Code of Ethics of the Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery
Approved on June 27, 2008
Revised as of July 8, 2011
Revised as of Feb.15, 2016
Revised as of Feb. 14. 2017
Research fraud
Research fraud is the violation of the standard codes of scholarly conduct in research by intentionally manipulating the published research data or conclusions that are alleged to be generated by experiments, simulations or observations. Two forms of research and scientific misconducts can be recognized: fabrication and falsification. Fabrication is inappropriately creating, recording, and reporting made up research data and/or results. Falsification is
manipulating research materials, images, data, equipment, or processes. Falsification includes altering data or omitting existing records in order to achieve the desired research results. Both fabrication and falsification are serious forms of misconduct because they result in misleading reporting of scientific records that do not accurately reflect the observed truth. However, digital image enhancement is acceptable as far as a positive relationship between
the original data and the resulting image is maintained, in order to avoid creating unrepresented data or missing meaningful findings. No specific feature within an image may be enhanced, obscured, moved, removed, or introduced. Records of raw data should be accessible for editing or revision – even after a paper has been published.
Multiple, duplicate publication
Articles submitted for publication must be original and must not have been submitted to any other publications (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis). Reports of the original research must also be represented, and the original data must be available for review by the editor, if necessary. At the time of submission, authors must disclose any details of related papers (also when in a different language), similar papers in press, and translations. Intentionally submitting or re-submitting work is considered a breach of publishing ethics. However, papers previously presented at academic conferences can be published in the Journal of Biosystems Engineering with some modifications.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is one of the most common types of publication misconduct – when one author deliberately or recklessly appropriates another’s work (e.g., research materials, processes, or results) without permission, credit, or acknowledgement. Plagiarism can take different forms, from literal copying (“copy-and-paste”) to even paraphrasing someone’s work without permission or acknowledgement of the original source. Authors must cite the source clearly when citing from published scholarly literature, unless the material is considered as common knowledge. Information acquired through personal contact should be cited only after obtaining permission from the informant. Most of all, authors should always place their work within the context of the advancement of the field, and acknowledge the findings of others on which they have built their research. It is highly recommended that authors pursue individual plagiarism check – by using plagiarism detection programs – before manuscript submission.
Authorship
Naming authors on a scientific paper ensures that the appropriate individuals get credit and are accountable for the research. Deliberately misrepresenting a scientist’s relationship to their work is considered to be a form of misconduct. Two basic criteria must collectively be met to be credited as an author. First, offering substantial contribution to the study conception and design, data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation. Second, drafting or revising the article for intellectual content. Individuals who are involved in a study but do not satisfy the criteria for authorship, should be listed in the acknowledgement section. Examples include assisting the research by providing advice, providing research space, and obtaining financial support. Because of the potential ambiguity and confused expectations, it is strongly recommended that, the team involved in the research should agree to and document how each person will be acknowledged before the research begins.
Conflict of Interest
Transparency and objectivity are essential in the scientific research and the peer review process. A potential conflict of interest exists when an author has a financial/personal interest or belief that could affect his/her objectivity, or inappropriately influence his/her actions. The most obvious conflicts of interest are financial relationships, such as employment, grants, and patents. Conflicts can also occur as a result of personal relationships, academic competition, and intellectual passion. One example is when a researcher is evaluating a product by a company where his/her relative works. At the time of submission, authors should explicitly state whether potential conflicts do or do not exist. Additional details regarding the disclosed research conflicts should be provided in the conflict-of-interest notification page.