Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Indonesian Anti-Corruption Studies (IACS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, research integrity, transparency, accountability, and responsible scholarly communication.

The journal follows internationally recognized principles and best practices in scholarly publishing, including guidance and standards developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and other relevant international scholarly publishing organizations and standards.

This policy applies to all parties involved in the publication process, including authors, editors, peer reviewers, guest editors, and the journal's editorial and publishing teams.

1. Ethical Framework

IACS expects all participants in the publication process to uphold principles of:

  • academic integrity;

  • honesty and transparency;

  • originality;

  • fairness and impartiality;

  • confidentiality;

  • accountability;

  • respect for intellectual property;

  • responsible authorship;

  • appropriate disclosure of conflicts of interest; and

  • protection of the integrity of the scholarly record.

The journal may refer to applicable COPE Core Practices, COPE Flowcharts, and COPE discussion documents when addressing publication ethics issues or suspected misconduct.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted manuscripts are original, accurate, ethically conducted, and appropriately reported.

Authors must:

  • submit original work;

  • ensure that the manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal;

  • properly acknowledge and cite all sources;

  • accurately report research methods, evidence, data, and findings;

  • avoid fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and other forms of research misconduct;

  • obtain appropriate ethical approval and informed consent where required;

  • disclose relevant conflicts of interest;

  • disclose sources of funding;

  • appropriately acknowledge contributors;

  • ensure that all listed authors meet the journal's authorship requirements;

  • obtain necessary permissions for copyrighted third-party material; and

  • cooperate with the Editorial Team in responding to questions or investigations concerning the manuscript.

Authors must not manipulate citations, references, peer review, images, data, or other elements of the scholarly publication process.

3. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must reflect a substantial scholarly contribution to the research and manuscript.

All listed authors must:

  • have made a substantive contribution to the work;

  • participate in drafting or critically revising the manuscript;

  • approve the final version; and

  • accept responsibility for the integrity of the work.

Guest, honorary, gift, and ghost authorship are not permitted.

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not qualify for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged.

Any change to the author list after submission requires a legitimate reason and the agreement of all affected authors and the Editorial Team.

4. Plagiarism, Fabrication, and Falsification

IACS has zero tolerance for serious forms of research and publication misconduct, including:

  • plagiarism;

  • substantial unattributed copying;

  • fabrication of data or research findings;

  • falsification or manipulation of data or evidence;

  • manipulation of images or research materials;

  • duplicate or redundant publication;

  • inappropriate text recycling;

  • citation manipulation; and

  • other forms of academic misconduct.

Submitted manuscripts may undergo similarity or plagiarism screening.

A similarity report is an editorial assessment tool and does not automatically establish plagiarism. The Editorial Team will assess the nature, extent, context, and attribution of identified similarities.

Where serious misconduct is suspected, IACS may conduct an investigation in accordance with applicable ethical procedures and relevant COPE guidance.

5. Duplicate and Redundant Publication

Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal.

Authors must disclose any previously published or submitted material that substantially overlaps with the submitted manuscript.

Where substantial duplicate or redundant publication is identified, the journal may reject the manuscript, request clarification, issue a correction, or take other appropriate action depending on the circumstances.

6. Research Ethics and Human Participants

Research involving human participants, personal data, vulnerable populations, or other ethically sensitive subjects must comply with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

Where applicable, authors should obtain approval from an appropriate research ethics committee or institutional review board before conducting the research.

Authors must ensure appropriate:

  • informed consent;

  • privacy protection;

  • confidentiality;

  • data protection;

  • participant safety; and

  • protection of vulnerable individuals or communities.

Research involving corruption, whistleblowers, victims, public officials, informants, or other potentially sensitive participants should receive particular attention to confidentiality and protection from harm.

7. Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, editors, and Guest Editors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity or integrity of the publication process.

Conflicts may include financial, professional, institutional, personal, academic, or other relationships.

A person with a significant conflict of interest should not participate in an editorial or peer review decision where impartiality could reasonably be questioned.

8. Funding and Financial Disclosure

Authors must disclose all financial support relevant to the research or publication.

Funding information should identify, where applicable:

  • the funding organization;

  • grant or project information; and

  • the role of the funder in the research.

Where the research received no external funding, authors should provide an appropriate declaration.

9. Peer Review Ethics

IACS uses a double-anonymous peer review process.

Reviewers must:

  • maintain confidentiality;

  • provide objective and constructive assessments;

  • disclose conflicts of interest;

  • decline reviews where they cannot provide an impartial assessment;

  • avoid using unpublished information for personal or professional advantage; and

  • report suspected plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, or other ethical concerns to the Editor.

Reviewers must not intentionally delay peer review, demand unnecessary citations to their own work, or attempt to influence the authors for personal or professional benefit.

10. Editorial Independence and Fairness

Editors must evaluate manuscripts based on scholarly merit, relevance, originality, methodological rigor, and ethical standards.

Editorial decisions must not be influenced by:

  • the author's nationality;

  • ethnicity;

  • religion or belief;

  • gender;

  • political views;

  • institutional affiliation;

  • professional status;

  • personal relationships; or

  • commercial considerations.

Editors must disclose and appropriately manage conflicts of interest.

No manuscript will be accepted or rejected solely because of an author's ability or inability to pay the Article Processing Charge.

11. Confidentiality

Editors, reviewers, and editorial staff must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and related information.

Unpublished manuscript content must not be disclosed to unauthorized individuals or used for personal, academic, commercial, or competitive purposes.

Exceptions may apply where disclosure is necessary to investigate suspected research or publication misconduct or is required by law or an appropriate authority.

12. Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI

Authors remain fully responsible for the content, accuracy, originality, and integrity of manuscripts submitted to IACS.

Artificial intelligence or generative AI tools must not be listed as authors.

Where AI tools have materially contributed to the preparation of a manuscript, authors must disclose their use in accordance with the journal's AI policy.

Authors are responsible for verifying all AI-assisted content, including factual statements, citations, references, quotations, legal authorities, data interpretations, and research findings.

Reviewers and editors must not upload confidential manuscripts or unpublished materials to AI systems where doing so could compromise confidentiality, intellectual property, or research integrity.

13. Corrections and Retractions

IACS recognizes its responsibility to maintain the integrity of the published scholarly record.

Where errors are identified after publication, the journal may publish an appropriate:

  • correction;

  • erratum;

  • corrigendum;

  • expression of concern; or

  • retraction.

The appropriate action will depend on the nature and seriousness of the issue.

Corrections and retractions will be clearly linked to the original article and appropriately identified to maintain transparency and preserve the scholarly record.

14. Retraction

An article may be considered for retraction where there is credible evidence of serious problems affecting its reliability or integrity, including:

  • fabricated or falsified data;

  • plagiarism;

  • major ethical violations;

  • substantial undisclosed conflicts of interest;

  • duplicate publication;

  • serious authorship misconduct;

  • manipulated peer review; or

  • other circumstances that materially undermine the reliability of the published work.

Retraction decisions will be handled in accordance with applicable ethical standards and relevant COPE guidance.

A retracted article will normally remain part of the scholarly record with a clear retraction notice rather than being silently removed.

15. Complaints and Appeals

Authors and other stakeholders may submit complaints concerning editorial decisions, peer review, publication procedures, authorship, conflicts of interest, or ethical matters to the Editorial Office.

Complaints will be handled fairly, confidentially, and as promptly as reasonably possible.

Authors may appeal an editorial decision where they can provide substantive grounds indicating a significant procedural error, factual misunderstanding, or ethical concern.

An appeal should not merely challenge the academic judgment of reviewers without substantive justification.

16. Allegations of Misconduct

Where IACS receives a credible allegation of research or publication misconduct, the Editorial Team will assess the matter and may initiate an appropriate investigation.

Depending on the nature of the allegation, the journal may:

  • request an explanation or supporting documentation from the authors;

  • consult reviewers or editorial advisers;

  • seek clarification from the authors' institution;

  • contact a relevant research integrity or ethics body;

  • publish an expression of concern;

  • issue a correction or retraction; or

  • take other appropriate action consistent with recognized publication ethics practices.

The journal will seek to maintain fairness and confidentiality throughout the process.

17. Manipulation of the Publication Process

IACS prohibits manipulation of any part of the publication process, including:

  • fraudulent peer review;

  • fabricated reviewer identities;

  • peer review interference;

  • citation manipulation;

  • inappropriate coercive citation;

  • falsification of editorial or authorship information;

  • submission of manuscripts generated or manipulated to deceive the editorial process; and

  • other attempts to improperly influence editorial decisions.

Suspected manipulation may result in rejection, withdrawal of the manuscript, retraction of a published article, or referral to the relevant institution or authority.

18. Corrections to Authorship

Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission or publication must be supported by a legitimate explanation and appropriate agreement from all affected authors.

The Editorial Team may request institutional confirmation where authorship disputes cannot be resolved by the authors themselves.

The journal will not normally adjudicate disputes concerning individual contributions and may refer such matters to the relevant institutions.

19. Editorial and Reviewer Misconduct

Editors and reviewers are expected to comply with the same principles of integrity and accountability expected of authors.

Concerns regarding editorial or reviewer misconduct will be assessed independently where appropriate.

Where a conflict of interest or misconduct is established, the journal may reassign the manuscript, replace the reviewer or editor, invalidate a review, or take other appropriate action.

20. Transparency and Accountability

IACS is committed to transparency in its editorial and publishing practices.

The journal publicly provides information concerning:

  • editorial policies;

  • peer review procedures;

  • publication ethics;

  • authorship;

  • conflicts of interest;

  • copyright and licensing;

  • open access;

  • Article Processing Charges;

  • publication frequency; and

  • correction and retraction procedures.

The journal will periodically review its policies to ensure continued alignment with developments in international scholarly publishing and research integrity.

21. International Standards and Guidance

IACS recognizes and, where applicable, follows relevant international standards and guidance concerning publication ethics and research integrity, including:

  • Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) — Core Practices, Flowcharts, and relevant guidance;

  • International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommendations, where relevant to applicable research;

  • World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) guidance, where relevant;

  • International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM) principles and guidance, where applicable;

  • relevant principles of research integrity and responsible research conduct; and

  • applicable national laws, regulations, institutional policies, and professional ethical standards.

The journal may update its procedures in response to developments in international publication ethics and research integrity standards.

22. Commitment to Ethical Publishing

IACS considers publication ethics and research integrity to be shared responsibilities.

Authors, reviewers, editors, Guest Editors, and the publisher are expected to cooperate in protecting the integrity of the scholarly record and in addressing suspected misconduct fairly, transparently, and responsibly.

Where an ethical issue is not specifically addressed by this policy, the Editorial Team will apply the most appropriate internationally recognized publication ethics guidance and principles of fairness, transparency, confidentiality, and academic integrity.