Research Ethics

The Policy and Rules for the Observance of Research Ethics

- The Korean Society of Educational Studies in Mathematics -

Established on the 1 st of August, 2008, and approved by the board of directors Revised on the 24 th of May, 2014, and approved by the board of directors

The purpose of operation of the society is to contribute to the advancement of mathematics education in this country by sharing and exchanging research achievements and information about the theories and practices in the field of mathematics education. The policy of research ethics that the members of this society must comply with in the course of respective research processes is based on Article 39 defined in the detailed enforcement procedures regarding research ethics.

 Article 1. The Duties of Members

Members of the society shall comply with the research ethics laid down by the society in the respective courses of conducting research studies and in improving the practices of mathematics education in this country. 

 Article 2. The Committee of Research Ethics

A “Committee of Research Ethics (hereafter, the ‘Committee’)” will be established to appraise the observance of research ethics by the members of the society. 

 Article 3. Constitution of the Committee

The Committee shall be comprised of more than 5 members, including 2 editorial directors and 1 director of general affairs; the remaining members of the Committee shall be recommended by the extended board of directors and appointed by the Chairman of the society. The Chairperson of the Committee shall be elected by mutual vote among the members of the Committee. 

 Article 4. The Mission of the Committee

The Committee shall be comprised of more than 5 members, including 2 editorial directors and 1 director of general affairs; the remaining members of the Committee shall be recommended by the extended board of directors and appointed by the Chairman of the society. The Chairperson of the Committee shall be elected by mutual vote among the members of the Committee. 

 Article 5. Violations of Research Ethics

The violations to be examined by the Committee are as follows:

1) Plagiarism

2) Duplicated contributions or publication of research outcomes

3) Others

 Article 6. The Examination Procedure

The examination regarding the violation of duty by members will be carried out through the following procedure.

1) The examination shall be initiated by the official request of the chairperson of the Committee, or by the request of more than 1/3 of the members of the Committee. The chairperson of the Committee shall convene a meeting within 10 days after receiving a request for examination.

2) The Committee may determine the respective procedures for the examination of each case of violation, and may exclude members who may influence the fairness of the examination.

3) The Committee shall be prudent in judging breaches of research ethics. The Committee may choose to investigate corresponding researchers, the informant of the breach, and others associated with the case, and shall grant the researchers in question the opportunity to explain their respective cases.

4) The scope and level of the official reprimand shall be determined by the approval of more than 2/3 the members of the disciplinary committee, which is to be held with more than half of the Committee members in attendance.

5) The Committee shall process the examination in secret, and the identities of the members involved or the examination procedures shall not be disclosed outside the Committee.

 Article 7. Types of Official Reprimand

The disciplinary committee shall determine the type of official reprimand for the corresponding violation. The types of official reprimand are as followings, and each disciplinary measure may be given in duplicate.

1) Light Reprimand: Official warning of the Chairman of the society

2) Heavy Reprimand:

- Public apology of the members of to the society

- Suspension of membership qualifications (for 1 or 3 years)

- Official cancellation and prohibition of citation of corresponding contribution(s)

- Expulsion from membership of the society

 Article 8. The Report of Examination

The chairperson of the disciplinary committee shall report the results of the examination to the Chairman of the society within 10 days from the day on which the scope and level of official reprimand was determined. The report to be submitted to the Chairman shall include the following:

1) The contents of the examination

2) The violation or breach of duties as determined by the examination

3) The list of examiners and the proceedings of the examination

4) The evidence and grounds for judgments of the disciplinary committee

5) The details of the official reprimand

 Article 9. Follow-up Measures

The Chairman of the society shall take the following actions upon receiving the report from the disciplinary committee.

1) The Chairman may request that the disciplinary committee re-examine or complement the report in cases where the fairness of the examination procedure or the adequacy and reasonableness of the results of the examination are seemingly judged to be inappropriate. (Revised May 24th, 2014.)

2) In the case of where official heavy reprimand is to be given, the Chairman shall report the decision made by the disciplinary committee to the board of directors of the society for further discussion on the appropriation, and shall notify the member to be reprimanded of the final written decision. For the case of official light reprimand, the Chairman may notify the member to be reprimanded of the decision in writing (or an email message), without referring to the board of directors of the society.

3) The Chairman of the society shall take the follow-up measures promptly, and may notify other societies or institutions of the determination of official reprimand. However, the notification shall not be made until expiry of the period of formal objection granted to the subject of an official reprimand.

 Article 10. The Right of Objection

The member to receive official reprimand by the disciplinary committee may raise objections against the judgment within 15 days of the day on which the written notification (or email) of the official reprimand was received. 

 Article 11. Administrative Details

1) The detailed enforcement procedures regarding the violations of research ethics (Article 5) and determination of the types of official reprimand (Article 7) shall be determined by the board of directors of the society.

2) Issues for which the procedures are not expressed in this policy shall be concluded on at the discretion of the board of directors of the society.

 Addendum

 The provisions provided by the policy and rules in this document shall be effective from the 1st of January, 2008.
 The provisions provided by the policy and rules in this document shall be effective from the 1st of June, 2014.