Publication Ethics

SaiKarya: Jurnal Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat adheres to the highest standards of publication ethics and follows the guidelines set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All parties involved in the publication process—authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher (LPPM Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Lampung)—must agree upon standards of ethical behavior.

1. Duties of Editors

  • Publication Decisions: Editors evaluate manuscripts exclusively on their academic merit, relevance to community engagement, methodological validity, and clear societal impact, without regard to the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy.

  • Fairness and Confidentiality: Editors must protect the confidentiality of all submitted material and refrain from disclosing information about a manuscript to anyone other than the authors, reviewers, and publisher.

  • Conflict of Interest: Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors or institutions.

  • Vigilance over the Academic Record: Editors must promptly address ethical concerns, errata, or misconduct allegations, cooperating fully with institutional investigations and issuing corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern when warranted.

2. Duties of Reviewers

  • Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Reviewers assist editors in making informed decisions and help authors improve their manuscripts through constructive, unbiased feedback.

  • Promptness: Invited reviewers who feel unqualified to review a submission or know that prompt review is impossible must notify the editorial office immediately and decline the invitation.

  • Confidentiality and Standards of Objectivity: Received manuscripts are confidential documents. Reviews must be conducted objectively; personal criticism of the authors is strictly unacceptable. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

  • Ethical Alertness: Reviewers must notify the editor of any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published work of which they have personal knowledge.

3. Duties of Authors

  • Reporting Standards: Authors reporting community service or empowerment programs must present an accurate account of the work performed, an objective discussion of its significance, and reliable data on community impact. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior.

  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must submit entirely original work. Proper acknowledgement of the work, methods, or words of others must always be given. The maximum similarity threshold is 20%, verified via Turnitin.

  • Multiple or Concurrent Publication: Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently is unethical publishing behavior and will result in immediate rejection.

  • Authorship and Contributorship: Authorship must be limited to those who made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the community initiative. All co-authors must approve the final version and agree to its submission.

  • Community Partner Ethics: Programs involving community participants, local partners, or vulnerable populations must respect ethical community engagement practices, ensuring proper permissions, participant consent, and partner integrity.

4. Duties of the Publisher LPPM Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Lampung ensures that commercial interests do not influence editorial decisions and commits to assisting the editorial board in upholding publication ethics, handling retractions, and maintaining the permanent digital archive of the journal.