Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

BAKTI UNIBA: Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and to preventing all forms of publication malpractice. This statement is based on the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and applies to all parties involved in the publication process: the publisher, editors, reviewers, and authors.

Duties of the Publisher

Universitas Balikpapan, as the publisher, supports the editorial team in managing the journal independently, guarantees that commercial or institutional interests do not influence editorial decisions, and ensures the continuous availability of all published articles.

Duties of Editors

  1. Editors decide which manuscripts are published based solely on their quality, originality, relevance to the journal's scope, and the results of peer review.
  2. Editors evaluate manuscripts fairly, regardless of the authors' race, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, institution, or political views.
  3. Editors keep all information about submitted manuscripts confidential and do not use unpublished material for their own purposes.
  4. Editors avoid conflicts of interest and assign another editor when a conflict arises.
  5. Editors respond to any suspected misconduct in accordance with COPE guidelines.

Duties of Reviewers

  1. Reviewers help editors make decisions and help authors improve their manuscripts through objective and constructive assessment.
  2. Reviewers treat every manuscript as a confidential document and do not share or use its content.
  3. Reviewers state their assessment clearly, supported by arguments, and avoid personal criticism of the authors.
  4. Reviewers who feel unqualified, have a conflict of interest, or are unable to complete the review on time must inform the editor immediately.
  5. Reviewers report to the editor any significant similarity to other published work that they are aware of.

Duties of Authors

  1. Originality. Authors guarantee that the manuscript is their own original work, has not been published before, and is not under consideration by another journal.
  2. Accurate reporting. Authors report the community service activity honestly and accurately. Fabrication, falsification, or manipulation of data, results, or images is unethical and unacceptable.
  3. Plagiarism. All sources must be cited properly. Manuscripts are checked for similarity before review, and manuscripts with a similarity level above [20]% will be returned to the authors.
  4. Authorship. Authorship is limited to those who made significant contributions to the activity and the manuscript. All listed authors must approve the final version.
  5. Consent and privacy of partners. Authors must obtain permission from partner communities to publish information and photographs of the activity. Personal data must be protected, and photographs of children or minors may only be published with the consent of their parents or guardians and must not expose their identities unnecessarily.
  6. Use of artificial intelligence. AI tools may be used to assist with language editing, but they cannot be listed as authors. Authors are fully responsible for the content and must disclose substantial use of AI tools in the manuscript.
  7. Conflict of interest and funding. Authors must disclose any financial or other conflicts of interest and state all sources of funding in the Acknowledgments section.
  8. Errors in published work. When authors discover a significant error in their published article, they must promptly notify the editor to correct or retract it.

Handling of Misconduct

Suspected misconduct, such as plagiarism, data fabrication, or duplicate publication, will be investigated by the editorial team. Depending on its seriousness, the editor may reject the manuscript, publish a correction, retract the published article, or notify the authors' institution. Retracted articles remain available online and are clearly marked as retracted.