Research Ethics and Data Availability Policy

Ethical Responsibilities in Community Engagement

JMS publishes activities conducted in partnership with real people, schools, fishing groups, seafarers, coastal residents, and organizations. Authors must conduct and report such activities in ways that respect participant autonomy, safety, dignity, privacy, and community expectations.

Ethical Review and Permissions

When applicable regulations, study designs, institutions, or community settings require approval from an ethics committee or other authorized body, authors must obtain that approval before the relevant activity and report the committee, decision, and approval number or date as appropriate. If formal review was not required, the article should explain the applicable basis for exemption or non-requirement rather than assert that approval exists without documentary support.

Informed Consent and Identifiable Material

Participation in a training course does not automatically authorize the publication of identifiable images, interviews, medical information, or personal quotations. Secure the required informed consent and publication permissions for identifiable content, and take special care where children, vulnerable individuals, or safety-sensitive maritime operations are involved. Publication permissions are distinct from permission to participate in the service activity itself.

Reporting Community Impact

Describe the actual beneficiaries, participant selection, procedures, instruments, and evaluation limitations. Clearly distinguish attendance from measured learning, satisfaction from effectiveness, and design proposals from operating systems. Where outcomes have not been evaluated, state that limitation explicitly.

Data Availability

Each full article should explain what supporting records or datasets exist and the conditions for access. Suitable statements include: openly deposited datasets with stable repository links; de-identified information available through a documented request; or access restrictions justified by confidentiality, consent, safety, legal obligations, or intellectual-property rights. Authors must not promise open public release of data that participants did not authorize or that cannot be safely de-identified.

Retention and Integrity

Authors should retain relevant survey instruments, aggregated results, implementation records, technical logs, permissions, and ethically permissible supporting data according to applicable institutional requirements. JMS may seek access to evidence for legitimate editorial investigation, subject to legal and confidentiality safeguards.

The applicable details must be reflected in the manuscript's ethics statement and data availability statement, not only on this policy page.