Publication Ethics

Jurnal Matematika UNAND (JMUA) is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and follows the guidelines set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All parties involved in the publication process—authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—are expected to adhere to ethical practices in scholarly publishing. This statement outlines the ethical standards and guidelines for each party involved in the publishing process.

1. Duties of Authors

1.1 Originality and Plagiarism

  • Authors must ensure that their submitted work is original and has not been published elsewhere. Plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, is strictly prohibited. JMUA uses Turnitin to check for plagiarism, and a maximum similarity index of 25% is allowed.
  • Proper acknowledgment of all sources is required. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in shaping their research.

1.2 Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication

  • Authors should not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously. Submitting the same work to multiple publications constitutes unethical behavior and is unacceptable.

1.3 Data Accuracy and Transparency

  • Authors are responsible for presenting accurate data and ensuring their results can be reproduced by others. Misrepresentation or fabrication of data is a serious ethical violation.
  • Authors must be willing to provide access to raw data associated with their manuscript if requested by the editors for verification.

1.4 Acknowledgment of Sources and Contributions

  • Authors must appropriately cite all sources and provide accurate attribution to any co-authors or contributors. All individuals who contributed significantly to the research should be listed as co-authors, while those who contributed in a minor way should be acknowledged.
  • Any individuals who do not meet the criteria for authorship should not be listed as authors.

1.5 Conflict of Interest Disclosure

  • Authors are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest that might influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. This includes financial, institutional, or personal interests.

1.6 Ethical Oversight

  • Research involving human subjects or animals must comply with institutional and national ethical guidelines. Authors must provide clear statements regarding informed consent and ethical approval for their studies, if applicable.

2. Duties of Editors

2.1 Fair and Impartial Decision Making

  • Editors are responsible for evaluating manuscripts solely on their academic merit, regardless of the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, religious belief, or political philosophy.
  • Editorial decisions should be based on the manuscript’s relevance to the journal’s scope, originality, clarity, and the quality of the research.

2.2 Confidentiality

  • Editors must ensure that all submitted manuscripts are treated as confidential documents. No information about a submitted manuscript should be disclosed to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, and other editorial staff, as appropriate.

2.3 Conflicts of Interest

  • Editors must not have any personal, financial, or other interests that might affect their editorial decisions. If such conflicts exist, editors must recuse themselves from handling the manuscript in question.
  • Editors should ensure that manuscripts are evaluated solely on the basis of academic content and merit.

2.4 Handling of Misconduct Allegations

  • Editors are responsible for taking appropriate action when ethical complaints are raised concerning a submitted or published manuscript. In cases of suspected misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, fabrication of data), editors will follow COPE’s guidelines for investigating and resolving the issue.
  • If an ethical violation is confirmed, editors may retract the article, publish an erratum or correction, or take other necessary actions.

2.5 Peer Review Process

  • Editors must ensure a fair and unbiased double-blind peer-review process. They are responsible for selecting qualified and impartial reviewers to evaluate the manuscript. Editors must ensure that reviewers provide constructive and unbiased feedback to authors.

3. Duties of Reviewers

3.1 Confidentiality

  • Reviewers must treat the manuscript as a confidential document. Reviewers must not share, discuss, or disclose any information regarding the manuscript with anyone outside the peer-review process.

3.2 Objectivity

  • Reviewers must provide an objective, fair, and constructive review of the manuscript. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate, and reviewers should focus their feedback on the scientific content of the manuscript.
  • Reviewers are expected to evaluate the manuscript based on its originality, methodology, significance, and adherence to the journal’s ethical standards.

3.3 Conflict of Interest

  • Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest (e.g., personal, financial, or academic) that could bias their evaluation of the manuscript. If such conflicts exist, reviewers should decline the invitation to review the manuscript.

3.4 Timeliness

  • Reviewers should complete their reviews within the time frame requested by the editorial office. If a reviewer is unable to meet the deadline, they should notify the editorial office promptly.

3.5 Acknowledgment of Sources

  • Reviewers should ensure that all relevant and significant published works cited in the manuscript are appropriately referenced. If reviewers identify uncited sources that are important to the research, they should suggest adding them.

4. Duties of the Publisher

4.1 Editorial Independence

  • The publisher ensures that the journal’s editorial decisions are made independently and free from any external commercial or political pressures. The editorial team has full authority over the journal's content.

4.2 Handling of Allegations of Misconduct

  • The publisher, in collaboration with the editors, will take appropriate action to investigate and address any allegations of misconduct in line with COPE’s guidelines. In cases where misconduct is confirmed, actions such as article retractions or corrections will be taken.

4.3 Ethical Business Practices

  • The publisher ensures that the journal operates in a transparent, fair, and ethical manner. This includes maintaining editorial integrity, managing financial operations responsibly, and ensuring that all journal policies are clear and accessible.

5. Allegations of Research Misconduct

JMUA adheres to COPE's guidelines when handling allegations of research misconduct, including but not limited to:

  • Plagiarism: JMUA uses Turnitin to screen submissions for plagiarism, and strict actions are taken if plagiarism is detected.
  • Data Fabrication and Falsification: If evidence of data fabrication or falsification is found, the article will be retracted, and appropriate notifications will be sent to the author's institution.
  • Duplicate Submission: Manuscripts submitted to multiple journals simultaneously are considered unethical, and such submissions will be rejected.

Retractions and Corrections

JMUA reserves the right to retract published articles in cases of confirmed misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication, or ethical violations. Corrections or retractions will be published to maintain the integrity of the scientific record.