Allegation of research misconduct

Allegation of Research Misconduct

COMSEP: Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat is committed to maintaining publication ethics, academic integrity, and transparency in reporting community service and empowerment activities. The journal takes allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously, whether they arise before or after publication. This policy is guided by the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Types of Research and Publication Misconduct

Allegations of misconduct may include, but are not limited to:

Plagiarism: Using another person's words, ideas, data, photographs, or other materials without appropriate acknowledgment.
Data Fabrication and Falsification: Inventing or manipulating participant data, attendance records, evaluation results, or other information presented in a manuscript.
Misrepresentation of Community Service Activities: Reporting activities that were not conducted, providing inaccurate participant numbers, or making unsupported claims about program outcomes and community benefits.
Duplicate Publication: Submitting or publishing substantially similar manuscripts in multiple journals without appropriate disclosure.
Authorship Issues: Providing inaccurate authorship information or failing to acknowledge significant contributions to the reported activities.
Ethical Violations: Failing to obtain necessary consent or permission, or using participants' personal information, photographs, or other identifiable materials without appropriate authorization.
Other Publication Ethics Concerns: Practices that may compromise the originality, credibility, or reliability of a submitted or published article.

Honest errors, differences in interpretation, and methodological limitations do not automatically constitute misconduct. The editorial team will consider the nature of each concern and its potential effect on the article.

Reporting Allegations

Authors, reviewers, readers, community partners, and other interested parties may report suspected misconduct to the COMSEP editorial team through the journal's official contact channels.

Reports should describe the concern clearly and provide supporting information or evidence where available. The editorial team will consider each report carefully and may request additional information when necessary.

Handling Allegations

Upon receiving a report, the COMSEP editorial team will assess the concern and determine whether further examination is appropriate. Authors concerned will generally be given an opportunity to provide clarification or a response.

Where necessary, the editorial team may consult other editors, independent experts, or relevant institutions to obtain additional information. Each case will be handled fairly, confidentially, and according to the available evidence and circumstances.

Possible Actions

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the concern, COMSEP may:

Request clarification or additional supporting information from the authors.
Ask the authors to revise or correct the manuscript.
Reject a manuscript when substantial concerns cannot be resolved.
Publish a correction if an error affects the accuracy of a published article.
Publish an expression of concern or retract an article when serious issues affect its reliability or ethical integrity.

The editorial team will determine the appropriate action based on the available evidence and the potential impact on the scholarly record. An allegation alone does not establish misconduct.

Confidentiality

COMSEP will handle allegations with appropriate confidentiality and professionalism. Information will be shared only when necessary to assess or resolve the concern. The journal encourages reports made in good faith and seeks to ensure that authors, complainants, and other parties are treated fairly.