Publication Ethics

Jurnal Lentera Insani (JLI) is an international, double-blind, peer-reviewed, open-access scholarly journal dedicated to advancing rigorous and interdisciplinary dialogue between the social sciences and Islamic studies across Asia. The journal is committed to fostering academic excellence through the publication of original, methodologically sound, and ethically responsible research that contributes meaningfully to international scholarship.

The editorial policy of JLI is founded upon the principles of research integrity, transparency, accountability, and scholarly independence. Every stage of the editorial and publication process is conducted in accordance with internationally recognised standards of publication ethics, ensuring that all editorial decisions are impartial, evidence-based, and free from inappropriate influence.

JLI fully endorses the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and Best Practice Guidelines, the Elsevier Publishing Ethics Guidelines, the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) where applicable, and internationally accepted principles governing responsible research conduct. The journal also supports ethical data-sharing practices consistent with the Sherpa Romeo framework and the ALPSP–STM Statement on Data and Databases.

Submission of a manuscript to JLI constitutes the authors' declaration that the work is original, has not been published previously, is not simultaneously under consideration elsewhere, and has been prepared in accordance with accepted standards of scientific integrity. Any form of plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, image manipulation, duplicate publication, or other form of research misconduct is regarded as a serious breach of publication ethics and will be addressed in accordance with internationally recognised procedures.

Principles of Ethical Scholarly Publishing

Peer-reviewed publication constitutes a cornerstone of scholarly communication and is fundamental to the advancement of reliable scientific knowledge. The publication process not only disseminates research findings but also reflects the academic integrity of authors, reviewers, editors, publishers, and their affiliated institutions. Maintaining public confidence in scholarly publishing therefore requires every participant to uphold the highest standards of honesty, transparency, accountability, and professional responsibility.

As the publisher of JLI, Mahkota Science Publishers accepts responsibility for safeguarding the integrity of the scholarly record throughout the editorial workflow. Editorial independence is preserved at every stage of manuscript handling. At the same time, ethical considerations remain integral to editorial evaluation, peer review, publication, post-publication oversight, and the correction of the academic literature where necessary.

Responsibilities of Authors
Accuracy and Integrity of Research Reporting

Authors are expected to present an accurate, objective, and transparent account of their research. Manuscripts should describe the research methodology, analyses, and findings with sufficient detail to permit verification and, where appropriate, replication by other researchers. Conclusions must be supported by the evidence presented, while deliberate misrepresentation, selective reporting, manipulation of results, or knowingly false statements constitute serious ethical violations.

Data Availability, Transparency, and Retention

Authors should maintain complete and accurate records of the primary data underpinning their research and be prepared to provide these materials for editorial evaluation whenever requested. Where ethically and legally permissible, authors are encouraged to deposit research data in recognised repositories or make them publicly accessible in accordance with journal policy and accepted data-sharing standards. Raw data should be retained for an appropriate period following publication to facilitate verification and scholarly transparency.

Originality and Plagiarism

Submitted manuscripts must represent entirely original scholarly work. Whenever the ideas, wording, figures, datasets, or intellectual contributions of others are incorporated, they must be appropriately acknowledged through accurate citation and, where necessary, direct quotation.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, unattributed copying, substantial paraphrasing without acknowledgement, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, and the misappropriation of another person's intellectual contributions. Such practices are incompatible with responsible scholarly conduct and will not be tolerated.

All submissions may undergo similarity screening using recognised plagiarism-detection software before peer review. Editorial assessment of textual similarity will always consider scholarly context rather than relying solely upon numerical similarity indices.

Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Submission

Authors should not submit substantially similar manuscripts simultaneously to more than one journal or publish essentially identical research in multiple venues without transparent justification and appropriate disclosure. Duplicate or redundant publication distorts the scholarly record and represents unacceptable publication practice.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Appropriate recognition must be given to all scholarly works that have influenced the research. Authors are responsible for ensuring that citations accurately reflect the intellectual foundations of their study and that all referenced sources are properly acknowledged.

Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship should be restricted to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the conception, design, execution, analysis, interpretation, or drafting of the research. Individuals whose contributions do not satisfy accepted authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately rather than listed as authors.

The corresponding author bears responsibility for ensuring that all eligible contributors are included as authors, that no inappropriate authorship has been assigned, and that every listed author has reviewed, approved, and agreed to the submitted and final published versions of the manuscript.

Changes to authorship following submission will only be considered in exceptional circumstances and must be supported by written agreement from all authors together with an adequate justification.

Disclosure of Competing Interests and Funding

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, professional, personal, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived to influence the interpretation or presentation of their research findings.

All sources of financial support, grants, sponsorship, or institutional assistance relevant to the reported research should be fully declared within the manuscript.

Correction of Published Work

Authors have a continuing responsibility to maintain the accuracy of the published scholarly record. Where a significant error or inaccuracy is identified following publication, authors must promptly notify the editorial office and cooperate fully in issuing an appropriate correction, clarification, or retraction where necessary.

Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants must comply with internationally recognised ethical principles, including the Declaration of Helsinki, the Belmont Report, and relevant national regulatory requirements.

Authors must demonstrate that participant welfare, dignity, privacy, confidentiality, and autonomy have been protected throughout the research process. Risks to participants should be minimised, while anticipated benefits should clearly justify any potential risks.

Responsibilities of Editors
Editorial Independence and Fair Evaluation

Editors are responsible for ensuring that editorial decisions are based exclusively upon the scholarly merit of submitted manuscripts, including originality, methodological rigour, significance, clarity, and relevance to the journal's scope.

Editorial decisions must remain independent of commercial interests or discriminatory considerations relating to race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, institutional affiliation, or political ideology.

Confidentiality

Editors and editorial staff must treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents. Information obtained during editorial assessment may be disclosed only to individuals directly involved in the editorial process, including reviewers, editorial advisers, and the publisher, where appropriate.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they possess competing interests capable of compromising impartial editorial judgement. Unpublished material obtained through editorial responsibilities must never be used for personal research or professional advantage without explicit written permission from the authors.

Editorial Decision-Making

Publication decisions should reflect careful consideration of peer-review reports, editorial evaluation, the validity of the research, ethical compliance, and the contribution of the work to existing scholarship. Decisions should also comply with applicable legal requirements concerning copyright, defamation, confidentiality, and intellectual property rights.

Management of Peer Review

Editors are responsible for establishing an efficient, transparent, and impartial peer-review process. Reviewers should be selected based on relevant disciplinary expertise, scholarly competence, and the absence of significant conflicts of interest. Editorial oversight should ensure that peer review remains constructive, objective, timely, and ethically conducted.

Responsibilities of Reviewers
Contribution to Editorial Assessment

Peer reviewers perform an essential role in supporting editorial decision-making and improving the scholarly quality of submitted manuscripts. Reviews should provide balanced, evidence-based, and constructive evaluations that assist both editors and authors.

Timeliness

Reviewers who lack appropriate expertise or who are unable to complete a review within the agreed timeframe should promptly decline the invitation to review, thereby enabling the editor to identify alternative reviewers.

Objectivity

Reviews should focus exclusively upon the scholarly merits of the manuscript. Reasoned academic arguments should support critiques and should never include personal criticism or inappropriate language directed towards authors.

Confidentiality

All manuscripts received for peer review constitute confidential scholarly documents. Reviewers must neither disclose nor discuss manuscript content with unauthorised individuals and must not retain or use unpublished information for personal benefit.

Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers should decline assignments whenever professional, financial, institutional, collaborative, or personal relationships could compromise or reasonably appear to compromise their objectivity.

Recognition of Relevant Scholarship

Reviewers should identify significant published research that has not been appropriately cited by the authors and should alert editors to substantial similarities between the submitted manuscript and previously published work whenever such overlap is identified.

Post-Publication Responsibility

Maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record continues after publication. Where substantive issues affecting published articles are identified, JLI will implement appropriate corrective measures in accordance with COPE recommendations.

Erratum

An Erratum is issued to correct significant production or editorial errors introduced during the publication process that materially affect the interpretation, integrity, or discoverability of the published work.

Corrigendum

A Corrigendum addresses substantial errors introduced by the author(s) that may influence the interpretation, reliability, or scholarly value of the published article.

Retraction

A Retraction is issued when published findings are demonstrated to be unreliable owing to research misconduct, major methodological error, fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, unethical research practices, or other circumstances that fundamentally invalidate the published conclusions.

Retraction decisions are made following careful investigation consistent with COPE guidance. Authors will normally be invited to respond during the investigation, although the final responsibility for retraction rests with the journal.

Addendum

An Addendum provides essential supplementary information or clarification that enhances readers' understanding of a published article without altering its principal conclusions.

Research Misconduct, Sanctions, and Corrective Actions

JLI regards plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, inappropriate authorship, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, peer-review manipulation, image manipulation, and any other form of scientific misconduct as serious violations of publication ethics.

Allegations of misconduct will be investigated confidentially, fairly, and consistently with internationally accepted ethical procedures. Editorial decisions will be based upon objective evidence while ensuring procedural fairness for all parties involved.

Where misconduct is substantiated, the journal may implement one or more corrective actions, including manuscript rejection, publication of corrections, retraction of published articles, temporary prohibition on future submissions, notification of authors' affiliated institutions or funding bodies where appropriate, and any additional measures considered necessary to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.