Allegation Of Research Misconduct

1. Introduction

The Journal of Social and Community Technology Empowerment Service (JPSTM) upholds the highest standards of integrity, objectivity, and ethics in scholarly publication. We are committed to preventing all forms of publication ethics violations, including research misconduct. This policy refers to international guidelines such as those set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and standards established by reputable national scientific journals (SINTA).

2. Definition of Research Misconduct

JPSTM defines research and publication misconduct as including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Fabrication: Making up data, research results, or fictitious records that never existed or were never obtained through legitimate field processes (particularly in the context of community service activities).
  • Falsification: Manipulating research materials, equipment, processes, or changing/omitting data and results such that the research record is not accurately represented.
  • Plagiarism: Taking the ideas, processes, results, or words of others without proper attribution, including self-plagiarism and duplicate publication.
  • Duplicate Publication: Submitting the same or substantially similar manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously, or publishing work that has already been printed elsewhere.
  • Authorship Issues: The inclusion of fictitious authors (guest/gift authorship) or the exclusion of deserving contributors (ghost authorship).
  • Conflict of Interest: Failure to declare financial, institutional, or personal conflicts of interest that could influence the objectivity of the research or the peer-review process.

3. Reporting Procedure

If readers, reviewers, editors, or third parties suspect or identify evidence of research misconduct in an article published or under review at JPSTM, reports can be submitted through the following procedure:

  1. Submission of Reports: Reports must be sent in writing via the official JPSTM editorial email.
  2. Supporting Evidence: Reporters must include concrete, objective, and verifiable supporting evidence (e.g., comparative document links, raw data, or screenshots). Anonymous reports lacking strong evidence will generally not be processed.
  3. Confidentiality: The JPSTM Editorial Board guarantees the confidentiality of the reporter's identity and all parties involved throughout the investigation process.

4. Investigation and Handling Workflow

Upon receiving a report of alleged misconduct, the Editorial Board will process it through the following stages:

  1. Initial Screening: The Editor-in-Chief and the editorial team will review the report and initial evidence to determine whether the allegation is well-founded and relevant.
  2. Notification to the Accused Author: The author in question will be contacted to provide clarification, rebuttal, or defense against the allegations within a specified timeframe (typically 14 working days).
  3. Evaluation by the Ethics Board / Editors: If necessary, the editorial board may form an independent investigation committee or involve peer reviewers to assess the validity of the data and manuscript.
  4. Final Decision: Based on the investigation results and author clarification, the Editorial Board will make a final decision.

5. Sanctions and Corrective Actions

If research misconduct or a publication ethics violation is proven, JPSTM will take decisive action, including:

  • Rejection of the Manuscript: If the violation is discovered during the review stage, the manuscript will be immediately rejected and returned to the author.
  • Correction / Erratum: Publication of an official correction note for published articles if the error is administrative or unintentional.
  • Retraction: The withdrawal of a published article if data fabrication, severe plagiarism, or fatal ethical violations are proven. Retracted articles will be labeled "RETRACTED" on the online platform to maintain the transparency of the scientific record.
  • Author Ban: A ban prohibiting the offending author from publishing articles in JPSTM for a specified period or permanently.
  • Institutional Notification: Formal notification to the head of the institution where the author works regarding the academic ethics violation committed.