Allegation of Research Misconduct

Jurnal Computech & Bisnis (JCB), published by STMIK Mardira Indonesia, is committed to maintaining the integrity, credibility, and ethical standards of scholarly publishing. The journal takes allegations of research misconduct seriously and handles them fairly, objectively, confidentially, and in a timely manner.

This policy establishes the procedures for receiving, assessing, investigating, and responding to allegations of research misconduct involving submitted manuscripts, published articles, authors, reviewers, editors, or other parties involved in the journal’s editorial and publication processes.

1. Definition of Research Misconduct

Research misconduct refers to actions that seriously violate accepted standards of research integrity or publication ethics. Depending on the circumstances, it may include, but is not limited to:

Fabrication: Making up data, results, experiments, or other research information and presenting them as genuine.
Falsification: Manipulating research materials, equipment, processes, data, images, results, or analyses in ways that misrepresent the research record.
Plagiarism: Using another person’s words, ideas, methods, data, source code, figures, or other intellectual contributions without appropriate acknowledgment.
Duplicate or redundant publication: Publishing substantially overlapping work without adequate disclosure or justification.
Data or image manipulation: Inappropriately altering, selectively presenting, or misrepresenting data, images, experimental results, or other research evidence.
Authorship misconduct: Misrepresenting authorship, including gift, guest, or honorary authorship; ghost authorship; or failing to acknowledge significant contributions appropriately.
Undisclosed conflicts of interest: Failing to disclose relevant financial, professional, personal, or institutional interests that could improperly influence the research or its evaluation.
Peer-review or editorial misconduct: Breaching reviewer or editorial confidentiality, manipulating the peer-review process, or attempting to improperly influence editorial decisions.
Misuse of third-party materials: Using software, datasets, source code, figures, or other materials in violation of applicable licensing, permission, or attribution requirements.
Other serious ethical violations: Conduct that materially undermines the reliability, originality, transparency, or ethical acceptability of the research or publication process.

Honest errors, reasonable differences in interpretation, and methodological disagreements do not automatically constitute research misconduct. Each allegation must be assessed in light of the available evidence and the circumstances of the case.

2. Submission of Allegations

Any individual who has a reasonable basis to suspect research misconduct involving a manuscript submitted to or an article published in JCB may report the concern to the journal’s editorial team through the official contact channels provided on the journal’s website.

A report should, where possible, include:

The title or identifying information of the manuscript or published article.
A clear description of the suspected misconduct.
Supporting evidence, such as relevant publications, datasets, source-code comparisons, documents, or other verifiable information.
The name and contact information of the person submitting the report, if they are willing to provide them.

The journal may consider anonymous reports when they contain sufficiently specific and verifiable information. The absence of the complainant’s identity will not automatically invalidate an allegation.

Reports should be submitted in good faith. Knowingly false or malicious allegations may be referred to the appropriate institution or authority when warranted.

3. Preliminary Assessment

Upon receiving an allegation, the Editor-in-Chief or a designated editor will conduct a preliminary assessment to determine whether the concern falls within the scope of this policy and whether sufficient information is available to justify further examination.

The preliminary assessment may include reviewing the manuscript or article, examining relevant source materials, checking similarity reports, assessing research data or source code, consulting editorial records, and requesting additional information.

Where necessary, the journal may seek advice from an independent subject expert or publication-ethics adviser. Individuals with actual or potential conflicts of interest must not participate in the assessment or decision-making process.

If the allegation is unsupported, falls outside the journal’s remit, or does not provide a reasonable basis for further action, the journal may close the case and document the decision. Where appropriate, the person who submitted the report may be informed of the outcome.

4. Investigation Procedure

If the preliminary assessment identifies a credible concern, JCB may conduct a more detailed examination within the journal’s editorial responsibilities.

The process may include:

Informing the corresponding author or relevant parties of the concern, where appropriate.
Requesting a written explanation and relevant supporting materials from the authors.
Reviewing the evidence provided by the complainant and the authors.
Consulting independent experts when specialized technical or methodological assessment is necessary.
Examining research data, source code, software artifacts, images, citations, or other relevant materials, where applicable.
Referring the matter to the authors’ affiliated institution or another competent body when the allegation requires formal investigation beyond the journal’s authority.

The journal will provide the parties concerned with a reasonable opportunity to respond to the allegations. The extent and timing of disclosure may be adjusted when necessary to protect confidential information, preserve evidence, or comply with applicable legal or institutional requirements.

JCB recognizes that a journal’s investigation may not be sufficient to establish all the facts of a research-misconduct allegation. Where formal institutional investigation is appropriate, the journal may defer to the relevant institution’s findings while taking necessary steps to protect the integrity of the publication record.

5. Confidentiality and Fair Treatment

All allegations will be handled with appropriate confidentiality. Information will be shared only with individuals who reasonably need it to assess or investigate the concern, subject to applicable legal, ethical, and institutional obligations.

The journal will seek to protect the rights and reputations of all parties involved. An allegation will not be treated as proof of misconduct, and no adverse conclusion will be reached solely on the basis of an unsupported accusation or an automated detection score.

The journal will also take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of reviewers, complainants, authors, and other individuals involved in a case, where appropriate.

6. Editorial Actions

Depending on the nature, seriousness, and outcome of the assessment, JCB may take one or more of the following actions:

Request clarification, additional evidence, or a formal response from the authors.
Require corrections to citations, attribution, data presentation, or other aspects of the manuscript.
Suspend the editorial process while the concern is being assessed.
Reject the manuscript if the concern is substantiated or the manuscript fails to meet the journal’s ethical requirements.
Issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction for a published article, in accordance with the journal’s Correction and Retraction Policy.
Notify the relevant institution, research organization, funding body, or other competent authority when justified by the evidence and appropriate to the circumstances.
Restrict future submissions from responsible individuals in serious or repeated cases, where proportionate and supported by a documented editorial decision.

The journal will determine the appropriate action based on the available evidence, the seriousness of the misconduct, the reliability of the research record, and relevant publication-ethics principles.

7. Allegations Involving Editors or Reviewers

If an allegation concerns an editor, reviewer, or another individual involved in the journal’s editorial process, that person will not participate in the assessment or decision concerning the allegation.

The Editor-in-Chief may appoint an independent editor or qualified person without a relevant conflict of interest to oversee the matter. If the allegation concerns the Editor-in-Chief, the journal’s publisher or another appropriately independent institutional representative should designate an impartial person to handle the case.

The journal will take reasonable steps to protect the independence and integrity of the editorial process throughout the assessment.

8. Misconduct Identified After Publication

If a credible allegation concerns an already published article, JCB will assess the evidence and determine whether further investigation or corrective action is necessary.

Depending on the findings, the journal may publish a correction, expression of concern, or retraction notice. Any such action will follow the journal’s Correction and Retraction Policy and will clearly explain the reason for the action to the extent appropriate.

The journal aims to preserve the accuracy, transparency, and reliability of the scholarly record. Relevant notices will be linked to the original article where technically possible.

9. Record-Keeping and Documentation

The journal will maintain appropriate records of allegations, supporting evidence, correspondence, responses, consultations, and editorial decisions, subject to applicable privacy, confidentiality, and record-retention requirements.

Decisions involving significant concerns will be documented with sufficient reasoning to support consistent handling and accountability. Access to case records will be limited to authorized individuals.

10. Appeals and Requests for Reconsideration

Authors or other directly affected parties may request reconsideration of an editorial action if they can provide relevant new evidence, identify a material procedural error, or demonstrate that the decision was based on a significant misunderstanding of the facts.

Requests for reconsideration must be submitted through the journal’s official contact channels and should clearly explain the grounds for the request. The journal may assign the matter to an independent editor or other qualified person who was not involved in the original decision.

A request for reconsideration does not automatically suspend an action necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

11. Commitment to Research Integrity

Jurnal Computech & Bisnis (JCB), published by STMIK Mardira Indonesia, is committed to responding to research-misconduct allegations responsibly and consistently. The journal will seek to ensure that allegations are assessed fairly, decisions are based on evidence, and appropriate action is taken to protect the integrity of scholarly communication.

This policy applies to manuscripts under consideration and articles published by JCB, as well as relevant conduct occurring during the journal’s editorial and peer-review processes.