Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

GHU Open is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. The journal adheres to the principles outlined by:

  • Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices
  • International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations
  • World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) Best Practice Guidelines
  • Council of Science Editors (CSE) White Paper on Publication Ethics

Authorship Criteria

Authorship is based on the four ICMJE criteria:

  1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; AND
  2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
  3. Final approval of the version to be published; AND
  4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All four criteria must be met for authorship. Contributors who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged but not listed as authors.

Use of CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) for specifying author contributions is required.

Author Responsibilities

Authors of submissions to GHU Open are responsible for ensuring that:

  • The submission represents original work not previously published or under consideration elsewhere
  • All listed authors meet ICMJE authorship criteria
  • All co-authors have approved the final manuscript
  • Sources of funding and material support are fully disclosed
  • All conflicts of interest are declared
  • Ethical approval was obtained for studies involving human or animal subjects
  • Informed consent was obtained from human research participants
  • Clinical trials are prospectively registered in a public registry
  • Data, methods, and materials are accurately described and available for verification
  • Use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in research and writing is fully disclosed

Use of AI Tools (Including Large Language Models)

GHU Open follows international guidelines on the use of AI tools in scholarly publishing:

  • AI cannot be listed as an author. Authorship requires accountability that AI tools cannot fulfill.
  • Disclosure is mandatory. Authors must disclose any use of AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) in the Methods or Acknowledgments section, specifying the tool, version, and how it was used (e.g., language editing, code generation, literature search).
  • Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of all content, including AI-generated content. Authors must verify AI outputs and ensure no fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism.
  • AI-generated images, figures, or video in scientific content require explicit justification and disclosure.

Conflicts of Interest

All authors must disclose financial and non-financial relationships that may be perceived as influencing the work, including:

  • Employment, consultancies, honoraria, speaker's bureaus
  • Stock ownership or stock options
  • Patents (filed, pending, or issued)
  • Research grants and funding
  • Personal relationships with other authors or with subjects of the research
  • Institutional affiliations and roles

Authors must complete the ICMJE Conflict of Interest disclosure form at submission. The journal uses the standard ICMJE form.

Research Integrity

The following constitute serious breaches of research integrity:

  • Fabrication: Making up data or results
  • Falsification: Manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes; changing or omitting data
  • Plagiarism: Appropriating another's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit
  • Duplicate publication: Publishing essentially the same article in more than one journal
  • Salami slicing: Inappropriately dividing a single study into multiple publications
  • Citation manipulation: Adding citations not for content reasons but to inflate citation metrics
  • Image manipulation: Altering scientific images in ways that misrepresent research findings

All submissions are screened using plagiarism detection software (iThenticate). Suspected misconduct will be investigated according to COPE flowcharts.

Studies Involving Human Subjects

For studies involving human participants:

  • Approval must be obtained from an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) or ethics committee
  • The IRB approval number and committee name must be stated in the Methods section
  • The study must conform to the Declaration of Helsinki (2013 revision)
  • Written informed consent must be obtained from all participants (or guardians for minors)
  • For studies on identifiable individuals, additional consent for publication is required

Clinical Trials

All clinical trials must be:

  • Prospectively registered before enrollment of the first participant
  • Registered in an ICMJE-approved trial registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov, KCT, ISRCTN)
  • Reported following the relevant CONSORT guideline
  • Submitted with the trial registration number in the abstract

Studies Involving Animals

For studies involving animals:

  • Approval must be obtained from an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or equivalent
  • The Methods section must describe ethical approval and adherence to relevant guidelines (e.g., ARRIVE 2.0, NIH Guide)
  • The 3Rs principle (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) should be followed

Editor Responsibilities

Editors of GHU Open are responsible for:

  • Making fair and unbiased editorial decisions based on scientific merit
  • Ensuring confidentiality of submitted manuscripts
  • Disclosing and managing their own conflicts of interest
  • Recusing themselves from decisions where they have conflicts
  • Investigating allegations of misconduct using COPE guidelines
  • Issuing corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern when necessary
  • Maintaining the integrity of the academic record

Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers must:

  • Provide honest, objective, and constructive evaluations
  • Maintain confidentiality of the manuscript
  • Disclose conflicts of interest and decline review when appropriate
  • Identify potential ethical issues (e.g., suspected plagiarism, redundant publication)
  • Disclose use of AI tools in the review
  • Submit reviews within agreed timelines

Handling Misconduct

The journal follows COPE flowcharts for handling allegations of misconduct, including:

  • Suspected redundant publication
  • Suspected plagiarism
  • Suspected fabricated data
  • Changes in authorship
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest
  • Suspected ghost, guest, or gift authorship

Allegations are investigated thoroughly and confidentially. Outcomes may include: rejection of the manuscript, retraction or correction of published articles, banning future submissions from the author(s), or notification of the author's institution.

Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

The journal will publish:

  • Corrections (Errata): For minor errors that do not affect conclusions
  • Retractions: For articles with major errors invalidating findings, scientific misconduct, or duplicate publication
  • Expressions of Concern: When investigations are ongoing or evidence is inconclusive

All retraction notices are linked to the original article and freely available. The original article is not deleted but marked as retracted.

Complaints and Appeals

Concerns about editorial processes, authorship disputes, or potential misconduct may be sent in writing to the Editor-in-Chief at ghu@ghuopen.org. The journal commits to addressing all complaints fairly and transparently.

Privacy and Data Protection

Personal information collected from authors, reviewers, and readers is processed in accordance with the journal's Privacy Statement and applicable data protection regulations (PIPA in Korea, GDPR in EU).