The Journal of Reproductive Medicine is committed to ensuring the integrity of all its activities and publications. The Journal follows the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), from which the guidelines below are adapted. The ICMJE’s "Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals" (ICMJE Recommendations, formerly "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts") can be found at http://www.icmje.org/urm_main.html. Authors are encouraged to follow these guidelines, in addition to the policies set forth by JRM (see Authors section at www.reproductivemedicine.com/) when conducting research and preparing their manuscript for publication.

Another helpful resource for authors is the Council of Science Editors’ "Editorial Policies,” which can be found at
http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3286.

All authors listed on a manuscript submitted for consideration to The Journal of Reproductive Medicine must have contributed substantially to the work. The corresponding author assumes responsibility for obtaining permission from all coauthors for the submission of all version(s) of the manuscript and for any changes in authorship. Changes in authorship after the manuscript is submitted for consideration to the Journal are discouraged; however, any necessary changes in authorship (additions, deletions, and change of order of authors) must be approved by each author as evidenced by their signature on a revised copyright form provided by the Journal.

Authorship should be based on the following: (1) substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data, (2) drafting the article or substantively contributing to revisions of the article, (3) final approval of the version to be published, and (4) agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work and ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. All designated authors should meet all four criteria for authorship.

At submission, the corresponding author must disclose any actual or perceived conflicts of interest on the part of any author, with the understanding that a declared conflict of interest is a neutral term that does not imply any unethical behavior but serves to inform all parties about relationships that could affect scientific judgment or motives. Potential conflicts of interest include affiliations, financial relationships, personal relationships, or funding sources that could be perceived as influencing an author’s objectivity regarding the manuscript content. Conflict of interest disclosures will be published in the article. If the authors have no conflict of interest to declare, this must be stated on the manuscript at the time of submission.

The Journal of Reproductive Medicine accepts only manuscripts that describe original work, while allowing for manuscripts expanding on meeting abstracts and presentations, which should be clearly stated on the title page of the manuscript. Submission of duplicate content already published elsewhere will be considered a breach of ethical conduct and will be investigated.

Authors must present experimental results and findings accurately. Evidence or allegations of violations of the standard norms for publishing original research, such as publication without approval of all authors, plagiarism, republication of data used previously without acknowledgement, or inappropriate image manipulation, will be investigated and may result in correction to or retraction of published articles. By submitting a manuscript to The Journal of Reproductive Medicine, the authors agree to abide by the Journal’s policies and procedures for handling violations of these policies and must cooperate with any inquiry or investigation into such allegations.

All studies that involve human subjects must abide by the rules of the appropriate institutional review board (or equivalent organization) of the institution in which the research was conducted and by the tenets of the World Medical Association’s most recently revised Declaration of Helsinki. A statement regarding ethical approval and Helsinki compliance should be included in the paper. Published studies that involve human subjects should not provide subjects’ identifying information (e.g., names, true initials, recognizable images).

All studies using animals should follow the ARRIVE guidelines for reporting in vivo experiments in animal research. A statement regarding institutional animal care and use committee approval (or equivalent) must be included in the paper.

The Journal of Reproductive Medicine® has been the essential tool of Obstetricians and Gynecologists since 1968. As a highly regarded professional journal and the official periodical of six medical associations, JRM® brings timely and relevant information on the latest procedures and advances in the field of reproductive medicine. Published bimonthly, JRM® contains peer-reviewed articles and case reports submitted by top specialists. Common topics include research, clinical practice, and case reports related to general obstetrics and gynecology, infertility, female cancers, gynecologic surgery, contraception, and medical education.

Upon receipt of each new manuscript, the Editor will determine the paper’s appropriateness for the Journal based on topic and relevance. Appropriate manuscripts are assigned to a peer reviewer(s). Peer reviewers are chosen based upon area of specialty and interest, and their identity is kept confidential. Reviewers are required to declare any potential competing interests related to each manuscript they are asked to review and will be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists. Reviewers fill out a detailed evaluation of the manuscript and indicate whether the paper should be accepted, rejected, or revised for further consideration. The Journal will consider the Reviewer comments and make a further determination on the manuscript’s potential for acceptance. The Journal will then communicate that decision to the author(s) along with the evaluation and blinded reviewer comments and suggestions/requirements for revision or letter of rejection if the paper is deemed to be unacceptable for publication in the Journal. If authors are invited to submit a revised manuscript, they will be asked to include a detailed list of revisions and to answer any questions or concerns brought up by the reviewer(s). Reviewers may then give a final determination on the revised manuscript’s acceptability or further need for revision. The Journal will communicate the final decision to the author(s).

Authors must provide a Financial Disclosure statement on their title page disclosing any relationship or interests in relation to their work. All submitted manuscripts must include a Conflict of Interest statement listing all financial and non-financial potential conflicts of interest. If there is no conflict of interest, include the following statement on your title page: Financial Disclosure: The authors have no connection to any companies or products mentioned in this article.

A competing interest exists when an author’s interpretation of data or presentation of information may be influenced by any personal or financial relationship, be it with an individual(s) or organization(s). Furthermore, if any author listed in the byline of the manuscript has any interest or association that could be seen to have influenced their decision-making process, this should be declared at the time of submission. If the manuscript is accepted for publication in the Journal, each author must provide their signature on a provided assignment of copyright form and again identify any financial disclosures or connection to any companies or products mentioned in the manuscript. A Financial Disclosure statement with the pertinent information will be printed on the first page of the published article. Editors may ask for further information related to competing interests.

Authors should additionally note any research grants received and financial support for educational programs.

Please include a statement at the end of your Introduction section explaining the guidelines that were followed to ensure adherence to human and animal rights, as appropriate, as well as ethics committee approval. All research must have been carried out within an appropriate ethical framework in order to be published in the Journal, and the Editors reserve the right to further question the authors and/or reject the manuscript if at any time prior to publication the research or editorial content is deemed to be in conflict with appropriate ethical considerations. Research involving human subjects, human material, or human data must have been performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and must have been approved by an appropriate ethics committee. All descriptions, data, charts, and photographs must provide anonymity to any study subjects or subjects of case reports.

Include a statement on having obtained informed patient consent and ethics committee approval prior to carrying out the study or treatment, where appropriate. Authors must state that the original research was approved by the local institutional review board.