The Journal of Sustainable Science and Education Innovation (JSSEI) is committed to promoting responsible, transparent, and ethical practices throughout the research, peer-review, editorial, and publication processes. The journal seeks to ensure that all published works meet appropriate standards of academic integrity, scholarly quality, fairness, accountability, and research responsibility.

This Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement defines the ethical responsibilities of all parties involved in the publication of JSSEI, including Authors, Editors, Reviewers, Editorial Board members, editorial staff, and the Publisher.

JSSEI follows internationally recognized principles of responsible scholarly publishing, including relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing developed by COPE, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

This statement applies to manuscripts submitted to JSSEI and scholarly content published by the journal, including research articles, review articles, educational innovation articles, invited manuscripts, special issue contributions, corrections, retractions, post-publication notices, and other relevant scholarly materials.

JSSEI is guided by the following ethical principles:

• Academic Integrity — research and publication activities must be conducted honestly, accurately, responsibly, and transparently.
• Fairness — manuscripts and individuals involved in the publication process must be treated objectively and consistently.
• Editorial Independence — editorial decisions must be based on scholarly considerations and must not be improperly influenced by financial, institutional, personal, political, or commercial interests.
• Transparency — relevant information concerning editorial procedures, declarations, publication policies, and post-publication actions should be communicated openly.
• Confidentiality — manuscripts, review materials, personal information, research data, and editorial communications must be appropriately protected.
• Responsibility — all parties involved in the publication process are responsible for fulfilling their respective ethical obligations.
• Inclusivity and Accessibility — JSSEI seeks to provide an inclusive scholarly environment without unnecessary barriers to participation.

Editorial decisions are made primarily on the basis of the manuscript's academic quality, relevance to JSSEI, methodological rigor, originality, integrity, and scholarly contribution. Personal characteristics of Authors, including nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, religion, political views, citizenship, institutional affiliation, or financial circumstances, must not be used as grounds for editorial decisions when they are unrelated to the scholarly quality of the work.

Manuscripts that do not meet JSSEI's ethical requirements, Author Guidelines, authorship requirements, submission procedures, declaration requirements, or other editorial policies may be returned to Authors for clarification or revision, rejected, or handled through the appropriate editorial procedure.

Authors, Editors, and Reviewers are expected to understand and comply with this statement together with other relevant JSSEI policies. Authors must also submit the required Statement of Manuscript Authenticity and other supplementary documents specified in the JSSEI Author Guidelines.

JSSEI may use similarity-checking tools as part of the manuscript screening process. A similarity percentage is not, by itself, a basis for acceptance or rejection. The editorial team evaluates similarity results by considering the sources identified, the context of the similarities, their extent and distribution, and whether the similarities indicate inappropriate use of existing material.

 

Duties of Editors

Publication Decisions

Editors are responsible for determining whether manuscripts submitted to JSSEI are suitable for publication.

Editorial decisions are based on academic merit, originality, relevance to the journal's Focus and Scope, methodological soundness, clarity, scholarly contribution, peer-review reports, ethical considerations, research integrity, and compliance with the journal's policies.

Editors may consult other Editors, independent Reviewers, Editorial Board members, subject experts, statisticians, research-integrity experts, ethics experts, or other appropriate specialists when additional expertise is required.

The journal's peer-review model, Reviewer responsibilities, confidentiality procedures, editorial decision-making, and related processes are described in the Peer Review Process.

 

Editorial Independence

Editors must maintain independence when evaluating manuscripts and making editorial decisions.

Decisions concerning acceptance, rejection, revision, correction, or other actions relating to published content should be determined by scholarly evidence, editorial assessment, peer-review outcomes where applicable, ethical considerations, and the need to maintain the reliability of the scholarly record.

Publication charges, administrative matters, institutional interests, sponsorship, or other financial considerations must not determine the scholarly decision on a manuscript.

 

Fair and Non-Discriminatory Evaluation

Objective and Inclusive Evaluation

All manuscripts should be evaluated according to their academic and scholarly content.

Editors must avoid discrimination based on nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, religion, political views, citizenship, institutional affiliation, personal relationships, financial circumstances, or other characteristics that are not relevant to the scholarly assessment of a manuscript.

JSSEI aims to maintain a professional and inclusive environment for Authors, Reviewers, and other participants in the publication process.

 

Confidentiality

Editors and editorial staff must protect the confidentiality of manuscripts and information obtained during the editorial process.

Information about a manuscript, including its content, Reviewer reports, Author responses, research data, supplementary files, investigation materials, and editorial communications, must only be accessed or shared by individuals authorized to participate in the relevant process.

Confidential information must not be used for personal advantage or disclosed to unauthorized parties.

 

Use of Generative AI in Editorial Processes

Editors and editorial staff may use AI-assisted technologies for limited supporting activities when appropriate and when such use does not compromise confidentiality, privacy, intellectual property, or editorial integrity.

Such uses may include language assistance, administrative tasks, metadata organization, or other non-decisional editorial support.

AI technologies must not replace the professional judgment of Editors in evaluating manuscripts, interpreting peer-review reports, assessing ethical concerns, or making final editorial decisions.

Confidential manuscripts, Reviewer reports, Author responses, unpublished data, supplementary materials, and other restricted editorial information must not be entered into public or unauthorized AI systems.

The Editor remains responsible for all editorial decisions and communications regardless of whether supporting technologies are used.

 

Conflicts of Interest

Editors must identify and appropriately manage any relationship or circumstance that could reasonably affect their impartiality.

Potential conflicts may arise from financial, personal, academic, institutional, collaborative, competitive, commercial, or other relationships.

An Editor who has a significant Conflict of Interest in relation to a manuscript should not be responsible for its editorial handling. The manuscript should instead be assigned to another qualified Editor.

 

Complaints and Appeals

JSSEI provides an avenue for Authors and other relevant parties to raise concerns concerning editorial procedures, editorial decisions, peer review, publication ethics, Conflicts of Interest, or other matters associated with the journal's publication activities.

Complaints and appeals should be submitted to the Editorial Office with sufficient information and supporting evidence to allow the matter to be assessed.

Confidential or anonymous concerns may be considered when the information provided is sufficiently specific and credible.

Individuals directly involved in a complaint should not be responsible for determining its outcome. Where necessary, the matter will be referred to another appropriate and sufficiently independent person.

An appeal should identify a substantive procedural error, factual misunderstanding, unmanaged Conflict of Interest, or another significant issue that may have affected the editorial decision.

Following appropriate assessment, the editorial decision will normally be considered final unless significant new information or evidence becomes available.

 

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists JSSEI Editors in assessing the quality, relevance, validity, and contribution of submitted manuscripts and provides Authors with constructive feedback for improving their work.

JSSEI uses a double-blind peer-review system, in which the identities of Authors and Reviewers are kept confidential.

Normally, at least two independent Reviewers are assigned to evaluate a manuscript based on its subject area and methodological characteristics. Additional Reviewers may be involved when further assessment is considered necessary.

Reviewers should provide fair, professional, constructive, and evidence-based evaluations within the expected review period.

 

Confidentiality

Manuscripts submitted for review are confidential scholarly documents.

Reviewers must not distribute, reproduce, discuss, or disclose manuscript content or review materials to unauthorized individuals.

Information obtained through peer review, including unpublished ideas, methods, data, findings, or arguments, must not be used for personal research, publication, teaching, or other purposes without appropriate authorization.

 

Use of Generative AI in Peer Review

Reviewers are responsible for conducting their own scholarly assessment of manuscripts assigned to them.

Reviewers should not upload confidential manuscripts, tables, figures, datasets, supplementary materials, review forms, or Author responses to public or unauthorized generative AI systems.

AI-assisted tools must not be used in a manner that compromises manuscript confidentiality or the independence of the Reviewer's evaluation.

Any permitted use of assistive technologies must remain consistent with JSSEI's confidentiality and publication ethics requirements.

 

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews must focus on the scholarly content of the manuscript. Personal criticism of Authors is inappropriate.

Reviewers should express their assessments clearly and support substantive criticisms or recommendations with appropriate reasoning or evidence.

Reviewers should assess manuscripts according to relevant scholarly criteria, including:

• clarity and organization;
• originality and novelty;
• methodological appropriateness;
• quality and adequacy of data;
• analysis and interpretation;
• relevance to JSSEI's Focus and Scope;
• scientific and educational contribution;
• usefulness and potential implications; and
• compliance with publication ethics.

 

Acknowledgement of Source and Citation Ethics

Reviewers should identify relevant scholarly work that may have been overlooked where such work is genuinely relevant to the evaluation of the manuscript.

Reviewers must not request or recommend citations primarily to increase citations to themselves, colleagues, the journal, an institution, or another publication.

Citation recommendations must be based on legitimate scholarly relevance.

Reviewers should inform the Editor of substantial overlap, redundant publication, plagiarism, citation manipulation, or other potential ethical issues identified during review.

 

Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must disclose potential Conflicts of Interest arising from personal, academic, financial, institutional, competitive, collaborative, commercial, political, or other relevant relationships.

Reviewers should decline or discontinue the review where a Conflict of Interest could reasonably compromise, or appear to compromise, impartial assessment.

 

Duties of Authors

Reporting Standards and Accuracy

Authors are responsible for presenting their research accurately and transparently.

The manuscript should provide sufficient information concerning the research design, methods, data, analysis, findings, and interpretation to allow readers and Reviewers to assess the work appropriately.

Fabrication, falsification, manipulation, selective misrepresentation, or deliberate presentation of misleading research information is not acceptable.

 

Originality, Plagiarism, and Similarity

Manuscripts submitted to JSSEI must represent original scholarly work.

Authors must properly acknowledge all sources used in developing the manuscript, including ideas, theories, data, methods, instruments, figures, tables, and other materials obtained from previous work.

Plagiarism, inappropriate text recycling, misleading reuse of published material, and other forms of academic misconduct are prohibited.

Similarity-check results are considered together with editorial evaluation and are not interpreted solely according to a numerical percentage.

 

Multiple, Redundant, and Concurrent Submission

A manuscript submitted to JSSEI must not have been previously published and must not simultaneously be under consideration by another journal.

Authors must not submit substantially identical manuscripts to multiple journals at the same time.

Previous or related publications that overlap substantially with the submitted work must be disclosed and appropriately cited.

 

Acknowledgement of Sources and Citation Ethics

Authors must acknowledge literature and other sources that have materially contributed to their research.

Citations must be relevant and accurate.

Authors must not manipulate references by adding irrelevant citations, deliberately omitting important sources, excessively citing their own work without scholarly justification, or participating in other forms of citation manipulation.

 

Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship should reflect meaningful scholarly contributions to the research and manuscript.

All Authors listed in the manuscript should have contributed substantially to the work, approved the submitted version, and accepted responsibility for their contributions.

JSSEI uses the CRediT taxonomy to document Author contributions. Relevant contribution categories include:

• Conceptualization
• Methodology
• Software
• Validation
• Formal Analysis
• Investigation
• Resources
• Data Curation
• Writing – Original Draft
• Writing – Review & Editing
• Visualization
• Supervision
• Project Administration
• Funding Acquisition

Individuals who provide assistance but do not meet authorship requirements should be acknowledged appropriately.

JSSEI does not permit guest, honorary, gift, ghost, or anonymous authorship.

 

Conflicts of Interest and Funding Disclosure

Authors must disclose any financial, personal, professional, academic, institutional, commercial, or other relationship that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation.

Funding sources, grants, institutional support, sponsorship, or other relevant forms of research support should also be declared where applicable.

 

Data Availability

Authors should maintain appropriate records of the data, research materials, instruments, procedures, and analyses supporting their manuscript.

Each manuscript should include a Data Availability Statement explaining how supporting data can be accessed.

If data are available upon reasonable request, this should be clearly indicated.

If data cannot be made publicly available because of privacy, ethical, institutional, legal, or other legitimate restrictions, the reason should be stated.

JSSEI may request supporting data or documentation when necessary for editorial assessment, verification, correction, or investigation of research-integrity concerns.

 

Research Ethics and Ethical Oversight

Research involving human participants, students, teachers, schools, communities, vulnerable groups, personal information, confidential institutional information, animals, or other subjects requiring ethical consideration must comply with relevant ethical requirements.

Where applicable, Authors must obtain and report appropriate:

• ethics approval;
• informed consent;
• institutional permission;
• research authorization;
• research permits; or
• other required ethical documentation.

Authors must protect the privacy, confidentiality, rights, safety, and welfare of research participants.

 

Fundamental Errors in Published Works

Authors who identify a significant error or other material problem in their published article should promptly contact the JSSEI Editorial Office.

Authors are expected to cooperate with the Editorial Team in evaluating the issue and determining whether a correction, retraction, or other appropriate action is required.

 

Research Misconduct

JSSEI considers research and publication misconduct to be a serious matter that may compromise the reliability of the scholarly record.

Examples of potential misconduct include:

• fabrication of research data;
• falsification or manipulation of data;
• plagiarism;
• inappropriate text recycling;
• manipulation of citations;
• manipulation of the peer-review process;
• inappropriate alteration of figures or images;
• improper authorship or contributorship;
• undisclosed Conflicts of Interest;
• duplicate or redundant publication;
• simultaneous submission;
• inappropriate or undisclosed use of AI;
• violation of research ethics; and
• other serious breaches of responsible research and publication practices.

Concerns may be raised before or after publication by Authors, Reviewers, Editors, Readers, institutions, or other relevant parties.

JSSEI may request explanations, supporting documents, original data, or other relevant evidence when investigating an allegation.

Where appropriate, the journal may consult independent experts, institutions, ethics committees, funders, or other responsible authorities.

While a serious concern is being investigated, the editorial process may be temporarily suspended.

Depending on the findings, JSSEI may take actions including:

• rejection of a manuscript;
• withdrawal of a manuscript;
• publication of a correction;
• issuance of an Expression of Concern;
• retraction of an article; or
• other appropriate measures to safeguard the integrity of the scholarly record.

 

Post-Publication Updates and Scholarly Record

JSSEI recognizes that maintaining the integrity of academic publishing continues after an article has been published.

When an error or ethical concern is identified after publication, the journal will assess its significance and determine the appropriate editorial response.

Possible actions include a Correction, Expression of Concern, or Retraction, depending on the nature and seriousness of the issue.

Post-publication actions should be clearly identified and appropriately linked to the affected article so that readers can understand the status and history of the publication.

 

Comments and Scholarly Discussion

JSSEI encourages constructive scholarly discussion concerning published research.

Comments may address methodological approaches, data analysis, interpretation, theoretical perspectives, limitations, reproducibility, or other legitimate academic issues.

When appropriate, Authors of the original article may be invited to provide a response.

Allegations concerning serious research or publication misconduct should be submitted directly to the Editorial Office with supporting information rather than treated as established conclusions in a public comment.

 

Intellectual Property, Copyright, Licensing, and Open Access

JSSEI respects copyright, intellectual property, licensing requirements, and appropriate attribution of third-party materials.

The journal provides Open Access to its published scholarly content in accordance with its applicable Open Access and licensing provisions.

The copyright and licensing conditions applicable to an article are identified in the published version.

The JSSEI manuscript template specifies the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license for published works.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that third-party materials included in their manuscripts have appropriate attribution, permission, or licensing when required.

 

Responsibilities of the Publisher

The Master's Program in Science Education, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Surabaya (UNESA), as the Publisher of JSSEI, supports the journal in maintaining a reliable, ethical, transparent, and sustainable scholarly publishing system.

The Publisher is responsible for supporting:

• editorial independence;
• appropriate manuscript submission and publication infrastructure;
• transparent journal management;
• handling of serious publication and research-integrity concerns;
• appropriate correction and retraction procedures;
• digital preservation and archiving;
• accessibility of published scholarly content;
• responsible publication practices; and
• periodic review and improvement of journal policies.

The Publisher must not interfere improperly with editorial decisions or use financial, institutional, or commercial considerations to determine the scholarly outcome of a manuscript.

 

Publication Fees and Commercial Practices

Any publication fee or other applicable charge must be communicated clearly to Authors through the relevant JSSEI policy.

Financial considerations must remain separate from the evaluation of manuscripts and must not influence peer-review recommendations, editorial decisions, or research-integrity investigations.

Where fee waivers or reductions are available, they should be administered according to the journal's established policy.

Commercial activities, sponsorship, advertising, or other financial relationships associated with the journal must not compromise editorial independence or academic judgment.

 

Policy Review