Publication Ethics (COPE)

Ethical Publishing Principles

The International Journal of Education and Learning Studies (IJELS) , established in 2025 and published by PT. Intelektiva Global Nusantara, is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics, academic integrity, editorial independence, and responsible scholarly communication.

This Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement is developed in accordance with the principles and core practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) . It outlines the ethical responsibilities of editors, editorial board members, reviewers, authors, and the publisher throughout the submission, peer-review, publication, and post-publication processes.

Duties and Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for ensuring the integrity, fairness, quality, and independence of the editorial process. Their responsibilities include:

• Evaluating manuscripts solely on academic merit, originality, methodological rigor, clarity, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal's focus and scope.
• Making editorial decisions without discrimination based on nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, institutional affiliation, political views, disability, or other personal characteristics of the authors.
• Ensuring that eligible manuscripts undergo a fair and confidential double-blind peer-review process.
• Selecting qualified and independent reviewers whose expertise is appropriate to the manuscript.
• Maintaining the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts, reviewer identities, editorial correspondence, and unpublished information.
• Avoiding the use of unpublished information for personal research, professional advantage, or other purposes without written permission.
• Declaring and appropriately managing actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest.
• Taking reasonable action when allegations of plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, unethical research, duplicate publication, or other misconduct are reported.
• Issuing corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions when necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Duties and Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers support editorial decision-making and assist authors in improving the quality of their manuscripts. Reviewers are expected to:

• Provide objective, constructive, evidence-based, and professionally written evaluations.
• Assess the manuscript's originality, methodology, theoretical foundation, results, discussion, contribution, and ethical compliance.
• Treat all manuscripts and related editorial materials as confidential documents.
• Refrain from sharing, reproducing, discussing, or using unpublished manuscript content without authorization.
• Identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately cited.
• Inform the Editor of suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, data manipulation, or other ethical concerns.
• Decline a review when they lack the necessary expertise or cannot complete the review within the agreed period.
• Declare any financial, institutional, professional, personal, or intellectual conflicts of interest.
• Avoid personal criticism, discriminatory language, or unsupported allegations in reviewer reports.

Duties and Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for the originality, accuracy, transparency, and ethical integrity of their submitted work. Authors must:

• Submit original scholarly work that has not been previously published or simultaneously submitted to another journal.
• Present research procedures, data, analyses, findings, and conclusions accurately and honestly.
• Avoid plagiarism, text recycling, data fabrication, data falsification, image manipulation, citation manipulation, and duplicate publication.
• Cite and acknowledge all sources, ideas, data, instruments, figures, tables, and materials obtained from other works.
• Retain relevant research records and provide supporting data when reasonably requested by the Editor, reviewers, or authorized institutions.
• List as authors only individuals who made substantial intellectual contributions to the work.
• Obtain the agreement of all listed authors regarding the manuscript's content, authorship order, submission, revision, and publication.
• Identify the corresponding author responsible for communication with the journal.
• Disclose all funding sources and actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest.
• Obtain appropriate ethical approval and informed consent for research involving human participants, personal data, vulnerable groups, or sensitive information.
• Transparently disclose the use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools in accordance with the journal's Artificial Intelligence Policy.
• Promptly inform the Editorial Office if a significant error, inaccuracy, or ethical concern is discovered after submission or publication.

Duties and Responsibilities of the Publisher

PT. Intelektiva Global Nusantara, as the publisher of IJELS, is responsible for:

• Supporting editorial independence and protecting editorial decisions from commercial, institutional, or political influence.
• Providing appropriate journal management, publication infrastructure, digital preservation, and dissemination services.
• Supporting transparent procedures for handling ethical allegations, complaints, appeals, corrections, and retractions.
• Protecting the confidentiality and integrity of editorial and publication records.
• Cooperating with editors, institutions, and relevant parties in maintaining the credibility and accuracy of the scholarly record.

Core Ethical Policies

Authorship Changes

Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must be supported by a clear explanation and written approval from all authors. Such requests are subject to editorial review and may not be accepted after the manuscript has entered production, except under exceptional circumstances.

Handling Allegations of Publication Misconduct

Allegations of publication misconduct will be handled fairly, confidentially, consistently, and in accordance with relevant COPE guidance. The journal may:

1. Conduct an initial assessment of the allegation and supporting evidence.
2. Request an explanation, documentation, raw data, or clarification from the author.
3. Consult reviewers, editorial board members, independent experts, or relevant institutions when appropriate.
4. Maintain confidentiality while the matter is under investigation.
5. Make a decision based on the available evidence.
6. Implement appropriate corrective or disciplinary action.

Depending on the severity and evidence, editorial action may include requesting revisions, rejecting the manuscript, withdrawing acceptance, publishing a correction, issuing an expression of concern, retracting a published article, or notifying the relevant institution or authority.

Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

IJELS is committed to preserving an accurate and trustworthy scholarly record. Post-publication actions may include:

• Correction: issued when an error affects part of the article but does not invalidate its principal findings.
• Expression of Concern: issued when serious concerns exist but the investigation is incomplete or inconclusive.
• Retraction: issued when findings are unreliable, misconduct is confirmed, or the article seriously violates ethical or publication standards.

Complaints and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, readers, and other stakeholders may submit complaints or appeals concerning editorial procedures, peer-review outcomes, ethical matters, or published content. Complaints and appeals must clearly describe the issue and include relevant supporting evidence.

Appeals against editorial decisions will be evaluated independently and do not automatically result in reconsideration or acceptance. The Editor may consult additional editorial board members or independent experts before issuing a final response.

Confidentiality and Data Protection

IJELS protects confidential editorial information and personal data collected during submission, peer review, and publication. Such information will be used only for legitimate journal management, editorial communication, scholarly publishing, indexing, archiving, and ethical investigation purposes.