Publication Ethics

This is the statement of ethics for journals published by the Lembaga Penelitian dan Pemberdayaan Masyarakat  - LITPAM. This statement clarifies the ethical behaviour of all parties involved in the act of publishing an article in this journal, including the author, the chief editor, the Editorial Board, the peer-reviewer, and the publisher (Lembaga Penelitian dan Pemberdayaan Masyarakat  - LITPAM). The policy is informed by ethical principles aligned with those established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

  • Duties of Editors

The editorial board must exercise impartiality in their handling of submitted manuscripts under consideration for publication. Additionally, they must respect the authors' intellectual independence and provide them with the opportunity to respond if their work receives a negative review.

  1. The editorial board members are obligated to maintain the confidentiality of the submitted manuscripts and their contents until they have been accepted for publication. At that time, the title and authorship of the manuscript may be disclosed.
  2. No member of the editorial board may utilize the data, reasoning, or interpretations found in an unpublished manuscript for their own research, unless they have obtained written consent from the author.

Publication decisions: The process of publishing articles in the journal begins with an initial assessment by the Editorial Board. This board is responsible for determining if the submissions meet the editorial goals and are fit for publication. If a manuscript is deemed suitable, it is then sent to two independent peer reviewers for assessment.

  1. The final decision to publish an article rests with the editor, who must make impartial decisions that are not influenced by commercial interests.
  2. If an editor has a conflict of interest or any other relationship that may pose a problem with a manuscript under consideration, they must recuse themselves from making the final decision. In such cases, the responsibility of the decision will fall to another editor who does not have any conflicting interests.

Peer Review: (a) Each submission is assigned to a member of the Editorial Board or the international scientific committee who arranges for its evaluation by two peer reviewers with expertise in the field. The peer review process is conducted anonymously; (b) Confidentiality is maintained by the Editorial Board, the international scientific committee, and the reviewers throughout the peer review process; (c) The Editorial Board will consider the input of all parties involved in the peer review and will promote the recognition of peer review as an integral part of the scientific process. If a reviewer submits a report that is poor quality, improper, disrespectful or after the agreed deadline, their participation may be declined.

Identifying and Preventing Misconduct: The journal, the Editorial Board, and the international scientific committee do not condone any form of misconduct and will not knowingly allow it to occur.

  1. The members of the Editorial Board will educate authors and reviewers on ethical conduct.
  2. The Editorial Board and reviewers are responsible for identifying any instances of misconduct and dealing with the allegations accordingly.
  3. In the event of misconduct, the editor will work with other co-editors, the Editorial Board, and reviewers in the field to resolve the issue.
  4. All relevant information related to the misconduct will be documented and stored, including the article(s) in question.
  5. The editor will contact the author or publication involved, giving them the opportunity to respond to or comment on the complaint, allegation, or dispute.
  6. In cases of misconduct, the Editorial Board will follow the appropriate COPE recommendations.
  7. Careful consideration will be given to distinguish between instances of honest human error and deliberate cheating.

In cases of misconduct, the Editorial Board may retract the publication, issue an expression of concern, or request correction of a misleading segment.

  • Duties of Reviewers

It is imperative that all reviewers are familiar with and adhere to the Editorial Policy and Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement. The journal requires reviewers to possess scientific expertise or substantial work experience in the relevant field. This expertise should be reflected in recent research or work and should be acknowledged by their peers. Additionally, reviewers must provide accurate personal and professional information that accurately reflects their expertise.

If a reviewer believes that they are not qualified to evaluate a manuscript, lacks objectivity in their evaluation, or has a conflict of interest, they must withdraw from the review process. Reviewed articles are to be treated as confidential by reviewers, members of the Editorial Board, and the international scientific committee.

Reviewers are expected to identify any relevant published work that has not been cited in the manuscript. If necessary, the editor may request a correction. Additionally, reviewers should report any instances of research misconduct to the Editorial Board for appropriate action.

Conflict of Interest: Members of the Editorial Board and reviewers must withdraw from the review process in any case of conflict of interest with the authors or the content of the manuscript. The journal strives to avoid any conflict of interest between authors, reviewers, and members of the Editorial Board and the scientific committee.

Editors and reviewers must also withdraw from decision-making if any of the following conditions apply:

  1. There is a direct reporting relationship between the author and the reviewer.
  2. There has been recent and significant professional collaboration between the reviewer and author.
  3. The editor or reviewer is a collaborator on the project being submitted.
  4. The editor or reviewer has a financial interest in a company or a competing company with a financial interest in the submission.
  5. The editor or reviewer believes that they cannot be objective due to personal or financial reasons.
  • Duties of Authors

Submitted manuscripts must be based on original, previously unpublished research and must include complete data and results, along with an objective discussion of said results. The information provided must allow other specialists to reproduce the research and validate the interpretations presented in the manuscript.

  1. Authors must avoid engaging in any scientific misconduct and must abide by publishing ethics.
  2. Results must be presented honestly, clearly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation.
  3. All authors must confirm the originality of the data and results presented in the manuscript and must not have copied, fabricated, falsified, or manipulated them.
  4. Plagiarism, multiple or redundant publication, and data invention or manipulation are serious ethical violations and are considered scientific fraud.
  5. Appropriate authorship attribution and acknowledgement must be given. Misrepresenting a scientist's relationship with published work is prohibited. All authors must have made a significant contribution to the research.
  6. If authors have a direct or indirect conflict of interest with editors or members of the editorial board or international scientific committee, they must indicate this to the journal.
  7. No part of the article must have been previously published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere.
  8. In the event of a serious mistake in the manuscript, authors must immediately report this to the journal to arrange for correction or retraction of the manuscript.
  9. If the editorial board detects any potential errors, the authors must demonstrate that their manuscript is free from errors.
  10. Authors are expected to participate in the peer review process and abide by publication conventions for all materials submitted.
  11. If the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that has any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must clearly identify these in the manuscript. Additionally, the authors have an ethical obligation to safeguard the privacy, dignity, well-being, and autonomy of human subjects and research participants. Informed consent must be obtained from all human subjects and if confidentiality or anonymity is requested, it must be upheld. Manuscripts involving human subjects, such as surveys, simulations, or interviews, should adhere to the Human Subject Protocol requirements of the author's university or institution.
  12. In research involving children, authors must clearly demonstrate that they have taken specific steps to protect these vulnerable participants. This includes obtaining documented consent from a parent or guardian and, where appropriate, the child's own assent. The research must have been reviewed and approved by an ethical committee, ensuring that all procedures are appropriate and safe for children. Authors should also detail how they protected the privacy and confidentiality of the child participants, including data anonymization.