JPSDM: Jurnal Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics, academic integrity, and research accountability in all community service publications. The journal does not tolerate any form of research or publication misconduct and is committed to handling all allegations, complaints, and concerns fairly, objectively, confidentially, and transparently, in accordance with the principles and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

This policy applies to all authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and other parties involved in the submission, review, and publication processes.

1. Definition of Research Misconduct

Research misconduct refers to any action or practice that compromises the integrity, accuracy, credibility, or ethical standards of community service activities, research, and scholarly publications.

Research misconduct includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Data Fabrication: Inventing or reporting fictitious field data, community participation records, implementation results, survey responses, evaluation results, or conclusions that do not reflect actual activities or findings.

• Data Falsification: Manipulating research or community service materials, field documentation, survey results, photographs, charts, statistical data, or other evidence to misrepresent the actual implementation or outcomes of community engagement activities.

• Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism: Using another person's ideas, text, data, research findings, or other intellectual work without proper acknowledgment, or reusing substantial portions of previously published work without appropriate citation and disclosure.

• Redundant or Duplicate Publication: Submitting or publishing substantially similar manuscripts describing the same community service activities or research findings in multiple journals without appropriate disclosure or justification.

• Simultaneous Submission: Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time.

• Authorship Misconduct: Engaging in ghost authorship, guest authorship, or gift authorship, or improperly excluding individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the work.

• Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest: Failing to disclose financial, personal, professional, or institutional relationships that may influence the objectivity or integrity of the reported activities and findings.

• Ethical Violations in Community Engagement: Conducting community service activities without appropriate ethical consideration, consent, or respect for the rights, dignity, privacy, and interests of participating communities.

• Misrepresentation of Community Participation: Falsely claiming the involvement, approval, support, or endorsement of community members, partner institutions, local governments, or other stakeholders.

• Citation Manipulation: Inappropriately manipulating references or citations to increase citation counts, create misleading scholarly relationships, or provide an inaccurate representation of the literature.

• Manipulation of Peer Review: Attempting to influence the peer-review process through false reviewer identities, fabricated reviewer information, coercion, or other inappropriate practices.

2. Reporting Allegations of Misconduct

JPSDM encourages readers, reviewers, authors, community partners, research collaborators, and editorial board members to report suspected research or publication misconduct involving manuscripts submitted to or published in the journal.

Reports should follow these principles:

• Reporting Channel: Allegations should be submitted in writing to the Editorial Office of JPSDM through the official contact information provided on the journal website.

• Supporting Evidence: Reports should include clear and objective information, such as comparative text analysis, original data, field observation records, photographic documentation, publication references, or other relevant evidence.

• Good-Faith Reporting: Allegations should be submitted in good faith and based on reasonable grounds rather than personal disputes or unsupported accusations.

• Confidentiality: All reports will be handled confidentially. The identity of the complainant will be protected to the extent permitted by applicable laws and necessary investigative procedures.

• Protection Against Retaliation: JPSDM does not tolerate intimidation, harassment, or retaliation against individuals who report suspected misconduct in good faith.

Anonymous reports may also be considered, provided that sufficient information or evidence is available to support an initial assessment.

3. Investigation Procedure

Upon receiving an allegation of research or publication misconduct, JPSDM will conduct an assessment in accordance with its publication ethics policies and relevant COPE guidelines.

The investigation may involve the following stages:

a. Initial Assessment

The Editor-in-Chief or an authorized editorial representative will review the allegation and supporting evidence to determine whether there are reasonable grounds for further investigation.

b. Notification and Author Response

If the allegation warrants further investigation, the corresponding author will be contacted in writing and given a reasonable opportunity to respond, provide clarification, and submit relevant supporting materials, including original data, field records, photographs, consent documentation, or other evidence.

c. Independent Evaluation

Where necessary, the Editorial Board may appoint an independent expert, an ad hoc ethics committee, or relevant specialists in community development, research methodology, or publication ethics to evaluate the evidence objectively.

d. Institutional Consultation

In serious or complex cases, JPSDM may contact the author's affiliated institution, research ethics committee, relevant community service institution, or funding organization to request clarification or further investigation.

e. Editorial Decision

After considering the available evidence and responses from the relevant parties, the Editor-in-Chief will determine the appropriate action in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policies.

All parties involved will be given a fair opportunity to provide relevant information before a final editorial decision is made, where appropriate.

4. Actions and Sanctions

If research or publication misconduct is established, JPSDM may take appropriate actions depending on the nature, severity, and stage of the manuscript or publication.

a. Before Publication

For manuscripts under submission, review, or editing, the journal may:

• Reject the manuscript or terminate the peer-review process.

• Request substantial revisions or additional supporting evidence where the issue is correctable.

• Issue a formal written warning to the authors.

• Suspend the manuscript from further editorial processing.

• Consider restrictions on future submissions in serious or repeated cases, following a fair editorial assessment.

b. After Publication

For articles that have already been published, the journal may:

• Publish a Correction or Corrigendum for errors that do not invalidate the overall findings or integrity of the article.

• Publish an Expression of Concern when substantial questions remain unresolved or an investigation is ongoing.

• Retract the article in accordance with applicable COPE retraction principles when serious misconduct or fundamental unreliability is established.

• Notify the author's affiliated institution, relevant research or community service office, research ethics committee, or funding organization when justified by the circumstances and applicable procedures.

All corrective actions will be published transparently and linked to the affected article whenever possible.

5. Responsibilities of Authors and Institutions

Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy, authenticity, and integrity of all data, documentation, and information presented in their manuscripts.

Authors must cooperate with editorial investigations and provide relevant original materials when reasonably requested.

Institutions affiliated with the authors are encouraged to investigate allegations that fall within their authority and to provide the journal with appropriate findings or clarification.

6. Protection of the Integrity of the Publication Record

JPSDM is committed to maintaining the accuracy and reliability of the scholarly publication record. Editorial actions will be taken in a proportionate manner, taking into account the available evidence, the seriousness of the alleged misconduct, and the rights of all parties involved.

The journal reserves the right to correct, express concern about, or retract published articles when necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

7. Contact Information

For reporting suspected research or publication misconduct, submitting complaints, or requesting clarification regarding this policy, interested parties may contact the Editorial Office of JPSDM: Jurnal Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat through the official contact information provided on the journal website.