PUBLICATION ETHICS

Publication Ethics

EJI | The Education Journal of Indonesia

EJI | The Education Journal of Indonesia is committed to upholding the principles of academic integrity, transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct throughout the scholarly publishing process. The journal follows the guidelines and principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), particularly those concerning publication ethics, research integrity, authorship, peer review, competing interests, and the correction of the scholarly record.

This policy establishes the ethical responsibilities of editors, bestari partners (peer reviewers), authors, the publisher, and other parties involved in the publication process. All parties are expected to maintain professional standards, respect confidentiality, and cooperate in addressing concerns that may affect the integrity of submitted or published research.

The publisher is responsible for providing the administrative and technical support necessary for the regular and timely publication of the journal. The publisher must respect editorial independence and must not improperly interfere with editorial decisions or compromise the integrity of published content.

1. Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

1. Editors are responsible for overseeing the editorial process and ensuring that manuscripts published in EJI meet the journal's standards of academic quality, research integrity, and publication ethics.

2. Editors must ensure that authors comply with the journal's submission requirements, manuscript preparation guidelines, and publication policies.

3. Editors may communicate with the Journal Manager, other editors, bestari partners, and relevant experts when making editorial decisions.

4. Editors must evaluate manuscripts objectively and fairly, without discrimination based on nationality, ethnicity, race, political affiliation, religion, gender, age, seniority, or institutional affiliation.

5. Editors must decline editorial assignments when a competing interest could compromise, or reasonably be perceived to compromise, their impartiality.

6. Editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and ensure that author-identifying information is withheld from bestari partners when double-anonymous peer review is applied.

7. Editorial decisions must be communicated to authors in a timely manner and, where applicable, accompanied by relevant reviewer comments, excluding confidential, personal, defamatory, or otherwise inappropriate remarks.

8. Editors should consider reasonable requests from authors to exclude particular reviewers, provided that the requests are supported by valid reasons and do not undermine the integrity of the peer-review process.

9. When editors identify or suspect plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, authorship disputes, duplicate publication, or other ethical violations, they must follow appropriate COPE guidance and take reasonable steps to investigate the concerns.

10. Editors and editorial staff must protect the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts, peer-review reports, editorial correspondence, and other non-public information.

11. Editors must not use unpublished information obtained through manuscript handling for personal, professional, or financial advantage.

12. Editors must ensure that corrections, Expressions of Concern, retractions, and other necessary publication notices are handled transparently to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

13. Editors must maintain editorial independence and must not allow commercial, institutional, personal, or other external pressures to improperly influence publication decisions.

2. Ethical Responsibilities of Bestari Partners (Peer Reviewers)

Bestari partners play an essential role in maintaining the quality, credibility, and integrity of articles published in EJI. They are expected to provide independent, constructive, and evidence-based evaluations of submitted manuscripts.

1. Bestari partners must evaluate manuscripts objectively and provide constructive comments that help editors make informed decisions and assist authors in improving their work.

2. Bestari partners must complete reviews within the agreed timeframe and promptly inform the editor if they are unable to meet the deadline or lack the expertise required to assess the manuscript.

3. Bestari partners must treat manuscripts and all related communications as confidential and must not share or distribute unpublished material without editorial authorization.

4. Bestari partners must decline review assignments when they have a competing interest or a personal, professional, financial, collaborative, or competitive relationship that could compromise their impartiality.

5. Bestari partners must inform the editor of substantial similarities, overlapping content, possible plagiarism, duplicate publication, or other ethical concerns identified during the review process.

6. Bestari partners must support their evaluations with clear reasoning and relevant evidence and must not make personal, discriminatory, defamatory, or unsupported comments about authors.

7. Information, data, methods, and ideas obtained through peer review must remain confidential and must not be used for personal, professional, or financial gain.

8. Bestari partners must not contact authors directly about a manuscript under review unless explicitly authorized by the editor.

9. Bestari partners must disclose competing interests that could affect their assessments and must not allow such interests to influence their recommendations.

10. Bestari partners should alert the editor if they identify potential research misconduct, questionable data, unethical research practices, or other concerns affecting the reliability or integrity of a manuscript.

3. Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for the originality, accuracy, integrity, and ethical compliance of their submitted manuscripts.

1. Authors must ensure that their manuscripts are original and have not been published previously in substantially the same form. Any prior dissemination or overlapping publication must be disclosed to the editor.

2. Authors must ensure that they have the necessary rights and permissions to submit and publish their work and that no conflicting copyright or publication agreement prevents publication in EJI.

3. Authors must accurately report their research methods, data, analyses, results, and conclusions and must not fabricate, falsify, manipulate, or selectively misrepresent research findings.

4. Authors must acknowledge all sources appropriately, follow the journal's citation and reference requirements, and avoid plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and redundant publication.

5. Authors must comply with the manuscript preparation requirements, submission procedures, and applicable ethical standards established by EJI.

6. Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to multiple journals. Any related manuscripts, preprints, or overlapping research outputs must be disclosed when relevant.

7. Authors must provide accurate information about research funding, ethical approval, informed consent, data availability, and other applicable research requirements.

8. Authors must disclose relevant financial and non-financial competing interests that could reasonably be perceived to influence their research or its interpretation.

9. Authors must cooperate with reasonable editorial requests for original data, supporting documentation, research protocols, or other information necessary to assess the validity and integrity of their work.

10. If authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in a submitted manuscript, they must promptly notify the editor or Journal Manager and cooperate in correcting or withdrawing the manuscript, as appropriate.

11. If authors discover a significant error in a published article, they must promptly notify the editorial office and cooperate in issuing a correction, Expression of Concern, retraction, or other appropriate notice when necessary.

12. Authors must not withdraw a manuscript solely to avoid legitimate editorial scrutiny or an ongoing ethical investigation. Withdrawal requests during peer review must be submitted in writing with an explanation and are subject to editorial confirmation. The journal may continue investigating suspected misconduct when necessary to protect research integrity.

13. All authors must approve the final version of the manuscript and agree to its submission before publication.

14. Authors must ensure that all listed authors meet the journal's authorship criteria and that all individuals who qualify for authorship are appropriately credited.

4. Authorship Criteria and Contributions

EJI recognizes authorship as an acknowledgment of substantial intellectual contributions to scholarly work. Authorship must accurately reflect the contributions made and the responsibilities accepted by each author.

4.1. Authorship Eligibility

An individual may qualify for authorship when they have made substantial intellectual contributions to the conception or design of the study, the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of research data, or other essential intellectual components of the work, and have participated in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content.

All authors must approve the final version of the manuscript, agree to its submission for publication, and accept accountability for their contributions. Authors must also cooperate in addressing questions concerning the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work.

4.2. Unacceptable Authorship Practices

EJI does not permit guest authorship, gift authorship, ghost authorship, misrepresentation of contributions, or unauthorized changes to the author list.

Technical assistance, administrative support, funding acquisition, language editing, or general supervision alone does not automatically qualify an individual for authorship. Such contributions should be acknowledged appropriately when they do not meet the authorship criteria.

4.3. Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The corresponding author is responsible for communicating with the editorial office, ensuring that all co-authors have approved the manuscript, confirming the accuracy of authorship information, and coordinating responses to editorial queries.

The corresponding author must ensure that all authors have disclosed relevant competing interests and that required declarations are complete and accurate.

4.4. Changes to Authorship

Requests to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission must include a written explanation and agreement from all affected authors. The editorial process may be suspended while the request is assessed.

If an authorship dispute cannot be resolved by the authors, EJI may refer the matter to the relevant institution or research organization. The journal will not independently adjudicate disputes that require institutional investigation.

After publication, approved authorship changes will be communicated transparently through a correction or another appropriate publication notice.

4.5. Use of Artificial Intelligence

AI tools, including generative AI systems, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors because they cannot assume responsibility or accountability for scholarly work.

Authors who use AI tools in manuscript preparation, research analysis, image generation, or other substantive research activities must disclose their use where applicable, identifying the tool and explaining its role. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, validity, and integrity of all submitted content, including AI-assisted material.

5. Allegations of Research Misconduct

EJI takes allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously and is committed to handling them fairly, confidentially, consistently, and in accordance with relevant COPE guidance.

5.1. Forms of Research Misconduct

Research and publication misconduct may include, but is not limited to:

1. Fabrication: inventing research data, results, participants, or procedures and presenting them as genuine.

2. Falsification: manipulating research materials, methods, data, images, or results in a manner that misrepresents the research.

3. Plagiarism: using another person's ideas, words, data, or intellectual work without appropriate acknowledgment.

4. Self-plagiarism and redundant publication: reusing previously published material or publishing substantially overlapping work without appropriate disclosure and acknowledgment.

5. Duplicate or simultaneous submission: submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals in violation of publication policies.

6. Authorship misconduct: engaging in ghost, guest, or gift authorship or making unauthorized changes to the author list.

7. Citation manipulation: engaging in inappropriate citation practices intended to inflate citation counts or improperly influence citation metrics.

8. Image or data manipulation: altering or selectively presenting research evidence in ways that compromise the reliability of the findings.

9. Peer-review manipulation: attempting to compromise the independence or integrity of the peer-review process.

10. Undisclosed competing interests: failing to disclose relevant interests that may influence the research or its interpretation.

11. Other serious ethical violations: including unethical research practices, misappropriation of research, or misuse of confidential information obtained during peer review.

Honest errors, methodological disagreements, and differences in scholarly interpretation do not automatically constitute misconduct. Each allegation will be assessed based on the available evidence and the circumstances of the case.

5.2. Reporting Allegations

Authors, reviewers, readers, editors, institutions, and other concerned parties may report suspected misconduct to the Editor-in-Chief or the EJI editorial office through the official contact details provided on the journal website.

Reports should identify the manuscript or article concerned, describe the suspected misconduct, and provide supporting evidence where available. Anonymous reports may be considered when sufficient information is provided to permit an initial assessment.

5.3. Assessment and Investigation

Upon receiving an allegation, EJI will conduct an initial assessment to determine whether the concern falls within the journal's responsibilities and whether sufficient information is available to proceed.

The journal may review relevant documents, manuscript versions, research data, peer-review records, and other supporting evidence. Where appropriate, the authors or other relevant parties will be invited to respond and provide clarification.

If an allegation is serious, cannot be resolved through editorial assessment, or requires formal investigation, EJI may refer the matter to the relevant research institution, employer, or competent authority. The journal recognizes that formal investigations into research misconduct generally fall within the responsibilities of the relevant institutions.

EJI will document relevant communications and decisions and maintain confidentiality to the extent possible while ensuring a fair process.

5.4. Possible Outcomes

Depending on the evidence and the stage of publication, EJI may:

1. Dismiss an allegation that is unsupported or not substantiated;

2. Request clarification, additional data, or corrections;

3. Reject a manuscript when serious ethical violations are established;

4. Suspend editorial processing while an investigation is ongoing;

5. Publish a correction when the published record requires amendment;

6. Publish an Expression of Concern when substantial concerns remain unresolved and readers need to be alerted;

7. Retract a published article when its findings are unreliable or the publication record is seriously compromised; or

8. Notify relevant institutions, publishers, or other affected journals when appropriate.

Editorial action will be proportionate to the nature and severity of the issue and its effect on the integrity of the scholarly record. Allegations will not be treated as established facts before an appropriate assessment has been completed.

5.5. Confidentiality and Fair Treatment

EJI will handle allegations confidentially to the extent possible and consistent with a fair investigation, applicable legal obligations, and the need to protect the scholarly record.

The journal does not tolerate knowingly false or malicious allegations. However, good-faith reports will not be dismissed solely because they are ultimately unsubstantiated.

6. Conflict of Interest

EJI is committed to ensuring that editorial decisions, peer review, and published research are not improperly influenced by financial, personal, professional, institutional, or other competing interests.

A conflict of interest exists when an individual's relationships or interests could reasonably be perceived to influence, or potentially compromise, their judgment concerning the conduct, evaluation, reporting, or publication of research.

6.1. Types of Competing Interests

Competing interests may include financial relationships, employment, consultancy, research funding, honoraria, stock ownership, patents, personal relationships, recent collaborations, institutional affiliations, professional rivalries, or strong intellectual commitments that could affect impartial judgment.

The existence of a competing interest does not automatically constitute misconduct. However, relevant interests must be disclosed and appropriately managed.

6.2. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors must disclose financial and non-financial interests that could reasonably be perceived to influence their research or its interpretation.

Authors must also disclose funding sources and, where applicable, the role of funders in research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and the decision to publish.

If no relevant competing interests exist, authors should include the statement:

"The authors declare that they have no competing interests."

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that declarations are complete and accurate and reflect the circumstances of all co-authors.

6.3. Responsibilities of Editors and Bestari Partners

Editors and bestari partners must disclose relevant competing interests and decline assignments when their impartiality may be compromised.

An editor with a competing interest must not participate in handling or deciding the affected manuscript. The manuscript must be assigned to an independent editor.

Bestari partners must not use unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal, professional, or financial advantage.

6.4. Management of Competing Interests

EJI may request additional disclosures, assign independent editors or reviewers, introduce additional editorial oversight, or require publication of a competing-interest statement.

If an undisclosed competing interest is identified after publication and materially affects the interpretation or reliability of an article, EJI will assess whether a correction, Expression of Concern, or retraction is warranted.

7. Post-Publication Discussion Policy

EJI encourages constructive, evidence-based scholarly discussion of articles after publication. Post-publication discussions enable readers and researchers to clarify findings, identify limitations, challenge interpretations, and contribute to the continuing improvement of the scholarly record.

EJI handles post-publication discussions in accordance with relevant COPE principles, including fairness, transparency, editorial independence, and the correction of the scholarly record when necessary.

7.1. Scope of Post-Publication Discussion

Post-publication discussions may address the validity or interpretation of published findings, research methods, data, analyses, reproducibility, study limitations, alternative interpretations, errors, omissions, citation accuracy, research ethics, or other matters of scholarly relevance.

Submissions may take the form of a letter to the editor, scholarly commentary, formal post-publication critique, or another format accepted by the editorial team.

7.2. Submission Requirements

Individuals who wish to comment on a published EJI article should identify the article concerned, preferably by title, author, publication year, and DOI or article URL.

Submissions must present a clear scholarly argument supported by appropriate evidence and references. They must maintain a professional and respectful tone, disclose relevant competing interests, and avoid unsupported accusations, defamatory statements, or personal attacks.

7.3. Editorial Assessment

All post-publication discussion submissions are subject to editorial assessment before publication. EJI will evaluate their relevance, scholarly merit, factual basis, ethical compliance, and suitability for the journal.

Where necessary, the editor may seek independent peer review or expert advice. The journal may reject submissions that lack sufficient evidence, duplicate existing discussions without justification, contain unsupported allegations, or fail to meet scholarly and ethical standards.

7.4. Right of Reply

When a post-publication discussion raises substantive concerns about a published article, EJI may invite the original author or authors to respond.

The original authors will be given a reasonable opportunity to address the issues raised. The discussion and response may be published together or separately, depending on the editorial decision and the circumstances.

The publication of a critique does not automatically establish that the original article is invalid, and an author's response does not automatically resolve the concerns raised. Editorial decisions will be based on evidence and appropriate ethical procedures.

7.5. Handling Substantive Concerns

If a post-publication discussion identifies a potential error, ethical violation, or concern affecting the reliability of a published article, EJI will assess the matter under its research misconduct and publication ethics procedures.

Depending on the findings, the journal may request clarification or additional documentation, seek independent expert advice, request relevant data where appropriate, or refer the matter to the relevant research institution.

Where necessary, EJI may publish a correction, Expression of Concern, or retraction. Such notices will be clearly identified, linked to the affected article, and made accessible to readers, with an explanation of the action to the extent appropriate.

7.6. Access to Post-Publication Discussion

Readers, researchers, and other interested parties may submit comments, questions, or scholarly discussions concerning articles published in EJI through the journal's official editorial contact channel listed on its website.

Submissions should identify the article concerned and provide a clear explanation of the issues raised, supported by relevant evidence or references where applicable. All submissions will be assessed by the editorial team for scholarly relevance, accuracy, and compliance with the journal's publication ethics policy.

Where appropriate, EJI may invite the original authors to respond and may publish the discussion and response to facilitate constructive scholarly exchange.

7.7. Editorial Independence and Transparency

EJI will not suppress legitimate scholarly criticism merely because it challenges the findings, interpretations, or conclusions of an article published in the journal.

Post-publication discussions must comply with scholarly integrity, professional conduct, and applicable legal requirements. The journal reserves the right to reject submissions that violate these standards while maintaining transparency regarding substantive actions affecting the scholarly record.

Where feasible, accepted discussions, author responses, and related editorial notices will be linked to the original article through the journal's publication platform.

8. Ownership and Management Information

EJI is committed to transparency and accountability regarding its ownership, institutional affiliation, publishing responsibilities, and editorial management. Clear ownership and management information enables authors, readers, reviewers, and other stakeholders to understand the journal's governance and the responsibilities of the organizations and individuals involved in its publication.

8.1. Journal Ownership and Publisher

The ownership and publishing institution of EJI | The Education Journal of Indonesia must be clearly identified on the journal's official website, including the institutional or legal name of the owner and the organization responsible for publishing the journal.

Any institutional affiliation, sponsoring organization, or supporting body must be disclosed accurately where applicable. Relevant links to official websites should be provided where available.

The journal must not use institutional names or affiliations in a way that misleads authors, readers, or editors about its ownership or governance.

8.2. Editorial and Management Structure

EJI is managed by an editorial team responsible for coordinating manuscript submission, peer review, editorial decisions, publication, and compliance with publication ethics.

The journal's management structure may include the Editor-in-Chief, managing editors, associate editors, editorial board members, bestari partners, and administrative personnel, according to its established organizational arrangements.

The names, institutional affiliations, and relevant roles of editorial leaders and editorial board members must be presented accurately on the journal's official website and kept up to date.

8.3. Editorial Independence

EJI maintains editorial independence in evaluating and selecting manuscripts. Editorial decisions must be based on scholarly quality, originality, relevance, methodological rigor, research integrity, and compliance with the journal's policies.

The journal's owner, publisher, sponsors, or affiliated institutions must not improperly influence editorial decisions or interfere with the impartial assessment of manuscripts.

Editors must disclose and appropriately manage competing interests and ensure that commercial, institutional, or personal considerations do not override scholarly merit or publication ethics.

8.4. Responsibilities of the Publisher and Journal Management

The publisher and journal management are responsible for supporting the administrative, technical, and operational requirements necessary for the journal's effective functioning.

These responsibilities include maintaining appropriate publishing infrastructure, supporting the implementation of publication policies, providing accurate journal information, and facilitating the dissemination and preservation of scholarly content.

The publisher and journal management must support ethical editorial practices and protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

8.5. Transparency and Changes in Management

EJI will provide accurate and accessible information about its ownership, publishing institution, editorial leadership, and management arrangements.

Significant changes to ownership, institutional affiliation, publishing responsibilities, or editorial management will be reflected on the journal's official website as appropriate.

The journal will periodically review its ownership and management information to ensure that it remains accurate, transparent, and consistent with recognized standards of scholarly publishing.

9. Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

EJI is committed to maintaining an accurate and reliable scholarly record. When significant errors or ethical concerns are identified in a published article, the journal will assess the appropriate corrective action in accordance with relevant COPE guidance.

A correction may be issued when an error requires amendment but does not invalidate the overall findings or conclusions.

An Expression of Concern may be issued when serious questions arise regarding an article and the available evidence is insufficient to reach a definitive conclusion, or when an investigation remains unresolved and readers need to be alerted.

A retraction may be issued when an article's findings are unreliable because of serious error or misconduct, including fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or other circumstances that substantially compromise the scholarly record.

Publication notices will be clearly identified, linked to the affected article, and made accessible to readers. The journal will explain the reason for the action to the extent appropriate and consistent with confidentiality requirements.

10. Policy Implementation and Review

EJI expects all authors, editors, bestari partners, editorial board members, and other participants in the publication process to comply with this policy.

The journal may take appropriate action when violations are identified, including rejection of submissions, suspension of editorial processing, referral to relevant institutions, publication of corrections, issuance of Expressions of Concern, or retraction of articles, as applicable.

EJI will periodically review this policy to maintain alignment with developments in publication ethics and relevant COPE guidance.

By submitting a manuscript to EJI, authors acknowledge their responsibility to comply with the journal's publication ethics requirements and to cooperate with reasonable editorial inquiries concerning authorship, research integrity, competing interests, and the reliability of published work.