Allegation of Research Misconduct

Jurnal Islamika: Jurnal Ilmu-ilmu Keislaman is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, research ethics, transparency, and accountability in scholarly publishing. This policy is established in accordance with the principles and best practice guidelines recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). It aims to ensure that allegations of research misconduct are addressed fairly, consistently, and responsibly throughout the editorial and publication processes.

Recognizing the interdisciplinary nature of Islamic studies, the journal applies this policy to various forms of scholarly research, including textual analysis, conceptual and theoretical studies, historical research, Islamic legal studies, Qur'anic and Hadith studies, Islamic education, and empirical research on religious and social practices.

Jurnal Islamika: Jurnal Ilmu-ilmu Keislaman takes all allegations of research misconduct seriously and follows relevant COPE guidance in assessing concerns, communicating with the parties involved, and determining appropriate editorial actions.

1. Definition of Research Misconduct

Research misconduct refers to unethical practices occurring during the design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, review, reporting, or publication of scholarly research. Such practices undermine the reliability, originality, and credibility of academic publications.

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

Fabrication: Inventing research data, interview results, observations, historical evidence, textual references, or other research findings and presenting them as authentic scholarly evidence.
Falsification: Manipulating, altering, selectively omitting, or misrepresenting research data, documents, methodological procedures, or findings in ways that distort the accuracy and reliability of the research.
Plagiarism: Using another person's ideas, arguments, interpretations, research findings, or written materials without appropriate acknowledgment. This includes plagiarism involving published articles, books, theses, dissertations, translations, and other scholarly sources.
Citation manipulation: Deliberately including irrelevant references, excessive self-citations, or citations intended primarily to manipulate citation metrics rather than support scholarly arguments.
Redundant or duplicate publication: Publishing the same or substantially similar research findings in multiple journals or publications without appropriate disclosure, justification, or acknowledgment of the original publication.
Inappropriate authorship practices: Including individuals who do not meet authorship criteria, excluding eligible contributors, or misrepresenting individual contributions to the research.
Misrepresentation of scholarly sources: Deliberately fabricating references, misquoting religious texts, misrepresenting historical documents, or attributing interpretations to Islamic scholars without reliable supporting sources.
Unethical research practices: Conducting research involving human participants without appropriate ethical safeguards, informed consent where required, or adequate protection of confidentiality and participant rights.
Undisclosed conflicts of interest: Concealing financial, institutional, personal, or professional relationships that could reasonably influence the research, peer-review process, or editorial decisions.
Misuse of artificial intelligence: Using artificial intelligence tools to fabricate data, generate nonexistent references, misrepresent scholarly evidence, or produce misleading research content. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of AI-assisted work and must disclose relevant AI use in accordance with journal policy.

Honest errors, legitimate differences in scholarly interpretation, methodological disagreements, and academic debates concerning Islamic thought, religious traditions, or historical evidence do not, in themselves, constitute research misconduct.

2. Scope and Responsibility

This policy applies to all manuscripts submitted to Jurnal Islamika: Jurnal Ilmu-ilmu Keislaman, including manuscripts undergoing editorial screening, peer review, revision, or production, as well as all articles previously published by the journal.

The policy applies to authors, reviewers, editors, and other individuals involved in the scholarly publication process.

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board, in cooperation with the publisher, are responsible for ensuring that allegations are assessed objectively, promptly, and consistently with relevant COPE guidance.

The journal distinguishes between its responsibility to evaluate the reliability and publishability of scholarly work and the responsibility of research institutions or competent authorities to conduct formal investigations into research misconduct.

Editorial decisions are based on the available evidence, the seriousness of the alleged misconduct, and its potential implications for the integrity of the scholarly record.

3. Procedures for Handling Allegations

Initial Assessment

Allegations of research misconduct must be submitted in writing to the Editor-in-Chief through the journal's official communication channels.
Reports should provide sufficient information regarding the suspected misconduct, including relevant manuscript details, supporting documentation, or verifiable evidence whenever available.
The editorial team conducts a preliminary assessment to determine whether the allegation is credible, relevant, and sufficiently supported to warrant further consideration.
Anonymous allegations may be considered when accompanied by specific and verifiable evidence.
Allegations involving members of the editorial team must be handled by an appropriate independent editor or another designated party without a conflict of interest.

Notification of Authors

When an allegation requires further assessment, the corresponding author is ordinarily notified and given an opportunity to provide an explanation and relevant supporting evidence.
Other authors may be contacted directly when necessary, particularly when allegations concern individual contributions, authorship disputes, or the accuracy of specific research findings.
Authors are expected to cooperate with reasonable requests for clarification, original research materials, documentation, or other relevant information.
The editorial team provides a reasonable response period, taking into consideration the complexity and seriousness of the allegation.
No determination of misconduct is made solely on the basis of an allegation without appropriate consideration of the available evidence and the responses of the parties concerned.

Investigation and Expert Review

The Editorial Board may conduct a preliminary examination of the manuscript, supporting documents, references, research methods, and other relevant materials.
Independent academic experts may be consulted when specialized knowledge is required, including expertise in Islamic jurisprudence, Qur'anic interpretation, Hadith studies, Islamic history, research methodology, or other relevant disciplines.
The journal may request verification of scholarly references, original research records, textual sources, or supporting documentation when concerns arise regarding their authenticity or accuracy.
Allegations requiring formal investigation into research conduct are referred to the authors' affiliated institutions or other competent authorities, where appropriate.
The journal cooperates with relevant institutional investigations while maintaining editorial independence and appropriate confidentiality.
When necessary, editorial processing may be temporarily suspended until sufficient information is available to determine the appropriate course of action.

Findings and Editorial Actions

Depending on the nature of the allegation, the available evidence, and the outcome of any relevant investigation, the journal may take one or more of the following actions:

Manuscript rejection: Reject a manuscript when serious ethical violations or unreliable research practices are established during the editorial or peer-review process.
Correction: Publish a formal correction when identified errors can be rectified without undermining the overall reliability of the article.
Retraction: Retract a published article when its findings are unreliable due to fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or other serious problems affecting the integrity of the publication. A retraction notice will clearly identify the affected article and explain the reasons for the decision.
Expression of concern: Publish an expression of concern when substantial concerns regarding a published article remain unresolved, an investigation is ongoing, or available evidence is inconclusive.
Submission restrictions: Impose proportionate restrictions on future submissions in cases of substantiated serious or repeated misconduct, subject to established journal procedures.
Institutional notification: Inform relevant academic institutions, research organizations, funding bodies, or other journals when necessary and appropriate.
Other corrective actions: Implement additional measures consistent with COPE guidance to protect the integrity, transparency, and reliability of the scholarly record.

Editorial actions are determined according to the seriousness of the issue and the reliability of the published work. Retraction is not automatically imposed for every ethical concern, and correction is preferred when errors are limited and the principal findings remain reliable.

4. Confidentiality and Fair Process

Jurnal Islamika: Jurnal Ilmu-ilmu Keislaman is committed to handling all allegations of research misconduct through procedures that respect confidentiality, impartiality, and procedural fairness.

Reports and supporting documents are treated confidentially and disclosed only to individuals whose involvement is necessary for assessment or resolution.
Individuals accused of misconduct are given a reasonable opportunity to respond to the allegations and provide supporting evidence.
The identity of individuals reporting suspected misconduct is protected to the extent reasonably possible, subject to applicable legal obligations and procedural requirements.
Editors and reviewers involved in evaluating allegations must disclose any potential conflicts of interest and withdraw from the process when impartiality cannot be maintained.
Allegations are evaluated on the basis of verifiable evidence rather than personal relationships, institutional status, religious affiliation, or differences in scholarly perspectives.
The journal seeks to prevent unfair treatment, retaliation, or reputational harm arising from unsubstantiated allegations.

Confidentiality does not prevent the journal from publishing necessary corrections, expressions of concern, or retraction notices when such actions are required to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

5. Institutional Role

Jurnal Islamika: Jurnal Ilmu-ilmu Keislaman recognizes that formal investigations into research misconduct are primarily the responsibility of the researchers' affiliated institutions or other competent authorities.

The journal may conduct preliminary assessments to determine whether allegations affect the reliability, originality, or ethical acceptability of submitted or published manuscripts. However, the journal does not ordinarily assume the institutional authority to investigate matters beyond its editorial responsibilities.

When allegations involve possible fabrication of research evidence, falsification of data, serious plagiarism, or violations of research ethics, the Editorial Board may refer the matter to the relevant institution for further investigation.

The journal expects authors and affiliated institutions to cooperate in resolving concerns and providing relevant documentation when appropriate.

Findings from institutional investigations are considered alongside available editorial evidence when determining whether a manuscript should be rejected, corrected, retracted, or subjected to other appropriate editorial actions.

Where institutional investigations are unavailable, delayed, or inconclusive, the journal may still take proportionate editorial action when sufficient evidence demonstrates that the reliability of the scholarly record is at risk.

6. Publisher's Commitment to Ethical Publishing

The publisher of Jurnal Islamika: Jurnal Ilmu-ilmu Keislaman is committed to supporting editorial independence, responsible research practices, and the ethical dissemination of scholarly knowledge.

Editorial decisions must be based on academic quality, methodological soundness, originality, ethical compliance, and the reliability of research findings, without inappropriate commercial, institutional, political, or personal influence.

The publisher supports the Editorial Board in addressing allegations of misconduct and implementing appropriate corrective measures in accordance with recognized publication ethics principles.

When suspected misconduct affects publications across multiple journals or publishers, the journal and its publisher may cooperate with relevant parties, including other editorial offices and academic institutions, while respecting confidentiality and procedural fairness.

Through this policy, Jurnal Islamika: Jurnal Ilmu-ilmu Keislaman seeks to preserve public trust in academic publishing, promote responsible scholarship, and maintain the integrity of research across the diverse disciplines of Islamic studies.

7. References and Ethical Guidelines

This policy is informed by the following international publication ethics resources:

Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Core practices. https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Retraction guidelines. https://publicationethics.org/retraction-guidelines
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Flowcharts and guidance for handling publication ethics concerns. https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Flowcharts
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Cooperation between research institutions and journals on research integrity cases. https://publicationethics.org/

Jurnal Islamika: Jurnal Ilmu-ilmu Keislaman is committed to addressing allegations of research misconduct responsibly, maintaining fairness throughout editorial procedures, and safeguarding the credibility and integrity of scholarly publications in Islamic studies.