Allegations of Research Misconduct

1. Policy Statement

INTECH (Informatika dan Teknologi) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of research integrity and publication ethics. The journal takes all allegations of research misconduct seriously and handles them fairly, objectively, confidentially, and in accordance with the principles and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

All allegations will be assessed carefully, regardless of whether they are raised before or after publication.

2. Types of Research Misconduct

Research misconduct may include, but is not limited to:

Fabrication: Making up research data, results, or experimental findings and reporting them as genuine.
Falsification: Manipulating research materials, equipment, processes, data, or results in a way that misrepresents the research.
Plagiarism: Using another person's ideas, words, data, or work without appropriate acknowledgment.
Image or Data Manipulation: Inappropriately altering images, figures, datasets, or research results in a misleading manner.
Duplicate or Redundant Publication: Publishing substantially overlapping work without appropriate disclosure or justification.
Authorship Misconduct: Inappropriately including or excluding authors or misrepresenting individual contributions.
Citation Manipulation: Inappropriately influencing citations or engaging in practices intended to inflate citation metrics.
Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest: Failing to disclose relevant financial, professional, or personal interests that may influence the research or its evaluation.
Other Ethical Violations: Any other conduct that seriously compromises the integrity, reliability, or transparency of scholarly research.

Honest errors, legitimate differences in interpretation, or good-faith scientific disagreements do not automatically constitute research misconduct.

3. Reporting Allegations

Allegations of research misconduct may be submitted to the editorial office by authors, reviewers, readers, researchers, institutions, or other concerned parties.

Reports should include a clear description of the concern and, where possible, supporting evidence such as relevant manuscript passages, publications, datasets, images, or other documentation.

INTECH encourages individuals reporting concerns to provide their contact details so that the editorial team can request clarification when necessary. Reports will be handled confidentially to the extent reasonably possible.

4. Preliminary Assessment and Investigation

Upon receiving an allegation, the editorial team will conduct a preliminary assessment to determine whether the concern falls within the journal's remit and whether sufficient information is available for further consideration.

Where appropriate, the journal may:

Request clarification or supporting information from the complainant.
Contact the corresponding author or other relevant authors for an explanation.
Examine the manuscript, published article, data, references, images, or other relevant materials.
Use appropriate screening tools or independent expert advice where necessary.
Contact the authors' affiliated institution or relevant research integrity body when the concern requires a formal institutional investigation.

The journal will provide the individuals concerned with a reasonable opportunity to respond to the allegations. All assessments will be conducted impartially, without presuming misconduct before the available evidence has been evaluated.

5. Institutional Involvement

INTECH recognizes that formal investigations into research misconduct are generally the responsibility of the relevant research institution or competent authority.

When an allegation is serious, involves complex research matters, or cannot be resolved adequately through editorial assessment, the journal may refer the matter to the authors' affiliated institution or another appropriate authority.

The journal may request information about the outcome of an institutional investigation when relevant to an editorial decision.

6. Editorial Actions

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the concern, the evidence available, and the stage of publication, INTECH may take one or more of the following actions:

Reject the manuscript if the concern is substantiated before publication.
Request corrections, additional information, or clarification where appropriate.
Suspend editorial processing while a serious allegation is being assessed.
Publish a correction or an expression of concern when justified.
Retract a published article when the evidence and applicable publication ethics guidance warrant retraction.
Notify the relevant institution, publisher, or other appropriate authority when necessary.
Restrict future submissions in cases of substantiated and serious misconduct, where proportionate and consistent with the journal's policies.

Editorial actions will be proportionate to the findings and will follow applicable publication ethics guidance. A retraction or other corrective notice will be issued transparently and linked to the affected article where applicable.

7. Confidentiality and Protection Against Retaliation

INTECH will handle allegations and related information confidentially to the extent reasonably possible, while allowing a fair assessment and any necessary investigation.

The identities of complainants will not be disclosed unnecessarily. The journal does not tolerate retaliation against individuals who raise concerns in good faith.

Confidentiality may be limited when disclosure is necessary to investigate the allegation, comply with legal obligations, or protect research integrity.

8. Appeals and Further Communication

Individuals directly affected by an editorial decision related to an allegation may submit a reasoned appeal to the editorial office, accompanied by relevant supporting information.

The appeal will be reviewed by an appropriate editor or an independent person who was not materially involved in the original decision, where feasible.

INTECH may communicate relevant findings and editorial decisions to the parties concerned, subject to confidentiality obligations and applicable policies.

9. Post-Publication Concerns

Allegations concerning an article that has already been published will be assessed using the same principles of fairness, objectivity, and evidence-based evaluation.

Where a published article is found to contain serious errors or unreliable findings, INTECH will consider appropriate corrective measures, including corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions, in accordance with applicable COPE guidance.

10. Ethical Framework

This policy is informed by the principles and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). INTECH is committed to protecting the integrity of the scholarly record and ensuring that concerns about research misconduct are handled responsibly and transparently.