Editorial Policies

Focus and Scope

The SAJOG is a bi-annual, general specialist obstetrics and gynaecology journal that publishes original, peer-reviewed work in all areas of obstetrics and gynaecology, including contraception, urogynaecology, fertility, oncology and clinical practice. The journal carries original research articles, editorials, clinical practice, personal opinion, South Africa health-related news, obituaries and general correspondence.

 

Section Policies

Editorial

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Unchecked Peer Reviewed

Research

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed

Opinion

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed

Case reports

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed

Review article

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed

Guideline

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed

Abstracts

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Unchecked Peer Reviewed

Letters to the editor

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Unchecked Peer Reviewed

Book reviews

Checked Open Submissions Unchecked Indexed Unchecked Peer Reviewed

Commentary

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed

Position Statement

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed
 

Peer Review Process

All manuscripts are subject to an initial appraisal by the Editor in Chief before peer review. Articles may be rejected at this point if they do not fit the scope of the journal. Once accepted into the peer review process, the editor will select one or two reviewers to assess the manuscript and ensure the importance and quality of the research. The review process is single blinded with reviewers’ identities withheld from the author however SAJOG will be introducing a double blind review process in the near future.

Once reviews have been received, the Editor makes a decision on the manuscript and informs the author thereof. In some cases, the manuscript may be accepted at that point however revisions are usually requested. Once the author submits their revised manuscript, the editor will make a final decision or first send for a second round of peer review. The Editor-in-Chief has the final decision on any submitted manuscript.

---

Enrol as a reviewer

The SAJOG encourages readers who are actively involved in research and with particular expertise to serve as peer reviewers of the journal:
 

  • Already a registered user? Login to the journal website and edit your profile to include 'Reviewer' as a role. Kindly express your interest to serve as a reviewer in an email to publishing@samedical.org, specifying your user login.
     
  • Not a registered user? Reviewers are required to register with the journal website. Kindly also express your interest to serve as a reviewer in an email to publishing@samedical.org. Please read our privacy policy regarding registration.

---

Accept an invitation to review

Login to the journal website, click on Reviewer and then the title of the article under active submissions. Under Review Step 1 select the email icon adjacent to the appropriate response (will do the review/unable to do the review) to notify the Editor.

---

Performing/submitting a review

Ensure that you have accepted to perform the review (outlined above) and consulted the Reviewer Guidelines provided. Login to the journal website, click on Reviewer and the title of the article under active submissions. Complete Steps 2 - 7 and click 'Submit Review to Editor'. Should you require further assistance, contact publishing@samedical.org.

 

 

Publication Frequency

Journals are published tri-annually (1 volume comprising 3 issues per annum).

 

Open Access Policy

The South African Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology is an Open Access Journal and provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. In accordance with the definition of the Budapest Open Access Initiative all content published by the SAJOG is made free to users without any subscription or other charges. Users are permitted to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full text of these articles, or use them for any other lawful, non-commercial purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.

 

 

Archiving

This journal utilizes the LOCKSS system to create a distributed archiving system among participating libraries and permits those libraries to create permanent archives of the journal for purposes of preservation and restoration.

 

Comments Policy

The posting of comments to published articles requires registration with this journal website. Only constructive comments that relate to the published material will be permitted. Posted comments solely represent the opinions of the respective user and not those of the SAJOG, and do not imply endorsement by the SAJOG. The SAJOG reserves the right to remove comments without notice that are abusive, threatening, defamatory, contain advertising or spam, or violate another user’s privacy. The SAJOG reserves the right to revoke the privileges of users that post inappropriate material. Such material may be brought to the attention of the publisher (publishing@samedical.org). The SAJOG reserves the right to modify this policy without notice.

 

Notifications

Readers of the SAJOG are encouraged to register with the journal website to receive notifications of new issues online (open access).
 

  • Already a registered user? Login to the journal website and edit your profile to include 'Reader' as a role.
     
  • Not a registered user? Register with the journal website and specify 'Reader' as a role in your user profile. For assistance contact publishing@samedical.org. Please read our privacy policy regarding registration.

 

Plagiarism

Plagiarism policy

 

A definition of plagiarism is included in the Guidelines to Authors and authors are referred to this policy for the consequences of an offence of this nature. All cases of suspected or alleged plagiarism will be considered seriously and on an individual basis.

 

(Definition of plagiarism: Plagiarism is when you use someone else’s work (book, article, website, etc.) or idea without acknowledging them as the source, whether it be copied verbatim or paraphrased.

Self plagiarism is the re-use of one’s previously published work without citing the original publication.   

Manuscripts submitted online will be screened for potential plagiarism before peer review using similarity detection software. All cases of suspected or alleged plagiarism are considered very seriously in accordance with each journal’s Plagiarism Policy.)

 

All manuscripts submitted for consideration for publication will be scanned for potential plagiarism using iThenticate before undergoing peer review to verify their originality. Similarity reports will be reviewed individually. 

 

Submitted manuscripts

  • Suspected plagiarism in a submitted manuscript can be brought to the attention of the journal editor either through the similarity report of the plagiarism detection scan or through a reviewer of the manuscript.
  • When a similarity report is indicative of potential plagiarism, the report and manuscript will be examined by the journal editor to determine whether or not material has been plagiarised and, if so, the extent of the plagiarism. When plagiarism is supected, the journal editor will contact the author(s), showing evidence either from iThenticate similarity checks or from a reviewer.
  • If material has been plagiarised, the corresponding author will be informed by the journal editor that the manuscript is rejected on these grounds.
  • If the extent of the plagiarism is minor and journal editor determines that the author/s did not intend to plagiarise, no further action will be taken. If the plagiarism is extensive or admitted to, the author/s’ institution/s and funding bodies will be informed of the offence (the submitted and plagiarised material will be sent to them) by the journal editor. Authors will be notified that their institution/s will be informed and that they will be banned from submitting to the (enter journal name here) in the future.
  • The reader or reviewer reporting the suspected plagiarism will be informed of the outcome of the investigation.

 

Published articles

  • When suspected plagiarism is reported to the Editorial Office, the report will be acknowledged and all relevant documentation/evidence will be retrieved and examined by the journal editor to determine whether or not material has been plagiarised and, if so, the extent of the plagiarism.
  • If material has been plagiarised, the corresponding author will be informed by the journal editor and questioned.
  • If the extent of the plagiarism is minor and the journal editor determines that the author/s did not intend to plagiarise, a statement indicating the plagiarised material and appropriate reference will be published online and the article online will be linked to the statement and vice versa.
  • If the plagiarism is extensive or admitted to, the article will be retracted (see Article Retraction Policy) and a statement published acknowledging the original author/s.
  • The author/s’ institution/s and funding bodies will be informed of the offence (submitted and plagiarised material will be sent to them) by the journal editor. Authors will be notified that the relevant institution/s will be informed and that they will be banned from submitting to the (enter journal here) in the future.
  • The original author/s and publisher will also be informed of the offence.
  • The reader or Reviewer reporting the suspected plagiarism will be informed of the outcome of the investigation.

 

Article retraction policy

 

Published articles should remain extant and intact. However, under exceptional circumstances involving plagiarism (see Plagiarism Policy) and redundant publication or data error, articles may need to be retracted, removed or replaced in order to protect the integrity of the literature. The need for a retraction will be determined by the journal editor, but may be initiated, in cases of flawed data or conclusions, at the request of the author/s.

 

To retract an article, a notice of retraction will be published in the next issue. This notice of retraction will:

  • include the title and authors of the article, the reason for the retraction and who is retracting the article
  • be linked to the article online.

 

 

Publication fees

 

All articles published in the South African Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology are open access and freely available online upon publication. This is made possible by applying a business model to offset the costs of peer review management, copyediting, design and production, by charging an article-processing charge (APC) of R3 350 (VAT incl) for short articles and R7 050 (VAT incl.) for full-length articles published. The APC is standard and does not vary based on length, colour, figures, or other elements.

 

When submitting a Research article to the SAJOG, the submitting author must agree to pay the APC should the article be accepted for publication. The APC is payable when your manuscript is editorially accepted and before production commences for publication. The submitting author will be notified that payment is due and given details on the available methods of payment. Prompt payment is advised; the article will not enter into production until payment is received.

Queries can be directed to claudian@samedical.org.

Please refer to the section on ‘Sponsored Supplements’ regarding the publication of supplements, where a charge is applicable. Queries can be directed to dianes@samedical.org or claudian@samedical.org

 

Licensing Information

The SAJOG is published under an Attribution-Non Commercial International Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY-NC 4.0) License. Under this license, authors agree to make articles available to users, without permission or fees, for any lawful, non-commercial purpose. Users may read, copy, or re-use published content as long as the author and original place of publication are properly cited. 

 

Publishing Rights

Authors grant the Publisher the exclusive right to publish, display, reproduce and/or distribute the Work in print and electronic format and in any medium known or hereafter developed, including for commercial use. The Author also agrees that the Publisher may retain in print or electronic format more than one copy of the Work for the purpose of preservation, security and back-up.

 Authors are required to complete and sign an Author Agreement form that outlines Author and Publisher rights and terms of publication. The Agreement form should be uploaded along with other submissions files and any submission will be considered incomplete without it. In undertaking this agreement, the Author represents, and warrants, either as the sole author or on behalf of the co-authors, that the Work is their own work and that the Author has the authority to enter into the Author-Publisher Agreement.