Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Peradaban Journal of Religion and Society (PJRS) is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. The journal expects authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher to uphold principles of honesty, transparency, fairness, confidentiality, and responsibility throughout the publication process.
PJRS follows established principles of scholarly publishing ethics and takes appropriate action when ethical misconduct is suspected or identified.

1. Editorial Responsibilities

Editors are responsible for evaluating submitted manuscripts objectively and making publication decisions based on the manuscript's academic quality, originality, relevance, methodological rigor, and conformity with the journal's aims and scope.
Editorial decisions must not be influenced by the author's race, ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, institutional affiliation, political views, or other personal characteristics.
Editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and may disclose information about a submission only to individuals directly involved in the editorial and peer review process.
Editors must not use unpublished information or ideas obtained from submitted manuscripts for their own research or professional advantage without the author's explicit permission.

2. Fairness, Confidentiality, and Conflicts of Interest

All manuscripts are evaluated through the journal's double-blind peer review process. Editors and reviewers must maintain confidentiality throughout the review process.
Editors must disclose and appropriately manage any potential conflict of interest. When an editor has a conflict of interest concerning a submitted manuscript, the manuscript should be assigned to another qualified editor.

3. Responsibilities of Peer Reviewers

Reviewers contribute to editorial decisions and assist authors in improving the quality of their manuscripts.
Reviewers should:

  • evaluate manuscripts objectively and constructively;
  • provide clear and evidence-based comments;
  • maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts and unpublished information;
  • identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately cited;
  • notify the editor of substantial similarities between the manuscript and previously published work;
  • disclose any potential conflict of interest; and
  • decline the review assignment when they lack the appropriate expertise or cannot complete the review within the required timeframe.

Reviewers must not use unpublished information obtained during peer review for personal, professional, or financial advantage.

4. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts present accurate and original research. Authors should:

  • report their research methods, findings, and interpretations accurately;
  • provide sufficient information to support the evaluation and understanding of the research;
  • ensure that all sources and contributions are properly acknowledged;
  • ensure that the manuscript is original and has not been plagiarized;
  • avoid submitting the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal;
  • disclose relevant conflicts of interest and sources of funding;
  • obtain appropriate ethical approval and informed consent where required; and
  • promptly notify the editor if a significant error is discovered in a published article.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the information presented in their manuscripts.

5. Authorship and Contributions

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial contributions to the conception, design, conduct, analysis, or interpretation of the research or to the preparation of the manuscript.
All listed authors must have approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission for publication. Individuals who have contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged.
Changes to authorship after submission or acceptance must be justified and approved by all affected authors and the editorial team.

6. Plagiarism, Duplicate Publication, and Research Misconduct

PJRS does not tolerate plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, manipulation of data, duplicate publication, redundant publication, or other forms of research and publication misconduct.
Submitted manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism-detection software. Where substantial plagiarism or other forms of misconduct are identified, the editorial team may reject the manuscript or take further action in accordance with the seriousness of the case.
If misconduct is identified after publication, the journal may issue a correction, retraction, or other appropriate editorial notice.

7. Conflicts of Interest and Funding

Authors must disclose any financial, professional, or personal relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation.
All sources of financial support for the research should be disclosed in the manuscript.
Editors and reviewers must also disclose relevant conflicts of interest and should not participate in the evaluation of manuscripts where such conflicts could compromise their objectivity.

8. Research Ethics and Human Participants

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable ethical standards and institutional or national requirements. Where appropriate, authors should obtain approval from a relevant research ethics committee or institutional review board before conducting the research.
Authors must respect participants' privacy, confidentiality, dignity, and autonomy. Informed consent should be obtained when required, particularly when research involves identifiable personal information, interviews, sensitive data, or the publication of identifiable images or statements.
Authors should not disclose personally identifiable information without appropriate consent or other legitimate ethical grounds.

9. Corrections, Retractions, and Post-Publication Issues

PJRS recognizes its responsibility to maintain the accuracy, integrity, and reliability of the published scholarly record.
If a published article contains an error that does not invalidate the overall findings or conclusions, the journal may publish a correction notice and, where appropriate, amend the published record while maintaining a clear record of the change.
If substantial evidence indicates that a published article is unreliable or seriously compromised due to research or publication misconduct, major errors, plagiarism, fabricated or falsified data, unethical research practices, or other serious concerns, the journal may retract the article. A retraction will be clearly identified and linked to the original publication, and the reason for the retraction will be stated where appropriate.
When there are serious concerns about the reliability or integrity of a published article but an investigation has not yet been completed, PJRS may issue an Expression of Concern to alert readers while the matter is being investigated.
Authors who discover significant errors in their published work should promptly inform the editor and cooperate with the journal in correcting the scholarly record. PJRS may also initiate post-publication review when concerns are raised by editors, reviewers, readers, authors, institutions, or other relevant parties.
Post-publication corrections, retractions, and Expressions of Concern will be handled in accordance with applicable publication ethics principles and will be documented transparently to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

10. Use of Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI

Authors may use artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools for appropriate purposes, including language improvement, translation, formatting, and other editorial assistance. AI tools must not be listed as authors.
Any substantive use of generative AI in developing or preparing a manuscript should be disclosed. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of their manuscripts, including verifying AI-assisted content and references.
AI must not be used to fabricate or falsify data, manipulate research findings, generate false references, plagiarize, or otherwise misrepresent scholarly work.
Reviewers and editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and unpublished materials and must not upload such materials to external AI systems where doing so could compromise confidentiality or intellectual property.

11. Complaints and Appeals

Authors may raise legitimate concerns or appeal an editorial decision by contacting the journal's editorial office. Complaints and appeals will be considered fairly and confidentially.
The journal will review complaints concerning editorial decisions, peer review, authorship, conflicts of interest, publication ethics, or other aspects of the publication process and will take appropriate action based on the available evidence.
PJRS is committed to handling ethical concerns transparently and maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.