Research Ethics

TiER follows international standards for ethics in research and publication. All human studies must have IRB approval and informed consent; animal studies must have IACUC approval. Clinical trials must be registered with recognized registries (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov), and all ethics approval numbers should be clearly stated in both the Materials and Methods section and the Title Page. Editors may request supporting documentation.
TiER complies with ICMJE, COPE, and Declaration of Helsinki principles. Full ethical guidance aligns with:

• ICMJE Recommendations: http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/
• DOAJ Best Practices: https://doaj.org/bestpractice
• KAMJE Guidelines: https://www.kamje.or.kr/board/view?b_name=bo_publication&bo_id=13

Conflict of Interest

All participants—authors, reviewers, editors, and board members—must disclose any conflicts (financial, professional, or personal). Disclosures must appear on the title page and be certified by all authors. If none, state: “The authors declare no conflicts of interest.” Undisclosed conflicts will be reviewed per COPE guidelines.

Funding

All financial support (e.g., grants, institutional funding, equipment donations) must be acknowledged in the manuscript.

Authorship

TiER follows ICMJE’s four authorship criteria. All listed authors must:

• Make substantial contributions to the research;
• Draft or revise the manuscript critically;
• Approve the final version;
• Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Use the CRediT taxonomy for author contributions (https://credit.niso.org/). Author changes must be signed by all authors. The corresponding author manages all communication and submission requirements.

Additional guidance includes:

• Acknowledging contributors who don’t meet all four criteria.
• Disclosing research involving family/minors per NRF guidelines: https://www.nrf.re.kr/cms/board/library/view?menu_no=419&nts_no=136927.
• Author name change policy per COPE: name changes will be implemented without correction notices and without requiring legal proof.

Originality, Plagiarism, and Duplicate Publication

All submissions are checked with Crossref Similarity Check. Authors must disclose prior publication or submission of overlapping material. If detected without disclosure, the manuscript may be rejected or publicly corrected.

Secondary Publication

Republishing materials from other journals may be allowed if it expands the reach of important findings (e.g., policy guidelines), provided proper attribution and context are given.

Process for Managing Research and Publication Misconduct

Suspected misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, fraudulent data, author disputes, peer review abuse) will be investigated by the Editorial Board and Research Ethics Council, consisting of Publication Committee members. Actions include review, reporting to the Board of Directors, and conducting ethics education.

Editorial Responsibilities

Editors ensure ethical integrity through:

• Guidelines for corrections and retractions
• Conflict-free decision-making
• Promotion of transparency and accuracy
• Maintaining reviewer anonymity

Similarity Check

All manuscripts are screened using iThenticate’s Similarity Check tool. Authors should ensure originality and proper citation. High similarity scores may lead to rejection or revision requests. Authors submitting preprints must disclose this to avoid false positives.
More info: https://www.crossref.org/services/similarity-check/