Publication Ethics
This statement explains the ethical behavior/duties of all parties involved in the act of publishing articles in the IRAJTMA journal based on the COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors which can be viewed/downloaded via the following link: https://publicationethics.org/files/u2/Best_Practice .pdf.
Here is a summary of the duties and ethical behavior in accordance with the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors for journal editors, reviewers, authors and publisher.
1. Journal Editors
1.1 Publishing Decisions
The editor of IRAJTMA is responsible for deciding which manuscripts are worthy of publication from the articles received. Decisions are based on the academic quality of the manuscript, originality, relevance to the journal's scope, recommendations from reviewers, adherence to publication ethics, and its contribution to researchers and readers. In carrying out this task, the editor is guided by the editorial board's policies to protect against libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. An editor may consult with other editors or reviewers in making this decision. The Chief Editor or an assigned editor has the authority to accept, request revisions, or reject manuscripts.
1.2 Confidentiality
Editors and editorial staff must keep all submitted manuscripts confidential. Information about a submitted manuscript may only be disclosed to the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial board members, and other parties directly involved in the editorial process.
1.3 Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Unpublished material disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author. Information or ideas obtained through blind reviews must be kept confidential and not used for personal gain. An editor must refuse to review a manuscript if the editor has any kind of conflict of interest.
1.4 Fair Play
Editors must evaluate manuscripts solely on their intellectual and scientific content. Editorial decisions must be free from discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, institutional affiliation, or political views of the authors.
2. Reviewers
2.1 Contribution to Editorial Decisions
Reviewers assist editors in making editorial decisions and help authors improve the quality of their manuscripts through constructive, objective, and scholarly feedback. Peer review is an important component in formal academic communication and academic approaches.
2.2 Confidentiality
All manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not share, discuss, copy, cite, or use any part of the manuscript for personal purposes before publication.
2.3 Objectivity
Reviews must be conducted objectively and professionally. Personal criticism of authors is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their comments clearly, with supporting arguments and, where necessary, relevant references.
2.4 Acknowledgment of Sources
Peer-reviewers should identify relevant work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument has been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. Reviewers must inform the editor of any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under review and any other published or submitted.
2.5 Conflicts of Interest
Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer-review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Peer-reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers. If a conflict of interest exists, reviewers must decline the review invitation.
2.6 Use of Artificial Intelligence in Review
Reviewers must maintain manuscript confidentiality and must not upload submitted manuscripts or review materials to generative artificial intelligence tools or external platforms that may compromise confidentiality. Any use of tools to assist review must not replace the reviewer’s own expert judgment and responsibility.
3. Authors
3.1 Reporting Standards
Authors must present an accurate, objective, and complete report of their research. The manuscript should include sufficient detail and references to allow others to understand, evaluate, and, where appropriate, reproduce the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior.
3.2 Data Access and Retention
Authors are asked to provide the raw data in connection with a manuscript for editorial review, when possible. Authors should retain research data for a reasonable period after publication in accordance with academic standards and institutional policies.
3.3 Originality and Plagiarism
Authors must ensure that their manuscripts are original works. If authors use the work, ideas, words, data, figures, or tables of others, these must be properly cited or quoted. Plagiarism in any form, including inappropriate self-plagiarism, is unacceptable.
3.4 Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication
Authors must not submit or publish the same or substantially similar manuscript in more than one journal. Manuscripts submitted to IRAJTMA must not be under consideration by another journal at the same time.
3.5 Authorship Criteria
IRA Jurnal Teknik Mesin dan Aplikasinya (IRAJTMA) adopts the authorship criteria defined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). All authors listed in the submission must provide formal consent for their names to be included in the manuscript and meet the following criteria:
- Substantial Contributions: Significant contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work.
- Drafting or Revising: Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
- Final Approval: Final approval of the version to be published.
- Accountability: Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Other contributors who assisted with the research but do not meet the criteria in section 3.5 should not be listed as authors. Their contributions may be mentioned in the "Acknowledgments" section—for example, research funders, laboratory technicians, or those providing general editorial assistance. Authorship status is granted only to individuals who made a substantial contribution to the planning, execution, or analysis of the research.
3.6 Acknowledgement of Sources
Authors must properly acknowledge all sources of data, ideas, methods, and previous work that influenced the research. Publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work should be cited accurately.
3.7 Conflicts of Interest and Funding
Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of their research. All sources of funding, sponsorship, institutional support, or other assistance must be clearly stated in the manuscript.
3.8 Errors in Published Work
If authors discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their published work, they must promptly notify the journal editor and cooperate with the editor to correct or retract the article when necessary. If the editor obtains information from a third party that a published work contains significant errors, the author is responsible for immediately withdrawing or making corrections to the writing or providing evidence to the editor regarding the accuracy of the original writing.
3.9 Ethical Oversight
Research involving human participants, animals, sensitive data, or other ethical issues must comply with applicable ethical standards. Authors must state ethical approval, informed consent, or permission for data use when required by institutional or regulatory policies.
3.10 Use of Artificial Intelligence by Authors
Authors must disclose the use of generative artificial intelligence or AI-assisted tools in manuscript preparation, except for basic grammar, spelling, or formatting checks. AI tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot take responsibility for the content. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of their manuscripts.
4. Research and Publication Misconduct
IRAJTMA takes all allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously. Misconduct may include plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, image manipulation, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, inappropriate authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, unethical research practices, or other violations of publication ethics. When misconduct is suspected, the editor may request clarification from the authors, consult reviewers or editorial board members, contact relevant institutions, or follow applicable COPE guidance. Depending on the severity of the case, actions may include manuscript rejection, publication of a correction, expression of concern, article retraction, or notification to relevant institutions.
5. Corrections, Retractions, and Withdrawals
Corrections may be issued when errors are identified that do not invalidate the overall findings or conclusions of the article. Retractions may be is sued when an article is found to contain serious ethical violations, unreliable findings, plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate publication, or unethical research practices. Withdrawal may be considered for manuscripts that are still under editorial process before publication, in accordance with the journal’s policy. Corrections, retractions, or withdrawal notices will be made publicly available and linked to the relevant article whenever applicable.
6. Complaints and Appeals
Authors, reviewers, readers, or others may submit complaints or appeals regarding editorial decisions, peer review procedures, ethical issues, or published content. Complaints and appeals should be submitted in writing through the journal's official contact and should include clear reasons and supporting evidence. The Editor-in-Chief will review complaints and appeals objectively and may consult with the editorial board or independent experts if necessary. The final decision will be communicated to the complainant or appeals applicant. Complaints regarding the editorial process should be addressed to the Editor-in-Chief at irajtma@irapublishing.com
7. Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Licensing
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts do not violate the copyright, license, or intellectual property rights of others. Any third-party materials, such as figures, tables, instruments, datasets, or copyrighted content, must be used with appropriate permission and attribution. Copyright and licensing terms follow the policies established by IRAJTMA.
8. Data Sharing and Reproducibility
Authors are encouraged to provide sufficient information, methods, and data references to support the verification and reproducibility of their research. Where appropriate and ethically permissible, authors may share datasets, supplementary materials, or other supporting documents in accordance with institutional, legal, and ethical requirements.
9. Post-Publication Discussions
IRAJTMA allows readers and relevant parties to submit scholarly comments, corrections, or clarifications concerning published articles through the official journal contact. Such submissions will be reviewed by the editor and handled according to their relevance and the journal’s publication ethics policy.
10. Responsibilities of the Publisher
The publisher supports the editors in maintaining editorial independence, publication integrity, and ethical publishing practices. The publisher must not influence editorial decisions based on commercial interests or the interests of any particular party. The publisher and editors are responsible for ensuring that allegations of misconduct are handled appropriately, transparently, and in accordance with ethical publishing standards.
Reference: Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) – Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines https://publicationethics.org/membership/code-of-conduct
