Publication Ethics

Kreativitas Pada Pengabdian Masyarakat (KREPA)

Kreativitas Pada Pengabdian Masyarakat (KREPA) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and preventing publication malpractice. The journal adheres to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices, ensuring that all parties involved in the publication process—including authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers—uphold integrity, transparency, accountability, and professionalism.

1. Ethical Principles

KREPA is committed to:

  • Maintaining academic integrity and scientific honesty.

  • Ensuring fairness and impartiality throughout the editorial process.

  • Promoting transparency in scholarly publishing.

  • Protecting the rights of authors, reviewers, editors, and research participants.

  • Preventing unethical publication practices, including plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, and conflicts of interest.

2. Duties of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to KREPA must comply with the following ethical responsibilities.

2.1 Originality

Authors must submit only original work.

The manuscript must not have been previously published or simultaneously submitted to another journal.

All sources must be properly cited.

2.2 Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that the manuscript is free from plagiarism.

Any form of plagiarism, including:

  • Direct plagiarism

  • Self-plagiarism

  • Mosaic plagiarism

  • Improper citation

is considered unethical.

All manuscripts are screened using plagiarism detection software before entering the peer-review process.

2.3 Data Integrity

Authors must present accurate and truthful data.

Fabrication, falsification, manipulation, or selective reporting of data is strictly prohibited.

Supporting data should be available upon request by the editorial office.

2.4 Multiple or Redundant Submission

Authors must not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously.

Duplicate publication constitutes unethical publishing behavior.

2.5 Authorship

Only individuals who have made significant intellectual contributions should be listed as authors.

Contributions may include:

  • Conceptualization

  • Program implementation

  • Data collection

  • Data analysis

  • Manuscript preparation

Individuals with minor contributions should be acknowledged rather than listed as authors.

2.6 Corresponding Author

The corresponding author is responsible for:

  • Ensuring that all co-authors approve the final manuscript.

  • Managing communication with the editorial office.

  • Coordinating revisions.

  • Confirming that all publication requirements have been fulfilled.

2.7 Acknowledgements

Authors should acknowledge financial support, institutions, community partners, and individuals who contributed to the community service program but do not qualify as authors.

2.8 Ethical Approval

Where applicable, authors should state that community activities involving human participants received approval from an appropriate ethics committee.

Informed consent should be obtained before publishing identifiable photographs or personal information.

2.9 Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, or personal relationships that may influence the interpretation of the work.

3. Duties of Editors

Editors are responsible for ensuring a fair and transparent editorial process.

Editors shall:

  • Evaluate manuscripts solely on academic merit.

  • Maintain confidentiality of submitted manuscripts.

  • Prevent discrimination based on nationality, gender, religion, political views, or institutional affiliation.

  • Avoid conflicts of interest.

  • Ensure an unbiased peer-review process.

  • Make publication decisions based on reviewers' recommendations and scientific quality.

Editors shall reject manuscripts involving:

  • Plagiarism

  • Fabrication

  • Duplicate publication

  • Ethical misconduct

4. Duties of Reviewers

Reviewers play an essential role in maintaining publication quality.

Reviewers are expected to:

  • Conduct objective, constructive, and timely reviews.

  • Maintain confidentiality.

  • Provide clear recommendations.

  • Identify relevant published work not cited by the authors.

  • Report suspected plagiarism or ethical misconduct.

  • Decline review invitations when conflicts of interest exist.

Reviewers must not:

  • Use unpublished data for personal research.

  • Share manuscripts with third parties.

  • Delay reviews for personal advantage.

5. Duties of the Publisher

The publisher is committed to supporting editorial independence and ensuring ethical publication practices.

The publisher shall:

  • Protect editorial independence.

  • Support ethical publishing policies.

  • Maintain journal archiving.

  • Ensure long-term accessibility of published articles.

  • Prevent commercial interests from influencing editorial decisions.

6. Peer Review Policy

KREPA employs a Double-Blind Peer Review system.

Under this system:

  • Authors do not know the identities of reviewers.

  • Reviewers do not know the identities of authors.

Each manuscript is evaluated based on:

  • Originality

  • Relevance

  • Community impact

  • Methodological quality

  • Scientific contribution

  • Clarity of presentation

Editorial decisions include:

  • Accept

  • Minor Revision

  • Major Revision

  • Reject

7. Publication Malpractice

The following practices are considered serious ethical violations.

Authors

  • Plagiarism

  • Data fabrication

  • Data falsification

  • Duplicate publication

  • Multiple submission

  • Citation manipulation

  • Ghost authorship

  • Gift authorship

  • Image manipulation

Reviewers

  • Breach of confidentiality

  • Personal bias

  • Delayed review without justification

  • Misuse of unpublished materials

Editors

  • Abuse of editorial authority

  • Biased editorial decisions

  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest

  • Confidentiality violations

8. Corrections, Retractions, and Withdrawals

If significant errors or ethical violations are identified after publication, KREPA may publish:

  • Correction (Erratum)

  • Corrigendum

  • Expression of Concern

  • Retraction

Retractions follow COPE Retraction Guidelines.

Authors may request withdrawal only before acceptance.

9. Copyright and Licensing

Authors retain copyright of their published work.

Upon publication, authors grant KREPA the right to publish and distribute the article under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License.

Readers are free to:

  • Share

  • Copy

  • Redistribute

  • Adapt

  • Reuse

provided appropriate attribution is given.

10. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

Authors may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to improve language, grammar, or readability.

However:

  • AI tools must not be listed as authors.

  • Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy and originality of the manuscript.

  • Any substantial use of AI-assisted writing should be disclosed in the manuscript.

Editors and reviewers may also use AI-assisted tools only for language improvement and administrative support while maintaining confidentiality and independent editorial judgment.

11. Complaints and Appeals

Authors may submit appeals regarding editorial decisions.

Appeals should include:

  • A detailed explanation.

  • Supporting evidence.

  • Responses to reviewer comments.

The Editor-in-Chief will review all appeals fairly and independently.

12. Ethical Oversight

KREPA reserves the right to investigate allegations of research misconduct before or after publication.

Possible actions include:

  • Requesting clarification from authors.

  • Contacting affiliated institutions.

  • Rejecting manuscripts.

  • Retracting published articles.

  • Notifying relevant institutions if serious misconduct is confirmed.

13. Commitment to Ethical Publishing

KREPA is dedicated to fostering ethical, transparent, and responsible scholarly communication. All participants in the publication process are expected to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity and contribute to the advancement of knowledge through honest, rigorous, and socially impactful community service publications.

Ethical Standard Reference

KREPA follows internationally recognized ethical publishing standards, including:

  • Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices

  • Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, and WAME)

  • ICMJE Recommendations (where applicable)

  • Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License