Article 1 (Purpose)

In order to ensure sound research ethics, this regulation sets forth principles and standards of research ethics that authors, editorial board members, and reviewers of the Journal of Korean Dental Science (hereinafter referred to as the “Journal”) should comply with in relation to the publication of the Journal. This regulation also stipulates the procedures and standards for handling research misconduct.

Article 2 (Bioethics and Informed Consent)

• ① All research that involves human or animal subjects must receive approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of the lead researcher's affiliated institution prior to the commencement of the study. Details of this approval must be clearly stated in the manuscript.
• ② If the research involves human participants, the authors must declare that the participants or their guardians have been fully informed about the purpose of the research and the potential mental and physical harms that may arise during participation, in line with the Declaration of Helsinki. Furthermore, it must be stated that written consent has been obtained from the participants or their guardians.
• ③ When presenting photographs or visual materials involving research participants, their identities must remain confidential. If a participant's identity is inadvertently disclosed, it must be clearly stated that written consent has been obtained.
• ④ If the research involves laboratory animals, authors must indicate in the manuscript the procedures used to minimize pain and discomfort for the animals. They must also confirm that the experimental procedures complied with the institution's IACUC regulations and the NIH Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Furthermore, the manuscript must provide detailed descriptions of the types, doses, and administration routes of any medications and procedures used.
• ⑤ The editorial board may request the submission of written consent and approval from the IRB or IACUC if necessary.

Article 3 (Items to be Complied with by Authors)

• ① Authors must not engage in research misconduct as described in any of the following Paragraphs.
  • 1. Falsely creating, recording, or reporting non-existent research raw materials, research data, or research outcomes (fabrication)
  • 2. Distorting research content or outcomes by artificially manipulating research materials, devices, and processes or arbitrarily modifying or deleting research raw materials or data (falsification)
  • 3. Utilizing the original ideas or creations of others, which are not general knowledge, without proper attribution in a way leading them to be perceived as one’s own creations to a third party (plagiarism). Examples include:
    • A. Utilizing the whole or part of others’ research without indicating the source
    • B. Using the words or sentence structures of other’s work with partial revisions without indicating the source
    • C. Utilizing original ideas of others without indicating the source
    • D. Translating and utilizing others’ work without indicating the source
• ② Authors must not engage in unfair authorship behaviors. “Unfair authorship” refers to the act of not granting authorship to a person who has made scientific or technical contributions to the research content or outcomes without proper reasons, or granting authorship to a person who has not made scientific or technical contributions for reasons such as gratitude or prestige.
• ③ Authors should do their best to ensure that the same content has not already been published
• ④ Authors should submit a manuscript that contains comprehensive conclusions with sufficient academic value and arguments to support them. If authors submit manuscripts with the same conclusions as a previously published paper, the new argument must have significant academic value.
• ⑤ When authors cite published academic materials, they must accurately indicate the source. Unless the materials are included in common knowledge, authors must clearly indicate the source. Data obtained through personal contact may be cited only with the explicit consent of the researcher who provided the information.
• ⑥ Authors cannot submit manuscripts that have been published or are under review in other journals. Additionally, manuscripts that have been published or are under submission in the Journal cannot be published in other journals.
• ⑦ Authors should do their best to reflect the opinions of editorial board members and reviewers in their manuscripts. If they disagree with the opinions, they should provide the corresponding evidence and reasons to the editorial board.
• ⑧ The guidelines for authorship are as follows:
  • 1. All researchers who have made scientifically significant contributions to the research and who will share responsibility and credit for the research outcomes should be co-authors.
  • 2. If the manuscript was written based on the entirety or part of a thesis, the student submitting the thesis and his or her advisor should be co-authors, except for a review article.
  • 3. Persons who have not made academic contributions to the research outcomes should not be included as co-authors. Persons who have provided non-academic support, such as administrative support, should be indicated in footnotes or acknowledgments.
  • 4. The first author of the manuscript must obtain explicit consent from all authors to serve as co-authors.
  • 5. The order of listing co-authors should be determined by consultation of the authors, and it reflects the researchers’ contributions to the research (i.e., with the first author making the largest contribution, and so forth).
  • 6. Authors’ affiliations should be as they were when the study was conducted. If their affiliations have changed at the time of submission, this information should be properly indicated in the footnotes.
• ⑨ Conflicts of interest must be declared. All authors must state any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could improperly influence the research. Examples of conflicts of interest include employment, stock ownership, honorariums, expert consultation, patents, grants, or other research funding.
• ⑩ If authors use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in writing the manuscript, they must use them only to improve readability and language. The application of the technologies should be under the authors’ supervision and control. Authors must carefully review and edit the results because AI may produce inaccurate, incomplete, or biased content. Authors should indicate the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in the manuscript.

Article 4 (Items to be Complied with by Editorial Board Members)

• ① Editorial board members shall handle manuscripts submitted for publication in the Journal in a fair manner, based on the quality of the manuscripts and in accordance with review regulations, regardless of authors’ gender, age, affiliations, and personal relationships with authors.
• ② Editorial board members shall not disclose the content of submitted manuscripts to anyone other than reviewers until the decision to publish the article is made.
• ③ Editorial board members shall respect the personality and academic independence of the authors.
• ④ The editorial board shall anonymize authors and reviewers of the submitted manuscripts to ensure the fairness of the review process.

Article 5 (Items to be Complied with by Reviewers)

• ① Reviewers have the obligation to contribute to academic development by reviewing manuscripts requested by the editorial board, in accordance with the review regulations.
• ② Reviewers shall respect the personality and academic independence of authors as experts.
• ③ Reviewers shall objectively and impartially review the manuscript content while properly maintaining a high level of academic standards. They should not review manuscripts based on personal academic beliefs or assumptions that have not been fully verified.
• ④ Reviewers shall explain their opinions in detail with reasons when writing the review report. They should not request additional data or clarifications from authors for their personal purposes.
• ⑤ Reviewers shall not cite the manuscript without the authors’ consent until the manuscript is published.
• ⑥ Reviewers shall inform the editorial board in detail if the manuscript they are reviewing is very similar to another paper that has already been published.
• ⑦ Reviewers shall complete the reviews as soon as possible and send the review reports to the editorial board. If a reviewer thinks that he or she is not qualified to review the manuscript, he or she should notify the editorial board without delay.

Article 6 (Responsible Entity for Verifying Integrity)

• ① The responsibility of verifying misconduct lies with the researcher’s affiliated institution at the time the research was conducted. If the editorial board becomes aware of misconduct or a report of misconduct is received, the editorial board shall transfer the relevant information to the corresponding research institutions so that the investigation can proceed promptly.
• ② If the researcher’s affiliated institution is unable to conduct the investigation and requests an investigation, the editorial board shall convene an investigation committee and conduct an investigation.

Article 7 (Principles of Constituting the Research Ethics Committee)

• ① The Research Ethics Committee shall be established under the Korean Academy of Dental Science (hereinafter referred to as “Society”), and its director and members are appointed by the Editor-in-Chief after approval of the Board of Directors of the Society. In principle, the Research Ethics Committee members are appointed from among the editorial board members of the Journal, but members of the Society or external experts who are not editorial board members may be appointed.
• ② The Research Ethics Committee consists of five or more members.
• ③ The terms of the Research Ethics Committee director and members shall be 3 years, and reappointment is allowed.
• ④ A person who is involved in a study subject to review by the Research Ethics Committee cannot be a member of the Research Ethics Committee.
• ⑤ The Research Ethics Committee shall be convened with the presence of a majority of the enrolled members, and resolutions are made by a majority of the members present.
• ⑥ The director of the Research Ethics Committee has the right to vote. In case of a tie, the matter up for a vote is rejected.

Article 8 (Research Ethics Investigation)

• ① If there is a report of a research ethics violation, the President of the Society shall determine whether to convene a meeting of the Research Ethics Committee.
• ② An investigation refers to a procedure to prove whether a research ethics violation has taken place, and the Research Ethics Committee shall be convened for an investigation within 30 days from the date of receipt of the report.
• ③ If the study requiring ethics research investigations has not been published in the Journal, the publication may be postponed until the investigation and judgment of the Research Ethics Committee are completed.

Article 9 (Authority of the Research Ethics Committee)

• ① The Research Ethics Committee may request the attendance of informants, persons under investigation, witnesses, and references for statements during the investigation. In this case, the people requested to attend should comply with that request.
• ② The Research Ethics Committee may request the person under investigation to submit materials.
• ③ The Research Ethics Committee may recommend appropriate sanctions to the Editor-in-Chief and the head of relevant research institutions for those involved in violations determined to have taken place.

Article 10 (Principles of Verifying Integrity)

• ① The Research Ethics Committee is responsible for proving the fact of misconduct. However, if persons under investigation intentionally destroy or refuse to submit the materials requested by the Research Ethics Committee, the responsibility for proving the integrity of the content contained in the requested materials lies with the person under investigation.
• ② The Research Ethics Committee shall equally guarantee the right and opportunity to express opinions, objections, and defense to the informant and the person under investigation, and shall inform them of the relevant procedures in advance.
• ③ The Research Ethics Committee shall not disclose the identity of the person under investigation until it is determined whether research misconduct has taken place.

Article 11 (Procedures of Verifying Integrity)

• ① Misconduct shall be verified through a preliminary investigation, main investigation, and judgment.
• ② The procedures of verifying integrity, including the preliminary investigation, main investigation, and judgment, shall comply with item No. 263 of the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology order, “Guidelines for Ensuring Research Ethics.”

Article 12 (Report of Investigation Results)

• ① The Research Ethics Committee shall report the investigation results and the final judgment to the editorial board.
• ② The investigation report shall include the following Subparagraphs.
  • 1. Content of the report
  • 2. Misconduct under investigation
  • 3. List of investigators of the Research Ethics Committee
  • 4. Whether to conduct a main investigation and the basis for the decision (limited to a preliminary investigation)
  • 5. Role of the person under investigation in the research and whether the allegation is true (limited to a main investigation)
  • 6. Relevant evidence and witnesses (limited to a main investigation)
  • 7. Content of the objections or defense of the reporter and person under investigation and their resolution (limited to a main investigation)

Article 13 (Sanctions for Ethics Regulation Violation)

In the event of an ethics regulation violation as detailed in Article 3 or recommendations for sanctions by the Investigation Committee, the following measures shall be taken as determined by the editorial board.

• 1. Warn the offender regarding the violation by an official document
• 2. Remove the manuscript from the list of articles in the Journal
• 3. Prohibit research ethics violators from submitting manuscripts to the Journal for two years

Article 14 (Others)

Other matters not specified in this regulation shall be decided by the editorial board.