Allegation of research misconduct

PRIMER: Jurnal Ilmiah Multidisiplin takes all allegations of research misconduct very seriously. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity and publication ethics, strictly adhering to the guidelines and flowcharts provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1. Definition of Research Misconduct Research misconduct includes, but is not limited to, the following actions:

• Fabrication: Making up data or results and recording or reporting them.

• Falsification: Manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing/omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.

• Plagiarism: The appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit (including self-plagiarism or text recycling).

• Authorship Disputes: Ghost, guest, or gift authorship, or omitting contributors who meet the authorship criteria.

• Ethical Violations: Failure to obtain necessary ethical approvals or informed consent for research involving human or animal subjects.

2. Reporting AllegationsAnyone—including reviewers, readers, or co-authors—who suspects research misconduct in a submitted manuscript or a published article is encouraged to report their concerns to the Editor-in-Chief or the Editorial Office. Whistleblowers should provide as much specific evidence as possible to support their claims. The journal guarantees that the identity of the whistleblower will be kept strictly confidential during the investigation process.

3. Investigation Process Upon receiving an allegation, the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board will handle the case following COPE procedures:

• Initial Assessment: The Editor-in-Chief will conduct an initial review to determine the validity and severity of the allegation.

• Author Response: If there is sufficient evidence of potential misconduct, the corresponding author (and all co-authors, if necessary) will be contacted in writing, provided with the details of the allegation, and given an opportunity to respond and provide an explanation or additional data.

• Further Investigation: If the author's response is unsatisfactory or admits guilt, the journal may involve independent experts to evaluate the case further.

4. Sanctions and Resolutions Depending on the outcome of the investigation and the severity of the misconduct, the journal may take one or more of the following actions:

• Minor Violations / Honest Errors: The journal may require the authors to revise the manuscript (if unpublished) or publish a formal Correction, Erratum, or Corrigendum (if already published).

• Severe Misconduct:

  • Immediate rejection of the manuscript (if under review).

  • Formal Retraction of the article (if already published), accompanied by a Retraction Notice stating the reasons for the action.

  • Imposing a ban on the authors from submitting future manuscripts to the journal for a specific period.

  • Reporting the misconduct to the authors' affiliated institutions, funding agencies, or relevant ethics committees for further investigation at the institutional level.