Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

Overview

This statement sets out the ethical standards expected from everyone involved in publishing in PrimaryEdu: Journal of Primary Education, including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher. The policy is aligned with the guidance of COPE and reflects recommendations commonly adopted in scholarly publishing, including those associated with Elsevier.

1. Ethical Guidelines for Journal Publication

PrimaryEdu: Journal of Primary Education is a peer-reviewed journal that uses a double-blind review process to support rigorous, fair, and credible scholarly communication in primary education. The journal is published under the collaboration between IKIP Siliwangi and Himpunan Dosen PGSD Indonesia (HDPGSDI).

The publisher (The Primary Teacher Education Study Program of STKIP Siliwangi / IKIP Siliwangi) is committed to safeguarding ethical standards throughout submission, review, editing, and publication, while ensuring editorial independence from advertising, reprint, or any commercial interests.

2. Duties of Editors and the Editorial Board

  • a. Publication Decisions Editors decide which submissions are accepted, revised, or rejected based on scholarly merit, relevance to the journal’s scope, methodological soundness, and contribution to knowledge. Decisions are informed by reviewers’ reports and editorial policy, and must also comply with applicable legal and ethical requirements (for example, copyright and plagiarism).

  • b. Fair and Unbiased Evaluation Manuscripts are assessed for intellectual content without discrimination based on the authors’ identity, background, or beliefs.

  • c. Confidentiality Editors and editorial staff treat all submissions as confidential. Manuscript information is shared only with those directly involved in editorial handling (corresponding author, reviewers, relevant editorial advisers, and the publisher when necessary).

  • d. Conflicts of Interest and Use of Unpublished Material Editors must avoid handling manuscripts where a conflict of interest exists. Unpublished content from a submission must not be used for editors’ own research or advantage without written consent from the author.

  • e. Handling Allegations of Misconduct Editors take reasonable and timely steps to address suspected misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, data fabrication, citation manipulation, duplicate submission). When concerns are substantiated, the journal may issue corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern, consistent with COPE-aligned practices.

3. Duties of Reviewers

  • a. Contribution to Editorial Decisions Peer review supports editorial decisions and helps authors improve clarity, rigor, and contribution.

  • b. Promptness Reviewers who cannot review within the expected timeframe, or who feel the manuscript is outside their expertise, should inform the editor promptly so that an alternative reviewer can be assigned.

  • c. Confidentiality Review materials and manuscripts are confidential and must not be shared or discussed outside the review process without editor authorization.

  • d. Objectivity and Professionalism Reviews should be constructive, evidence-based, and free from personal criticism. Reviewers should provide clear reasoning for recommendations.

  • e. Acknowledgement of Sources and Overlap Reviewers should identify relevant works that have not been cited and should alert editors to suspected overlap with other publications, where reasonably evident.

  • f. Conflicts of Interest Reviewers must decline manuscripts where conflicts of interest could affect impartiality (competitive, collaborative, institutional, or financial relationships).

4. Duties of Authors

  • a. Reporting Standards and Accuracy Authors must present an honest, accurate, and sufficiently detailed account of the study, including an objective discussion of results and limitations. Knowingly false or misleading statements are unacceptable.

  • b. Data Access and Retention Authors may be asked to provide supporting data for editorial review and should retain data for a reasonable period after publication. Where appropriate and feasible, authors are encouraged to enable access to data in line with ethical and legal constraints.

  • c. Originality and Proper Citation Submissions must be original. Any use of others’ ideas, text, figures, instruments, or data must be properly cited and, where required, permissions must be secured.

  • d. Multiple Submission and Redundant Publication Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal. Substantial redundancy with previously published work must be disclosed and justified where relevant.

  • e. Authorship and Contributor Acknowledgement Authorship should include only those who made substantial contributions to conception/design, data collection, analysis/interpretation, and drafting/revising the manuscript. All co-authors must approve the final version and agree to submission. Other contributors should be acknowledged appropriately.

  • f. Research Ethics for Human Participants (Including Children) For studies involving human participants, authors must state that procedures complied with relevant ethical standards and that approval (when applicable) was obtained from an appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board. Authors must also confirm informed consent (and assent/parental consent where relevant), and protect participants’ privacy and confidentiality.

  • g. Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest and Funding Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial interests that could influence interpretation of the findings, as well as all sources of funding/support.

  • h. Corrections and Retractions If authors discover a significant error in their published work, they must promptly notify the editor and cooperate in issuing a correction or retraction when warranted.

5. Use of AI Tools (Where Applicable)

If authors use AI-assisted tools for language editing, summarization, translation, or other support, the use must not compromise originality, confidentiality, or data integrity. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, proper citation, and ethical compliance of all content. Authors should follow the journal’s specific Generative AI Policies where provided by the journal website.