Publication Ethics
1. Purpose
The Journal of Global Arts Studies (JGAS) is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics, research integrity, editorial responsibility, and scholarly transparency.
This Publication Ethics policy establishes the ethical principles and procedures that apply to authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, guest editors, and editorial staff involved in the submission, review, editing, publication, correction, and retraction of manuscripts submitted to JGAS.
The purpose of this policy is to protect the integrity of the scholarly record and to ensure that all published works meet recognized standards of originality, accountability, fairness, transparency, and academic responsibility.
2. Scope
This policy applies to all manuscripts submitted to JGAS, including research articles, review articles, case studies, essays, interviews, book reviews, exhibition reviews, conference reports, special issue articles, and other scholarly materials approved by the Editorial Board.
This policy should be read together with the journal’s other policies, including:
a. Journal Regulations;
b. Editorial and Peer Review Policy;
c. AI Ethics Policy;
d. Authorship and Conflict of Interest Policy;
e. Copyright and Open Access Policy;
f. Data, Image, and Materials Policy;
g. Corrections, Retractions, and Complaints Policy;
h. Privacy and Confidentiality Policy.
Where policies overlap, the stricter ethical standard shall apply.
3. General Ethical Principles
JGAS requires all participants in the publication process to act with honesty, fairness, transparency, responsibility, and respect for academic integrity.
Authors must submit only original work and must ensure that all sources, data, images, artworks, archival materials, interviews, translations, and third-party materials are used lawfully and ethically.
Reviewers must provide fair, confidential, objective, constructive, and timely evaluations.
Editors must make decisions based on academic merit, relevance to the aims and scope of the journal, peer review results where applicable, ethical integrity, and editorial judgment.
The publisher, sponsoring institution, or any external body shall not interfere with editorial decisions regarding acceptance, rejection, revision, correction, or retraction.
4. Responsibilities of Authors
Authors are responsible for the accuracy, originality, ethical integrity, and legal compliance of their manuscripts.
Authors must ensure that:
a. the manuscript is original and has not been published elsewhere;
b. the manuscript is not under consideration by another journal or publication platform;
c. all sources are properly cited and acknowledged;
d. all data, evidence, images, artworks, figures, tables, translations, and quotations are accurate and properly represented;
e. all authors meet the journal’s authorship criteria;
f. all conflicts of interest are disclosed;
g. funding sources are properly acknowledged;
h. required ethics approval, informed consent, or copyright permission has been obtained where applicable;
i. substantive use of AI or AI-assisted technologies is disclosed where required;
j. the final English manuscript accurately reflects the content of the reviewed manuscript when the initial submission was made in Korean or Chinese.
Authors must cooperate with the editorial office in responding to questions about ethics, authorship, data, sources, permissions, or corrections.
5. Originality and Plagiarism
All manuscripts submitted to JGAS must be original.
Plagiarism is prohibited. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:
a. copying text, ideas, arguments, images, artworks, data, tables, figures, or other materials from another source without proper citation;
b. paraphrasing another person’s work too closely without proper acknowledgment;
c. using translated material from another source without proper citation;
d. presenting another person’s research, interpretation, creative work, or intellectual contribution as one’s own;
e. using AI-generated or AI-assisted text to conceal plagiarism or misrepresentation.
JGAS may use plagiarism detection or similarity checking systems, including the KCI similarity check service or other appropriate tools, during editorial screening, peer review, production, or ethical investigation to identify possible plagiarism or textual overlap. Similarity reports are used as editorial tools and do not automatically determine whether misconduct has occurred. Final judgment will be made by the editorial office after careful review.
Manuscripts found to contain serious plagiarism may be rejected. If plagiarism is discovered after publication, JGAS may issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction depending on the seriousness of the case.
6. Duplicate Submission and Redundant Publication
Authors must not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal or publication platform at the same time.
Authors must not publish substantially the same work in more than one publication without proper disclosure, justification, and permission.
Redundant publication includes, but is not limited to:
a. publishing the same research findings in multiple journals without disclosure;
b. dividing one study into multiple manuscripts without clear scholarly justification;
c. submitting a manuscript that substantially overlaps with previously published work by the same author without proper citation;
d. translating and submitting a previously published work as a new manuscript without disclosure and permission.
If a manuscript is based on a thesis, dissertation, conference presentation, working paper, preprint, or prior public version, authors must disclose this at submission and clearly explain the relationship between the submitted manuscript and the prior version.
7. Fabrication, Falsification, and Data Manipulation
Fabrication, falsification, and manipulation of research materials are prohibited.
Fabrication includes making up data, sources, interviews, quotations, archival materials, artworks, images, field notes, survey results, or other evidence.
Falsification includes altering, omitting, misrepresenting, or selectively presenting research materials, data, sources, images, quotations, or findings in a way that misleads readers.
Data manipulation includes inappropriate alteration of empirical data, interview records, visual evidence, figures, tables, images, or other research materials.
If fabrication, falsification, or serious manipulation is suspected, JGAS may request original data, source materials, permissions, ethics approval documents, or other supporting evidence from the authors.
8. Image, Artwork, and Multimedia Integrity
Because JGAS publishes research in global arts, visual culture, cultural studies, media, performance, and related fields, special care must be taken in the use of images, artworks, photographs, archival materials, audiovisual materials, and multimedia content.
Authors must ensure that:
a. images, artworks, figures, tables, and multimedia materials are accurately presented;
b. captions and credit lines are complete and accurate;
c. permissions are obtained where required;
d. any image enhancement, restoration, colorization, reconstruction, or digital modification is disclosed where relevant;
e. AI-generated or AI-modified images, artworks, or media are clearly disclosed according to the journal’s AI Ethics Policy;
f. visual materials are not manipulated in a misleading or deceptive manner;
g. cultural heritage materials, traditional cultural expressions, sacred objects, community-based materials, and Indigenous knowledge are treated with appropriate ethical care.
Misleading manipulation of images, artworks, figures, or multimedia materials may be treated as research misconduct.
9. Authorship, Contributor Responsibility, and Special Relationship Co-authorship
Authorship must be limited to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the manuscript and who agree to be accountable for the work.
All listed authors must approve the final version of the manuscript before submission and publication.
Inappropriate authorship practices are prohibited, including:
a. guest authorship;
b. honorary authorship;
c. gift authorship;
d. ghost authorship;
e. omission of individuals who made substantial scholarly contributions.
Any change in authorship after submission, including addition, removal, or rearrangement of authors, must be explained in writing and approved by all authors and the editorial office.
AI tools, chatbots, large language models, or other non-human technologies cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.
Authors must disclose any special relationship among co-authors that may raise concerns about authorship integrity, research contribution, or conflict of interest. Special relationships may include, but are not limited to, minors, family members, spouses, children, relatives, students, supervisors, close personal relationships, financial relationships, or other relationships that may affect the fairness or transparency of authorship.
Where a manuscript includes a co-author with a special relationship to another author, the corresponding author must disclose the relationship at the time of submission and may be asked to provide a clear authorship contribution statement, research records, data, drafts, correspondence, or other evidence demonstrating that all listed authors meet the journal’s authorship criteria.
JGAS may conduct additional editorial or ethical review when special relationship co-authorship is disclosed or suspected. If inappropriate authorship, honorary authorship, gift authorship, ghost authorship, misrepresentation of contribution, or other research misconduct is confirmed, the journal may reject the manuscript, retract the published article, restrict future submissions by the responsible author(s), and notify relevant institutions where appropriate.
Where a confirmed case of misconduct involving a special relationship co-author has resulted in or may result in an improper academic, educational, admission-related, employment-related, or research-related benefit, JGAS may notify the relevant institution in accordance with journal policy, applicable law, and data protection requirements.
10. Conflicts of Interest
Authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that may affect the submission, review, editorial decision, or publication process.
Conflicts of interest may be financial, institutional, academic, personal, professional, political, or ideological.
Authors must disclose relevant funding sources, sponsorship, institutional relationships, personal relationships, paid consulting, employment, grants, or other circumstances that may influence the research or its interpretation.
Reviewers and editors must decline or withdraw from handling a manuscript if they have a conflict of interest that may compromise impartial judgment.
11. Research Involving Human Participants
Research involving human participants, interviews, surveys, fieldwork, observation, personal information, images of identifiable persons, or community-based research must comply with applicable ethical standards and legal requirements.
Where required, authors must obtain ethics approval from an appropriate institutional review board or ethics committee.
Authors must obtain informed consent where applicable, especially for:
a. interviews;
b. personal narratives;
c. photographs or videos of identifiable persons;
d. performance documentation;
e. community-based research;
f. research involving vulnerable individuals or groups.
Authors must protect participant privacy and confidentiality. Personal information must not be disclosed without permission.
12. Cultural Heritage, Community Rights, and Sensitive Materials
Authors conducting research on cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, Indigenous knowledge, sacred objects, community-based cultural materials, museum collections, archival materials, or intangible cultural practices must handle such materials with ethical care.
Authors should consider:
a. cultural sensitivity;
b. community consent or consultation where appropriate;
c. restrictions on access, reproduction, or publication;
d. appropriate acknowledgment of communities, artists, performers, or rights holders;
e. potential harm caused by disclosure, misrepresentation, or decontextualization.
JGAS may request clarification, permission documentation, or ethical justification when manuscripts involve sensitive cultural materials.
13. Use of Artificial Intelligence
JGAS permits responsible use of AI and AI-assisted technologies, but such use must comply with the journal’s AI Ethics Policy.
Authors must disclose substantive use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies where required.
AI tools must not be listed as authors or co-authors.
Authors remain fully responsible for all AI-assisted content, including accuracy, originality, citations, translations, images, data analysis, and ethical compliance.
Reviewers and editors must not upload confidential manuscripts, review materials, author information, reviewer information, editorial correspondence, or unpublished materials to external AI tools without explicit authorization from JGAS.
Unethical, undisclosed, or misleading use of AI may be treated as publication misconduct.
14. Copyright and Third-Party Materials
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts do not infringe copyright, moral rights, image rights, privacy rights, licensing terms, database rights, or other intellectual property rights.
Authors must obtain permission to reproduce or adapt third-party materials where required, including:
a. artworks;
b. photographs;
c. museum or archive images;
d. figures and tables;
e. maps and diagrams;
f. audio or video materials;
g. performance documentation;
h. long quotations;
i. copyrighted digital materials.
Authors must provide proper credit lines and permission information for third-party materials.
The use of third-party materials must comply with the journal’s Copyright and Open Access Policy.
15. Responsibilities of Reviewers
Reviewers play an essential role in maintaining the academic quality and ethical integrity of JGAS.
Reviewers must:
a. evaluate manuscripts fairly and objectively;
b. provide constructive and evidence-based comments;
c. respect the confidentiality of manuscripts and review materials;
d. disclose conflicts of interest;
e. decline review invitations when they lack expertise or cannot complete the review on time;
f. report suspected plagiarism, duplicate submission, data manipulation, ethical problems, or other misconduct to the editor;
g. avoid personal, discriminatory, hostile, or inappropriate comments.
Reviewers must not use unpublished manuscript content for personal, academic, financial, or professional advantage.
16. Responsibilities of Editors
Editors are responsible for ensuring a fair, transparent, confidential, and ethical editorial process.
Editors must:
a. evaluate manuscripts based on academic merit and relevance to the journal;
b. protect editorial independence;
c. select qualified and independent reviewers;
d. manage conflicts of interest;
e. protect the confidentiality of submissions and peer review;
f. handle ethical concerns fairly and promptly;
g. ensure that editorial decisions are not influenced by irrelevant factors;
h. follow journal policies on corrections, retractions, complaints, and appeals.
Editors must not use unpublished manuscript content for personal, academic, financial, or professional advantage.
17. Confidentiality
All submitted manuscripts, peer review reports, editorial correspondence, reviewer identities, author identities in double-blind review, and unpublished materials must be treated as confidential.
Authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and editorial staff must not disclose confidential information obtained through the submission or review process unless authorized by the journal or required by law.
Breach of confidentiality may be treated as a serious ethical violation.
18.Research Ethics Committee
JGAS may establish a Research Ethics Committee to review and advise on matters related to research integrity, publication ethics, authorship, conflicts of interest, plagiarism, duplicate submission, data or image manipulation, AI misuse, copyright infringement, confidentiality breaches, and other ethical concerns.
The Research Ethics Committee may include the Co-Editors-in-Chief, members of the Editorial Board, editorial staff responsible for ethics administration, and external experts where necessary. Members with a conflict of interest in a specific case shall not participate in the review or decision-making process for that case.
When a suspected ethical violation is reported or identified, the journal may conduct a preliminary assessment, request an explanation or supporting materials from the author(s), consult the Research Ethics Committee, and make a decision based on the available evidence, journal policies, and applicable publication ethics standards. The author(s) shall be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to the allegation before a final decision is made, except where immediate action is necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.
Possible actions may include rejection of the manuscript, request for correction, publication of a correction or expression of concern, retraction, notification to relevant institutions, restriction on future submissions, removal from reviewer or editorial roles, or other measures appropriate to the seriousness of the violation.
Records of ethical concerns, committee reviews, author responses, decisions, and follow-up actions shall be preserved by the editorial office for a reasonable period in accordance with journal policy and applicable data protection requirements.
19. Ethical Concerns and Misconduct Investigation
When JGAS receives or identifies a concern about possible ethical violation, the editorial office may conduct a preliminary assessment.
Depending on the nature of the concern, JGAS may:
a. request clarification from the authors;
b. request original data, source materials, permissions, ethics approval, or other documentation;
c. consult reviewers, editors, editorial board members, ethics experts, or relevant institutions;
d. pause the review or publication process;
e. reject the manuscript;
f. issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction after publication;
g. notify the authors’ institution, funding body, ethics committee, or relevant authority in serious cases.
All investigations shall be conducted fairly, confidentially, and with due consideration of the evidence.
20. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern
JGAS may issue corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern when necessary to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.
A correction may be issued when a published article contains an error that does not invalidate the overall findings, arguments, or scholarly contribution.
A retraction may be issued when a published article contains serious ethical violations, unreliable findings, plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabrication, falsification, copyright infringement, or other serious problems.
An expression of concern may be issued when there is substantial doubt about the integrity of a published article but the investigation is incomplete or inconclusive.
Detailed procedures shall follow the journal’s Corrections, Retractions, and Complaints Policy.
21. Appeals and Complaints
Authors may appeal editorial decisions if they believe that a significant error, misunderstanding, procedural irregularity, or conflict of interest affected the decision.
Complaints about editorial process, peer review, publication ethics, or published content must be submitted in writing to the editorial office with relevant evidence.
JGAS will handle appeals and complaints fairly, confidentially, and in accordance with the journal’s Corrections, Retractions, and Complaints Policy.
22. Sanctions for Ethical Violations
Depending on the seriousness of the ethical violation, JGAS may take one or more of the following actions:
a. request correction or clarification;
b. require revision or removal of problematic content;
c. reject the manuscript;
d. withdraw the manuscript from consideration;
e. publish a correction, expression of concern, or retraction;
f. notify the authors’ institution, funding body, ethics committee, or relevant authority;
g. restrict future submissions for a specified period;
h. remove reviewers or editorial members from journal roles in cases of serious breach of ethics.
The response will be proportionate to the nature, seriousness, and evidence of the violation.
23. Policy Review
This Publication Ethics policy may be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect changes in international publication standards, research ethics, indexing requirements, legal obligations, and journal operations.
The most recent version of this policy shall be made available on the JGAS website.
Last updated: December 1, 2025