Guidelines for Responsible Conduct of Research
State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science (Xiamen University)
(Draft)
I General Provisions
Article I
These guidelines are formulated to promote research integrity through the responsible conduct of research, as stated under the “Advices on Improving Academic Ethics” issued by the Ministry of Education.
Article II
These guidelines apply to all research and scholarly activity carried out in association with the State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science (MEL), Xiamen University by MEL employees, adjuncts, students, postdoctoral fellows, and visiting scholars, as well as any and all other “MEL members” .
II Academic Ethics
Article III
In all research activities, MEL members should abide by the “Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China”, the “Patent Law of the People’s Republic of China” and any other laws and regulations related to intellectual property, and follow the guidelines listed below:
(一)
Researchers should respect the intellectual property of others during their scientific research. When referring to published materials or information, sources should be properly cited or credited. If charts, graphs, data sets, or numerical information obtained from a third party or from published materials are used, sources must be cited. Whether you quote directly or paraphrase the information, you must acknowledge your sources by citing them. When original sentences are directly used, they should be quoted with quotation marks. In the case of referring to unpublished materials, prior agreement must be obtained from the original source and proper citation should be given.
(二)
Research results should be published in formal and legal ways, such as in peer-reviewed journals, publishers, or reviewed by related governments or agencies.
(三)
Fabrication and falsification of research data and results are serious forms of misconduct. It is the primary responsibility of the researcher to avoid either false statements or omissions that would distort the research record.
(四)
Publications of collaborative work must give appropriate credit to all participants for their roles in the research, which should be shown in proper authorship or acknowledgement. If more than one person has contributed significantly, the decision of who will be listed as co-authors should reflect the relative contributions of the various participants. No one should not be listed as an author without his or her knowledge, permission, and having reviewed the final version of the manuscript that includes the names of all co-authors.
Article IV
The following behaviors in research activities are considered serious forms of misconduct.
(一)
Authors who present the text, data, or ideas of others in the way that indicates or implies that they are their own, without citation in a form appropriate for the medium of presentation, are committing theft of intellectual property and may be guilty of plagiarism and of research misconduct.
(二)
Publishing a manuscript without giving appropriate credit to all authors for their roles in the research or listing someone as co-author without his or her knowledge, permission, and having reviewed the final version of the manuscript.
(三)
Falsifying academic achievements, review reports, certificates and other proofs or materials of academic status provided during evaluation, personnel promotion, student graduation, award reviews, etc.
(四)
Fabrication and falsification of research data and results.
(五)
Deliberately exaggerating research findings or its economic value or social impact in the media.
(六)
Publishing the same article in two different places without acceptable justification, without appropriately referencing the earlier publication in later one(s), or without obtaining permission from the editor of the publications involved.
(七)
Other behaviors that are commonly deemed as research misconducts.
III Pledge and Responsibilities
Article V
Authors who submit any manuscripts, reports, or other publications that list the State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science (Xiamen University) as their affiliation, should log in the MEL website and submit a Researcher’s Pledge of Ethical Conduct Form online before the manuscript(s) is/are published.
Article VI
MEL will number the manuscript(s) according to Pledge ID number. MEL would not bear any consequences if the author fails to submit the Pledge before the manuscript is published.
Article VII
Any violation of academic integrity is a serious offense and is therefore subject to an appropriate sanction or penalty. Sanctions will include suspension of funding and research activity or expulsion from MEL and Xiamen University. Any honors or degrees obtained while using fraudulent materials or exhibiting the misconduct behaviors listed previously will be revoked or withdrawn.
IV Supplementary
Article VIII
The State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science (Xiamen University) has the authority for the interpretation of the guidelines.
Article IX
The guidelines are in effect as of January 1, 2013.
