Publication Ethics

Journal of Community Service (PKM) – IAIN Ternate

1. Introduction

The Journal of Community Service (PKM) – IAIN Ternate is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. The journal adheres to the principles and best practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and applies ethical standards to all parties involved in the publication process, including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher.

This publication ethics statement is established to ensure that all manuscripts submitted to, reviewed by, and published in the journal are handled fairly, transparently, responsibly, and professionally. The journal does not tolerate plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, manipulation of data, duplicate publication, inappropriate authorship, conflicts of interest that are not disclosed, or any other form of research and publication misconduct.

The journal follows the COPE Core Practices and relevant COPE guidelines in dealing with suspected ethical violations, complaints, appeals, corrections, retractions, and post-publication issues.

2. Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submitted manuscripts meet the highest standards of academic and publication ethics.

Authors must:

Ensure that the submitted manuscript is an original work and has not been published previously in any journal or other publication.
Ensure that the manuscript is not simultaneously submitted to more than one journal.
Provide accurate, honest, and complete information concerning the research or community service activity reported in the manuscript.
Avoid fabrication, falsification, manipulation, or inappropriate presentation of data and research findings.
Properly acknowledge and cite all sources, ideas, statements, data, and works belonging to others.
Avoid plagiarism, including self-plagiarism and substantial reuse of previously published material without appropriate citation and disclosure.
Ensure that all individuals who have made substantial contributions to the work are appropriately recognized as authors or contributors.
Ensure that all listed authors have made significant contributions to the manuscript and have approved the final version.
Obtain approval from all co-authors before submitting the manuscript.
Disclose any financial, personal, institutional, or professional conflicts of interest that could influence the research, community service activity, manuscript preparation, or publication decision.
Ensure that all necessary permissions, informed consent, ethical approvals, or institutional permissions have been obtained when required.
Maintain appropriate records and supporting data related to the research or community service activity and provide them when reasonably requested for verification.
Immediately inform the editor if a significant error or inaccuracy is identified in the published article and cooperate with the journal in correcting or retracting the article when necessary.

Authors remain responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the content of their manuscripts.

3. Authorship and Contributorship

The journal follows the principle that authorship should reflect substantial contributions to the work.

Individuals listed as authors should have made meaningful contributions to the conception, design, implementation, analysis, interpretation, writing, or substantial revision of the manuscript and should have approved the final version of the manuscript.

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged.

The journal does not permit:

Guest authorship, in which individuals are listed as authors despite not making a substantial contribution;
Gift or honorary authorship, in which authorship is granted based on status, position, or personal relationships; or
Ghost authorship, in which individuals who made substantial contributions are omitted from the author list.

Any changes to the authorship of a manuscript after submission must be justified and approved by all authors and may be subject to editorial review in accordance with COPE guidance.

4. Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

Peer reviewers play an important role in maintaining the quality and integrity of scholarly publishing. Reviewers are expected to conduct their reviews objectively, fairly, confidentially, and professionally.

Reviewers should:

Accept a review assignment only when they have appropriate expertise and sufficient time to complete the review.
Immediately inform the editor if they have a conflict of interest that may affect their impartiality.
Maintain strict confidentiality regarding the manuscript and its contents.
Not use unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal advantage, research, or any other purpose.
Evaluate manuscripts objectively and provide constructive, clear, and evidence-based comments.
Avoid personal criticism of the authors.
Identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors when appropriate.
Inform the editor of any suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, data manipulation, or other ethical concerns.
Not share, copy, distribute, or disclose the manuscript to third parties without permission from the editor.
Complete the review within the agreed timeframe or inform the editor if additional time is required.

The journal follows the principles contained in the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.

5. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for ensuring that manuscripts are evaluated fairly, objectively, and according to the journal's academic and ethical standards.

Editors shall:

Evaluate manuscripts based on their academic quality, relevance, originality, and contribution to the field.
Ensure that editorial decisions are not influenced by the author's race, ethnicity, religion, gender, institutional affiliation, nationality, political views, or other personal characteristics.
Maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts.
Select qualified and independent reviewers.
Monitor the peer-review process to ensure fairness, confidentiality, and academic integrity.
Manage potential conflicts of interest among authors, reviewers, and editorial board members.
Investigate allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously and fairly.
Follow appropriate COPE procedures when dealing with suspected ethical violations.
Provide authors with reasonable opportunities to appeal editorial decisions.
Ensure that corrections, retractions, expressions of concern, or other post-publication actions are issued when necessary.
Maintain editorial independence and ensure that commercial, institutional, or political interests do not improperly influence editorial decisions.
Ensure that journal policies and publication procedures are clearly communicated to authors, reviewers, and readers.

The journal recognizes that editorial independence and transparent journal management are important elements of responsible scholarly publishing.

6. Peer Review Policy

The Journal of Community Service (PKM) – IAIN Ternate applies a double-blind peer-review process, in which the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from each other to the extent supported by the journal's publishing system and procedures.

Each manuscript is initially evaluated by the editor to determine its suitability with respect to the journal's aims and scope, basic academic requirements, originality, and ethical standards.

Manuscripts that pass the initial editorial screening are normally reviewed by at least two independent reviewers with relevant expertise.

The final editorial decision may include:

Accept;
Accept with minor revisions;
Revise and resubmit/major revisions; or
Reject.

The editor may request additional reviews when reviewers provide substantially different recommendations or when additional expertise is required.

Peer-review decisions are based on the academic quality, originality, methodological soundness, relevance, clarity, and contribution of the manuscript.

7. Plagiarism and Similarity

The journal has a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct.

All submitted manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism or similarity-detection software before or during the review process.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

Copying another person's words without appropriate citation;
Presenting another person's ideas, data, or findings as one's own;
Excessive or inappropriate reuse of previously published material;
Self-plagiarism without proper acknowledgment;
Unattributed translation of another person's work; and
Reuse of substantial portions of a previously published manuscript without appropriate disclosure.

If substantial plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct are identified, the manuscript may be rejected. Cases discovered after publication may result in correction, retraction, or other appropriate editorial action.

8. Fabrication, Falsification, and Data Manipulation

The journal does not accept manuscripts containing fabricated, falsified, manipulated, or misleading research or community service data.

Fabrication refers to making up data, results, participants, activities, or other research information.

Falsification refers to manipulating research materials, procedures, data, images, or results in a way that misrepresents the actual work.

Authors must report their research or community service activities accurately and transparently.

When serious concerns regarding data integrity arise, the editor may request supporting information or clarification from the authors and may contact the relevant institution when necessary.

9. Duplicate, Redundant, and Simultaneous Publication

Authors must not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time.

The journal does not accept manuscripts that have already been published in substantially similar form elsewhere unless the submission is legitimately justified and transparently disclosed to the editor.

Redundant or duplicate publication may constitute publication misconduct and may result in rejection or post-publication corrective action.

10. Conflicts of Interest

All authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that could influence the publication process.

Conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to:

Financial relationships;
Employment or professional relationships;
Personal relationships;
Academic competition or collaboration;
Institutional interests; and
Other circumstances that may affect objectivity or editorial judgment.

Authors should disclose relevant conflicts of interest during manuscript submission.

Reviewers must inform the editor if they have a conflict of interest with the authors, institutions, or subject matter of the manuscript.

Editors must not participate in editorial decisions when they have a conflict of interest.

The journal will manage conflicts of interest transparently and in accordance with COPE principles.

11. Research and Community Service Ethics

Authors are responsible for ensuring that research and community service activities comply with applicable ethical standards and institutional regulations.

For studies involving human participants, personal data, vulnerable groups, or sensitive information, authors should obtain appropriate ethical approval, institutional permission, and/or informed consent where required.

Authors must ensure that personal information and confidential participant data are appropriately protected.

Where photographs, identifiable personal information, or other materials that could identify individuals are included in a manuscript, appropriate consent or permission must be obtained when required.

12. Data Availability and Research Transparency

Authors are encouraged to maintain appropriate research data, documentation, instruments, and other supporting materials necessary to verify the findings reported in their manuscripts.

Where appropriate and ethically permissible, authors should provide sufficient information about data, methods, procedures, and analytical processes to facilitate transparency and reproducibility.

The journal recognizes that data availability may be subject to ethical, legal, privacy, confidentiality, or institutional restrictions. Authors should clearly explain such restrictions when applicable.

This policy is consistent with COPE's emphasis on data and reproducibility.

13. Use of Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Tools

Authors may use artificial intelligence or AI-assisted tools for limited purposes such as language improvement, grammar checking, translation, or technical assistance, provided that such use does not compromise the integrity of the work.

AI tools must not be listed as authors.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of the manuscript, including any content generated or assisted by AI.

AI tools must not be used to fabricate data, references, citations, research results, images, or other scholarly content.

Where the use of AI substantially contributes to the generation or development of manuscript content, authors should transparently disclose such use in accordance with the journal's instructions and applicable publication-ethics standards.

14. Complaints and Appeals

The journal provides a fair and transparent mechanism for handling complaints and appeals.

Authors may appeal an editorial decision when they believe that the decision resulted from a significant procedural error, misunderstanding, or inappropriate evaluation.

Appeals must provide clear and substantive reasons and should be submitted to the editor through the journal's official communication channel.

Complaints concerning editors, reviewers, authors, publication procedures, or other aspects of journal management will be handled seriously, confidentially, and as objectively as possible.

The journal will follow appropriate COPE procedures when handling complaints and appeals. COPE identifies complaints and appeals as one of its Core Practices for responsible journal publishing.

15. Allegations of Research and Publication Misconduct

The journal takes allegations of misconduct seriously, whether they are raised before or after publication.

Potential misconduct may include:

Plagiarism;
Fabrication;
Falsification;
Data manipulation;
Duplicate or redundant publication;
Inappropriate authorship;
Undisclosed conflicts of interest;
Manipulation of the peer-review process;
Citation manipulation; and
Other forms of unethical research or publication practice.

When an allegation is received, the editor will conduct an initial assessment. Where appropriate, the journal may request an explanation or supporting documentation from the authors and may contact the relevant institution or other appropriate parties.

The journal will follow relevant COPE flowcharts and guidance when investigating suspected misconduct and determining appropriate actions.

16. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

The journal is committed to maintaining an accurate and reliable scholarly record.

When errors are identified after publication, the journal may publish an appropriate correction or other notice.

A correction may be issued when an error affects the accuracy of the article but does not invalidate the main findings.

A retraction may be issued when an article is found to contain serious errors, unreliable findings, plagiarism, fabricated or falsified data, or other substantial forms of misconduct.

An Expression of Concern may be issued when there are serious unresolved concerns about the integrity of a published article but the investigation has not yet reached a final conclusion.

Post-publication actions will be handled transparently and in accordance with COPE principles. COPE specifically requires journals to have mechanisms for correcting, revising, or retracting published articles.

17. Post-Publication Discussion

The journal supports responsible academic discussion after publication.

Readers and researchers may raise substantive concerns about published articles through the journal's official communication channels.

Where appropriate, the journal may publish corrections, responses, editorials, letters, expressions of concern, or retractions to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

The journal follows COPE's principle that journals should provide mechanisms for post-publication discussion and correction of the scholarly record.

18. Intellectual Property and Copyright

Authors are responsible for ensuring that manuscripts do not infringe the intellectual property rights of others.

All sources, materials, figures, tables, photographs, instruments, and other copyrighted materials must be properly acknowledged and used with appropriate permission where required.

The journal will provide transparent information concerning copyright, licensing, publication fees, and other relevant publication conditions.

19. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are based on the academic and ethical merits of manuscripts and are independent of commercial, financial, political, institutional, or personal interests.

The publisher and journal management shall not interfere improperly with editorial decisions.

Editors are responsible for making publication decisions based on scholarly standards, peer-review results, ethical considerations, and the scope of the journal.

20. Ethical Commitment

By submitting a manuscript to the Journal of Community Service (PKM) – IAIN Ternate, authors acknowledge their responsibility to comply with this Publication Ethics Statement.

Editors, reviewers, and authors are expected to uphold the principles of honesty, transparency, fairness, confidentiality, accountability, academic integrity, and respect throughout the publication process.

The journal will continuously review and improve its publication ethics policies in accordance with developments in scholarly publishing and relevant COPE guidance.

Reference:
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). COPE Core Practices.
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Ethics Toolkit for a Successful Editorial Office: A COPE Guide.
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.