Publication Ethics

Jurnal Masyarakat Merdeka (JMM) is committed to maintaining honesty, fairness, transparency, and integrity in publishing community service articles. The journal follows the ethical principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and applicable regulations on personal data protection and activities involving human participants.

A. AUTHORS

  1. Originality: Authors must submit original manuscripts that are not published or submitted to another journal at the same time. All sources must be properly cited, and plagiarism is prohibited.

  2. Accuracy: Authors must report community service activities, methods, data, results, and benefits honestly. They must not fabricate, falsify, or exaggerate information.

  3. Authorship: All authors must make meaningful contributions, approve the final manuscript, and agree to its submission. Community partners who meet the authorship criteria may be listed as authors. Other contributors may be acknowledged with their consent.

  4. Data and Consent: Authors must keep supporting data and obtain the necessary permissions and consent from participants or partner institutions where applicable. Personal information, photographs, and other identifiable information must be protected.

  5. Funding and Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose funding sources and any interests that may influence their work.

  6. Corrections: Authors must inform the editor if they discover significant errors in their published articles and cooperate in correcting them.

B. EDITORS

  1. Fair Decisions: Editors must evaluate manuscripts fairly based on their quality, originality, relevance, and compliance with publication ethics.

  2. Confidentiality: Editors must keep manuscripts and personal information confidential.

  3. Conflicts of Interest: Editors must disclose conflicts of interest and ensure that manuscripts are handled by an independent editor when necessary.

  4. Ethical Violations: Editors must investigate allegations of plagiarism, false data, duplicate publication, authorship misconduct, and violations of participant privacy.

  5. Corrections and Retractions: Editors must take appropriate action when serious errors or ethical violations are confirmed.

C. PEER REVIEWERS

  1. Objective Review: Reviewers must provide fair, constructive, and evidence-based comments.

  2. Confidentiality: Reviewers must not share or use unpublished manuscript information without authorization.

  3. Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers must disclose conflicts of interest and decline reviews when they cannot be impartial.

  4. Reporting Concerns: Reviewers must inform the editor of suspected plagiarism, unreliable data, or ethical concerns.

D. PUBLISHER

The publisher must support editorial independence and ensure that publication decisions are not influenced by personal or commercial interests. The journal must maintain clear procedures for handling complaints and correcting or retracting published articles when necessary.

E. HANDLING ETHICAL VIOLATIONS

JMM follows these steps when a publication ethics complaint is received:

  1. Complaint: The complainant submits the allegation and supporting evidence to the editor.

  2. Initial Review: The editor examines the complaint and determines whether further investigation is needed.

  3. Clarification: The authors and other relevant parties are given an opportunity to explain or provide supporting evidence.

  4. Decision: Based on the evidence, the editor may close the case, request revisions, reject the manuscript, publish a correction, issue an expression of concern, or retract the article.

  5. Follow-up: The editor informs the relevant parties and keeps records of the investigation and decision.

All complaints must be handled fairly and confidentially, following COPE guidance and the journal's policies.

F. ETHICAL COMMITMENT

By submitting a manuscript to Jurnal Masyarakat Merdeka (JMM), authors confirm that their work follows the journal's Author Guidelines, Authorship Criteria, and Publication Ethics. They must ensure that the reported activities and results are accurate and that all required permissions and consent have been obtained.

All authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher are responsible for maintaining publication integrity and supporting ethical and beneficial community service.