Allegation of Research Misconduct

Jurnal Perkotaan is committed to maintaining the integrity, reliability, and credibility of the scholarly record. The journal takes allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously and will assess credible concerns fairly, confidentially, and consistently.

The Editorial Team will not knowingly allow suspected misconduct to remain unaddressed. When concerns arise regarding a submitted or published article, the journal will take appropriate steps to investigate the matter within the limits of its editorial responsibilities and, where necessary, refer the matter to the authors' institutions or other relevant authorities.

The journal's approach to allegations of misconduct is guided by recognized principles of publication ethics and due process.

Definition of Research Misconduct

Research misconduct includes deliberate, reckless, or seriously irresponsible practices that compromise the integrity, accuracy, reliability, or ethical conduct of research or scholarly publication. Misconduct may include, but is not limited to:

  • Fabrication — making up data, results, observations, participants, documents, sources, or other research information and presenting them as genuine;
  • Falsification — manipulating research materials, equipment, processes, data, images, analyses, or results in a way that misrepresents the research record;
  • Plagiarism — using another person's words, ideas, data, images, or intellectual contributions without appropriate acknowledgment;
  • inappropriate image, figure, map, or data manipulation;
  • selective omission or alteration of data intended to mislead readers;
  • duplicate, redundant, or substantially overlapping publication without appropriate disclosure;
  • simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to more than one journal;
  • inappropriate authorship practices, including ghost, guest, gift, or honorary authorship;
  • misappropriation of another person's ideas or unpublished work;
  • manipulation of citations or references for inappropriate purposes;
  • manipulation or interference with the peer-review process;
  • provision of false information regarding authors, affiliations, reviewers, ethics approval, funding, conflicts of interest, or research data;
  • conducting research involving human participants or animals without required ethical approval or informed consent;
  • failure to disclose significant conflicts of interest;
  • inappropriate or undisclosed use of generative artificial intelligence or AI-assisted technologies where disclosure is required;
  • falsification of ethical clearance, informed consent, institutional approval, or supporting documentation; and
  • other serious violations of accepted standards of responsible research and publication.

Reporting Suspected Misconduct

Anyone may report a concern regarding a manuscript submitted to or an article published in Jurnal Perkotaan. Allegations should be submitted to the Editorial Office of Jurnal Perkotaan through the journal's official contact channel. Reports should provide sufficient information to allow the Editorial Team to assess the concern.

The journal may consider anonymous allegations when sufficient specific and verifiable evidence is provided. However, allegations that contain only general accusations without supporting information may not be possible to investigate.

Confidentiality

Allegations of misconduct will be treated with appropriate confidentiality. Information related to an allegation will normally be shared only with individuals who need the information to assess or resolve the matter. The identity of a complainant will not normally be disclosed unnecessarily. However, complete anonymity cannot always be guaranteed if disclosure becomes necessary for a fair investigation or is required by law.

Fairness and Presumption of Good Faith

All allegations will be assessed objectively and fairly. An allegation does not by itself establish that misconduct has occurred. Authors will normally be given an opportunity to respond to concerns and provide relevant explanations or documentation before the journal reaches an editorial conclusion.

Editorial decisions will be based on available evidence rather than personal, institutional, political, or professional considerations. The journal will also seek to protect individuals who raise legitimate concerns in good faith from inappropriate retaliation.

At the same time, knowingly false, malicious, or defamatory allegations will not be tolerated.

Procedure for Handling Allegations

1. Initial Assessment

When an allegation is received, the Editor-in-Chief or designated editor will conduct an initial assessment to determine:

  • whether the allegation falls within the journal's responsibilities;
  • whether sufficient information has been provided;
  • whether the concern could materially affect the integrity of the manuscript or published article; and
  • whether further investigation is warranted.

Additional information may be requested from the complainant if necessary.

2. Preservation of Evidence

Where appropriate, the journal may retain relevant correspondence, manuscript versions, reviewer reports, submission metadata, declarations, images, data files, or other records related to the allegation.

Authors may also be asked to provide:

  • original data;
  • raw images;
  • analysis files;
  • ethics documentation;
  • informed-consent documentation;
  • research protocols;
  • copyright permissions;
  • authorship records; or
  • other supporting materials necessary to clarify the issue.

Failure to provide requested documentation without reasonable explanation may be taken into consideration during the editorial assessment.

3. Author Response

Where the concern appears credible, the corresponding author will normally be contacted and asked to provide an explanation.

Depending on the nature of the allegation, the journal may also contact all co-authors individually.

Authors should respond completely and transparently and should provide supporting evidence when requested.

4. Editorial Assessment

The Editorial Team will evaluate the allegation, the available evidence, and the authors' response.

Where specialized expertise is required, the journal may seek confidential advice from:

  • members of the Editorial Board;
  • independent subject-matter experts;
  • statistical or methodological experts;
  • research-integrity specialists; or
  • other appropriate advisers.

Individuals with conflicts of interest should not participate in the assessment.

5. Referral to the Institution

Jurnal Perkotaan recognizes that journals generally do not have the authority or resources to conduct formal investigations into institutional research misconduct.

When an allegation requires examination of laboratory records, participant documentation, original datasets, researcher conduct, institutional procedures, or other evidence beyond the journal's authority, the matter may be referred to:

  • the author's university or research institution;
  • the relevant research-integrity office;
  • an institutional ethics committee;
  • a funding agency; or
  • another competent authority.

The journal may request notification of the outcome of such an investigation.

6. Editorial Action

The appropriate action will depend on the seriousness of the concern, the available evidence, whether the article has already been published, and whether the reliability of the research record has been affected.

Allegations Concerning Submitted Manuscripts

When a concern arises before publication, the journal may:

  • temporarily suspend editorial processing;
  • request clarification or supporting documentation;
  • suspend or terminate peer review;
  • reject the manuscript;
  • withdraw the manuscript from editorial consideration;
  • prohibit further processing until an institutional investigation is completed;
  • contact the author's institution or relevant authority; or
  • take other appropriate actions consistent with publication ethics.

A manuscript may be rejected when there is reliable evidence of serious research or publication misconduct, even if the scientific content would otherwise have been suitable for publication.

Allegations Concerning Published Articles

If concerns arise after publication, Jurnal Perkotaan will seek to maintain the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record. Depending on the circumstances, the journal may issue:

1. Correction: a correction may be published when an error or problem affects part of the article but does not invalidate the main findings or overall reliability of the work.

2. Retraction: an article may be retracted when there is reliable evidence that its findings or conclusions are substantially unreliable because of misconduct or major error, including circumstances involving fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, unethical research, duplicate publication, or other serious breaches of research integrity. A retraction notice should clearly identify the article and explain the reason for retraction while maintaining the transparency of the scholarly record.

3. Expression of concern: an Expression of Concern may be published when serious questions have been raised about an article but: the evidence is inconclusive; an institutional investigation is ongoing; the investigation cannot be completed within a reasonable period; or additional information is required before a final editorial decision can be reached.

Removal of Published Content

Complete removal of an article from the journal website will be considered only in exceptional circumstances, such as when continued publication poses a serious legal, privacy, security, or public-safety risk. Where possible, the scholarly record will be preserved through an appropriate notice rather than complete removal.