Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

INTELLECT JOURNAL • EDITORIAL & PUBLICATION ETHICS

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Integrity, accountability, and fairness throughout scholarly publishing

Intellect: Indonesian Journal of Learning and Technological Innovation is a peer-reviewed, open-access scholarly journal published by Yayasan Lembaga Studi Makwa (Makwa Foundation), Indonesia. The journal is committed to responsible research and publication practices in educational technology, learning innovation, and applied digital technologies for education.

This statement sets out the ethical responsibilities of authors, editors, peer reviewers, and the publisher. It provides an overarching framework for the journal’s more detailed policies on authorship, peer review, conflicts of interest, artificial intelligence, research misconduct, complaints, and post-publication actions. It draws on guidance from COPE, the COPE–DOAJ–OASPA–WAME Principles of Transparency, and relevant ICMJE recommendations, adapted to the journal’s disciplinary context.

1. Editorial Responsibilities and Independence

The Editor-in-Chief oversees editorial standards and is responsible for final decisions on submitted manuscripts, supported by associate editors or members of the Editorial Board where appropriate. Decisions are based on the journal’s focus and scope, originality, significance, methodological rigour, reviewer assessments, and adherence to ethical and legal requirements.

• Fair evaluation: manuscripts are assessed for their scholarly content without discrimination based on authors’ nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, institutional affiliation, or political views.
• Confidentiality: editors and editorial staff protect submitted manuscripts, peer-review reports, and unpublished findings; access is restricted to persons legitimately involved in the editorial process.
• Independent handling: editors disclose relevant conflicts of interest and withdraw from handling affected manuscripts. An independent editor is assigned when a submission involves the Editor-in-Chief, an Editorial Board member, or another conflicted party.
• Accountability: editors respond to substantive concerns, investigate publication issues within their remit, and coordinate with institutions when formal research investigations are warranted.

2. Peer-Review Integrity and Responsibilities of Reviewers

Manuscripts that pass initial editorial screening undergo double-anonymous peer review by at least two independent reviewers with suitable expertise. Additional reviews or revision rounds may be requested where justified. Recommendations inform, but do not determine, the Editor-in-Chief’s final decision.

• Reviewers accept invitations only when they have the relevant expertise and sufficient time to complete a careful assessment.
• Reviews must be objective, respectful, evidence-based, and constructive. Reviewers must not request unnecessary citations to increase citations to themselves or particular journals.
• Reviewers disclose financial, professional, personal, or institutional conflicts and decline or withdraw from assignments where their independence may be compromised.
• Submitted manuscripts, associated data, and review reports remain confidential. Reviewers must not distribute the material, use unpublished ideas for personal advantage, or disclose author identities if they become known.
• AI-assisted peer review is prohibited under the journal’s AI Policy: reviewers must not use AI tools to examine, summarize, evaluate, or draft comments on a manuscript, nor upload confidential manuscript material to AI services.
• Suspected plagiarism, image manipulation, data irregularities, or other ethical issues must be reported confidentially to the handling editor rather than investigated independently by the reviewer.

The journal does not guarantee acceptance or promise a fixed peer-review duration. Editorial timelines depend on reviewer availability, the nature of revisions, and the assessment of each manuscript.

3. Responsibilities of Authors and Authorship Integrity

Authors are accountable for the originality, accuracy, reliability, and ethical conduct of their research. They must present methods and findings honestly; accurately distinguish observations from interpretations; acknowledge prior work; and provide sufficiently detailed reporting to allow readers to assess the validity of the study.

• Authorship: every listed author must satisfy all four authorship criteria adapted from the ICMJE recommendations, approve the submitted and final versions, and accept responsibility for the work. Contributor roles may be described using the CRediT taxonomy.
• Proper attribution: authors must cite relevant sources accurately, acknowledge qualifying contributions, and obtain required permissions for third-party material.
• Original submission: simultaneous submission of substantially the same manuscript to multiple journals is not permitted. Prior publications, related manuscripts, conference versions, and preprints must be disclosed so the editors can assess overlap transparently.
• Author approval and changes: the corresponding author coordinates author communications and confirms that all authors approve the manuscript and any proposed changes to the author list.
• Disclosure: authors disclose funding, material competing interests, and the use of AI-assisted technologies when applicable.
• Post-publication responsibilities: authors promptly notify the journal when they discover a material error or concern affecting the reliability of a published article and cooperate with appropriate correction procedures.

A publicly available preprint is not automatically treated as prohibited prior publication, provided it is disclosed and the submission otherwise satisfies the journal’s originality and ethical requirements. Substantial republication without transparent identification and editorial authorization is not acceptable.

4. Research Ethics, Participant Protection, and Data Stewardship

Research involving human participants, particularly students, minors, teachers, or educational communities, must comply with applicable legal, institutional, and disciplinary ethical requirements. Where required, authors must obtain approval from a competent research ethics committee or equivalent body, and describe the approval and consent procedures in the manuscript.

• Participation should be voluntary and based on appropriately documented informed consent; for minors or participants unable to consent independently, applicable permission and assent procedures must be followed.
• Personal or sensitive information, including student records, educational performance data, photographs, facial images, audio, and classroom recordings, must be collected, used, stored, and reported with appropriate protections.
• Identifying information must not be published without a legitimate basis and the necessary permissions. Anonymisation, secure access, and data minimisation should be used where applicable.
• Authors must report research datasets, data processing, exclusions, and relevant limitations honestly. Fabricated data, fabricated ethics approvals, fabricated consent, and deceptive manipulation of results are unacceptable.
• Where editorial verification is necessary, authors may be asked to provide underlying data or supporting documentation. Public data sharing is encouraged when ethically and legally appropriate, but is not required where it would violate participant confidentiality, consent, or applicable restrictions.

5. Originality, Plagiarism, and Other Publication Misconduct

The journal does not tolerate plagiarism, unattributed copying, inappropriate reuse of previously published work, fabrication or falsification of research findings, deceptive image manipulation, authorship manipulation, citation manipulation, peer-review manipulation, or deliberate nondisclosure of material ethical concerns.

Editorial screening may include the use of similarity-detection software. A similarity percentage is a screening indicator, not a definitive finding of plagiarism. Editors evaluate the context, extent, attribution, and significance of overlap and may request clarification or corrections before reaching a decision.

Credible allegations are assessed impartially and confidentially, with due consideration of available evidence and a reasonable opportunity for the parties concerned to respond. Serious cases may require consultation with the relevant research institution, employer, ethics committee, or other competent authority. Editorial actions are proportionate to the findings and follow the journal’s separate Research Misconduct and Plagiarism policies.

6. Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Technologies

Intellect welcomes scholarly research that studies or applies artificial intelligence to educational problems. The use of AI as a research method must be distinguished from the use of generative AI tools to prepare a manuscript.

• Authors: may use appropriate AI-assisted tools as research or writing aids, subject to transparent disclosure, verification, correct attribution, and full human accountability. AI systems cannot be listed as authors.
• Editors: retain independent responsibility for all scientific and editorial decisions. AI must not replace editorial judgement, and confidential manuscript content must not be entered into third-party AI services in violation of journal confidentiality rules.
• Reviewers: must not use AI to analyse or evaluate manuscripts or generate reviewer comments, and must not upload or disclose manuscript material to AI systems.
• Integrity: AI-generated citations, quotations, images, data, or code must be checked for accuracy, authenticity, intellectual-property compliance, and methodological validity before submission.

Detailed permitted uses, disclosure requirements, and procedures for alleged AI-related violations are established in the journal’s dedicated Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy.

7. Conflicts of Interest and Editorial Recusal

All authors, reviewers, editors, and relevant editorial personnel must disclose relationships or circumstances that could influence, or reasonably appear to influence, research conduct, peer review, or editorial decisions. Such interests may be financial, professional, institutional, personal, or academic.

A declared competing interest does not automatically invalidate a manuscript. The journal evaluates whether disclosure, reassignment, recusal, additional review, or another safeguard is necessary. Editors must not handle manuscripts in which they have a significant competing interest, including manuscripts authored by themselves or close collaborators.

8. Publisher Responsibility, Financial Transparency, and Open Access

Yayasan Lembaga Studi Makwa (Makwa Foundation) provides organizational and technical support for the journal and is responsible for maintaining reliable publishing operations. The publisher supports the Editorial Board’s academic independence and does not interfere with acceptance or rejection decisions for financial or institutional reasons.

Intellect applies a standard Article Processing Charge (APC) of IDR 400,000 per accepted article. The APC is payable after formal acceptance, as described on the journal’s Author Fees page. No paid fast-track review service or separate publication fee is offered. Any honoraria for editorial or reviewing services are independent of publication outcomes and reviewers’ recommendations.

Published articles are made openly accessible. Under the journal’s stated copyright and licensing arrangements, authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication; articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution–ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. Authors remain responsible for securing necessary permission to reuse third-party content.

9. Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

The journal is committed to maintaining an accurate and trustworthy scholarly record. When material errors or integrity concerns arise after publication, the editor assesses the evidence and determines the appropriate response, which may include a correction, an expression of concern, or a retraction, in accordance with the separate Correction and Retraction Policy.

Formal post-publication notices must clearly explain the reason for the action and remain linked to the article concerned. Published content is not silently replaced, deleted, or backdated to conceal editorial history. Exceptional article removal is considered only where warranted by compelling legal, privacy, or safety considerations.

10. Post-Publication Discussion, Complaints, and Appeals

Readers, authors, reviewers, and other stakeholders may submit substantive scientific comments, requests for clarification, or concerns regarding the editorial process through the journal’s official contact channels. Constructive scholarly disagreement is distinguished from allegations of research misconduct.

Complaints about journal conduct and appeals against editorial decisions are evaluated under the dedicated Complaints and Appeals Policy. Where the person responsible for the original decision has a relevant conflict of interest, the matter should be reassigned for impartial consideration. Submitting a complaint or appeal does not guarantee acceptance, retraction, or reversal of a decision.

11. Confidentiality, Privacy, and Record Keeping

Editors and the publisher safeguard manuscript files, review correspondence, research data, and personal information obtained during the publishing process. Access and retention are limited by legitimate editorial, ethical, technical, and legal requirements. Reports of suspected misconduct and complaints are documented appropriately while protecting confidentiality to the extent reasonably possible.

The journal preserves the transparency of its publication record, including authentic submission, acceptance, and publication dates and any formal corrections or retractions. Its archiving and preservation arrangements are described separately in the Archiving and Preservation Policy.

12. Policy Administration and Related Information

The Editor-in-Chief, supported by the Editorial Board and publisher, is responsible for implementing this overarching ethics statement and coordinating its interpretation with the journal’s more specific editorial policies. Where a more detailed policy governs a particular issue, that policy provides the applicable procedure, subject to consistent principles of fairness, independence, and research integrity.

Questions about these standards, concerns about a submission, or potential publication ethics violations should be directed to the editorial office through the official Contact page.

Related Intellect pages

Additional dedicated policies include Authorship Criteria, Artificial Intelligence Policy, Conflict of Interest, Research Misconduct, Post-Publication Discussion, Correction and Retraction, and Complaints and Appeals. Links should be activated on the journal website once the respective policy pages have been published and verified.

International guidance used in preparing this policy

• Scopus — Content Policy and Selection
• COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, and WAME — Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing
• ICMJE — Recommendations for Scholarly Publishing (updated January 2026)
• Creative Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0

This policy draws on internationally recognised guidance and does not imply membership in, endorsement by, or accreditation from any of the referenced organisations.