Publication Ethics

JURNAL ILMIAH SAINS (JIS)

Publication Ethics

1. Purpose, Scope, and Ethical Commitment

Jurnal Ilmiah Sains (JIS), published by Sam Ratulangi University, is committed to integrity, transparency, editorial independence, fairness, and accountability throughout scholarly publishing. This statement applies to authors, editors, editorial board members, peer reviewers, and the publisher, before and after publication.

JIS publishes research within mathematics, statistics, computer science, physics, chemistry, and biology. Its procedures are informed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing. Scopus requires a clear, publicly available publication ethics and malpractice statement but does not prescribe particular wording. This policy is a journal commitment, not a claim of approval or indexing by Scopus.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

•Originality and exclusive submission. Authors must submit original work that has not been published or simultaneously submitted elsewhere, and provide the required originality and copyright-related declaration (Form A) in accordance with JIS Author Guidelines.

•Accurate reporting. Methods, data, computations, statistics, images, and results must be presented honestly and with sufficient detail to permit appropriate evaluation or replication. Fabrication, falsification, selective misrepresentation, and misleading image manipulation are prohibited.

•Attribution. Authors must properly cite sources, identify quotations, obtain necessary permissions, and avoid plagiarism, inappropriate text recycling, and redundant publication.

•Authorship. Only qualifying contributors should be named as authors; all authors must approve the submitted and published versions and accept responsibility for their contributions and the integrity of the work.

•Disclosures. Funding sources, funder roles where relevant, financial and non-financial competing interests, ethical approvals, and material assistance from AI tools must be declared in accordance with applicable JIS policies.

•Corrections. Authors must promptly inform JIS of substantial errors or concerns identified before or after publication and cooperate in investigations and corrections.

3. Authorship and Contributorship

JIS applies its separate Authorship and Contributorship Policy, informed by ICMJE principles and the CRediT contributor taxonomy. The corresponding author must confirm that all listed authors consent to submission, that no eligible contributor is improperly excluded, and that contributions and author order have been agreed upon. Gift, ghost, guest, coercive, and unauthorized authorship are unacceptable.

Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must be supported by an explanation and written consent from relevant authors. Unresolved authorship disputes may be referred to appropriate institutions.

4. Research Ethics and Ethical Oversight

Research involving human participants, identifiable personal information, animals, or sensitive biological or environmental materials must comply with applicable laws, institutional requirements, and recognized ethical standards. Authors should state the relevant ethics approval or exemption, consent arrangements, permits, and safeguards where applicable.

If ethical issues arise, editors may request documentation and refer the matter to qualified institutions or ethics committees. JIS does not substitute editorial judgment for a competent institutional investigation.

5. Plagiarism, Similarity Screening, and Duplicate Publication

JIS uses Similarity Check to screen manuscripts for potentially inappropriate textual overlap. Similarity reports are interpreted in context and are not, by themselves, proof of plagiarism. Editorial decisions consider the source, extent, and nature of overlap, attribution, and legitimate reuse of methods or technical terminology.

Confirmed plagiarism, fabricated citations, redundant publication, simultaneous submission, or unauthorized reuse of copyrighted material may lead to rejection, correction, or retraction, as appropriate. Preprints and related earlier works must be transparently disclosed and assessed under the current journal guidelines.

6. Data, Images, Reproducibility, and Research Records

Authors should retain underlying data, code, protocols, and supporting records for a reasonable period consistent with institutional, funder, privacy, and legal rules, and provide reasonable clarification when questions concerning the work arise. Data availability and sharing should respect consent, confidentiality, intellectual property, and legal restrictions.

Image enhancement, computational processing, and statistical analysis must not misrepresent findings. Important analytical transformations should be described sufficiently to enable scrutiny. The journal may request original images, raw data, analysis scripts, or other relevant records where warranted.

7. Responsibilities of Peer Reviewers

•Confidentiality. Reviewers must treat unpublished manuscripts and related material as confidential and must not share or use them for personal advantage.

•Objectivity and competence. Reviews should be constructive, timely, evidence-based, respectful, and limited to matters within the reviewer’s expertise.

•Conflicts of interest. Reviewers must promptly declare relationships or interests that could compromise impartiality and decline or withdraw where necessary.

•Integrity. Reviewers should identify significant uncited work or suspected ethical concerns and communicate these privately to the editor; they must not manipulate citations or the review process.

•AI use. Confidential manuscript content must not be uploaded into unauthorized generative AI services or third-party tools.

8. Responsibilities of Editors and the Editorial Board

•Fair decisions. Manuscripts are assessed on scholarly merit, methodological rigor, relevance to journal scope, and ethical standards, without discrimination or inappropriate external influence.

•Editorial independence. Editors must avoid interference from sponsors, institutions, advertisers, and personal relationships. Conflicted editors must recuse themselves; submissions from editorial personnel must receive independent handling and peer review.

•Confidentiality and due process. Editors must protect manuscript confidentiality, reviewer identities where applicable, and the rights of individuals involved in complaints or investigations.

•Process integrity. Editors appoint suitable independent reviewers, address possible reviewer identity fraud and review manipulation, and document editorial decisions.

•Corrections. Editors should evaluate credible post-publication concerns promptly, explain editorial actions appropriately, and maintain a transparent scholarly record.

9. Peer Review and Editorial Decisions

JIS describes its peer-review procedures publicly through its Peer Review Policy. Reviewers are selected for relevant expertise, independence, and capacity to provide a substantive assessment. Editorial decisions are made by authorized editors and are not guaranteed by payment, sponsorship, or personal affiliation.

The journal may reject unsuitable manuscripts before review, request revisions, seek additional independent opinions, or decline publication when ethical or quality concerns remain unresolved. Review and editorial communications are confidential subject to applicable policy and law.

10. Conflicts of Interest and Funding Transparency

Authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members must disclose financial and non-financial interests that might influence—or reasonably appear to influence—their decisions or work. These may include grants, employment, consultancy, intellectual property, academic competition, close relationships, and institutional affiliations.

Disclosure does not automatically establish wrongdoing. JIS will assess concerns proportionately, and may require a declaration in the published article, assign independent reviewers or editors, or take other measures under its Conflict of Interest Policy.

11. Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence

AI systems and generative AI tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot accept scholarly accountability. Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, citations, data protection, and integrity of all AI-assisted materials; relevant AI use must be disclosed as specified in the JIS AI Tools Usage Policy.

Editors and reviewers must not place confidential submissions or personal data in unauthorized AI services. AI-generated data, citations, images, or analyses must not be presented as independently verified research evidence without appropriate human validation.

12. Allegations of Research and Publication Misconduct

JIS considers allegations raised before or after publication, including fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, unethical research, authorship abuse, image or peer-review manipulation, fabricated reviewer identities, and systematic publication manipulation. Concerns may be reported to the Editor-in-Chief through the official journal contact channel with relevant details and supporting evidence.

The editorial office will undertake a proportionate preliminary review; protect confidentiality as reasonably possible; offer affected parties a fair opportunity to respond; preserve relevant records; and, where necessary, request information or refer matters to the institution responsible for a formal investigation. The journal will not presume guilt on an unverified accusation. Retaliation against good-faith reporting is discouraged.

13. Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

When reliable concerns affect the published scholarly record, JIS may publish a correction for a limited error that does not invalidate the main findings, an expression of concern while serious issues remain unresolved, or a retraction when findings or processes are demonstrably unreliable or otherwise meet applicable retraction criteria.

Notices should be clearly labeled, dated, openly accessible, and linked to the affected article, with the reasons stated as precisely and fairly as possible. Retracted articles should ordinarily remain identifiable with an appropriate notice to preserve the scholarly record. JIS follows relevant COPE guidance, including its updated retraction guidelines.

14. Complaints, Appeals, and Post-Publication Discussion

Authors and readers may submit complaints, requests for clarification, or reasoned appeals through the official editorial contact channel. Appeals against editorial decisions should explain the grounds and include relevant evidence; they do not guarantee reversal. Whenever possible, a person not involved in the original decision should assess substantive appeals.

JIS welcomes evidence-based corrections and scholarly discussion conducted in a respectful manner. Where a complaint involves the Editor-in-Chief, it may be referred to an independent editorial or publisher representative for appropriate handling.

15. Publisher Responsibilities, Copyright, and Preservation

Sam Ratulangi University, as publisher, supports editorial independence, ethical oversight, clear ownership and management information, secure journal operations, and reasonable preservation of the scholarly record. Editorial or business considerations must not override research integrity.

JIS maintains separate policies on Copyright and Licensing, Open Access, Repository and Self-Archiving, and Archiving and Digital Preservation. Any claim that an independent preservation service is operational must be supported by current, verifiable evidence rather than by plugin installation alone.

16. Enforcement, Transparency, and Review

Potential editorial measures include requests for clarification, revision, independent review, suspension of processing, rejection, post-publication notices, referral to an institution, and notification of relevant parties when warranted. Actions should be proportionate, documented, and guided by evidence, journal policy, and applicable COPE procedures.

This statement should be accessible on the JIS website, applied consistently, and reviewed periodically. It should be read alongside the journal’s detailed policies, which govern any more specific procedures. Adoption and operational details require approval by the JIS editorial board and publisher.