Korean Journal of Psychology: General

Preface

The Korean Psychological Association strives to foster research ethics by enacting its own rules on research integrity in accordance with the instructions of the Ministry of Education No.60, "Guidelines for Upholding Research Ethics," and Article 9 (Preparation of Research Ethics Self-Regulations), which provide basic guidelines and principles on the roles and responsibilities of universities, research institutions, and academic associations in preventing research misconduct and fostering research ethics.

Article 1 (Pledge to the Code of Ethics)
To be a member of the Korean Psychological Association, one must pledge to the Code of Ethics. Upon entry into force of this Code of Ethics, existing members shall be deemed committed to it.

Article 2 (Definition of Research Misconduct)

Research misconduct refers to major research misconduct (fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and duplicate publication) and other questionable practices committed during the entire research process in proposing, conducting, reporting, or presenting research results.

1. Major research misconduct includes fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and duplicate publications.

1) Fabrication compromises data or results that do not exist.

2) Falsification involves manipulating research materials, equipment, and processes or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.

3) Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without appropriate credit. This can be applied to cases in which the language of use is different.
(1) Presenting or publishing someone else's research results, whether in whole or in part, as if these are their own research concepts without proper citations constitutes plagiarism. This applies even when languages, sentences, or expressions are different.

(2) Plagiarism occurs when two or more consecutive sentences are copied and used verbatim from another person's manuscript without proper citations, regardless of whether the language is different.

(3) Plagiarism involves extracting and using content from someone else's previously presented research without quotation marks. However, there may be exceptions depending on the academic journal used. If previously presented research results by someone else have already been published in textbooks or publicly available publications as ideas, facts, formulas, or other information commonly known to the public, they can be used in a manuscript without quotation.

4) “Duplicate publication” occurs when an author reuses substantial parts of his or her own published work (including manuscripts in press or under review) without providing appropriate citations.

(1) If the same research results of the researcher are published in duplicate in the same language or in a different language without a citation, this is a major research misconduct known as duplicate publication. If a researcher published the same results and used the same sentences, it is considered a duplicate publication. Exceptions are made to the publication of these theses in academic journals.

(2) When collecting and publishing research results in academic journals, duplicates are excluded. However, in this case, the source of previously published research should be specified, and a citation should be provided.

(3) Duplicate publication is not considered when researchers publish a book for public or general books after rewriting the content of a manuscript published in an academic journal. However, their original sources must be acknowledged.
(4) A researcher may publish a manuscript in short written form (letters, brief communications, etc.) according to the author’s guidelines. It is not considered a duplicate publication if a full-length manuscript is published after a short written form or if research materials, interpretation, or detailed research process information are added.

(5) A manuscript or section of a book already published, selected,  and edited by another author with the approval of the original author and published in the form of an anthology or in a special edition of an academic journal shall not be considered a duplicate publication.
(6) When introducing the same research results to a different set of readers in a different language, citing the original manuscript is not considered a duplicate publication.
(7) Translating the same research is considered a duplicate publication. However, if the original manuscript is recognized in a journal of another language and translated with prior consent from the editor, it shall not be considered a duplicate publication.
(8) When authors try to publish a manuscript already published in a different journal or a work already presented at a conference or symposium, it is not considered a duplicate publication if there is an agreement from the original journal. However, in this case, the original manuscript should be cited.

2. Questionable research practices are not as serious as major research misconduct but distort or disturb responsible research. Specifically, it includes the following:
1) Illegitimate authorship means listing someone who does not contribute scientifically or technically to a published manuscript as an author or the omission of an individual who has made considerable intellectual contributions to the manuscript.

2) Intentionally obstructing an investigation or harming the complainant with the alleged misconduct of the person or other person.
3) Misuse of research grants and overstatement of research results.
4) The act of instigating, coercing, or threatening others to commit research misconduct.
5) The direct citation of results tainted by research misconduct is considered a questionable research practice. Therefore, the Association should notify its members of the manuscripts or publications accused of major research misconduct.

Article 3 (Publishing Credit)

1. Psychologists take responsibility and credit, such as authorship credit, for the work they have actually performed or to which they have substantially contributed.

2. Definition of Terms

1) The principal author shall be the main researcher, leader of the research group (team leader), or person in charge of the laboratory. The role of the principal author is to check all data in the manuscript, have confidence in the integrity of the research results, and ensure that there is an exchange of opinions among the co-authors during the preparation of the manuscript. The principal author can be a first author, co-author, or corresponding author, and strives to reach an agreement of the authors with respect to the order of authors reflecting the extent of contribution.

2) The first author is listed first in the order of authorship and is vital in collecting data and information, interpreting the results, and writing the first draft of the manuscript. The first author is the principal author.
  3) The corresponding author, known as the author of the communication, takes primary responsibility for communicating with reviewers and submitting the manuscript for publication in the journal. Contact information of the corresponding author should be included as a footnote on the first page of the manuscript. The corresponding author of the manuscript may be the principal author, first author, or co-author, depending on the agreement among the authors, and may be a student or academic advisor if the manuscript is written based on a dissertation.
  4) If the corresponding author is not the principal author, the contact information of the principal author should be included as a footnote on the first page of the manuscript.

5) The co-author refers to a person who has contributed to the research design, conceptualization, analysis, interpretation of results, and discussion of important research information to draw conclusions in the preparation of research results.

3. In publications, author designation is limited to cases in which there is academic or professional contribution. Minor contributions should be appropriately acknowledged in footnotes, prefaces, or postscripts as expressions of gratitude.

4. Academic and professional contributions refer to writing and substantial contributions to research. Substantial contributions include formulating hypotheses or research questions, designing experiments, structuring and conducting statistical analyses, and writing major sections such as the interrelation of the results.

5. Except under exceptional circumstances, the student becomes the first author of manuscripts co-authored by multiple individuals based on the student's master's or doctoral thesis. However, in cases in which the thesis is extensively revised or supplemented with additional empirical data and in other exceptional situations, this rule may not apply.

6. When publishing an abbreviated copy or part of a dissertation, it should be noted in the footnote at the beginning of the manuscript.

Article 4 (Definitions of Procedures)

1. A complainant is a person who has informed the Sanctions and Ethics Committee of research misconduct or presented related evidence.

2. A respondent refers to a person against whom an allegation of research misconduct is directed or the subject of a research misconduct proceeding.

3. "Initial Inquiry" refers to the procedures necessary to determine whether the Sanctions and Ethics Committee needs to investigate allegations of research misconduct.
  4. “Formal investigation” refers to a procedure for determining whether allegations of research misconduct are genuine.
  5. “Disposition” refers to the procedure for completing the investigation and notifying the complainant and respondents regarding the results of the investigation.

Article 5 (Scope of Application)
These rules should be applied to all publications published by the Korean Psychological Society (including subdivisions).

Article 6 (Application Procedure)
  1. Within 15 days of reporting or receiving an allegation by the Sanctions and Ethics Committee or a complaint, the chairperson of the Sanctions and Ethics Committee shall convene an inquiry committee for research integrity (hereafter referred to as the "initial inquiry committee"). However, if the investigation of the allegation is conducted by a subdivision and the results are submitted to the Korean Psychological Association, the initial inquiry may be omitted, and a formal investigation can be conducted immediately.

2. If the need for a formal investigation is determined by the initial inquiry, the chairperson of the Sanctions and Ethics Committee should appoint the formal investigation committee for research integrity (hereafter referred to as the "formal investigation committee") within 10 days.

3. After receiving a report on the completion of the formal investigation from the formal investigation committee, the Sanctions and Ethics Committee determines the final decision and action. The committee chairperson shall notify the relevant parties ( complainant and respondent) and governing authority of the determination within a week.

4. The entire investigation, from the start of initial inquiries to the disposition, should be completed within six months.

Article 7 (Initial Inquiry Committee)
  1. (Composition) The committee shall consist of more than six members, including one chairperson. The members shall be selected by the Sanctions and Ethics Committee, and the chairperson shall be elected among them.
  2. (Chairperson) The chairperson shall represent the committee and conduct meetings. When the chairperson is unable to perform their duties for unavoidable reasons, a member designated in advance by the chairperson shall act on their behalf.

3. (Meeting)
1) The chairperson shall convene meetings and serve as the committee chair.
  2) A meeting shall be convened with the attendance of the majority of all incumbent members, and resolutions shall be made with the consent of at least two-thirds of the members.
  3) The meeting may be replaced with email or written deliberation, depending on the agenda.
  4) If necessary, non-members may be present for advice. However, those with conflicts of interest shall be excluded.

Article 8 (Reporting and Receiving of Allegations)
1. In principle, the complainant may report to the Sanctions and Ethics Committee in any possible manner, such as oral, written, telephone, or email, and shall report under their real name. However, if an anonymous complaint is to be made, the title of the research or manuscript, the details, and evidence of the specific research misconduct should be submitted through written documents or email.

2. The identities of the complainants should be kept confidential.

3. The complainants who make reports, even though they knew or could have known that the information provided was false, will not protected.

Article 9 (Duration and Conduct of Initial Inquiry)

1. The initial inquiry shall commence within 15 days from the date of receipt of the report and recognition, and the initial inquiry report shall be completed and submitted to the chairperson of the Sanctions and Ethics Committee within 30 days from the date of commencement of the investigation.
2. The initial inquiry shall review the following matters:

1) Whether the report is subject to the research misconduct prescribed in Article 2 of the regulations for the examination of research integrity by the Association.
2) Whether there is any need or benefit from conducting a formal investigation with specificity and clarity in the details of the report.

Article 10 (Initial Inquiry Report)
The initial inquiry report includes the following:
1. Specific details of the complaint.
2. Allegations of research misconduct subject to investigation.
3. Whether to conduct a formal investigation and the basis for the judgment
4. Other relevant evidence.

Article 11 (Decision of Initial Inquiry)

Specifically, the reasons for conducting the formal investigation or not shall be communicated to the complainant in writing within 10 days from the date of the decision in the initial inquiry. However, this does not apply to anonymous reports.

Article 12 (Initiation and Duration of Formal Investigation)
1. A formal investigation must commence within 20 days after the initial inquiry is completed, and an investigation committee must be formed during this period.
2. The formal investigation shall be completed within 60 days from its commencement date.
3. If the investigation committee determines that the investigation cannot be completed within the period specified in Paragraph 2, it may explain the reason to the Sanctions and Ethics Committee and extend the investigation period strictly once, for a maximum of 30 days.

4. The formal investigation committee completes its duties by submitting a report on the results of the formal investigation to the chairperson of the Sanctions and Ethics Committee.

Article 13 (Composition of the Formal Investigation Committee)
1. In collaboration with the editorial committee of the Korean Psychological Association or other relevant subdivisions, the Sanctions and Ethics Committee shall establish a formal investigation committee consisting of six or more members.

2. The investigation committee shall include at least three people with professional knowledge and experience in the field of study.
3. The chairperson shall be elected from among the members.
4. Those with conflicts of interest shall be excluded from the investigation committee.
5. The complainant and respondent may request the chairperson to list the investigation committee to examine the fairness of the investigation to be conducted in the future. In such cases, the chairperson has the authority to ask the person requesting the list to sign a written pledge, committing them to use it solely for investigation purposes and not disclosing it to third parties or using it for other purposes. 

Article 14 (Attendance and Data Submission Requirement)
1. The[A7]  complainant, respondent, witness, or person for reference may be asked to appear before the formal investigation committee to provide a statement.
2. The formal investigation committee may request respondents to submit materials.
3. Upon receiving requests for attendance and submission of materials under Paragraphs 1 and 2, the respondent is required to comply. If there is non-compliance with the request for attendance or submission of materials, the respondent shall be considered as having no objection to the decision of the formal investigation committee.

Article 15 (Protection of the Rights of Complainants and Respondent in Initial Inquiry or Formal Investigation and Confidentiality)

1. The identity of the complainant should be confidential in all cases, and the complainant's statement shall not be included in the inquiry and investigation reports to protect the complainant unless unnecessary.
2. Until the investigation of research misconduct is completed, the reputation or rights of the respondent shall not be infringed upon, and efforts shall be made to recover the reputation of the person if they are found innocent.
3. All matters related to the investigation, such as allegation, investigation, deliberation, resolution, and judgment, shall be kept confidential, and no person or member who has participated in the investigation or related members shall divulge any information obtained during the investigation. However, if it is necessary to disclose justifiable reasons, this may be accomplished through the resolution of a competent committee.

Article 16 (Exclusion· Avoidance and Evasion from the Formal Investigation)
1. If a member has a direct conflict of interest on the relevant agenda, they may be excluded from the investigation.
2. The formal investigation committee shall decide on exclusion from the official powers or at the request of the parties.
3. The chairperson of the Sanctions and Ethics Committee shall inform the complainant and respondent of the list of investigators under Article 13 before the commencement of the formal investigation.
4. If possibilities of unfairness in the investigation from a member of the formal investigation committee arise, the complainant or respondent may file an appeal against the member, and the chairperson of the Sanctions and Ethics Committee may accept the request if it is justifiable.
5. A complaint of the formal investigation committee may exclude from the committee with the permission of the chairperson when there is a reason referred to in Paragraphs 1 or 3,

Article 17 (Guarantee of the Right to Raise Objections and Pleadings in the Formal Investigation)
The formal investigation committee should guarantee the rights and opportunities of complainants and respondents to state their opinions, raise objections, and defend themselves equally.

Article 18 (Submission of the Formal Investigation Report)
1. The formal investigation committee shall write a report on the results of the formal investigation based on statements of opinions, objections, and arguments and submit it to the chairperson of the Sanctions and Ethics Committee.
2. The formal investigation report shall include the following matters:
1) Details of the complaints.
2) Allegations of misconduct and related research materials subject to investigation.
3) The role of the respondent in the research and whether the allegation is determined to be true or not.
4) Relevant evidence and witnesses.
5) Objections or arguments raised by complainants and respondents regarding the investigation results and outcomes of their handling.
6) Conclusion regarding whether there was research misconduct or not and recommendations for the verdict/action to be taken.
7) List and signatures of the investigation committee members.

Article 19 (Decisions and Actions)
  1. After receiving the formal investigation report, the chairperson of the Sanctions and Ethics Committee shall convene a meeting and decide on judgments and measures within 15 days if there is any research misconduct.

2. If the respondent is found guilty of research misconduct, their manuscript will be retracted from the list in the journal, and the author(s) will be prohibited from submitting them to the journals of the Korean Psychological Society and the subdivisions for one to three years. Additionally, disciplinary action may be taken against the status of a member of the Association (such as deprivation of membership, suspension of membership, and loss of qualification for membership).

Article 20 (Storage and Disclosure of Records)
1. Records related to initial inquiries and formal investigations shall be archived by the Sanctions and Ethics Committee for five years after the completion of the investigation.

2. Deleted.

Article 21 (Amendment of Regulations)
: The board of directors of the Korean Psychological Association shall amend these regulations.

These regulations were enforced on February 25, 2009.

These regulations were enforced on November 23, 2015.

These regulations were enforced on December 15, 2016.

A supplementary clause

Article 1 (Enforcement Date): These regulations shall be enforced on the date of resolution of the revision of the board of directors of the Korean Psychological Association. However, Article 6, Paragraph 1, applies to cases in which charges are received by the Sanctions and Ethics Committee as of the date of the Korean Psychological Association’s revised resolution of the board of directors.