Allegations of Research Misconduct Policy

Jurnal Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat Unisa Kuningan

1. Policy Statement

Jurnal Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat Unisa Kuningan, published by Universitas Islam Al-Ihya Kuningan, Indonesia, is committed to maintaining academic integrity, transparency, accountability, and ethical standards in scholarly publishing.

The journal takes allegations of research misconduct and publication ethics violations seriously. All allegations will be assessed fairly, confidentially, and objectively, with due consideration for the rights of authors, reviewers, editors, research participants, and other parties involved.

This policy applies to manuscripts submitted to the journal, articles under review, accepted manuscripts, and articles that have already been published.

2. Types of Research Misconduct

Research misconduct and publication ethics violations may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Fabrication: Inventing data, research findings, participant responses, or other information and presenting them as genuine.
Falsification: Manipulating research materials, procedures, data, images, or results in a way that misrepresents the research or community service activities.
Plagiarism: Using another person's ideas, words, data, images, or other intellectual contributions without appropriate acknowledgment.
Duplicate or Redundant Publication: Submitting or publishing substantially overlapping work without appropriate disclosure or justification.
Authorship Misconduct: Falsely assigning authorship, omitting eligible contributors, or listing individuals who do not meet the journal's authorship criteria.
Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest: Failing to disclose financial, professional, institutional, or personal relationships that may improperly influence the work.
Ethical Violations Involving Participants: Failing to respect the rights, dignity, safety, privacy, or confidentiality of community members and other participants involved in research or community service activities.
Misrepresentation of Community Service Outcomes: Reporting activities, participation, outputs, or impacts inaccurately or making unsupported claims about the outcomes of community engagement programs.
Citation Manipulation: Intentionally including inappropriate citations or manipulating references to distort the scholarly record.
Other Publication Ethics Violations: Any other conduct that seriously undermines the accuracy, reliability, or integrity of scholarly publications.

Honest errors, differences in interpretation, or reasonable academic disagreements do not automatically constitute research misconduct. Each allegation must be assessed in light of the available evidence and relevant circumstances.

3. Reporting Allegations

Any individual who has credible concerns about possible research misconduct involving a manuscript submitted to or an article published in the journal may report the matter to the editorial office.

Reports should, where possible, include:

The title of the manuscript or published article.
The names of the authors concerned.
A clear description of the suspected misconduct.
Supporting evidence, such as relevant documents, publication links, data comparisons, or other verifiable information.
The name and contact details of the person making the report, if they wish to provide them.

Reports should be made in good faith and provide sufficient information to enable an appropriate preliminary assessment. The journal will consider anonymous reports when they contain sufficiently specific and verifiable information.

Allegations should be submitted through the journal's official contact channels.

4. Preliminary Assessment

Upon receiving an allegation, the editor-in-chief or an authorized editorial representative will conduct a preliminary assessment to determine whether the concern falls within the scope of this policy and whether sufficient information is available to justify further examination.

The preliminary assessment may include reviewing the manuscript, published article, supporting evidence, editorial records, similarity reports, relevant data, and applicable ethical declarations.

The journal may request additional information or clarification from the reporting party or the authors concerned, where appropriate.

Allegations that are unsupported, outside the journal's responsibility, or clearly unrelated to research or publication ethics may be closed with an appropriate record of the decision.

5. Investigation Procedure

When an allegation warrants further examination, the journal will take appropriate steps to assess the matter fairly and objectively.

The procedure may include:

Reviewing the available evidence and relevant publication records.
Requesting a written explanation from the author or authors concerned.
Consulting independent experts or editorial board members who have no relevant conflict of interest.
Requesting additional documentation, data, ethical approval information, or other supporting materials when relevant.
Referring the matter to the author's affiliated institution or another competent authority when the allegation requires a formal institutional investigation.
Evaluating the evidence and determining appropriate editorial action based on the findings.

The journal will avoid making premature conclusions and will provide the parties concerned with a reasonable opportunity to respond to allegations relevant to them.

6. Confidentiality and Fair Treatment

All allegations will be handled with appropriate confidentiality throughout the assessment and investigation process.

Information will be shared only with individuals who need it to assess or resolve the matter, subject to applicable legal requirements and legitimate procedural needs.

The journal will treat all parties fairly and will not assume that an allegation is proven merely because it has been submitted. The identity of the reporting party will be protected where reasonably possible, subject to the requirements of a fair investigation.

Retaliation against individuals who raise concerns in good faith will not be tolerated.

7. Possible Editorial Actions

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the misconduct and the evidence available, the journal may take one or more of the following actions:

Request clarification, additional evidence, or corrective revisions from the authors.
Reject a manuscript that fails to meet the journal's ethical or academic standards.
Suspend editorial processing while a serious allegation is being assessed.
Publish a correction or clarification when the published record requires amendment.
Publish an expression of concern when significant questions remain unresolved and readers need to be informed.
Retract a published article when the evidence and applicable publication ethics standards justify retraction.
Notify the relevant author's institution or other competent authority when appropriate.
Restrict or decline future submissions in cases of serious or repeated misconduct, where justified by the journal's policies and applicable procedures.

Editorial actions will be proportionate to the findings and consistent with the journal's Correction and Retraction Policy and Publication Ethics Policy.

8. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts accurately represent their work and comply with applicable research and publication ethics standards.

When an allegation concerns their work, authors are expected to cooperate with the journal's assessment, provide relevant explanations or supporting documentation, and respond to editorial inquiries in a timely and professional manner.

Authors must promptly inform the editorial office if they discover significant errors or ethical problems in their submitted or published work.

9. Responsibilities of Editors and Reviewers

Editors are responsible for assessing allegations impartially and taking appropriate action when credible concerns arise. Editors must disclose and manage conflicts of interest and should not investigate allegations in which they have a personal or professional interest.

Reviewers who identify possible research misconduct should notify the editorial office and provide relevant evidence or explanations. Reviewers must maintain confidentiality and should not independently contact other parties or publicly disclose unverified allegations through inappropriate channels.

10. Institutional Cooperation

Where an allegation requires investigation beyond the journal's editorial authority, the journal may refer the matter to the author's affiliated institution, research organization, funding body, or another competent authority, as appropriate.

The journal's role is to protect the integrity of the publication record and take appropriate editorial action. It does not replace the formal investigative responsibilities of institutions or other authorized bodies.

11. Records and Documentation

The journal will maintain appropriate records of allegations, relevant correspondence, supporting evidence, assessment procedures, and editorial decisions, subject to applicable privacy, confidentiality, and data protection requirements.

These records will support consistent decision-making and provide documentation when further review or clarification is necessary.

12. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed periodically to ensure consistency with recognized publication ethics principles, applicable regulations, and the journal's editorial practices.

All parties involved in the publication process are expected to uphold the principles of honesty, transparency, accountability, fairness, and respect for the integrity of scholarly communication.

Journal: Jurnal Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat Unisa Kuningan

Publisher: Universitas Islam Al-Ihya Kuningan, Indonesia

Related Policies: Publication Ethics, Plagiarism Policy, Authorship Criteria, Peer Review Process, and Correction and Retraction Policy.