Misconduct, Complaints and Appeals

MISCONDUCT, COMPLAINTS & APPEALS

Jurnal Indonesia Mengabdi takes all allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously to uphold scientific integrity and ethical publishing standards. The journal handles all complaints and allegations confidentially, fairly, and promptly, adhering to the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1. Scope of Misconduct Misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism: Verbatim copying or paraphrasing of work without proper acknowledgment, or recycling substantial parts of one's own previously published work.

  • Data Fabrication and Falsification: Manipulating, inventing, or misrepresenting data, images, or research results.

  • Redundant or Duplicate Submission: Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously or republishing previously published work without disclosure.

  • Authorship Misconduct: Inclusion of ghost, gift, or guest authors, or unapproved changes to the author list after submission.

  • Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest: Failure to declare financial, personal, or professional competing interests that could influence the study.

  • Ethical Violations: Conducting research on human participants or community groups without appropriate ethical clearance, consent, or respect for local protocols.

  • Inappropriate Use of Generative AI: Undisclosed or uncredited use of artificial intelligence tools for content generation or analysis beyond basic language editing.

2. Reporting Allegations Any party (reader, reviewer, or editor) may report suspected misconduct concerning a submitted or published manuscript by contacting the Editorial Office via email. Reports must include:

  • Title and manuscript ID/DOI of the paper.

  • Detailed explanation of the concern supported by evidence (e.g., side-by-side text comparisons, original data files, or relevant links).

Anonymous reports will be considered if accompanied by sufficient substantiating evidence.

3. Investigation Procedure

  • Preliminary Assessment: The Editor-in-Chief and designated editorial board members conduct an initial review of the evidence within 7–10 working days.

  • Contacting the Corresponding Author: If the report holds merit, the corresponding author is contacted confidentially and requested to provide an explanation and raw data/supporting documentation within 30 days.

  • Institutional Escalation: If the authors' response is unsatisfactory, missing, or indicates severe misconduct, the journal may contact the authors' home institutions or funding bodies for further investigation.

4. Sanctions and Outcomes Depending on the severity of the misconduct, the journal may take the following actions:

  • Manuscript Under Review: Immediate rejection of the manuscript and a temporary or permanent ban on future submissions by the authors.

  • Published Article: Issuance of an official Erratum, Expression of Concern, or Article Retraction linked to the publication.

  • Formal Notification: Informing the authors' institutions, sponsoring organizations, or relevant indexing databases.