Ethics Guideline

Code of Research Ethics

Article 1 (Purpose) This code of research ethics (hereinafter referred to as the Code) aims to present the ethics in research activities of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology (hereinafter referred to as the Society), prevent research misconducts in advance, and stipulate matters related to the establishment and operation of the Research Ethics Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) for fair and systematic verification in the event of research misconduct.

Article 2 (Applicable Subject) The Code applies to all the members of the Society and those who have directly or indirectly participated in research activities of the Society.

Article 3 (Definition)
① Research misconduct (hereinafter referred to as misconduct) refers to forgery, falsification, plagiarism, and unfair authorship in the report, submission, and publication of research findings.
1. "Forgery" is the act of falsely creating non-existent research data or results.
2. "Falsification" is distortion of research contents or results by artificially manipulating research material, equipment, processes or arbitrarily changing or omitting research data.
3. "Plagiarism" is presenting other people's idea, research contents, results or parts of one's own research contents, results, without citation.
4. "Unfair authorship” is not granting authorship to an individual who has contributed technically or scientifically to the contents or results of the research or granting authorship to an individual with who has not contributed to the contents or results of the research.
5. An act of interfering with investigation of one's own or other's misconduct or harming the informant.
6. An act that seriously deviates from the scope typically accepted in the academic field.
② “Informant" refers to the individual who reports the recognized misconduct or related evidence to the Society.
③ “Respondent” refers to the individual undergoing investigation for misconduct following the Society's acknowledgement of the event. Witnesses are not involved in the investigation process.
④ "Investigation" refers to the process of verifying the alleged misconduct.
⑤ “Judgment" refers to the process of confirming and notifying the informant and respondent of the investigation results in writing.

Article 4 (Function) The Committee investigates and decides on the following matters
1. Matters on the establishment and operation of a system related to research ethics
2. Matters on the receipt and handling of reports of research misconduct
3. Matters on the organization of the Committee, commencement of an investigation, and approval of investigation results
4. Matters on protection of informants and measures to restore the honor of the respondent
5. Matters on processing and follow-up of the results of verification of the authenticity of the research
6. Other matters referred to the Committee by the chairperson

Article 5 (Organization)
① The Committee is organized and operated to review the ethical obligation and compliance of the members of the Society for academic research and conduct necessary investigations.
② The Committee comprises the following members: The senior vice president of the Society (herein referred to as "official member") shall be the chairperson, and up to five experts in the relevant academic field commissioned by the chief editor and president of the Society.
③ Members of the Committee other than the official member are appointed by the president. The term of a committee member shall be two years and may be extended for a second term.

Article 6 (Meeting)
① Meetings of the Committee shall be convened and presided over by the chairperson.
② Meetings are established with the attendance of a majority of the enrolled members and decisions can only be made with the approval of a majority of the present enrolled members.
③ Meetings are confidential in principle; however, if deemed necessary, relevant personnel may be present at the meetings to provide their opinions.
④ The chairman may proceed with written investigations in cases where the agenda of investigation is deemed a minor issue or written investigation is sufficient.

Article 7 (Reporting and Receipt of Misconduct)
① The informant may report to the Society using different means, including oral, written, telephone, or e-mail. In principle, the informant shall submit the request for investigation in their real name. However, if the informant wishes to submit the request anonymously, one shall submit the details and evidence of misconduct in writing or by e-mail.
② Informants who report false information or know that the information may be false shall not be protected.

Article 8 (Investigation Period and Procedure)
① The investigation shall be initiated within 10 days from the date of receipt of the report and completed within 20 days from the date of the commencement of the investigation.
② The investigation shall be conducted by the Committee. If necessary, relevant experts of a separate sub-committee may be formed to request an investigation.
③ If the investigation committee determines that the investigation cannot be completed within the period set forth in Article 8 Paragraph 1, a suitable reason must be provided to the Committee for an extension of the investigation period.

Article 9 (Organization of Investigation Committee)
① The investigation committee shall comprise five or more members.
② The investigation committee shall include three or more persons with extensive professional knowledge and experience in the relevant field and appoint at least one external member for fairness and objectivity.
③ A person who has a conflict of interest with the investigation agenda shall not be included in the investigation committee.

Article 10 (Report on the Results of Investigation)
① The investigation results shall be reported to the Committee and informant within 10 days of the completion of the investigation in writing. Anonymous informants shall not be notified.
② The investigation report shall include the specifics of the following subparagraphs.
1. Details regarding the report of misconduct and identity of the informant
2. Research misconduct allegations and related research papers subject to investigation
3. Basis of judgment
4. Other relevant evidence

Article 11 (Request for Attendance and Submission of Data)
① The investigation committee may request physical attendance for the purposes of acquiring a statement from the informant or the respondent, in which case the respondent must comply.
② The investigation committee may request the respondent to submit relevant data.

Article 12 (Protection of Informant and Respondent Rights and Confidentiality)
① The identity of the informant shall not be disclosed directly or indirectly under any circumstances.
② The informant is protected from being disadvantaged in academic activities for reporting misconduct.
③ The committee shall be careful not to infringe upon the honor or rights of the respondent during the investigation process and shall exercise efforts to restore the reputation of the respondent who has been judged innocent. All matters concerning the investigation process such as reporting, investigation, and follow-up measures shall be confidential, and those who directly or indirectly participate in the investigation process shall not divulge any information obtained during the investigation. However, the committee may decide to disclose the information if reasonable need is determined.

Article 13 (Rights for Appeal and Defense) The investigation committee shall equally guarantee the informant and respondent the right and opportunity for statements, appeals, defense, and the relevant procedures in advance.

Article 14 (Judgment)
① The investigation committee shall confirm the contents and results of the investigation based on the appeals and defense, which are notified to the informant and respondent.
② If the committee fails to reach a consensus on the contents and results of the investigation, voting shall be conducted for acquiring the approval of a majority of the present enrolled members.

Article 15 (Submission of Investigation Report)
① The investigation committee shall notify the Committee of the investigation report (hereinafter referred to as the "report") within 10 days of the judgment.
② The report shall include the following paragraphs.
1. Basic information on the identity of the informant, excluding the specific details of the misconduct report and name
2. Research misconduct allegations and related research papers subject to investigation
3. Plea against allegations by the respondent
4. Relevant evidence
5. Contents of appeal or defense by the informant and respondent on the investigation results and the deliberated results
6. List of investigator committee members

Article 16 (Follow-up Measures after Judgment)
① The Committee may recommend sanctions to the president for the respondent and other related personnel.
② Sanctions are divided into “disqualification of membership,” “prohibition of submission of papers by the respondent,” “withdrawal or cancellation of the paper from the Society journal and warning,” and “warning and recommendation.” Any sanctions imposed must be published in the Society journal.
③ In case of sanction of “withdrawal or cancellation of the paper from the Society journal and warning,” the president shall notify all matters related to the investigation to the head of the institutions in which the respondent and other relevant personnel are involved in the misconduct.
④ Membership shall be revoked for individuals that receive “withdrawal or cancellation of the paper from the Society journal and warning” twice.

Article 17 (Storage and Disclosure of Records)
① All records related to the investigation shall be kept by the Committee for five years after the completion of the investigation.
② The report may be disclosed after the judgment is made. However, information related to the identity, such as the list of informants, investigation committee members, witnesses, and consulted members, may be excluded from disclosure for potential disadvantages.

Article 18 (Code of Ethics for Authors)
① Authors must not intentionally or unintentionally use other people's creative ideas or works that are not general knowledge as their own without citing appropriate sources.
② The following cases constitute plagiarism.
1) Using another person's key ideas that have already been presented or published without citing appropriate sources.
2) Using or expressing in another form all or parts of another person's work without citing appropriate sources. Translating and using another person's work without citing appropriate sources.
3) Using key ideas, sentences, tables, figures in another person's unpublished work such as research protocols, proposals, lecture materials without citing appropriate sources.
③ The following cases do not constitute plagiarism.
1) Using another person's expression or idea that does not have originality.
2) An edited work comprising several works of another person with adequate citation and creativity in the selection or arrangement of materials.
3) Using the results of another person that have already been published in textbooks or are publicly available and considered general knowledge without citing appropriate sources.
4) Work that is considered non-plagiarism among experts in the same or other related academic field.
④ Authors shall not forge, falsify, or distort as follows.
1) Authors must not falsify non-existent data or results, record or report such false results, manipulate materials, equipment, or processes related to research, or manipulate the opinion of survey participants to change or omit data such that the research data are no longer true.
2) Authors must not intentionally forge or falsify primary and secondary data to obtain the desired conclusion. Errors in research data caused unintentionally may also be considered forgery or falsification.
3) Authors must not intentionally exaggerate or undermine research data for personal benefits or academic development to reach an untrue conclusion.
4) Authors must not intentionally distort the research results for personal benefits even if the data are accurate.
⑤ The order of authors must accurately reflect the contribution to the research regardless of the author's relative seniority or authority. Authorships of being the lead author for reasons of holding certain titles cannot be justified. Lack of co-authorship despite contributing to the research or writing also cannot be justified.
⑥ Authors must not duplicate or publish all or parts of their papers or books that have been published or presented in the same or another language without citing appropriate sources. This includes work with the same overall identity despite partial differences in the research data or sentences.
Notwithstanding the above regulations, authors may publish or present in any of the following cases. However, in the case of 1) to 5), in principle, the appropriate sources or quotations must be cited, and exceptions may be made in consideration of the characteristics of the academic field and opinion of the relevant academic community.
1) All or parts of a thesis is published or presented as a separate publication or book.
2) All or parts of research service report is published or presented as a separate publication or book.
3) A review article comprising a collection of published papers (must cite references).
4) Letter or brief communication in the Society journal published or presented as an extended publication or with research data, interpretation or detailed research process information.
5) All or parts of presented or published articles and books that are selected and edited by other editors with the approval of the author and published as anthology or special issue of an academic journal.
6) All or parts of presented or published articles and books re-published or re-presented in non-academic publications such as cultural books and magazines.
7) Other publications or presentations in accordance with the above paragraphs that do not violate academic integrity.
8) Registration of published research results as intellectual property rights is permitted regardless of the above regulations.
⑦ 1) Authors must accurately cite published academic data and the source unless the content is common knowledge. Data obtained during journal review of publications/research proposals or through personal contact can only be cited with the approval of the author who provided the information.
2) To cite another person's writing or idea (reference), a footnote (endnote) must be used for proper citation. Readers must be able to understand the parts corresponding to the previous research and the author's original idea, statement, or interpretation.
⑧ Authors must reflect the opinions of the editors and reviewers presented in the evaluation process as much as possible in the revised publication. Any disagreement must be notified to the editors in writing with the reason and details.

Article 19 (Code of Ethics for Editors)
① The editors shall be responsible for the selection of reviewers and decision of publication of submitted publications.
② The editors shall prepare editorial policies that encourage transparency and fairness solely based on the quality of the publication and submission regulations regardless of the author's gender, age, affiliations, or any prejudice or personal acquaintance.
③ The editors shall appoint reviewers with fairness, objectivity, and expertise in the subject of the publication to be reviewed. Reviewers who have personal relations with or hostility to the authors must be avoided for objective evaluation.
④ The editors shall not share information on the submitted publication until the end of the reviewing process.
⑤ Selected reviewers who express their refusal to review the submitted publication shall be replaced with other reviewers.

Article 20 (Code of Ethics for Reviewers)
① The reviewers shall faithfully evaluate the requested publications in compliance with the review criteria within the period prescribed by the examination regulations and notify the results to the editors or chief editor. If the reviewers become aware that they are not the ideal personnel for the reviewing process, the reviewers must immediately inform the editors.
② The reviewers shall maintain fairness and objectivity in the reviewing process without any bias. The reviewers shall provide sufficient evidence for their decision to reject the publication. The reviewers shall not reject the publications for reasons of conflict with one's own perspective or interpretation.
③ The reviewers shall respect the personality and independence of the authors. In the review report, the reviewers shall express their opinion on the publication and details and reasons to improve the quality of the publication. The reviewers shall use polite and kind expressions as much as possible and refrain from using demeaning or insulting expressions.
④ The reviewers shall not disclose any information about the publication.

Article 21 (Authorship) Authorships shall be determined by academic and technical contribution to the research contents or results. Authorship shall be granted only upon satisfying all the criteria in the following paragraphs, and the person who does not satisfy one or more criteria in the following paragraphs shall only be considered as a contributor.
① The person must make substantial contributions to the concept or design of the research or acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of research data.
② The person must participate in the process of writing the publication with the research results and make critical revisions on important academic contents.
③ The person must approve the final version of publication.
④ The person must agree to properly investigate issues related to the accuracy of the research and assume responsibility for all parts of the research, including conducting additional research for revision.

Supplementary rules

The Code came into effect on April 25, 2008.
The revised Code came into effect on April 1, 2016.
The revised Code came into effect on May 1, 2016.
The revised Code came into effect on November 2, 2018.
The revised Code came into effect on March 13, 2020.