Publication Ethics

Jurnal Arbitrer is an international, peer-reviewed academic journal published by Universitas Andalas.
We are committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics, research integrity, and transparency to protect the scholarly record.
This document defines the ethical responsibilities and expectations of all parties involved in the publishing process — authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher — in accordance with international standards, particularly the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines.

Responsibilities of the Publisher

Universitas Andalas, as the publisher of Jurnal Arbitrer, ensures:

  • Editorial independence: Editorial decisions are made independently by the editorial team, free from commercial, financial, or political influence.
  • Resource support: The publisher provides resources, technical infrastructure, and policy frameworks necessary for the smooth operation of the journal.
  • Ethical oversight: The publisher works with editors to handle cases of suspected misconduct, corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern transparently and fairly.
  • Archiving and preservation: Published content is preserved through reliable archiving systems to ensure long-term accessibility.

Responsibilities of the Editors

The Editor-in-Chief and editorial team are responsible for:

  • Editorial decisions: Making fair, unbiased decisions based solely on academic merit, relevance, originality, and clarity, regardless of authors’ gender, ethnicity, nationality, institutional affiliation, or political beliefs.
  • Peer review management: Ensuring manuscripts undergo rigorous, confidential, double-blind peer review by qualified experts.
  • Confidentiality: Protecting the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and related communications.
  • Conflict of interest disclosure: Declaring and managing any conflicts of interest, recusing themselves from decisions where such conflicts exist.
  • Ethical enforcement: Overseeing the correction or retraction of publications when ethical breaches, errors, or misconduct are identified.
  • Misconduct handling: Investigating and addressing allegations of research or publication misconduct in accordance with COPE procedures.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play a critical role in ensuring the quality and integrity of published research. They are expected to:

  • Provide objective, fair, and constructive evaluations of submitted manuscripts;
  • Complete reviews within the agreed-upon timeframe or promptly inform the editors if delays are unavoidable;
  • Maintain strict confidentiality — manuscripts, data, and findings must not be shared, discussed, or used for personal advantage;
  • Declare any potential conflicts of interest and decline the review if impartiality is compromised;
  • Identify relevant uncited literature, detect possible plagiarism, or flag redundant publications;
  • Uphold professional conduct and communicate respectfully with authors through the editorial office.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must adhere to the highest ethical standards by:

  • Submitting only original, unpublished work that has not been submitted elsewhere;
  • Providing accurate, honest, and complete accounts of research methods, data, and findings;
  • Ensuring sufficient detail and documentation for others to replicate or build upon the research;
  • Properly acknowledging all sources, collaborators, and funding;
  • Avoiding plagiarism, redundant publication, and data fabrication or falsification;
  • Disclosing any financial, institutional, or personal conflicts of interest;

Following appropriate ethical standards when research involves human or animal subjects, including:

  • Obtaining institutional ethics approval;
  • Securing informed consent from participants;
  • Ensuring participant anonymity, confidentiality, and data protection;
  • Adhering to international frameworks such as the Declaration of Helsinki.

If authors identify significant errors or inaccuracies post-publication, they must promptly notify the editorial office so appropriate corrections or retractions can be issued.

Competing Interests Policy

All parties (authors, reviewers, editors) must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that could influence editorial decisions or research outcomes, including:

  • Financial relationships (grants, consulting fees, stock ownership);
  • Personal or academic relationships (collaborations, prior co-authorship);
  • Institutional affiliations or competitive interests.

Editors with conflicts must recuse themselves from handling the affected manuscripts; reviewers must decline the assignment. Visit Competing Interest Policy for detailed information. 

Correction, Retraction, and Expressions of Concern

Jurnal Arbitrer is committed to correcting the scholarly record when errors or misconduct are discovered.
We follow COPE’s guidelines to determine the appropriate course of action:

  • Correction (Erratum): Issued when minor errors that do not undermine the research findings are identified.
  • Retraction: Issued when major errors, research misconduct (e.g., fabrication, plagiarism), or ethical breaches are confirmed.
  • Expression of Concern: Issued when an investigation is pending, but there is reason to alert the community to potential problems.

All corrections and retractions will be linked to the original article for transparency. Visit Correction & Retraction Policy for a detailed explanation. 

Ethical Guidelines and External Standards

Jurnal Arbitrer aligns its editorial practices with:

COPE Core Practices and Guidelines
More at: https://publicationethics.org

We also support adherence to field-specific standards such as:

For human research, please check Human Research Ethics Policy.

Reporting Concerns or Misconduct

If you suspect unethical behavior, misconduct, or violations of this policy in any article published by Jurnal Arbitrer, please report your concerns to the editorial office:

Editorial Office Email: arbitrer@hum.unand.ac.id

All reports will be investigated fairly, confidentially, and promptly, following COPE-recommended processes.

 

References:

COPE Council Guidance, https://publicationethics.org/guidance

COPE Council. COPE Guidelines: editorial board participation — English. https://doi.org/10.24318/F3lrGybw