Code of Research Ethics
Established on April 18, 2008
Revised on January 6, 2020
Effective from January 31, 2020
Revised on January 5, 2024
Preamble
The purpose of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles (KSCT) is to contribute to the scholarly development of academia and industry related to clothing and textiles. The KSCT will contribute to the public benefit through the support of individual members in developing academic and professional abilities through collaboration with international and domestic academic societies and related industries. The Code of Research Ethics (CRE) of the KSCT stipulates ethical guidelines for the KSCT members and the KSCT. All members and the KSCT (as an academic organization) are responsible to abide by the following CRE.
I. CRE for Society Members
1. CRE Guidelines for Society Members
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1) Respect for members' rights and dignity
- (1) All members have a fundamental right of academic freedom and are free to express scholarly opinions. Members' published works should be respected without prejudice.
- (2) Members should respect values, personalities and the rights of others as well as not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, ideology, age, or disabilities.
- (3) Members should respect the scholarly opinions of other members and embrace academic and cultural diversity.
- (4) Members should not act outside of the regulations of the KSCT and undermine the honor and dignity of other members.
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2) Endeavors to improve professionality
- (1) Members should pursue the academic excellence in both individual and field achievements through the continuous update of the latest information, knowledge, and research.
- (2) Members should make efforts for self-development and social return through valuable research via academic research to expand professional fields as well as through exchanges, collaboration, and training in various academic fields and related industries.
2. CRE Guidelines for Researchers
Members have the following rights and duties to comply with the CRE.
1) Research Achievements and Authorship
- (1) Researchers are recognized as the authors only for the research they have actually conducted or contributed to, and undertake all responsibilities as authors.
- (2) The order of authors of research and other published articles should accurately reflect how much each author has contributed to the study, regardless of comparative professional position.
- (3) Members are not allowed to grant authorship as a form of appreciation or respectful treatment to technical contributors who did not participate directly in research.
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(4) Granting authorship should be limited to those who meet the following four requirement criteria. In case of having unfulfilled any of the four, authorship is not to be given and participants are to be regarded as contributors.
- ▪ Considerably contributed to propose the theoretical framework of the research, research design, and data collection as well as analysis of the results and discussion
- ▪ Completed the first-draft research writing or made extensive modifications to improve the quality of the research
- ▪ Reviewed the final draft of the study for submission
- ▪ Undertake the overall responsibility for the accuracy and truthfulness of the entire research
- (5) Adding and removing authors, or changing the order of authors are allowed before the printing stage of publication. With the consent of all participating authors, the Editorial Committee will make the final decision on any requested changes.
- (6) The thesis author should be the first author when submitting a Master's or a Doctoral thesis.
- (7) Members should clearly indicate the authors' affiliations and positions when submitting research.
2) Bioethics: Respect and Protection of Research Participants
- (1) In case of conducting a research on life, members should respect participants and prioritize safety and protection of them.
- (2) Personal information that may violate the human rights and privacy of participants should be protected as confidential except with the agreement of the participants or for legal provisions.
- (3) Members should respect research participants' autonomy and acknowledge that voluntary agreements are valid only when participants are fully informed.
- (4) Members should take special protective measures for participants when conducting research on individuals or groups in vulnerable situations.
- (5) In case of planning a life-based research, members are strongly recommended to obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Members should notice that it is an IRB-approved study when publishing.
3) Sex and Gender Identity
- (1) In the research of human subjects, sex (biological factors) and gender (socio-cultural factors) should be distinguished and described accurately.
- (2) Research participants should be arranged and presented by sexual or gender components and the interpretation of research results should reflect the characteristics of participants.
- (3) Researchers should provide academic justification for the research when studying a single sex or gender.
4) Plagiarism, Falsifications, and Forgery
- (1) Members may cite the sources of someone else's ideas, research content, and study results several times in a study, but must not conduct plagiarism by stating another researcher's study results as the author's own without appropriate verification or acknowledgment.
- (2) Members should not conduct falsification by distorting research content or results by manipulating research materials, equipment, procedures, or arbitrarily altering/deleting data.
- (3) Members should not conduct forgery by making fictitious data or research results that do not exist.
5) Repetitive and Duplicate Publications
- (1) Members should not submit or publish previously published works (both domestically or internationally and including those to be published or under review) as if they were new. However, exceptions could be made for legitimate reasons when the consent of the previous publisher is obtained.
- (2) If the submission is made from summarizing, revising, or editing the all or part of thesis (Master's or Doctoral), a footnote should be included to acknowledge the fact.
6) Quotation and Reference Indication
- (1) In case of citing published academic resources, members should try to be accurate and clarify sources except when contents are considered public knowledge. When citing ideas or materials from others that have not been published or obtained through personal contact, members should cite only after obtaining permission from the original author.
- (2) In case of quoting someone's writing or borrowing ideas, members should be sure to indicate if they are citing or referencing them as well as explain which part is the result of previous research and which part is the original opinion or interpretation through the notation.
7) Revision of the Manuscript
- (1) Researchers should endeavor as much as possible to reflect the opinions of reviewers and editors presented in the evaluation process of the paper.
- (2) If researchers disagree with the opinions presented during the evaluation process, they should explain the reasons to the reviewers and editors in detail.
8) Revision and Withdrawal of Papers after Publication
Researchers including authors, readers and reviewers are encouraged to contact the journal office if they find any errors or ethical issues in published papers. The editorial board will decide whether to revise or withdraw the paper after a thorough review.
- (1) The scope of correction covers minor errors, such as author information (author name, author affiliation, etc.), and major errors that can mislead the main contents of the paper, such as mal-selection of words or images. The editorial board reviews whether the amendments will affect the overall results and conclusions of the paper and decides whether to implement them.
- (2) Opinions regarding published papers can be offered with sufficient grounds regarding forgery, manipulation, plagiarism, duplicate publication, author disputes, and conflicts of interest. The process of handling objections follows the research ethics regulations of the Korean Society of Clothing Society and the guidelines of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics, https://publicationethics.org/appeals).
9) Others
Although not explicitly stated in other regulations, behaviors that are significantly outside of generally accepted limits in academia may also be regarded as a violation of research ethics. Researchers are expected to understand and follow the practices and norms of academia.
3. Ethics Guidelines for Academic Journal Publisher
1) Regulations on Protection of Members' Information and Research Contents
- (1) The KSCT will protect the personal information and privacy of members.
- (2) If it is necessary to disclose a member's personal information and the contents of the research in progress, it should be minimally released on the basis of the consent of the member, and follow the customary practices required by law.
2) Ethics Guidelines for Editorial Committee Members
- (1) The Editorial Committee members should respect the personality and academic beliefs of researchers, and decide whether to accept or reject submitted manuscripts solely based on academic contributions and adherence to submission guidelines.
- (2) Authors' information should not be disclosed to editors. Editors are responsible to assign relevant reviewers with expert knowledge who can fairly judge the submitted manuscript.
- (3) The Editorial Committee should not disclose the content of submitted manuscripts, decisions on acceptance or rejection, or review results to anyone except reviewers.
3) Ethics Guidelines for Reviewers
- (1) Members who have been appointed as reviewers will promptly examine the manuscript and notify the KSCT whether the review is possible.
- (2) The reviewer should fairly and faithfully evaluate manuscripts based on objective criteria within the prescribed period, and notify the Editorial Committee of the results.
- (3) The reviewer should respect the authors as professional intellectuals and respect their research. When giving opinions about the paper, the reviewer should use polite language that provides suggestions, corrections, and reasons in detail.
- (4) The reviewer should keep the confidentiality of the paper under review and should not disclose or cite the contents of the paper without the author's permission before publication.
II. Confirmation of CRE and Practice Guidelines
1. Pledge and Compliance with CRE
- 1) New members should pledge to abide by the CRE of the KSCT. The CRE has been published after deliberation by the Board of Trustees and General Assembly of the KSCT, so current members are deemed to have agreed to comply with the CRE as it is activated.
- 2) The KSCT encourages members to comply with the CRE and strictly supervises, investigates and disciplines violations.
- 3) Researchers should sign the CRE confirmation letter when submitting a manuscript, and the KSCT confirms that the submitted research complies with the CRE.
- 4) The KSCT, including editors and reviewers should pledge to abide by the CRE, and endeavor to observe it.
- 5) In case members become aware of other members' violation of the CRE, they are responsible to solve problems and cooperate with the investigation and procedures of the Research Ethics Committee.
2. Reporting Violations of CRE
- 1) Members who recognize the violation of CRE and report the facts or related evidence to the KSCT (informers) should report it in their real names. However, the KSCT should decide whether the case will be handled in accordance with a real name report even if an anonymous report is reported with files including evidences of specific research ethics violations.
- 2) The informer's personal information is not subject to disclosure, and the KSCT is responsible for any disadvantages from reporting or exposure of personal information regardless of the informer's intention.
- 3) The KSCT is responsible to respond sincerely if the informer requests information on the investigation procedures and schedule for handling violations.
- 4) The informer is not to be protected if the report is false or if the informer recognizes the possibility of falsehood. If the informer proves to have a deliberate intention, this is also considered a violation of research ethics.
3. Protection of Examinee's Rights
- 1) A person who is subject to the investigation of CRE violations (examinee) is to remain anonymous and not considered a violator until the final verification of CRE violations is finalized.
- 2) The KSCT is responsible not to infringe the examinees' rights and endeavor to restore the honor of the examinee who is found innocent.
- 3) The KSCT provides the examinees with ample opportunity for vocation and objection through a formal hearing or by writing.
- 4) The examinee may request the KSCT to sincerely inform on investigation procedures and the schedule of the CRE violation.
4. Research Ethics Committee
- 1) Role and Composition of the Research Ethics Committee
- (1) The Research Ethics Committee (the Committee) is responsible for verifying the compliance of society members and institutions with research ethics based on a review and examination of CRE violations.
- (2) The Committee is to accomplish its mission declared in 2.4.1.1. by adhering to independent and fair standards, despite any affiliation to the KSCT.
- (3) The Committee is composed of up to 10 committee members including the chairperson, members of the KSCT and outside specialists.
- 2) Convocation of the Research Ethics Committee
- (1) The Committee is to be convened by the chairperson at the request of the president or when the chairperson recognizes the necessity for convocation.
- (2) Members who are involved in, or have a close connection with a study that is the subject of the committee's call are not allowed to participate.
- (3) The Committee members are to keep all matters related to the committee convocation (as well as cases taken into deliberation) as confidential.
- 3) Investigation and Deliberation of the Research Ethics Committee
- (1) The chairperson is authorized to request CRE violators or related persons to officially report or formally submit personal info
- (2) The Committee is authorized to collect specific evidence in the presence (or in writing) of informers or witnesses for investigation.
- (3) The examinee who is subject to CRE violations should cooperate with investigations conducted by the Committee. Failure to cooperate in the investigation can be regarded as a violation of research ethics.
- (4) The Committee respects the opinions of the examinee's vocations, investigations and counter-arguments against the results of deliberations, and confirms the case of violations based on objective facts and evidence.
- (5) The Committee is established by holding a majority of the members present and voted in favor of two-thirds of the present members of the Committee.
- (6) The result of the decision on the violation of CRE will be notified to the KSCT immediately, and the appropriate disciplinary procedures in accordance with the level of CRE violations are to be declared.
5. Disciplinary Procedures and Content (Disciplinary Committee)
- 1) For the members who are ascertained to have violated the CRE (CRE violators), the chairman will establish and convene a Disciplinary Committee to decide if to discipline as well as outline any disciplinary action. The Disciplinary Committee, which is a non-permanent organization, consists of up to 10 persons, including the president, the editor-in-chief, the Committee members who participated in the CRE violation review, and the members of the KSCT's Operating Committee.
- 2) CRE violators are subject to disciplinary action such as warning, suspension of membership or disqualification, depending on the seriousness of the violation. CRE violations are to be notified to relevant institutions such as the National Research Foundation of Korea or related organizations.
- 3) In addition to the above disciplinary actions, depending on the seriousness of the violation, detailed disciplinary actions that be taken against CRE violators include:
- (1) Publication withdrawal of the research being accused for the CRE violation, deletion of online published journal articles placed on the list.
- (2) Prohibition of the manuscript submission to academic journals for a certain period (at least for 3 years).
- (3) Disclosure of the contents of the case of CRE violations and withdrawal of publication. Notification of the case to related institutions.
- 4) Records of the judgement procedure, results of judgement, and disciplinary actions of the Committee are to be kept for at least 5 years from the time of effect for disciplinary action.
Additional Policies
Regarding matters not mentioned in this CRE of the KSCT, refer to the International Standards for Editors and Authors (https://publicationethics.org/resources/resources-and-further-reading/international-standards-editors-and-authors).