ALLEGATION OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT

  1. Policy Statement

TEKNISI Journal is strongly committed to maintaining the integrity, transparency, and credibility of scholarly publications in the fields of technology, computer science, and information systems. We do not tolerate any form of publication ethics violations or research misconduct, either in manuscripts under the review process or in already published articles.

This policy refers to international standards and guidelines, such as those established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), to handle any reports or allegations of misconduct fairly, objectively, and confidentially.

 

  1. Scope of Research Misconduct

Research misconduct within the scope of TEKNISI includes, but is not limited to:

  • Plagiarism: The appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, text, figures, or intellectual property without giving appropriate credit or citation (including self-plagiarism or excessive reuse of one's own previous work without proper referencing).
  • Data Fabrication: Making up data, observations, interviews, or survey responses and recording or reporting them as if they were real or actually conducted.
  • Data Falsification: Manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, changing data points, or intentionally altering images/graphs in a way that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.
  • Citation Manipulation: The inclusion of irrelevant or excessive references solely for the purpose of increasing citation metrics of the author(s) or a specific journal.
  • Authorship Misconduct: Including individuals who did not significantly contribute to the work (guest/gift authorship) or intentionally omitting legitimate contributors (ghost authorship).
  • Undisclosed Conflict of Interest: Failing to declare financial, personal, or professional interests that could inappropriately bias or compromise the research findings or evaluation process.

Important Note: Honest errors, differences in scientific interpretation, or legitimate variations in methodology are not classified as research misconduct.

 

  1. Reporting Allegations

Any party (readers, reviewers, authors, or institutions) who discovers or possesses valid evidence of research misconduct regarding a manuscript or article associated with TEKNISI may report it to the Editorial Team. Reports should ideally be submitted in writing via the official journal email at teknisi@gmail.com along with supporting information, such as:

  1. The title of the manuscript or related article.
  2. The name(s) of the author(s) involved.
  3. A clear description of the alleged misconduct.
  4. Valid supporting evidence (such as screenshots, comparative documents, similarity/plagiarism check reports, or relevant data).

TEKNISI guarantees the confidentiality of the reporter's identity and does not tolerate any form of retaliation against individuals who report allegations in good faith.

 

  1. Investigation Procedure

Upon receiving a report, the TEKNISI Editorial Team will follow these investigation procedures:

  1. Preliminary Assessment: The Editorial Board will examine whether the report falls within the journal's scope and whether the provided evidence is sufficient to warrant further action.
  2. Right of Reply: If the report meets the criteria, the Editor will contact the corresponding author to provide clarification, rebuttal, or explanation regarding the allegations within a reasonable timeframe.
  3. Expert & Evidence Review: The Editor may involve independent reviewers, the LPPM STMIK Royal Kisaran team, or utilize verification tools to examine the validity of the data or manuscript.
  4. Institutional Coordination: If the allegation is complex or involves external institutions, the journal may coordinate directly with the author’s home institution for a formal investigation.

 

  1. Editorial Actions and Outcomes

Based on the investigation results and the severity of the misconduct found, TEKNISI may take proportionate disciplinary actions, including:

  • Rejection: If the misconduct is detected prior to publication, the manuscript will be immediately rejected and returned to the author.
  • Correction: Publishing an official correction notice if a minor, unintentional error is found that affects the readers' understanding.
  • Expression of Concern: Issued if there is strong doubt regarding the integrity of an article, but the evidence is not yet entirely conclusive.
  • Retraction: If misconduct is proven (such as severe plagiarism, data fabrication, or falsification), the article will be formally retracted with a clear "Retracted" watermark on the online platform to uphold ethical standards.
  • Additional Sanctions: Restrictions on the offending author(s) from submitting future works to TEKNISI and formal notification to the author's institution or affiliation.