Research Misconduct

The Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan Matematika dan Sains (JPPMS), published by the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, is committed to maintaining the integrity, accuracy, transparency, reliability, and credibility of the scholarly record. This policy establishes the journal's approach to handling allegations of research or publication misconduct, significant errors in published articles, ethical concerns, and post-publication scholarly discussion.

This policy applies to manuscripts and published articles in mathematics and science education, including research on learning innovation, assessment and evaluation, learning media, misconceptions, curriculum and philosophy, and educational psychology in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology education.

 

1. General Principles

Allegations of research misconduct and concerns about published articles will be assessed fairly, objectively, proportionately, and confidentially to the extent reasonably possible. An allegation will not be treated as established misconduct before an appropriate assessment has been conducted.

Authors and other relevant parties will normally be given a reasonable opportunity to provide clarification, supporting documentation, or a response to the concerns raised. Individuals with relevant conflicts of interest must not determine the outcome of a case.

Where necessary, JPPMS may consult independent reviewers, subject experts, statisticians, research-integrity specialists, research ethics committees, authors' institutions, or other relevant authorities to assist in evaluating concerns.

Editorial actions will be proportionate to the nature and severity of the issue, the available evidence, and its potential effect on the reliability and integrity of the scholarly record. Editorial decisions must be based on scholarly and ethical considerations rather than financial or commercial interests.

 

2. Allegations of Research Misconduct

Research or publication misconduct includes, but is not limited to, fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, citation manipulation, peer-review manipulation, data or image manipulation, inappropriate authorship practices, undisclosed conflicts of interest, duplicate submission, redundant publication, misrepresentation of ethical approval or informed consent, and other serious violations of research or publication ethics.

In the context of mathematics and science education, potential misconduct may involve fabricated student assessment results, falsified questionnaire responses, manipulated experimental measurements, misrepresented classroom observations, plagiarism in instructional materials or research manuscripts, and misleading representations of the effectiveness of learning innovations or educational interventions.

Concerns may be reported by Authors, readers, reviewers, editors, research participants, institutions, or other relevant parties. Reports should identify the manuscript or article concerned, describe the suspected issue clearly, and provide supporting evidence where possible.

Anonymous reports may be considered when they contain sufficiently specific, credible, and relevant information to permit meaningful assessment.

When a credible concern is received, the journal may conduct an initial assessment, request explanations or supporting documents from the Authors, examine available evidence, consult independent experts, and communicate with other relevant parties.

Where appropriate, JPPMS may contact the Authors' institutions, research ethics committees, or other competent authorities to seek clarification or request further investigation. The journal may suspend peer review, editorial decision-making, acceptance, production, or publication while a serious concern is being assessed.

Depending on the findings and the publication status of the manuscript or article, editorial actions may include clarification, revision, rejection, withdrawal, correction, erratum, corrigendum, expression of concern, retraction, article removal, or referral to an appropriate institution or authority.

 

3. Publication Status and Post-Publication Changes

An article is considered published under this policy when it has been made publicly available by JPPMS as an official scholarly publication, including an online-first publication or the final published version, where applicable.

Once an article has been publicly published, it forms part of the scholarly record and must not be silently deleted, overwritten, or replaced. Significant changes affecting the accuracy, reliability, interpretation, or ethical status of an article must be documented transparently through an appropriate post-publication process.

JPPMS will seek to maintain the accessibility and traceability of published research while ensuring that errors, ethical concerns, and substantiated cases of misconduct are addressed appropriately.

 

4. Correction, Erratum, Corrigendum, and Expression of Concern

Correction

A Correction may be issued when a published article contains a substantive error or omission that needs to be addressed to maintain the accuracy of the scholarly record, but the error does not invalidate the main findings or conclusions.

Erratum

An Erratum may be issued when a substantive error was introduced primarily during the journal's editorial, copyediting, typesetting, metadata, or publication process and does not invalidate the main findings or conclusions.

Corrigendum

A Corrigendum may be issued when a substantive error or omission originated primarily from the Author(s) or the originally submitted manuscript, but the error does not invalidate the main findings or conclusions.

Expression of Concern

An Expression of Concern may be issued when substantial questions arise regarding the integrity, reliability, or ethical status of a published article, but an investigation is ongoing, the available evidence is inconclusive, or a final determination cannot yet be made.

These post-publication actions will be determined through editorial assessment. Independent expert review may be sought when scientific, methodological, statistical, technical, or ethical expertise is required.

Formal notices will identify the original article, explain the nature of the issue or correction, and be linked to the original publication. Where applicable and supported by the journal's publishing infrastructure, notices may be published as separate records with their own DOI.

The original article will normally remain accessible with its original DOI and publication history.

 

5. Withdrawal

Withdrawal applies primarily to manuscripts that have not yet been publicly published by JPPMS.

An Author wishing to withdraw a manuscript must submit a written request stating the reason for withdrawal. The journal may request clarification or confirmation from the Authors, particularly when the manuscript has entered peer review, revision, acceptance, or production, or when the request may affect the rights and responsibilities of other Authors.

Withdrawal requests may be reviewed in cases involving duplicate submission, substantial errors discovered before publication, authorship disputes, or other legitimate circumstances. However, withdrawal must not be used to avoid an investigation into suspected misconduct.

Once an article has been publicly published, concerns will normally be addressed through an appropriate post-publication action, such as a correction, expression of concern, retraction, or another applicable procedure, rather than ordinary manuscript withdrawal.

 

6. Retraction

A Retraction may be issued when a published article is found to be seriously unreliable or should no longer be considered part of the reliable scholarly literature.

Grounds for retraction may include serious errors that invalidate the findings or conclusions, fabrication or falsification of data, plagiarism, duplicate publication, serious data or image manipulation, unethical research, fraudulent peer review, serious authorship misconduct, or other major violations of research integrity.

In mathematics and science education research, retraction may be considered when fabricated learning outcome data, manipulated experimental results, or serious methodological misrepresentations fundamentally undermine the validity of the published findings.

Retraction decisions will be based on editorial assessment and available evidence. JPPMS may consult independent experts, research institutions, research ethics committees, or other relevant authorities when necessary.

A retraction notice will identify the original article, state clearly that the article has been retracted, and explain the reasons for the decision sufficiently to inform readers. The notice should distinguish substantiated findings from unresolved allegations.

The original article will normally remain accessible to preserve the scholarly record but will be clearly marked as RETRACTED, unless exceptional legal, privacy, confidentiality, safety, or other serious circumstances require removal of the article's full text.

 

7. Article Removal

Article Removal is an exceptional measure and is not a routine alternative to correction or retraction.

Removal may be considered when continued public availability of the full text creates serious legal, privacy, confidentiality, copyright, health, safety, or security risks, including circumstances involving a binding legal requirement.

Where possible, bibliographic information, the article's DOI, title, Authors, and landing page will remain available. The full text may be removed or restricted and replaced with a notice explaining, to the extent legally and ethically permissible, why the article is no longer publicly available.

 

8. Article Replacement

Article Replacement may be considered in exceptional circumstances when the changes required to a published article are too extensive to be adequately addressed through a correction, erratum, or corrigendum, and a replacement version is necessary to maintain an accurate scholarly record.

Replacement must not be used merely to improve writing, update ordinary information, add new results, or make undocumented changes to a previously published article.

JPPMS will determine whether replacement, retraction, correction, or another action is most appropriate. Independent expert assessment may be sought when substantial scientific, methodological, statistical, ethical, or technical changes are involved.

The original article must remain traceable and be clearly linked to the replacement record. Where appropriate, it may be identified as REPLACED or RETRACTED AND REPLACED.

 

9. Comments and Criticism

JPPMS supports responsible scholarly discussion and constructive criticism of published research in mathematics and science education.

Comments and Criticism may address research methodology, statistical analysis, theoretical interpretation, assessment instruments, experimental procedures, learning media, educational interventions, reproducibility, interpretation of findings, or other substantive academic issues concerning a published article.

Submissions containing substantive scholarly criticism will undergo editorial screening and may be subject to independent peer review, depending on their academic and technical content.

Allegations of fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, unethical research, authorship misconduct, or other serious ethical violations should normally be reported confidentially to the Editorial Office for preliminary assessment rather than presented as established facts in a public scholarly comment.

The Editor will determine whether a submission should be handled as scholarly discussion, a research-integrity case, or both through appropriately separated processes.

 

10. Author Response

Authors of an original article may be invited to submit an Author Response to substantive Comments and Criticism concerning their published work.

Author Responses must remain professional, evidence-based, and focused on the scholarly issues raised. Responses should address the arguments or evidence presented rather than engage in personal attacks.

An Author Response will undergo editorial assessment and may be subject to independent peer review when it introduces new data, analyses, substantial technical arguments, or new scholarly claims.

Where the journal's publishing system supports such publication, Comments and Criticism and Author Responses may be published as separate scholarly records and linked to the relevant original article.

 

11. Minor Updates

Minor changes that do not materially affect the meaning, interpretation, scholarly credit, reliability, conclusions, or important bibliographic information of an article may be corrected without issuing a formal correction notice.

Examples include minor typographical errors, punctuation or formatting problems, minor display issues, and broken hyperlinks.

Minor updates must not be used to conceal substantive errors, alter research findings, or avoid formal post-publication procedures. When the significance of a proposed change is uncertain, the Editor may seek independent expert advice.

 

12. Editorial Independence and Responsibility

The Editor is responsible for assessing allegations of research misconduct and determining appropriate editorial actions in accordance with this policy, the available evidence, and applicable publication ethics standards.

All parties involved in a case must be treated fairly. Confidential information will be handled responsibly, and relevant conflicts of interest must be disclosed and managed.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of their submitted work. Reviewers must report suspected misconduct or significant concerns to the Editor and must not misuse confidential information obtained during peer review.

JPPMS may request relevant supporting documentation, including original research data, assessment instruments, analysis records, ethical approval documents, or other materials necessary to evaluate a concern.

Editorial decisions concerning misconduct and post-publication actions must prioritize research integrity and the accuracy of the scholarly record.

 

13. Policy Review

JPPMS may periodically review this policy to maintain consistency with applicable publication ethics standards, scholarly publishing best practices, relevant regulations, and developments in research integrity.

Where a case is not specifically addressed by this policy, the Editor may exercise professional editorial judgment while considering appropriate external guidance, available evidence, independent expert advice where necessary, fairness, transparency, proportionality, confidentiality, and the protection of the scholarly record.

Any revision to this policy should be formally approved by the journal before it is presented as an official JPPMS policy.