Publication Ethics

Journal of Transformative Learning and Social Innovation (JATI)

Statement of Commitment

JATI is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and to preventing publication malpractice. The journal follows the guidelines and best practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), including the COPE Core Practices and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing. All parties involved in publication (authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher) are expected to adhere to the standards below.

1. Duties of Authors

1.1 Originality and Plagiarism

Manuscripts must be original, must not have been published before, and must not be under consideration elsewhere. The work and words of others must be properly cited or quoted. All submissions are screened with similarity-detection software (e.g., Turnitin or iThenticate). Manuscripts with a similarity index above 20% (excluding references) may be returned without review. Plagiarism in any form, including self-plagiarism and text recycling, is unacceptable.

1.2 Authorship

Authorship is limited to those who have made a substantial contribution to the conception, design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation of the study, and who have drafted or critically revised the manuscript and approved the final version. Everyone who meets these criteria must be listed, and no one who does not should be added (no gift, guest, or ghost authorship). Authors are encouraged to describe each person’s role using the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy). Changes to the author list after submission require written agreement from all authors and approval from the editor.

1.3 Research Ethics and Consent

Research involving human participants must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and with relevant institutional and national regulations. Manuscripts must report:

the ethics committee or review board that approved the study, with the approval number where available, or a justification of why approval was not required;
that informed consent was obtained (including parental or guardian consent for minors);
how participant confidentiality and anonymity were protected, particularly in community-engaged and participatory research.

1.4 Data Integrity and Availability

Authors must present accurate data and must not fabricate, falsify, or selectively manipulate data or images. Authors are encouraged to deposit data, instruments, and code in a trusted repository (e.g., Zenodo, OSF, Figshare), or to explain why data cannot be shared, such as the need to protect participants.

1.5 Duplicate and Redundant Publication

Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time, or splitting a single study into several minimal publications (salami slicing), is unethical. Prior dissemination, such as a thesis, preprint, or conference abstract, must be disclosed to the editor at submission.

1.6 Conflict of Interest and Funding

Authors must disclose any financial, professional, or personal relationships that could be perceived as influencing the work, and must acknowledge all funding sources and the role of funders in the study. If there are none, authors should state: “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

1.7 Use of AI Tools

AI tools cannot be listed as authors and cannot take responsibility for the work. Authors who use generative AI or AI-assisted tools must disclose their use, stating the tool, its version, and its purpose, and remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the content, including all citations. Please see the journal’s AI Usage Policy for details.

1.8 Reporting Errors

If authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they must promptly notify the editor and cooperate in issuing a correction or retraction.

2. Duties of Editors

Fair play. Manuscripts are evaluated solely on their academic merit, without regard to the authors’ race, gender, nationality, religion, political views, or institutional affiliation.
Confidentiality. Editors will not disclose information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and the publisher.
Independence of decisions. Editorial decisions are based on the importance, originality, and clarity of the work and its relevance to the journal’s scope, free from commercial or political influence.
Conflict of interest. Editors must recuse themselves from manuscripts where they have a conflict of interest, such as a collaboration or institutional relationship with the authors. These manuscripts will be handled by another editor.
Own work. Submissions by editors or editorial board members are handled independently of the authors, and the author-editor takes no part in the decision.
Investigating misconduct. Editors take reasonable steps to respond to allegations of misconduct and follow COPE flowcharts when handling suspected cases.
Timeliness. Editors aim to manage manuscripts promptly and to keep authors informed.

3. Duties of Reviewers

Confidentiality. Manuscripts are confidential documents. Reviewers must not share, discuss, or use unpublished material for their own research without the author’s written consent.
Objectivity. Reviews must be constructive, fair, and professional, with clear reasons for the comments. Personal criticism of the authors is inappropriate.
Expertise and timeliness. Reviewers who feel unqualified or unable to complete the review within the agreed time should inform the editor promptly.
Conflict of interest. Reviewers must decline manuscripts where they have competing, collaborative, or other relationships with the authors.
Relevant work. Reviewers should point out relevant published work that has not been cited, and any substantial similarity with other work they are aware of.
AI tools in review. Reviewers must not upload manuscripts to public generative AI tools, as this may breach confidentiality.

4. Peer Review Process

JATI uses a double-blind peer review process in which the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from each other. Each manuscript is assessed by at least two independent reviewers after an initial editorial screening. The first decision is normally provided within 6–8 weeks after the manuscript passes screening. Final decisions are made by the Editor-in-Chief or a handling editor. See the Peer Review Process page for details.

5. Publisher’s Responsibilities

The publisher, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, supports the editorial team in upholding these standards. The publisher respects editorial independence, supports investigations into ethical concerns, and takes reasonable steps to ensure the long-term preservation and accessibility of the published record. JATI does not charge article submission or processing fees, and publication decisions are never influenced by financial considerations.

6. Handling Misconduct

Misconduct includes plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, image manipulation, duplicate submission, undisclosed conflicts of interest, authorship disputes, and breaches of reviewer confidentiality. When misconduct is suspected:

The editor will assess the concern and request an explanation from the parties involved.
The case will be handled according to the relevant COPE flowchart.
If misconduct is confirmed, possible actions include rejecting the manuscript, requesting a correction, publishing a retraction or expression of concern, and notifying the authors’ institution or funder.
Authors found guilty of serious misconduct may be barred from submitting to JATI for a period determined by the editorial board.

7. Corrections, Retractions, and Withdrawals

Correction. Published when a post-publication error affects the interpretation of the work but does not invalidate it.
Expression of concern. Issued when there is credible evidence of a problem that is still under investigation.
Retraction. Issued when findings are unreliable due to misconduct or honest error, or when the work is redundant, plagiarized, or unethical. Retracted articles remain accessible and are clearly marked as retracted.
Withdrawal. Authors may withdraw a manuscript before publication by written request to the editor. Withdrawal after the review process has been completed may be subject to the editor’s decision.

8. Complaints and Appeals

Authors who wish to appeal an editorial decision or raise a complaint about the editorial process may write to the editorial office at [email protected] with a detailed justification. Appeals will be considered by an editor who was not involved in the original decision, and the outcome is final.

9. Intellectual Property and Copyright

Authors retain copyright of their work and grant JATI the right of first publication. Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce any third-party material. Published articles are archived in the PKP Preservation Network and indexed in Google Scholar, and are assigned a DOI through Crossref.

10. Reporting Ethical Concerns

Anyone who suspects an ethical violation in a submitted or published article is encouraged to report it to the editorial office at [email protected]. Reports will be handled confidentially and in accordance with COPE guidelines.

Publication Ethics