RESEARCH MISCONDUCT POLICY

1. Policy Statement

The Indonesian Journal of Community Service in Education (IJCSE), published by PT. Intelektiva Global Nusantara, is committed to maintaining the integrity, authenticity, transparency, and ethical quality of scholarly publications in educational community service and community engagement.

All published articles must accurately represent community service activities, program implementation, participant involvement, evaluation procedures, and reported outcomes.

IJCSE prohibits fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, misleading program documentation, duplicate publication, and other serious forms of research and publication misconduct. This policy applies to authors, editors, reviewers, and relevant participants in the editorial and publication processes.

The journal considers relevant guidance issued by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when addressing concerns relating to academic integrity and publication malpractice.

2. Forms of Research and Publication Misconduct

For community service publications, research and publication misconduct may include:

3. Distinguishing Misconduct from Honest Error

Research and publication misconduct must be distinguished from honest errors, reasonable limitations in community service evaluation, and legitimate differences in scholarly interpretation.

Unexpected program outcomes, unsuccessful activities, or limited community impact do not constitute misconduct when reported accurately and transparently.

Material errors may nevertheless require correction or other editorial action where they affect the reliability of published findings or claims.

4. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting Community Service and Community Engagement Articles must:

• Report activities that were actually implemented.
• Accurately describe program objectives, locations, participants, methods, and implementation stages.
• Provide authentic data, documentation, and evaluation results.
• Avoid exaggerating program effectiveness, sustainability, or community impact.
• Obtain appropriate permissions and consent from relevant institutions and participants.
• Protect confidential information involving children, teachers, community members, and other participants.
• Respect the intellectual property and contributions of community partners.
• Disclose funding sources, relevant partnerships, competing interests, and substantive generative AI use.
• Provide accurate authorship and contribution statements.
• Cooperate with editorial requests to verify reported activities and evidence.

5. Responsibilities of Editors and Reviewers

The Editorial Board is responsible for evaluating community service publications fairly and protecting the credibility of the scholarly record.

Editors must assess suspected misconduct objectively, maintain editorial independence, manage competing interests, and avoid making decisions based on inappropriate institutional or commercial influence.

Reviewers must preserve confidentiality, provide objective assessments, disclose relevant conflicts of interest, and refrain from exploiting unpublished information.

Allegations involving editors or reviewers will be referred to an appropriate unconflicted editorial or publisher representative, and to a relevant institution when necessary.

6. Reporting Allegations of Misconduct

Potential misconduct may be reported by authors, reviewers, readers, community partners, participating institutions, program beneficiaries, or other relevant parties through the journal's official editorial contact channel.

Reports should provide sufficient information to identify the article or manuscript, describe the suspected misconduct, and indicate the available supporting evidence.

Anonymous allegations may be assessed when they contain specific and verifiable information. Reasonable confidentiality will be maintained while allowing fair consideration of the concerns.

7. Preliminary Assessment and Investigation Procedure

IJCSE applies the following process to credible allegations of misconduct:

1. Receipt and Registration: The editorial office records the allegation and identifies the manuscript or published article.
2. Preliminary Assessment: An editor without a relevant conflict of interest evaluates the available evidence.
3. Preservation of Documentation: Relevant manuscript versions, editorial records, correspondence, and supporting materials are securely maintained.
4. Request for Clarification: The relevant authors or other parties are given an appropriate opportunity to explain the reported concerns.
5. Evidence Verification: The journal may request program reports, anonymized participant data, implementation records, original documentation, evaluation instruments, or other suitable evidence.
6. Institutional or Partner Consultation: Serious concerns may be referred to relevant institutions or competent authorities for appropriate investigation.
7. Editorial Determination: The editorial team determines necessary action concerning the submitted or published scholarly material.
8. Documentation and Communication: Findings and editorial actions are recorded, and relevant parties are informed as appropriate.

Requests for evidence must respect participant privacy, institutional confidentiality, informed consent, and relevant legal requirements.

8. Cooperation with Institutions and Community Partners

Community service programs may involve universities, schools, local authorities, nonprofit organizations, and community institutions.

When misconduct allegations concern the authenticity of program implementation, ethical conduct, or the reliability of reported outcomes, IJCSE may seek appropriate clarification from relevant institutions or organizations.

The journal will cooperate with legitimate investigations while safeguarding confidential participant information and editorial independence.

Formal disciplinary findings remain the responsibility of competent institutions or authorities, while decisions about the published scholarly record remain with the appropriate journal editors.

9. Editorial Actions Before Publication

If suspected misconduct is identified before publication, the Editorial Board may:

• Suspend manuscript processing pending additional clarification.
• Request authentic program documentation, evaluation results, or other supporting information.
• Require correction of inaccurate descriptions, unsupported claims, or incomplete disclosures.
• Reject manuscripts when substantial fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or serious ethical violations are established.
• Reconsider or withdraw acceptance before publication where justified.
• Refer serious cases to appropriate institutions or competent authorities.

Editorial action must be evidence-based and proportionate to the seriousness of the concern. Allegations alone do not establish misconduct.

10. Post-Publication Corrections and Retractions

When suspected research or publication misconduct is identified after publication, IJCSE will assess the matter in accordance with its Publication Ethics and Retraction Policies, taking account of relevant COPE guidance.

Published notices will identify and remain linked to the affected article. Retracted articles will ordinarily remain accessible with clear retraction labeling to maintain the integrity and transparency of the publication record.

11. Confidentiality, Fairness, and Appeals

IJCSE handles allegations with reasonable confidentiality and impartiality. Authors and other concerned parties should have an appropriate opportunity to respond to substantive allegations.

Conflicts of interest must be identified and managed, and individuals directly involved in an allegation must not determine its outcome without independent oversight.

Requests for reconsideration may be submitted where relevant new evidence or a material procedural error is identified. Such requests will be considered by an appropriate unconflicted editorial representative.

12. Documentation Integrity, Participant Protection, and AI Use

IJCSE requires accurate and ethical documentation of educational community service activities. Authors must not fabricate activity photographs, attendance records, participant testimonials, assessment results, program certificates, or claims of community impact.

Photographs and supporting materials involving identifiable participants must be published in accordance with appropriate consent, privacy, and copyright requirements.

Generative AI must not be used to create fictitious community service activities, false evaluation data, fabricated testimonials, manipulated documentation, or invented references. Human authors remain fully accountable for all submitted materials.

Verification of program evidence must be conducted without unnecessarily disclosing confidential participant information.

13. Policy References

IJCSE considers relevant international publication ethics guidance when examining allegations of misconduct:

• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Guidance
• COPE Retraction Guidelines
• Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing