Allegation of Research Misconduct

Allegations of Research Misconduct

The Indonesian Health Science Journal (IHSJ) is committed to maintaining the integrity, credibility, and ethical standards of scientific publications in health sciences. The journal recognizes the importance of addressing research misconduct to ensure that published findings are trustworthy, transparent, and responsibly reported.

Research misconduct may involve unethical or dishonest practices in the design, conduct, analysis, reporting, or publication of research. Such practices include, but are not limited to, data fabrication, data falsification, plagiarism, inappropriate manipulation of images or research results, citation manipulation, duplicate publication, and violations of research ethics involving human participants or other research subjects.

Reporting and Assessment of Allegations

Concerns regarding possible research misconduct in manuscripts submitted to or articles published in IHSJ may be reported to the Editorial Board. Reports should provide a clear description of the suspected misconduct and relevant supporting evidence, where available.

Upon receiving a report, the Editorial Board will assess the information to determine whether the concern warrants further investigation. All allegations will be considered carefully, impartially, and confidentially. The journal will not consider an allegation as proof of misconduct without an appropriate assessment of the available evidence.

Investigation Procedure

When an allegation requires further examination, the Editorial Board may request explanations, original research data, ethical approval documents, or other relevant materials from the authors. The corresponding author may be asked to coordinate a response on behalf of all co-authors.

Where necessary, IHSJ may seek advice from independent experts or contact the authors' affiliated institutions or relevant research ethics committees to support the assessment. Authors will be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to the allegations before an editorial decision is made, where appropriate.

The journal will handle each case according to its circumstances, taking into account the seriousness of the alleged misconduct, the evidence available, and the responses received.

Editorial Decisions and Corrective Actions

If research misconduct is established or significant concerns remain unresolved, IHSJ may take appropriate action based on the stage of publication and the nature of the case. Such actions may include rejecting the submitted manuscript, suspending the editorial process while an investigation is ongoing, requesting corrections, publishing an expression of concern, or retracting a published article when necessary.

For published articles, the journal's priority is to maintain the accuracy and reliability of the scholarly record. Any correction or retraction will be communicated through an appropriate editorial notice linked to the affected article.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to IHSJ are responsible for ensuring the accuracy and authenticity of their research, the appropriate attribution of sources, the integrity of research data, and compliance with applicable research ethics requirements. Authors must cooperate with reasonable editorial requests for clarification or supporting documentation when concerns about their work arise.

All authors share responsibility for the integrity of the work they submit and publish. Deliberately providing false information or failing to address substantiated concerns may lead to further editorial action.

Commitment to Research Integrity

The Indonesian Health Science Journal (IHSJ) aims to address allegations of research misconduct through a fair, evidence-based, and transparent process while respecting confidentiality and the rights of all parties involved. The journal may refer to recognized publication ethics guidance, including that of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), when determining appropriate procedures and actions.

Through these measures, IHSJ seeks to promote responsible research practices and preserve the trustworthiness of scientific publications in the health sciences.