Publication Ethics

SINERGI: Jurnal Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures against publication malpractice. This statement is based on the guidelines and best practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and applies to all parties involved in the publishing process, including editors, reviewers, and authors.

1. Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must present their work accurately, honestly, and objectively. The manuscript should contain sufficient detail and references to allow others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Authors must ensure that their work is original and has not been published previously or submitted simultaneously to another journal. Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Plagiarism in all its forms, including self-plagiarism, is considered unethical and unacceptable.

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, implementation, or interpretation of the community service activity. All co-authors must approve the final version of the manuscript and agree to its submission. Authors must also disclose any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that may influence the results or interpretation of their work.

Authors must ensure that community service activities involving participants respect ethical standards, including informed consent, respect for participants’ dignity, and protection of confidentiality where applicable.

2. Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for deciding which manuscripts submitted to the journal should be published. Editors evaluate manuscripts based on their academic merit, originality, clarity, relevance to the journal’s scope, and contribution to community service development, without regard to the authors’ race, gender, institutional affiliation, or personal background.

Editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and must not disclose any information about a manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and publisher, as appropriate.

Editors must not use unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript for their own research without the author’s explicit written consent. Editors must also avoid conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have competing interests.

3. Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers assist editors in making editorial decisions and help authors improve the quality of their manuscripts through constructive feedback. Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts objectively, fairly, and professionally.

Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts and must not share or discuss them with others without permission from the editor. Reviewers must not use unpublished information for personal advantage.

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors and should notify the editor of any substantial similarity between the manuscript and other published works. Reviewers must decline to review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest.

4. Ethical Responsibilities of the Publisher

The publisher is committed to ensuring that editorial decisions are made independently and without commercial influence. The publisher supports editors and reviewers in maintaining ethical standards and will take appropriate action in cases of alleged misconduct, including correction, retraction, or withdrawal of published articles if necessary.

The publisher is also responsible for maintaining the integrity of the academic record and ensuring that all published articles adhere to ethical and professional standards.

5. Handling of Ethical Violations

In cases of suspected ethical violations, such as plagiarism, data fabrication, duplicate publication, or authorship disputes, the journal will follow established procedures based on COPE guidelines. This may include investigation, communication with the authors and relevant institutions, and implementation of corrective actions, including manuscript rejection, publication of corrections, or retraction of published articles.

Through this publication ethics policy, SINERGI: Jurnal Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat strives to maintain integrity, transparency, and accountability in all aspects of the publication process and to promote high-quality scholarly contributions in the field of community service.