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Research Ethics Policy
Obstetrics & Gynecology Science Research Ethics Policy
Article 1 (Objective)
The objective of this policy is to establish research ethics for authors and contributors presenting their research papers to be published in Obstetrics & Gynecology Science.
Article 2 (Ethics of Researchers)
1) Researchers shall be honest about their research. Research ethics are required throughout the entire research process, from deriving ideas, receiving research grants, publishing research results to providing rewards to research participants in a fair manner. To be more specific, researchers shall not commit any of the following ¡°research misconduct¡±:
¨ç¡°Forgery¡± of non-existing document or research result
¨è¡°Falsification¡± of research content or results by manipulating research materials/equipment/process or modifying/deleting data
¨é¡°Plagiarism¡± of idea, research content or result of another author without proper authorization or citation
¨ê¡°Improper authorship¡± such as not giving authorship to a qualified author who has made scientific and technological contributions to the research content or results without any justifiable reasons, or giving authorship to an unqualified person who has not made any scientific or technological contributions simply as a token of appreciation or honor
¨ë¡°Redundant publication¡±: Submitting or publishing a manuscript having already been submitted or published in another academic journal or book to Obstetrics & Gynecology Science or vice versa
¨ìAny conduct that intentionally obstructs an investigation into the suspected misconduct of a researcher himself/herself or another researcher or does harm to an informant
¨íAny conduct that is outside the range of commonly acceptable behavior among the scientific and technological community
2) If the subject of research is human beings, the general principles shall follow the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki developed by the World Medical Association (WMA). The details are as follows:
¨çIf research involves any clinical trial, it must be approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Research Institute through a deliberation process and such fact should be explicitly indicated in the paper in order to publish the research results.
¨èIf research involves any experimentation with human genome or embryo, it must comply with the Bioethics and Safety Act and obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board of the Research Institute through a deliberation process and such a fact should be explicitly indicated in the paper.
¨éAn experimental group participating in research must be fully aware of the objective and methods of the research and any potential harm, either psychological or physical that may occur during the research and give their written consent to such participation. Such fact should be explicitly indicated in the paper in order to publish the research results. In addition, if there is any possibility of the identity of a patient being exposed such as a face photo, written consent from the patient or his/her guardian must be acquired and such fact must be explicitly indicated in the paper in order to publish the research results.
3) If the research involves any animal experimentation, the general principles shall follow the ¡°Guiding Principles in the Care and Use of Animals¡± by the American Physiology Society.
4) Researchers shall follow the general principles on the quotation of academic publications.

Article 3 (Deliberation on Research Ethics)
1) Any matters related to research ethics shall be deliberated by the Ethics Committee (hereinafter, the ¡°Committee) of the Korean Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
2) The tenure of Chairman is 2 years and the composition of the Committee shall be determined by the Board of the Korean Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
3) The Committee shall be operated according to a separate policy established by the Committee.
4) The Committee shall investigate and deliberate any reported case of ethics violation such as ¡°forgery¡±, ¡°falsification¡±, ¡°plagiarism¡±, ¡°improper authorship¡±, and ¡°redundant publication¡± with regard to research papers published in Obstetrics & Gynecology Science and the investigation/deliberation results shall be submitted to the Board

Article 4 (Violation of Research Ethics and Follow-up Measures)
1) If a case of research ethics violation is reported, the Chairman shall promptly call a meeting of the Committee to carry out an appropriate investigation and deliberation; and then the results shall be submitted to the Board.
2) A violation of research ethics can be reported regardless of whether the informant is a society member. The Committee and the Society shall keep all personal information of an informant confidential including his/her identity and they have the obligation to make sure that the informant is thoroughly protected from any type of disadvantage.
3) The investigation and deliberation on a violation of research ethics shall remain confidential and not undermine the interests of the Society.
4) The Committee shall give the person suspected of ethics violation an opportunity to defend himself/herself and bring forth a counterargument in a written form or in person.
5) The results of the investigation into an ethics violation and the follow-up measures shall be kept in the Society.
6) If a violation of research ethics is confirmed on any research paper of the Obstetrics & Gynecology Science, the Board shall make such findings public and not authorize the research paper to be published in the journal. If the research paper has already been published, it will be deleted from the list of research papers published in Obstetrics & Gynecology Science and the Board will announce such fact to the members and the relevant academic institutes. The main author having violated research ethics (primary author, corresponding author) can be banned from publishing a research paper in Obstetrics & Gynecology Science for a certain period of time or permanently depending on the severity of the violation.
7) If a violation of research ethics is confirmed on any research activities of a member of the Society or on any research paper of Obstetrics & Gynecology Science, the Board shall make such violation public and take necessary measures such as 1) issuing a warning, 2) suspending membership, or 3) canceling membership depending on the severity of the violation.

Article 5
Anything not stipulated in this policy shall follow the ¡°Guidelines for the Responsible Conduct of Research: Ethics and the Publication Process¡± (Ministry of Science and Technology, Directive No. 236) and the ¡°Good Publication Practice Guideline for Medical Journals¡± published by the Committee on Publication Ethics, Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors (www.kamje.or.kr).

Supplementary Provision
1) This policy shall take effect on June 1, 2008.
2) This policy is revised on Jan 1, 2013
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