The Society for Music Theory upholds and promotes the following basic principles of ethical conduct in our profession:
- freedom of inquiry and the widest possible access to information of use to scholars;
- honesty and integrity in scholarly investigation and in the evaluation and transmission of the results of scholarship;
- respect for diverse points of view and the potential worth of scholarship on any aspect of music theory or any related subject;
- recognition of the intellectual property rights of other scholars, institutions, publishers, composers, performers, and informants, and acknowledgment of the principle of fair use;
- fairness and honesty in evaluations of colleagues and students;
- avoidance of any appearance of a conflict of interest in processes of evaluating the work of colleagues and students; and
- commitment to extend to colleagues and students equal opportunities for full participation in the professional community.
Approved by the SMT Executive Board November 6, 2014
The wording of these guidelines has been adapted (with permission) from the Guidelines for Ethical Conduct of the American Musicological Society.