Indonesian Journal of Educational Management and Leadership (IJEMAL) takes allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously and is committed to maintaining the integrity, reliability, and accuracy of the scholarly record.

Research misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

• fabrication or falsification of data, including the invention, alteration, omission, or manipulation of research data or results;
• plagiarism, including the unauthorized use of another person's ideas, words, data, or other intellectual work without appropriate acknowledgment;
• duplicate or redundant publication, including substantial overlap with previously published or simultaneously submitted work without appropriate disclosure;
• manipulation or inappropriate presentation of research data, including misleading image, figure, table, or statistical manipulation;
• citation manipulation, including excessive, irrelevant, or coercive citation practices intended to artificially increase citation metrics;
• authorship misconduct, including guest, gift, honorary, ghost, or otherwise inappropriate authorship;
• undeclared or improperly managed conflicts of interest that may affect the research or publication process;
• peer-review misconduct, including interference with the peer-review process, identity misrepresentation, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential manuscript information; and
• other serious violations of research or publication integrity that may compromise the reliability or credibility of the scholarly record.

Handling Allegations of Misconduct

When an allegation of research or publication misconduct is received, the Editor conducts an initial assessment to determine whether the allegation is sufficiently credible and whether further investigation is warranted.

Where appropriate, the Editor may:

1. request an explanation, clarification, or supporting documentation from the authors;
2. request relevant information from reviewers, editors, or other parties involved in the publication process;
3. conduct further editorial investigation;
4. contact the author's affiliated institution, research organization, funding body, or other relevant authority when institutional investigation is required; and
5. take precautionary editorial measures when necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

All allegations will be handled fairly, objectively, confidentially, and without prejudice. Authors will be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to allegations before an editorial conclusion is reached, except where immediate action is necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

IJEMAL does not determine institutional disciplinary matters. Where an allegation requires formal institutional investigation, the journal may refer the matter to the relevant institution or competent authority.

Editorial Actions

If research or publication misconduct is established, IJEMAL may take appropriate editorial action according to the nature, seriousness, and timing of the violation. Such actions may include:

• rejection of the submitted manuscript;
• withdrawal of a manuscript from the editorial process;
• correction or amendment of a published article;
• publication of an Expression of Concern;
• retraction of a published article;
• notification of relevant institutions or authorities; and
• other appropriate measures necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

The editorial action taken will be proportionate to the seriousness of the misconduct and may be applied even when misconduct is discovered after publication.

Post-Publication Concerns

Allegations concerning articles that have already been published will be assessed in accordance with the same principles of fairness, confidentiality, and due process.

When substantial evidence indicates that a published article is unreliable because of misconduct or serious error, IJEMAL may issue a Correction, Expression of Concern, or Retraction, as appropriate.

Retractions will not be used as a punitive measure alone but as an editorial mechanism to correct or protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Publication Ethics Framework

The handling of research and publication misconduct at IJEMAL follows recognized principles of publication ethics, including relevant Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines and flowcharts.

Where applicable, the Editor may also consider relevant institutional research-integrity procedures and applicable standards for responsible research and scholarly publishing.