Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Publication ethics and malpractice statement for Al-I’lam journal of contemporary Islamic communication and media statement is based on committee on publication ethics’ (COPE) practice guidelines for journal editors.

Al-I’lam is a journal dedicated to presenting, promoting, enhancing and contributing to understanding of Communication, Media, Islam and Muslim in contemporary world.

Unethical behavior is unacceptable and Al-I’lam does not tolerate plagiarism at all. The editorial board is responsible for preventing any form of malpractice.  Authors who submit articles to the Al-I’lam should ensure that manuscript contents are original.

 

 Editors Duties

• Publication Decisions: The editors have the right to decide whether to accept or reject the manuscripts or request corrections.
• Review of Manuscript: The editor ensures that each manuscript is properly evaluated to examine the originality of the contents. After the manuscript passes the test, it will be forwarded to two reviewers for double-blind peer review. Each reviewer will make recommendations to accept the manuscript, to modify or to reject it. The review period will be no more than 30 days.
• Fair Review: The editor must evaluate the manuscript based on its intellectual content regardless of authors’ sex, gender, race, religion, citizenship, etc.
• Confidentiality: The editor must ensure that the manuscripts is kept confidential.
• Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: The editor cannot use unpublished materials or disclose the submitted manuscript.

Reviewers Duties

• Confidentiality: The editor and the editorial staff must not disclose any information regarding the submitted manuscripts.
• Acknowledgement of Sources: Reviewers should ensure that authors have acknowledged all sources of data used in the research.
• Standards of Objectivity: Review of submitted manuscripts will be conducted objectively. The reviewers have to express their views clearly.
• Promptness: If a reviewer believes it is not possible for him/her to review the research reported in a manuscript within the designated guidelines, or within stipulated time, he/she should notify the editor, so that accurate and timely review can be ensured.

Authors Duties

• Originality: Authors must ensure that their work is original.
• Acknowledgement of Sources: Author(s) should acknowledge all sources of data used in the research and cite publications used in the research.
• Authorship: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a contribution to the study. The corresponding author should ensure that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.
• Data Access and Retention: Authors should retain raw data related to their submitted papers, and should provide it for editorial review, upon request.

Fundamental errors in published works: When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her submitted manuscript, the author(s) have to notify.

Conflicts Of Interest

The implemented blind review policy is meant to prevent conflict of interest. It the case of conflict of opinion among the reviewers, the editorial board will resolve it.

Ethics on Post Publication

Amendments: Authors may request changes to their published works for various reasons. Such changes can be divided into four categories, namely Erratum, Corrigendum, Retraction, or Addendum.

Erratum: it refers to a formal notification of a significant error made by the journal during the production process of an article that could potentially affect the scientific integrity of the publication, the reputation of the authors, or the journal itself.

Corrigendum: it is a formal notification of a significant error made by the author(s) of an article that could potentially impact the scientific integrity of the publication, the reputation of the authors, or the journal itself.

Retraction: a formal notice invalidating the results of a published article. All co-authors must sign the retraction stating the error and briefly explaining how the conclusions of the article are affected. In deciding whether to retract, consideration will be given to whether subsequent information not known at the time of publication has seriously undermined or invalidated the main conclusions of the article.

If readers feel that a published paper should be retracted, they should notify the Editor-in-Chief. The editor will then consult with reviewers to determine whether the new information might call into question the main conclusions of the published article. The author of the article will also be given the opportunity to provide an explanation of the request.

Addendum: it is an official notice that offers further details or clarification to a previously published article. It is often issued in response to requests from readers seeking further clarification on a specific aspect of the publication.

Penalties and Sanctions

The Al-I'lam Editorial Board is solely responsible for determining the appropriate action to be taken in cases of plagiarism. Plagiarism is considered a form of scientific misconduct and is a serious violation of publication ethics. The journal takes such misconduct seriously and will address it promptly and accordingly. The Editors-in-Chief, Editorial Boards, and Reviewers are the primary parties responsible for detecting instances of plagiarism in manuscripts submitted to the journal. Given the gravity of such a charge, confidentiality must be maintained throughout the process. The details of the plagiarism charge, along with any supporting materials and the outcome, should only be disclosed to those involved in the review process.

It is important that authors follow due process and maintain confidentiality in all cases of alleged plagiarism, falsification, and other forms of unethical conduct. Such cases will be handled in accordance with the Publication Code of Ethics established by the Editorial Board. If the Editorial Board determines that unethical conduct has occurred, the manuscript in question will be rejected, and if the article has already been published, it will be immediately withdrawn. Depending on the nature of the misconduct, authors may be barred from submitting articles to the journal for a period of one to three years. The journal reserves the right to evaluate issues of misconduct such as plagiarism and redundancy on a case-by-case basis.

Consequences

To the authors: If plagiarism, forgery, fabrication, or substantial omission is found in a manuscript, it is considered unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable. In such cases, editors and/or reviewers must report the alleged misconduct to the Editor-in-Chief, who will take appropriate action and notify the Editorial Board. Depending on the severity of the case, consequences for authors may include notification, rejection of the manuscript, retraction of the published article with a notice on the website, prohibition of submissions to the journal for a specified period of time, and informing the authors' institution of the unethical behaviour for their further action.

To the members of the Editorial Board: the reputation of the journal depends to a great extent on the integrity and fairness of the members of the Editorial Board. Therefore, they are expected to show a high degree of commitment to this goal. If there are complaints of misconduct against a member of the Editorial Board, the complainant should contact the Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief will then provide the journal Editorial Board with appropriate documentation to support the violation of publication ethics. If a member of the Editorial Board is found guilty of such unethical conduct, they will be removed from their position. The sanctions imposed on them will be the same as those imposed on authors found guilty of misconduct.

Ethical Guidelines for Human Subjects Research

To comply with ethical principles, researchers who wish to conduct studies with human participants must meet a number of conditions. These include:

• Obtaining prior approval from an institutional review board (IRB) or equivalent ethics committee.
• Submitting evidence of IRB or ethics committee approval of the research, with any information that could lead to the identification of study participants removed from the approval document prior to submission to the Al-I'lam.
• Certification of compliance with ethical procedures in the submission of the manuscript
• Submission of a report on how informed consent was obtained, or a rationale for why consent was not obtained.
• Ensure that written consent was obtained from an identified individual for the use of their data.