Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

Jurnal Ilmiah Kebidanan (The Journal of Midwifery) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and scientific integrity. The journal follows internationally recognized publication ethics principles, including guidance provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

All parties involved in the publication process—including the publisher, editors, reviewers, and authors—are expected to uphold ethical standards and prevent publication malpractice.

Table of Contents

Duties of Publisher

The publisher of Jurnal Ilmiah Kebidanan (The Journal of Midwifery) is responsible for:

  • Ensuring that the publication process follows established academic and ethical standards.
  • Supporting editorial independence in making decisions regarding manuscript publication.
  • Protecting intellectual property rights and maintaining the integrity of the academic record.
  • Ensuring that ethical oversight is maintained throughout the publishing process.

Duties of Editors

Editors of Jurnal Ilmiah Kebidanan (The Journal of Midwifery) are responsible for:

  • Making editorial decisions based on the journal's focus and scope, scientific quality, publication ethics, and reviewers' recommendations. Final decisions are made by the Editor-in-Chief or an authorized handling editor.
  • Evaluating manuscripts solely on the basis of their academic merit without discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, or political beliefs of the authors.
  • Ensuring that all submitted manuscripts undergo a fair and confidential peer-review process.
  • Not disclosing any information about submitted manuscripts to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, editorial advisors, and the publisher as appropriate.
  • Not using unpublished materials from submitted manuscripts for personal research without the author’s explicit written consent.

Duties of Reviewers

Reviewers assist the editorial board in making editorial decisions and contribute to improving the quality of manuscripts.

Reviewers are expected to:

  • Conduct reviews objectively and provide constructive feedback to authors.
  • Identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.
  • Inform the editor of any similarities or overlap between the manuscript under review and other published works.
  • Maintain confidentiality of the manuscript and not use the information for personal advantage.
  • Decline to review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with the authors or institutions involved.

Duties of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to Jurnal Ilmiah Kebidanan (The Journal of Midwifery) must:

  • Present their research findings accurately and objectively.
  • Ensure that the manuscript is original and free from plagiarism, data fabrication, or data falsification.
  • Properly acknowledge the work and ideas of others through appropriate citations and references.
  • Ensure that the manuscript has not been published previously and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
  • Disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may influence the research or its interpretation.
  • Cooperate with the editorial process and provide corrections or revisions when requested by the editors or reviewers.

Authors agree that the manuscript may undergo editorial changes during the review and layout process, provided that these changes do not alter the scientific content or main conclusions of the article.

Authorship and Contributorship

Jurnal Ilmiah Kebidanan (The Journal of Midwifery) follows the authorship criteria recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). All listed authors must have made substantial scholarly contributions to the work and must take responsibility for its accuracy and integrity.

To qualify for authorship, an individual must meet all four of the following criteria:

  1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work.
  2. Drafting the work or reviewing it critically for important intellectual content.
  3. Final approval of the version to be published.
  4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All individuals who meet these four criteria should be identified as authors. Individuals who have contributed to the research but do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged appropriately in the Acknowledgments section, with their permission.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all listed authors meet the journal's authorship criteria, have approved the submitted manuscript, and agree to its submission to the journal.

Any request to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission must be accompanied by a clear justification and written agreement from all affected authors, including any author being added or removed. The journal may suspend editorial processing while the request is being evaluated.

The journal does not permit guest authorship, gift authorship, or ghost authorship. Authorship disputes will be handled in accordance with recognized publication ethics guidelines, including recommendations from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Allegations of Research Misconduct and Handling of Ethical Misconduct

Jurnal Ilmiah Kebidanan (The Journal of Midwifery) takes allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously, whether they concern a submitted manuscript or a published article. Concerns may include plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, duplicate publication, unethical research involving human participants, manipulated images, or misrepresentation of authorship.

Anyone with a substantiated concern may contact the journal through its official contact page. Reports should identify the manuscript or article concerned and provide a clear description of the allegation and any supporting evidence. The journal will handle reports discreetly and share information only as necessary for a fair assessment.

The Editor-in-Chief, together with the Editorial Board as appropriate, will assess the available evidence, identify any conflicts of interest, and provide the author(s) concerned with an opportunity to respond. Where the matter requires institutional investigation, the journal may contact the relevant institution or ethics committee. The journal does not claim authority to conduct investigations that properly belong to research institutions.

Depending on the findings and the stage of publication, editorial actions may include requesting clarification or documentation, rejecting a submission, publishing a correction or expression of concern, or retracting an article in accordance with the journal's applicable policies. Decisions will be documented and communicated to relevant parties as appropriate. An allegation alone does not establish misconduct.

Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest may arise when financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other relationships could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, research, peer review, or editorial decision-making. The existence of a conflict does not automatically invalidate research, but transparency is essential.

Authors: All authors must disclose relevant competing interests when submitting a manuscript, including relevant funding relationships, employment, consultancies, personal relationships, and other interests connected with the work. Authors who have no competing interests should explicitly state this. Funding sources and the funders' roles in the research and publication process should be declared where applicable.

Reviewers: Reviewers must inform the editor of any potential conflict before accepting an invitation. Reviewers should decline an assignment when their impartiality may be compromised.

Editors: Editors must disclose relevant conflicts and recuse themselves from decisions on manuscripts where they have a competing interest. An uninvolved editor or appropriate editorial board member should manage the affected manuscript.

The editorial team may request additional disclosures or clarifications and may take proportionate action if an undisclosed conflict is identified before or after publication. Disclosure does not guarantee that a manuscript will be accepted or rejected.

Post-Publication Discussion

Jurnal Ilmiah Kebidanan (The Journal of Midwifery) welcomes constructive, evidence-based discussion of articles after publication, including scholarly comments, methodological questions, requests for clarification, and concerns about the accuracy or integrity of published findings.

Readers, researchers, and authors may submit comments or concerns through the journal's official contact page. Submissions should identify the relevant article (preferably by title and DOI), explain the issue clearly, and include supporting evidence or references where appropriate. Comments should be professional and avoid personal attacks or unsupported allegations.

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board will evaluate submissions for relevance, accuracy, civility, and potential conflicts of interest. The journal may invite the original authors to respond and may seek independent expert advice where necessary. Where warranted, the editorial team may facilitate scholarly correspondence or issue an editorial notice, correction, expression of concern, or retraction under the applicable journal policies. The journal may decline to publish abusive, irrelevant, or unsubstantiated material.

The availability and format of any public exchange will be determined by the editorial team and the journal's publishing capabilities. All post-publication concerns will be considered fairly; submission of a comment does not guarantee its publication.