1. Definition of Research Misconduct

Research misconduct refers to actions that violate the principles of research integrity or publication ethics and may compromise the reliability, originality, or credibility of scholarly work. The journal takes allegations seriously, whether they arise before or after publication. Honest errors and differences in scholarly interpretation are not, by themselves, considered research misconduct.

2. Forms of Misconduct

Research and publication misconduct may include, but is not limited to, the following:

• Plagiarism: Using another person's words, ideas, data, or work without appropriate acknowledgment.
• Data fabrication: Inventing data, research results, participants, or observations that do not exist.
• Data falsification: Manipulating research materials, procedures, data, or results so that the research record is misleading.
• Duplicate or redundant publication: Publishing substantially overlapping work without appropriate disclosure, justification, or acknowledgment.
• Improper authorship: Falsely attributing authorship, omitting eligible contributors, or including individuals who have not made a qualifying contribution.
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest: Failing to disclose interests that could improperly influence the research or its evaluation.
• Peer-review manipulation: Attempting to deceive or improperly influence the peer-review or editorial decision-making process.
• Citation manipulation: Intentionally adding inappropriate citations to inflate citation counts or influence journal metrics.
• Unethical research practices: Failing to obtain required ethical approval or consent, or improperly handling research involving human participants or other protected subjects.
• Misuse of third-party material: Using copyrighted materials, images, instruments, or other content without the necessary permission or acknowledgment where required.

3. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to Jurnal Pendidikan UNIGA are expected to:

• Ensure that the submitted work is original and accurately represents the research conducted.
• Report methods, data, findings, and limitations honestly and transparently.
• Provide appropriate citations and acknowledge the contributions of others.
• Obtain research ethics approval, informed consent, and permissions when required by the nature of the research.
• Disclose relevant funding, conflicts of interest, prior dissemination, and overlapping publications.
• Cooperate with reasonable editorial requests for clarification or supporting documentation concerning the integrity of the manuscript.
• Notify the journal promptly if a significant error is discovered in a submitted or published article.

4. Reporting Suspected Misconduct

Authors, reviewers, editors, readers, and other concerned parties may report suspected research or publication misconduct to the editorial office. Reports should provide a clear explanation of the concern and, where possible, supporting evidence such as relevant documents, publication links, or data.

Reports will be assessed on their merits. The journal will take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of the report, the identity of the person raising the concern where appropriate, and the integrity of the assessment process, subject to applicable legal and institutional requirements.

5. Procedures for Handling Allegations

When a concern is raised, the journal may take the following steps, as appropriate to the circumstances:

The steps above are guidance rather than a mandatory sequence for every case. The journal may adapt its response to the nature, urgency, and complexity of the allegation.

6. Possible Editorial Actions

Depending on the findings and circumstances, the journal may:

• Request clarification, additional evidence, or corrections to the manuscript.
• Return a manuscript for revision or reject it when ethical or integrity concerns cannot be satisfactorily resolved.
• Suspend editorial processing while a serious concern is being assessed.
• Publish a correction, an expression of concern, or a retraction for a published article when warranted.
• Notify the relevant institution or other appropriate body when further investigation is necessary.
• Take other proportionate measures consistent with publication ethics and applicable policies.

7. Misconduct Identified After Publication

If credible concerns arise after an article has been published, the journal will assess whether the published record remains reliable. Depending on the nature and extent of the problem, the journal may issue a correction, publish an expression of concern while the matter is unresolved, or retract the article when the findings or publication are no longer reliable.

Any notice will clearly identify the affected article and explain the reason for the editorial action to the extent appropriate. The purpose of a correction or retraction is to preserve the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record.

8. Fairness, Confidentiality, and Conflicts of Interest

Allegations will be assessed impartially and without presuming wrongdoing before the available evidence has been considered. Individuals involved in assessing a case must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and should not participate in decisions where their impartiality may reasonably be questioned. Information will be shared only with those who need it to assess or address the concern, subject to applicable requirements.

9. Relationship with Other Journal Policies

This policy should be read together with the journal's Publication Ethics, Plagiarism Screening, Authorship Criteria, Conflict of Interest, Peer Review Process, and Corrections and Retractions policies. Similarity-check results are considered alongside editorial assessment and the context of the material; a similarity score alone does not establish or rule out plagiarism.