AIMS AND SCOPE

The Korean Journal of Helicobacter and Upper Gastrointestinal Research (Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res) is an international peer-reviewed open-access journal that publishes the latest research covering diverse topics for the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of upper gastrointestinal disorders, including gastric cancer and Helicobacter pylori-related diseases. The journal introduces physicians, researchers, and general readers to the latest developments in upper gastrointestinal tract disorders, including the clinical phenomena associated with H. pylori and different microbiota and aims to contribute to a better understanding of various gastrointestinal diseases. This Korean-English bilingual journal publishes articles that discuss in-depth approaches to upper gastrointestinal diseases and aims to serve as an educational forum for exchange of ideas and opinions on upper gastrointestinaI diseases and also encourages research and publication.

The Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res, the official journal of the Korean College of Helicobacter and Upper Gastrointestinal Research, is published on a quarterly basis on the 10th of March, June, September, and December. The journal was first published in 2001 as the Korean Journal of Helicobacter Research and Practice and is known by its current name since 2004.

The journal publishes full-length original articles, brief reports, reviews, case reports, images of the issue, research updates, editorials, and letters to the editor. Authors are required to confirm their compliance with the journal’s policies and guidelines on the journal’s website at the time of manuscript submission.

ETHICS IN RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION

All manuscripts should be prepared strictly in accordance with the research and publication ethics guidelines recommended by the Council of Science Editors (CSE; https://www.councilscienceeditors.org), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE; https://www.icmje.org), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME; https://www.wame.org), and the Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors (KAMJE; https://www.kamje.or.kr/en/main_en).

For issues not addressed by this instruction, the Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res follows the ICMJE “Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals” (https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/).

The journal adheres to the principles of “Transparency and Best Practice” (joint statement by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), WAME, and the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA) (https://doaj.org/apply/transparency/).

1. Authorship

An author must have made substantial contributions to all of the following categories established by the ICMJE: (1) 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 to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Those who meet some, but not all authorship criteria should be mentioned in the acknowledgment section.

Changes to authorship (addition or deletion of author names or rearranging the order of authors) after the initial submission of a manuscript are possible during the review process; however, the corresponding author should submit a letter signed by all authors to the editor to explain the rationale for these modifications. All authors must complete the copyright assignment. Any revision to authorship is not permitted after acceptance of the manuscript.

The description of equal contributions, commonly indicated by co-first authors or co-corresponding authors, is permitted for up to two individuals. However, the equal contributions of the two authors should be explicitly explained to the editor in the cover letter submitted with the manuscript.

The corresponding author is primarily responsible for communicating with the journal throughout the publication process (manuscript submission, peer review, and publication). The editorial board may request the corresponding author for details regarding authorship, ethics committee approval, clinical trial registration documentation, and conflict of interest statements.

2. Originality, plagiarism and duplicate publication

• • Submitted manuscripts should not have been previously published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere. Furthermore, they should not be under review by any other scientific journal. Submitted manuscripts are screened for possible plagiarism or duplicate publication through a ‘Similarity Check’ performed upon arrival.
• • Processes and sanctions related to ethics violations including fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, duplication, and research misconduct follow the Good Publication Practice Guidelines for Medical Journals 3rd Edition (KAMJE, 2019, https://www.kamje.or.kr/board/view?b_name=bo_publication&bo_id=13&per_page=)” recommended by KAMJE. International standards for editors and authors (https://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines) will be applicable to policies on research and publication ethics not stated in these instructions.
• • Manuscripts that are forged, altered, plagiarized, duplicated, redundant, or dishonest should not be submitted. Manuscripts that violate ethics standards will not be published.

3. Secondary publication

It is possible to republish manuscripts if they satisfy the conditions for secondary publication established by the ICMJE Recommendations (https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/overlapping-publications.html). Additionally, at the time of the second submission, the authors should clarify that all or parts of the manuscript have been published by another journal; the name of the journal should be mentioned on the title page and as a footnote.

At the time of manuscript submission, authors should submit a letter to the editor regarding any potential overlap with previously published material or material being evaluated for publication and should also highlight the differences between the manuscript submitted to the Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res and other material published elsewhere. Copies of these materials should be provided to the editor to confirm any potential duplication and redundancy.

4. Statement of human and animal rights

All manuscripts that describe research performed using human subjects must be in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki (https://www.wma.net/policy/). Researchers should obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and clearly state the research objectives and methods. Research subjects or their legal guardians should be informed regarding the adverse psychological or physical effects that may result from the research, and informed consent must be obtained.

Information that may reveal participants’ identities, such as name and initials, among other such sensitive data should be excluded from the research materials, including figures. If this is not possible, a written agreement should be obtained from the participants, and this statement should be included in the manuscript.

In animal studies, researchers should describe the measures adopted to minimize pain and discomfort to the animals, in accordance with The United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals or equivalent institutional guidelines. Manuscripts that describe animal experiments must explicitly state that the study protocol was approved by the Institutional Animal Ethical Committee (IAEC) in accordance with the Korean Animal Protection Law or an equivalent standard.

Authors should clearly state that all experiments were performed in conformity with the Korean Animal Protection Law, “The Principle of Animal Experiment,” or an equivalent standard. The editor may request proof of informed consent and a certificate of IAEC approval.

5. Reviewer guideline

Reviewers should not release, copy, or cite manuscript content prior to publication. For details, please refer to https://www.helicojournal.org/authors/reviewers.php.

6. Registration of clinical trial research

It is recommended that any research that includes a clinical trial be registered with a primary national clinical trial registration site such as the Clinical Research Information Service (https://cris.nih.go.kr/), or other sites accredited by the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) (https://www.who.int/clinical-trials-registry-platform) and ClinicalTrials.gov (http://clinicaltrials.gov), a service of the United States NIH.

7. Data sharing policy

The 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 on its webpage (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/clinical-trial-registration.html#two).

Changes in the data-sharing plan after registration should be clearly mentioned in the statement submitted and published with the manuscript, and details should be updated in the registry records.

8. Conflict of interest statement

At the time of manuscript submission, authors should disclose any financial and personal relationships with other individuals or organizations that could affect their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. A potential conflict of interest should be disclosed in the manuscript, even when the authors are confident that their judgments have not affected preparation of the manuscript.

The disclosure form should be the same as the ICMJE Uniform Disclosure Form for Potential Conflicts of Interest (http://www.icmje.org/conflicts-of-interest/), and it should be submitted by the corresponding author through the online submission system after acceptance of the manuscript.

9. Managing research and publication misconduct

If the manuscript is not published in accordance with ethical policies, the authors will be notified, and sanctions may be imposed in accordance with the COPE guidelines (https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Flowcharts).

The journal operates a Research Ethics Council to consider research ethics and related issues. The Director of the Publication Committee of the Korean College of Helicobacter and Upper Gastrointestinal Research chairs the Council, and the Publication Committee determines the Council’s constitution.

The Research Ethics Council plays a key role in (1) reviewing research ethics issues (any fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, duplication, wrongful research paper author indication, or multiple/duplicate publication allegations) associated with publication of the journal and related papers (review articles, original articles, and others), and (2) reporting the results of the review to the Executive Committee of the Korean College of Helicobacter and Upper Gastrointestinal Research.

10. Management of cases requiring corrections, retractions, and editorial expressions of concern

In cases of publication misconduct, such as redundant (duplicate) publication, plagiarism, fraudulent or fabricated data, changes in authorship, an undisclosed conflict of interest, ethical concerns in a submitted manuscript, a reviewer who has appropriated an author’s idea or data, and complaints against editors, among other such issues, the editorial board will follow the COPE guidelines (https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Flowcharts). If any misconduct is proved, the authors will be notified and sanctions may be imposed.

The Editorial Board will continuously monitor and uphold publication ethics, which include publishing corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when necessary, excluding plagiarized and fraudulent data, maintaining the integrity of academic records, and preventing business needs from compromising intellectual and ethical standards.

The Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res will publish corrections as soon as possible, detailing the changes from and citing the original publication in cases in which errors are detected. The journal follows the ICMJE and COPE guidelines where applicable. An erratum refers to a production error related to the journal, and a corrigendum refers to an error attributable to authors. Authors who notice such errors should contact the journal’s editorial office.

11. Research ethics on clinical validation of an artificial intelligence study

The authors should check the following criteria:

(1) The data collection process and nature of data used in learning artificial intelligence algorithms are written clearly. (2) The data collection process and nature of data used in the clinical verification of the algorithm are described in detail. (3) The methods used for the data approach and algorithm are described. (4) The research protocol, which includes data collection and analysis methods is registered and disclosed prior to study commencement. (5) The reporting and methodology guidelines for artificial intelligence studies are followed.

12. Research ethics on big data study

The authors should check the following points:

(1) Confirmation of written informed consent obtained from the research subjects or the subjects’ authorized representative before commencement of big data research, because there is no subject agreement or law on special permit regulations. (2) Confirmation of IRB approval for the study and whether the need for written informed consent from the research participants or their representatives was waived before research commencement. (3) IRB authorization for disclosure of personal information obtained for research purposes to third parties. (4) Whether the authors are aware of the safety measures drafted after evaluation of the effects of big data research and the environment on the study subjects. (5) Whether the authors are aware of the need to maintain records and delete personal information after the storage period and whether they are also aware of their right to apply for an extension of the storage period. (6) Whether the authors are familiar with the responsibilities and transparency of big data research. (7) Whether the authors are aware of guarantees of the study subjects’ right to request an explanation of the study and the right to access it.

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

1. The copyright of all manuscripts accepted for publication in the Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res will be transferred to the Korean College of Helicobacter and Upper Gastrointestinal Research (https://www.hpylori.or.kr). The corresponding author should submit a “Copyright Transfer Form” through the online submission system after acceptance of the manuscript.

2. All articles published in the Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res are distributed under the CC BY-NC license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

3. To use figures/tables/videos or any data from the Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res for commercial purposes, the authors should submit a request for permission to the editorial office (helicojournal@smileml.com or hyplori@kams.or.kr); permission will be granted by the Editor-in-Chief if appropriate. Data may be used with appropriate citation of the original source in cases of non commercial use.

REPOSITORY POLICY

1. The authors should not submit their manuscript to other journals/publications once it is submitted to the Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res. Authors may submit an article that has been published by a non-profit site (e.g., a university website, and arXiv, medRxiv, among others); however, this information should be specified in the cover letter, and the article should not be simultaneously submitted for peer review. Following publication in the Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res, authors should update the non-profit site with the published article.

2. Following acceptance of an article, a public announcement of its content is not permitted prior to publication, except when it is essential in cases of public health emergencies; the editorial board may lift the restriction in such situations. Publication for commercial purposes is not permitted.

3. The Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res is an openaccess journal that follows the CC BY-NC license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). All articles are available free on the journal website (https://www.helicojournal.org); however, uploading articles to other databases without informing the editorial office is not permitted.

PEER REVIEW PROCESS

1. Submitted manuscripts are initially evaluated by the editorial office for completeness before the manuscript is assigned to a handling editor. Modifications/corrections may be requested at this stage before commencement of the peer review process.

2. The journal performs a double-blinded peer review of submitted manuscripts. Neither peer reviewers’ nor authors’ identities are shared with each other. At least two reviewers with relevant subject area expertise perform a blind review of all manuscripts. Authors suggest preferred reviewers at the time of manuscript submission; however, the eventual selection of reviewers is at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. Based on the results of the peer review, the editorial board decides whether the manuscript merits publication and may request manuscript revisions. If the editor is an author, the manuscript is handled by a different editor and the editor/author does not participate in the editorial evaluation or decision-making to publish the manuscript.

3. The editor’s decision regarding acceptance, rejection, or requests for major/minor revisions is communicated to the corresponding author. Following revision, manuscripts are reviewed to ensure that authors have complied with the journal’s instructions to authors. During the peer review process, editors may rephrase or format the manuscript but without altering the original meaning.

4. Reviewers are typically expected to complete the peer review within 2 weeks after accepting the invitation to review a manuscript. However, reviewers can request for an extension under unavoidable circumstances. Authors will be notified immediately by the editorial office in such an event, which may result in a delay in the review process. If the review process is unduly prolonged, authors may decide to withdraw their manuscript and resubmit it to another journal.

The authors may request withdrawal of their submitted manuscript at any time prior to formal acceptance of the article for publication. However, if a manuscript has already entered the “under review” status, it cannot be resubmitted after withdrawal. If however, the regular review schedule (2 weeks) is delayed, authors are immediately notified by the editorial office and under these circumstances, they may opt to withdraw their manuscript.

5. All manuscripts are peer-reviewed regardless of article type.

6. When requested, authors should revise the manuscript based on reviewers’ comments. Authors should upload their revised manuscript within one month of receiving the editorial decision. In the absence of a response from the corresponding author regarding the revised manuscript within one month, it is considered withdrawal of the manuscript, and the review process is terminated. For revisions, authors should mark the main document and supplementary tables using the track changes function in Microsoft Word, highlights, color fonts, and other such features and should suggest responses to reviewers.

7. After acceptance, the manuscript proofs will be sent to the corresponding author(s) for approval and these should be returned to the publisher within 48 working hours. The manuscript will be published after final confirmation from the corresponding author. Any errors detected in the manuscript thereafter are the responsibility of the author(s), and these should be corrected as a corrigendum.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS

The entire review process is performed through an online management system (https://submit.helicojournal.org). Only the corresponding author is permitted to submit a manuscript. The corresponding author must complete the copyright transfer agreement form after acceptance of the manuscript.

1. General principles of manuscript preparation

• 1) Manuscripts should be submitted as a Microsoft Word document using a 12-point font with double-line spacing using an A4 page size format. The principal languages of the journal are Korean and English; however, Chinese characters may be used if necessary. All text files should be uploaded as Microsoft Word files (not PDF documents).
• 2) Korean terminology should follow the most recent edition of English-Korean Korean-English Medical Terminology, published by the Korean Medical Association.
• 3) Abbreviations should be in accordance with the journal’s list of official abbreviations (https://www.helicojournal.org/authors/abbreviations.php). Abbreviations not included in the list but which occur in the manuscript more than twice must be spelled out at their point of first mention and be written in parentheses.
• 4) Arabic numerals and international standard units (SI units) should be used.
• 5) General rules not listed earlier should follow the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals.”
• 6) Page numbers should be added at the bottom of each page of the main document; line numbers are not required because these will be automatically generated during conversion of the Microsoft Word document into a PDF format.
• 7) Reporting guidelines for specific study designs: It is recommended that authors follow the established reporting guidelines (https://www.equator-network.org) for specific study designs, such as randomized control studies (CONSORT), studies of diagnostic accuracy (STARD), meta-analyses and systematic reviews (PRISMA), case reports (CARE), and observational studies (STROBE).
• 8) Manuscripts should be arranged in the following order:
  • (1) Title page
    • • The title page should contain, in the following order, the title, full names of all authors (without academic degrees), ORCIDs, institutional affiliations, a running title (if applicable; see below), and corresponding author details (name, complete address, e-mail address, and telephone number).
    • • Author names should be separated by commas. For manuscripts written in Korean, authors’ names and affiliations should be written in Korean.
    • • The running title should not be more than 12 words and should be written in English. The first letter of nouns and adjectives should be capitalized. The Korean title should be included for manuscripts written in Korean.
    • • Authors from different institutions should be listed in the order of their research contributions made by the institutions. Author affiliations are designated using superscripted Arabic numerals. Affiliations should be in Korean for manuscripts written in Korean and for institutions from Korea.
    • • The article type must be mentioned. For detailed information of all article types, please take a look at the table marked ‘Types of articles’ under Instructions to Authors.
    • • Co-first and co-corresponding authorship should be clearly stated. The co-first and co-corresponding authors can be considered as two individuals.
    • • ORCIDs, author contributions of all authors, conflicts of interest, and data availability statement should be provided. Any acknowledgements and funding disclosures need to be declared even if there are none.
    • • Conference presentations should also be included.
  • (2) Abstract and keywords
    • • The abstract and keywords should be written in English.
    • • The abstract should not contain author names or affiliations.
    • • Abbreviations should be spelled out the first time they are used in the text. This convention is applicable for the Abstract and Main Text separately. The abstract should not contain any references.
  • Keywords: Five or fewer keywords in English should be added below the abstract. It is recommended that keywords be selected from the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) vocabulary (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/).
  • (3) Main text

    For detailed information on all manuscript types, please check the table titled ‘Types of articles’ in Instructions for Authors.

  • (4) Data-sharing policy and reproducibility

    For clinical trials, the data-sharing statement should be added to the title page. The Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res follows the ICMJE Recommendations for the data sharing statement policy (https://icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf). Authors are required to identify the data, including patient information, a data dictionary that defines each field in the dataset, and supporting documentation (e.g., statistical/analytic code), which will be made available to others, including the following details: when, where, and how the data will be available (e.g., a link to a data repository), types of analyses permitted, and restrictions, if any, with regard to the use of the data. Authors are permitted to explain the rationale for not sharing data.

  • (5) Conflict of interest

    The corresponding author must include potential conflicts of interests for all authors. Conflicts of interests refer to financial and personal relationships with other individuals or organizations that could affect the research or data interpretation for manuscripts submitted to the Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res. Even in the absence of a potential conflict of interest, authors should add this statement to the title page and also declare this information in the disclosure form. The disclosure form should be the same as the ICMJE Uniform Disclosure Form for Potential Conflicts of Interest and should be submitted via the online submission website after acceptance of the manuscript. If the editor is one of the co-authors, he/she will not participate in the editorial evaluation or decision-making for publication of the manuscript.

  • (6) Author contributions

    The contributions of all authors should be described based on the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) authorship statement, which includes 14 roles: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing—original draft, and Writing—review & editing.

  • (7) Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

    All authors must provide their ORCIDs on the title page at the time of initial submission of the manuscript.

  • (8) Financial disclosure

    Details of all financial support received for the study should be clearly declared in the Financial disclosure/funding sources section.

  • (9) Acknowledgements

    This section should mention all sources of support received for the research, including significant contributions of individuals who do not meet the authorship criteria.

  • (10) References
    
    • • All references should be written in English.
    • • References should be numbered sequentially using superscript numerals in the order in which they are cited in the text. This section should follow the main text.
    • • We recommend the use of tools such as EndNote for reference management and formatting. The EndNote style preferred by the Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res is available at https://www.helicojournal.org/authors/authors.php.
    • • Unpublished data should not be cited in the reference list but should be mentioned parenthetically in the text. For example: (Cho SJ. Unpublished data).
    • • List all authors if there are six or fewer; if there are seven or more authors, list the first three followed by “et al.”
    • • Journal titles should be abbreviated according to the style used in the journals indexed for MEDLINE (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals) and the KoreaMed system (https://koreamed.org).
    • • References should be formatted as follows:
  • Journal articles
    
    • • Chey WD, Mégraud F, Laine L, López LJ, Hunt BJ, Howden CW. Vonoprazan triple and dual therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection in the United States and Europe: randomized clinical trial. Gastroenterology 2022;163:608-619.
    • • Malfertheiner P, Megraud F, Rokkas T, et al. Management of Helicobacter pylori infection: the Maastricht VI/Florence consensus report. Gut 2022;71:1724-1762.
  • Entire book
    
    • • Amin MB, Edge SB, Greene FL, et al. AJCC cancer staging manual. 8th ed. New York: Springer, 2017.
  • Chapter in a book
    
    • • Feldman M, Jensen PJ, Howden CW. Gastritis and gastropathy. In: Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, Chung RT, Rubin DT, Wilcox CM, eds. Sleisenger and Fordtran’s gastrointestinal and liver disease. Vol. 1. 11th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier, 2020:781-805.
  • Website
    
    • • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Cancer statistics at a glance: rate of new cancers in the United States, 2020 [accessed on October 30, 2023]. Available from: https://gis.cdc.gov/Cancer/USCS/?CDC_AA_refValhancer%2Fdataviz%2Fin/AtAGlance/.
  • References not described in the aforementioned samples should follow the NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (https://www.nlm.nih.gov/citingmedicine).
  • (11) Figures
    
    • • For initial submissions, jpg/jpeg, tif/tiff, and pptx formats are acceptable.
    • • Figures must be numbered consecutively in the order of citations using Arabic numerals.
    • • Each figure should be accompanied by a subheading and summary. Summaries must be written as complete sentences.
    • • All names and other patient and author identifiers as well as authors’ institutions should be removed from figures.
    • • Only high-resolution image files should be submitted (at least 300 dpi for color images and 600 dpi for grayscale images).
    • • For figures that include images of microscopic objects, summaries should include the name of the stain used and the level of magnification.
    • • Written permission should be obtained from the publisher to reproduce all previously published illustrations, and copies of the permission letter must be submitted to the editorial office. The permission should be indicated in the figure legend.
  • (12) Tables
    
    • • Each table should be submitted on a separate page after the reference list in the main document.
    • • Tables must be created using the table formatting and editing features of Microsoft Word.
    • • Tables must be numbered consecutively in the order of citation using Arabic numerals.
    • • Tables should include only Arabic numerals and English words, and table contents should not be repeated in the text. Tables must be self-explanatory and easily comprehensible.
    • • Table titles should be presented using clear and simple phrases; no period should be used following the title.
    • • Abbreviations should be defined as a footnote below each table.
    • • Superscripted labels such as *, †, ‡, §, ǁ, ¶, **, ††, ‡‡, and so on may be used to highlight contents discussed in the table summary.
    • • Written permission should be obtained from the publisher to reproduce all previously published tables, and copies of the permission letter must be submitted to the editorial office. The permissions should be indicated in the table legend.

2. Manuscript types

• 1) Original article
  
  • • The abstract should not exceed 250 words and should be structured using the following subheadings: Objectives, Methods, Results, Conclusion.
  • • An original article must be arranged in the following order: Title page, Abstract and keywords, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, References, Tables/Figures, and Supplementary material.
  • • The main text should be organized as follows: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.
• (1) Introduction
  
  • • The study rationale and relevant background information should be described clearly and concisely.
  • • The study hypotheses should be described systematically.
  • • The Introduction section should not contain results or discussion.
• (2) Methods
  
  • • The materials and methods should be described in the following order: general approach, materials (subjects/patients), and methods. Each subsection should have a subheading.
  • • The steps used for diagnostic confirmation and observation of subjects should be described in detail.
  • • Experiments should be described in sufficient detail to enable other investigators to reproduce them.
  • • Manufacturer details for all commercial products (scanners, equipment, devices, catheters, drugs, contrast materials, tracers, software, etc.) need not include geographic information (city, country).
  • • All investigations involving humans and animals must be approved by the Institutional Review Board and Animal Care Committee of the institution where the study was performed. Informed consent should be obtained from all patients who participated in the clinical investigation unless specifically waived by the Institutional Review Board. Authors should not independently determine the exemption or exclusion of ethical approval; it is necessary to cite the institutional or regulatory policy for that determination.
  • • Authors should ensure correct use of the terms sex (when reporting biological factors) and gender (identity, psychosocial, or cultural factors). 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 research subjects are organisms capable of differentiation based on sex and/or gender, the research should be designed and performed in a manner that will reveal the sex- and/or gender-related differences in the results.

If the study involved an exclusive population, for example, participants of only one sex and/or gender, the authors should justify why, except in obvious cases (e.g., prostate cancer). Authors should describe determination of race or ethnicity and justify their relevance to the study. Even in the absence of differences based on sex/gender or race/ethnicity, authors should specify that there were no sex and/or gender or race/ethnicity differences.

• (3) Results
  
  • • The results should be presented in a logical and sequential order. Statistical analyses should be performed for differences in biological values. Subheadings may be used. The “p” in p value, which represents probability, should be italicized.
  • • If tables are used, the table content may be interpreted in the main text but should not be repeated.
• (4) Discussion
  
  • • The Discussion should interpret and explain the results of the study in the context of the hypotheses outlined in the Introduction. Authors should avoid repeating data provided in the results section.
  • • This section emphasizes the new observations and offers conclusions supported by the results, which relate directly to the study objectives.
  • • Study limitations should be stated.
• 2) Other article types
  For detailed information on all article types are summarizedin Table 1.
  

Table 1. Types of articles

Type	Abstract	Body text		Maximum number of figures and tables†	References	Notes
		Format requirement	Word count*
Original article (including meta-analysis)	≤250 words (Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions)	Structured (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion)	≤4000 words	≤7 figures and/or tables	≤40	• To report original research classified as primary literature
Brief report	≤150 words, unstructured (without subheadings)	Unstructured	≤2000 words	≤5 figures and/or tables	≤20	• To report preliminary results or a short complete study or protocol.
Review	≤250 words, unstructured (without subheadings)	Unstructured	≤5000 words	≤10 figures and/or tables	Unlimited	• To provide a constructive analysis of existing published literature. • Most review articles are invited by the editor. However, unsolicited reviews may be considered for publication after our peer-review process.
Case report	≤200 words, unstructured (without subheadings)	Structured (Introduction, Case report, Discussion)	≤2000 words	≤7 figures and/or tables	≤15	• To present details of real-world patient case(s), and to describe new or uncommon conditions observed in clinical settings. Case reports should add to the existing knowledge in the field
Image of the issue	No abstract	Structured (“Question”: a summary of cardinal features with key images “Answer”: diagnosis and brief discussion of the disease/ condition)	≤1000 words	≤5 figures and/or tables	≤20	• To highlight typical images that assist in the diagnosis of rare cases or an unusual presentation of a common condition.
Research update	No abstract	Structured (‘summary’ and ‘interpretation’)	≤2000 words	≤2 figures and/or tables	≤20	• Summary of an article published within 3 years in other journals. The article may be written on any topic that attracts readers’ attention.
Editorial	No abstract	Unstructured	≤2000 words	≤2 figures and/or tables	≤20	• Invited by the Editor-in-Chief • Should be presented as a commentary on articles published within 1 year in our journal.
Letter to the Editor	No abstract	Unstructured, without section headings	≤800 words	≤2 figures and/or tables	≤10	• Usually short communication addressed to our editorial team

Authors can submit supplementary materials for online-only publication, in cases in which adequate space is unavailable to include all material within the main document. Supplementary materials will also be peer-reviewed.
*Excludes abstract, keywords, references, tables, table legends, figure legends, and supplementary material.
^†The number of figures means counting by a suggested number, for example, Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 will be counted as two figures. However Fig. 1A and Fig. 1B will be counted as a single figure.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS CHECKLIST

Please carefully review the following checklist prior to the submission of your final document: https://www.helicojournal.org/authors/checklist.php.

PUBLICATION FEE

The Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res does not charge readers and authors any fee, such as article processing charges, page charges, editorial processing charges, language editing fees, color charges, submission fees, or subscription fees. Authors can sign in on the submission website (https://submit.helicojournal.org) without any payment. The full text is freely available at https://www.helicojournal.org.

CONTACT US

Editor-in-Chief: Soo-Jeong Cho, MD, PhD
Seoul National University, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, Korea
E-mail: crystal5@snu.ac.kr

Editorial Office
The Korean College of Helicobacter and Upper Gastrointestinal Research
Lotte Gold Rose II Room 917, 31 Seolleung-ro 86-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06193, Korea
Tel: +82-2-717-5543
E-mail: helicojournal@smileml.com

hyplori@kams.or.kr