction, surveys and results, public health responses, discussion (conclusions), declarations, and references.

Notes from the Field : A summary form of research reports on recent events or ongoing issues in the public health sector may include pandemics, specific group outbreaks, addiction, exposure to disease, and noteworthy public health case reports. Notes from the field consist of the beginning and recognition of the event, the content and description of the investigation, the size and scope of the event, results, temporary conclusions and measures, and references. It can be written in an unstructured format. Ideally, the manuscript should be within 2,000 words, and if the number of characters is exceeding, prior consultation by the editorial committee is required, and no more than one table and picture each should be included. There shall be no more than ten references.

Original Articles : Original articles based on public health and health-related surveys and research should include content that can help improve future public health. The manuscript should be within 3,000 words, and include up to three tables and figures each. A maximum of ten references should be included. Original articles should consist of an abstract, key messages, introduction, method, results, discussion (conclusion), declarations, and references.

Review & Perspective : It includes arbitration on major public health issues, literature review on policy research, and insightful analysis of project implementation and policies and guidelines in the field. For reviews, it is recommended to follow the PRISMA guidelines for systematic literature review. The report cannot exceed 3,000 words, although there is no limit on the number of references. Perspectives can have up to 2,000 words, can be written in an unstructured format, and subheadings suitable for the content can be used.

Policy Notes : It is a report released for the purpose of conveying new policies or guidelines related to public health and health of KDCA. The manuscript shall not exceed 2,000 words, and a maximum of three tables and figures each can be included. Policy reporting consists of an abstract, key messages, introduction, background, method, evidence and proofs, policy/recommendation, review and discussion, and references, although it may not include review and discussion, abstract, and key messages (unstructured format can also be used). There should be no more than ten references.

Recommendation Report : It provides in-depth explanations of various guidelines by the KDCA. There are no restrictions on the number of words, tables, or figures in these reports. A recommendation report may include the following sections: Abstract, Key Messages, Background (Includes a description of the health problem, the target population, intended users, and environment, as well as the recommendation development group), Evidence (Details core questions, health outcomes, evidence assessment, and levels of evidence). Recommendations (recommendation grades, factors considered in drawing recommendations, methodologies for deriving evidence, and the recommendation statement), Updates (Includes external review and processes for updates), There are no restrictions on the number of references.

1. General Guidelines on Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts must be written in either Korean or English. It should be prepared using Hangul or MS Word according to the provided “Guidelines for Manuscript Preparation.” For Surveillance/Survey Reports, Outbreak Reports, Policy Notes, and Recommendation Reports, authors should refer to PHWR Reporting Guidelines. Detailed information on the reporting guidelines can be found at PHWR website.

• 1) All manuscripts are prepared using PHWR templates.
• 2) The manuscript should be prepared in the order of title page, abstract, key messages, body, declaration, tables and figures, and references. The text may be described autonomously without classifying subheadings.

2. Abbreviations and Terms

Abbreviations cannot be used in titles or subheadings. However, the abbreviation can be used if the title is too long or the reader is familiar with it. Use abbreviations after expanding it in words first and place them in parenthesis. In principle, only standard abbreviations should be used, and abbreviations should be avoided as far as possible.

• 1) In principle, the names of people, places, and other proper nouns shall be written in the original language.
• 2) Arabic numerals are used for numbers; metric units are used for weights; and temperature is in degrees Celsius.
• 3) Other units of measurement follow the International System of Units (SI).
• 4) Except for °C, °, and %, spacing between measured values and unit marks is the principle, and when using parentheses, spacing is used in English or numbers, but not in Korean.
  e.g.) World Health Organization (WHO), coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
• 5) The labeling of devices and reagents shall be in accordance with the following provisions:
  1. ① In the case of equipment, the manufacturer’s name shall be written in parenthesis.
  2. ② For reagents, write the generic name and manufacturer name in parenthesis.
  3. ③ If there is a model name, use a semi-colon (;) after the model name, and if the names of two or more reagents and instruments are listed consecutively, separate them using semi-colons (;).

3. Structure of the Paper (Original Articles)

• 1) Title page
  In the title page, the title of the paper, author's name, and name of the agency to which the author belongs are specified in Korean and English, as well as the email address of the corresponding author.
  1. ① If there are two or more authors, the name of the first author is mentioned first, and in the case of co-authors, it is mentioned according to their contribution to the paper. Author names shall be separated by a comma (,) and the corresponding author shall be marked with an asterisk (*).
  2. ② The affiliation is processed under the name, while the contact address (phone number, e-mail address) of the corresponding author is indicated.
• 2) Abstract and Keywords
  1. ① All abstracts shall be prepared in Korean and English in structured format (objectives, methods, results, conclusions), not exceeding 250 words.
  2. ② The abstract must not cite references.
  3. ③ Provide 4–5 keywords at the bottom of the Korean and English abstracts. For English, refer to the terms listed in the National Library of Medicine's Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) Index (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh). Each word is separated with a semi-colon (;), and the first word begins with a capital letter after a space.
• 3) Key message
  In principle, it should be written in a simple manner, and without the use of technical terms unless necessary, it should include ① What is known previously? ② What new information is presented? ③ What are implications? written in Korean and English within 100 words.
• 4) Main text
  The format of the text is in the order of introduction, method, results, and discussion (conclusions), and refers to the following items when describing. In principle, the text shall be written in Korean, and English shall be allowed if necessary.
  1. ① Introduction
     It includes the research background, research necessity, and recent research trends.
  2. ② Method
     - Research methods and research contents, including research subjects, are described according to the logical development.
     - The study correctly uses the terms gender (biological element) and sex (identity, social psychological, or cultural element), reports the gender/sex of the study subjects, and describes the methods used to determine gender and sex. If the study was conducted with limited subjects, for example, including only one gender, the authors should explain the reason, except in obvious cases (e.g., prostate cancer).
     - Method: Includes research design, research subjects, research tools, data collection, and analysis methods. The statistical program used also includes the version and manufacturer’s name.
     Example: It was analyzed using SAS (version 9.4; SAS Institute Inc.).
  3. ③ Results
     The results of the study shall be clearly and logically described, but all data in the table or figure shall not be listed in the description of the research results, and only the main research results shall be briefly described.
  4. ④ Discussion (Conclusion)
     Conclusions and discussion based on the research results and appropriate policy suggestions may be included. When writing a paper without classification of subheadings, it includes the contents corresponding to ①–④ of 4) and describes it freely in a logical manner.
• 5) Declarations
  All the contents below should be written in English. If not applicable, it should be stated that it is not applicable (Not applicable, None, etc.). Refer to the template for a detailed description.
  1. ① Ethics Statement: For human studies, approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) should be obtained and approval details (including the approval number) should be recorded. Clinical studies should describe the informed consent of the subject. Even if prior consent is exempted by the IRB, the contents shall be described.
  2. ② Funding Source: In the case of receiving research funding from various sources, describe the details of research funding support.
  3. ③ Acknowledgments: Introduce a person not listed as co-author or an institution that has contributed in part to the paper.
  4. ④ Conflict of Interest: If there is a stake in the writing of the paper, it will be described in detail. If there is no conflict of interest, mention that "The authorities have no conflicts of interest to declare."
  5. ⑤ Author Contributions: If there are more than two authors, describe each author's role. The author's role can be described by referring to CRediT (https://www.casrai.org/credit.html).
     Example) Conceptualization: GDH. Data curation: JHK. Funding acquisition: GDH. Investigation: JHK, SSL. Methodology: AGK. Project administration: GDH. Supervision: GDH. Writing–original draft: JHK, SSL. Writing–review & editing: GDH, AGK.
  6. ⑥ ORCID: ORCID is a unique number given to researchers. Researchers without ORCID can simply create it on the ORCID website (https://orcid.org).
• 6) Tables and Figures
  - In principle, tables and figures shall be in Korean and English.
  - The contents of the table and figures must be easy to understand and independently readable.
  1. ① Principles for tables
     - All lines shall be in a single line and only the horizontal line (three lines) shall be marked, and no vertical line shall be used.
     - The title of the table shall be listed on the left-hand side alignment at the top in English; only the first letter of the sentence and proper nouns shall be capitalized; and there is no period at the end of the sentence.
     - In principle, the first column is left-aligned, and the remaining columns are center-aligned.
     - The table is numbered in the order in which it is quoted in the text. Indicate the citation information in the table in the body.
     - If explanation is required in the table, use footnotes. All non-standard abbreviations used in the table should be described in footnotes at the bottom of the table.
     Example: Exp=experimental group; Con=control group.
     - Footnotes are described with symbols, but symbols should be in alphabet superscripts (a), b), c),...). The P value is expressed in ”p-value” lowercase letters.
     - If materials that have already been published or have yet to be published are used in the table, permission from the original author must be obtained.
  2. ② Principles for figures
     - The figures are also numbered in the order in which they are cited.
     - In case it is in English, in the title of the picture, capitalize only the first letter of the sentence and proper nouns.
     - Color images shall be at least 300 dpi, and radiographs and black-and-white images shall have a resolution of at least 600 dpi.
     - The display of letters, numbers, and symbols should be made in clear and constant concentration, and even if the image is reduced during the publication process, the reader should be able to read the letters.
     - If the image is already published, specify the fact and obtain a license from the copyright holder. All documents except public domain documents (not copyrighted) must have a license from the author or issuer.
     - Explain what each footnote means at the bottom of the figure if a description of the figure is required, and if a symbol, arrow, number, or character is used for the purpose of marking a particular part of the figure. For microscopic photographs, magnification and staining are specified.
     - The patient's personal information should not be revealed in photographs or video findings. However, if the patient's information has to be inevitably disclosed, written consent should be obtained from him/her.
• 7) References
  All references cited in the text shall be in English.
  1. ① The reference is numbered in the order in which it is cited in the text, and the reference number is assigned in the following form.

     • In general, the reference number is placed at the end of the cited sentence.

     Example: ... It emphasizes the importance of preventive intervention [1].
     ... Overseas studies have highlighted personal hygiene [2,3,7].
     ... According to overseas studies, personal hygiene is emphasized [2–7].
     In English, spacing in front of [ is required.
     ... respiratory diseases such as pneumonia and death [5,6].

     • If the author's name is included, place the reference number after the author's name.

     Example: If there is only one author—Kim [1] is...
     If there are two authors—Kim and Lee [2] are...
     If there are more than three authors—Kim et al. [3] are...

  2. ② References cited only in tables and image descriptions are displayed in the order in which the table and image descriptions first appeared in the text.
  3. ③ If there are more than six authors in the reference, mention only the first three and add et al.
  4. ④ If there is no English title or author name in the original text, translate it into English and place it in parenthesis [].
  5. ⑤ For the form not included in the sample below, refer to the Vancouver form, which is the ICMJE recommended format (https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html)
  6. ⑥ Use the official abbreviation in NLM Catalog: Journals referred in the NCBI Databases (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals/) to refer to the name of the journal.

1. Article Processing Charge

There are no author submission fees or other publication-related charges. All cost for the publication process is supported by the Publisher, KDCA.

2. Revenues Sources

Revenue sources of PHWR are from the support of KDCA.

3. Subscription Information

PHWR is updated on the official website (https://phwr.org or https://eng.phwr.org) weekly. This journal is free for all researchers and general people. To order a subscription to PHWR, please send information with name, affiliation, and e-mail address via e-mail.

4. Advertising

PHWR does not accept any commercial advertisements.

5. Direct Marketing

Journal propagation has been done through the journal website. The introduction pamphlet distributes at domestic and abroad conferences and seminars.

Editor-in-Chief: Bo Youl Choi

Phone: +82-2-2220-0662
e-mail: bychoi@hanyang.ac.kr

Editorial office: Division of Disease Surveillance Strategy, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency

Phone: +82-43-719-7557, 7552, 7562
FAX: +82-43-719-7569
e-mail: phwrcdc@korea.kr