■ Ethical guidelines for authors
a. Plagiarism
Authors submitting to TechArt: Journal of Arts and Imaging Science must warrant that their manuscript does not contain presentation of research or opinion of another person as their own. All results of research conducted by another person or entity must be cited with the source. Although it is acceptable to include references several times, it is considered plagiarism when a portion of the source is falsely presented as one’s own finding.
b. Authorship
1) Authors are held accountable and acknowledged only for the research they actually conducted or contributed to.
2) The order of authors (or translators) must accurately reflect the level of contribution to the research regardless of their relative status or position. One cannot be entitled as the first author merely due to one’s position. Also, one must not submit a co-authored research article as one’s individual work. Minor contributions to the research or article should be appropriately indicated either in a footnote, introduction, or acknowledgements.
c. Previously published work
Authors must not submit or try to publish work previously published by the author in Korea or overseas as new research. Authors must declare that the submitted manuscript is not a duplicate of a previously published work and is not plagiarized by submitting the Research Ethics Agreement form with the manuscript.
d. Citations and references
Authors must cite and reference publications and ideas by another person or entity in footnotes, thereby informing readers what is part of existing literature and what is the author’s original idea, opinion, and interpretation.
e. Revision of manuscript
Authors must address all editor and reviewer comments during revision. If authors disagree with a comment, they must provide a clear rationale to the Editor. Additionally, authors must promptly report any significant errors discovered in their published work and cooperate with the Editor to issue corrections or retractions as appropriate.
f. Conflict of Interest
Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, or personal relationships that may influence or be perceived to influence their research. All sources of funding must be clearly stated in the manuscript.
■ Ethical guidelines for editors
a. Editors’ responsibilities and obligations
Editors are responsible for the decisions to accept or reject a manuscript. Editors must respect the authors’ individuality as an independent scholar.
b. Basic principles for editors
Editors must give unbiased consideration to each manuscript solely based on the manuscript’s merit and the submission guidelines, without regard to sex, age, institutional affiliation of the author(s), or personal relationship with the author(s) and without any prejudice against the author(s).
c. Principles for the selection of peer reviewers
Editors must request the evaluation and review of the submitted manuscript to experts in the relevant field who has the ability to make unbiased judgment. Editors must ensure the reviewers do not receive the authors’ personal data by not disclosing the authors’ identities to the reviewers, thereby assuring the best possible objectivity in the review process.
d. Conflict of Interest
Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest. In such cases, another editor will be assigned to manage the review process and decision-making.
e. Editorial integrity and transparency
Editors must ensure a fair and transparent peer review process and take appropriate action when ethical concerns arise. Editors must maintain confidentiality and not use unpublished materials for their own research without the authors’ consent.
f. Management of Manuscript Revision and Post-publication Issues
Editors must ensure that authors adequately address all reviewers’ comments during revision. Should an author disagree with specific feedback and provide a rationale, the editor must objectively evaluate the justification to reach a fair decision. Additionally, if significant errors or inaccuracies in a published work are reported by the authors or third parties, the editor must promptly investigate and coordinate with the authors to issue appropriate corrections, retractions, or other notices in accordance with the journal’s policies.
■ Ethical guidelines for peer reviewers
a. Meeting the evaluation deadline
Reviewers should provide a constructive evaluation report of the submitted manuscript to the journal’s editorial office within the set deadline. If a reviewer has a conflict of interest and deems unsuitable to review the manuscript, the reviewer should report this immediately to the Editor.
b. Basic principles for evaluation
Reviewers must give unbiased evaluation of the submitted manuscript without regard to the reviewer’s personal academic principle or relationship with the author(s). Reviewers must not reject the manuscript on insufficient grounds or from conflict of the reviewer’s point of view or interpretation with those of the author(s). Reviewers must not review the manuscript without properly reading the submitted manuscript.
c. Guarantee of author’s individuality
Reviewers must respect the author’s individuality as an independent scholar with expert knowledge in the field. Reviewers may indicate their judgment in the review report, and should give detailed reasons and explanation for comments suggesting revisions by the author. Reviewers should use courteous and moderate expressions in their reports and must avoid making statements that disparage or disrespect the author(s).
d. Guarantee of author’s anonymity
Reviewers must keep the review process of the submitted manuscript confidential. Unless it is essential for the review process to seek external advice, the manuscript must not be shared or discussed with anyone outside the peer review process.
■ Post-publication ethics and corrections
a. Corrections
If substantive errors introduced by the authors or during the editorial or production process are identified in a published article and may affect its clarity or interpretation, the journal will publish a correction notice, provided that the article’s main findings and conclusions remain reliable.
b. Retractions
An article may be retracted when its findings are unreliable because of a major error or in cases of serious ethical violations, including plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, or duplicate publication. Retraction notices will be clearly identified, and the original article will remain accessible with a clear indication of its retracted status, except in exceptional circumstances where removal is legally or ethically required. Retraction notices will be published promptly and made freely accessible. Each notice will identify the article by its title, authors, and DOI, state the reasons for retraction and who is issuing the notice, and be linked to and from the original article. The retracted status will be clearly marked in the article’s archive listing or on its article page, as applicable, and in all accessible full-text versions, including the PDF. If the original article is removed, its bibliographic record and a notice explaining the removal will remain available to the extent legally permissible.
c. Expression of Concern
If concerns arise regarding the integrity of a published article but conclusive evidence is not yet available, the journal may issue an expression of concern while an investigation is ongoing.
d. Process
Decisions regarding corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern will be made by the Editor, in consultation with the Editorial Board and, where ethical concerns are involved, the Research Ethics Committee, after assessing the available evidence. If the Editor has a conflict of interest, the decision will be made by an independent editor.
■ Application of ethics policy
a. Ethics Agreement
Editors and peer reviewers of TechArt: Journal of Arts and Imaging Science are expected to adhere to the ethical guidelines upon appointment. Authors are expected to adhere to the ethical guidelines upon submission of a manuscript.
b. Report of breach of ethics guidelines and guarantee of confidentiality
Where a breach of ethics policy is found or suspected, this should be reported to the research ethics committee through the editorial office (techart14@gmail.com). The ethics committee must protect the confidentiality of the complainant, the respondent, and witnesses, disclosing information only as necessary for the investigation, appropriate follow-up action, or compliance with legal requirements. Good-faith complainants must be protected from retaliation.
c. Rights of ethics committee
The ethics committee has the right to conduct an extensive investigation of the allegations through communication with the complainant, the respondent, and witnesses and through supporting evidence. Where facts of breaches of ethics guidelines are established, the ethics committee has the right to suggest the appropriate disciplinary action to the Executive Director of the Institute.
d. Investigation and review by the ethics committee
The person suspected of breaching the ethics guidelines must cooperate with the investigation conducted by the ethics committee. Unjustified refusal to cooperate with the investigation, after reasonable notice and an opportunity to respond, is itself considered a breach of the ethics guidelines. Committee members with a conflict of interest must not participate in the investigation or related decision-making.
e. Respondent’s Notice and Right to Appeal
The person suspected of breaching the ethics guidelines has the right to be informed of the allegations, to respond before a disciplinary decision is made, and to appeal against that decision. The ethics committee must ensure that the person concerned has a reasonable opportunity to present their arguments and supporting evidence.
f. Disciplinary Procedure
Where the ethics committee proposes disciplinary action, the Executive Director of the Institute shall convene the Editorial Board to determine and finalize the disciplinary measures. A manuscript found to have violated the journal’s ethical guidelines will be rejected. A published article found to have violated these guidelines may be retracted in accordance with the journal’s retraction policy. Except in exceptional circumstances where removal is legally or ethically required, the original article will remain accessible in the journal’s database with a clear retraction notice and an indication of its retracted status. Relevant academic institutions may be notified as appropriate. Authors found to have violated research ethics will be prohibited from submitting manuscripts to the journal for five years.