Scientia Accounting and Finance Journal (SAFIJ) is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Faculty of Economics, Universitas Semarang. The journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity in all stages of the publication process.
This Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement outlines the ethical responsibilities and expected conduct of all parties involved in the publication process, including authors, editors, peer reviewers, the Editorial Board, and the publisher. SAFIJ follows internationally recognized publication ethics principles, including the best practices and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
SAFIJ does not tolerate plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, citation manipulation, duplicate publication, peer-review manipulation, or other forms of research and publication misconduct. The journal reserves the right to investigate suspected misconduct and take appropriate action, including rejection, correction, retraction, or removal of published material where necessary.
Publication in a peer-reviewed journal is an essential component in the development of a reliable and respected body of academic knowledge. Peer review contributes to the quality, credibility, and integrity of scholarly publications. Therefore, all parties involved in the publication process are expected to adhere to the highest standards of ethical behavior.
The Faculty of Economics, Universitas Semarang, as the publisher of SAFIJ, recognizes its responsibility for maintaining the integrity of the publication process. Editorial decisions must be independent and based on academic considerations. Advertising, reprints, sponsorships, or other commercial interests must not influence editorial decisions.
SAFIJ also supports appropriate communication and cooperation with authors, reviewers, institutions, publishers, and other journals when such communication is necessary to resolve ethical issues or maintain the integrity of the academic record.
Editors are responsible for evaluating submitted manuscripts and making editorial decisions based on the academic quality, originality, relevance, and conformity of the manuscript with the journal's focus and scope. Editors may consult other editors, Editorial Board members, or reviewers when making publication decisions.
Editors shall evaluate manuscripts solely on their intellectual and academic content without discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, nationality, or political philosophy of the authors.
Editors and editorial staff must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and must not disclose information about a manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial advisers, Editorial Board members, and publisher, as appropriate.
Editors must not use unpublished information or ideas obtained through the review process for personal advantage. Editors shall not handle manuscripts where conflicts of interest may compromise the objectivity of the editorial decision.
Editors shall take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the academic record, including publishing corrections, retractions, or other appropriate notices when significant errors or ethical violations are identified.
Editors shall investigate suspected research or publication misconduct fairly and objectively and shall follow applicable COPE principles when addressing allegations involving submitted or published manuscripts.
Peer reviewers assist editors in making informed editorial decisions and contribute to improving the academic quality of manuscripts through constructive and evidence-based comments.
Reviewers must keep all information relating to submitted manuscripts confidential and must not disclose, distribute, or discuss manuscript content with unauthorized persons.
Reviews must be conducted objectively and professionally. Personal criticism of authors is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their assessments clearly and provide supporting arguments for their recommendations.
Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately cited. They should also inform the editor of any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under review and other published work of which they have personal knowledge.
Reviewers must decline to review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest arising from competitive, collaborative, personal, institutional, or other relationships with the authors, companies, or institutions associated with the manuscript.
Reviewers who feel unqualified to evaluate a manuscript or who cannot complete the review within the required timeframe should promptly notify the editor and withdraw from the review process.
Reviewers should immediately notify the editor if they identify suspected plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, or other potential violations of publication ethics.
Authors must present their research results accurately, clearly, and honestly. Manuscripts must not contain fabrication, falsification, inappropriate data manipulation, or knowingly inaccurate statements. Research methods should be described sufficiently to allow the work to be understood and, where appropriate, replicated.
Authors must ensure that their submitted work is original and has not been plagiarized. All sources, quotations, ideas, data, and other works used in the manuscript must be appropriately acknowledged and cited.
Authors may be requested to provide supporting data or documentation for editorial assessment and should be prepared to retain relevant research data for a reasonable period after publication.
Authors must ensure that their research has been conducted in an ethical and responsible manner and complies with applicable laws, regulations, institutional requirements, and ethical standards.
Authorship must be limited to individuals who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, analysis, or interpretation of the research. All listed authors must have approved the final manuscript and agreed to its submission for publication.
Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal. Manuscripts that substantially duplicate previously published work are not acceptable unless appropriately justified and disclosed.
Authors must disclose financial, personal, institutional, or other substantive conflicts of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of their research. All relevant sources of financial support must also be disclosed.
If authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they must promptly notify the editor or publisher and cooperate in correcting or, where necessary, retracting the article.
Research misconduct includes, but is not limited to, fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, citation manipulation, duplicate publication, fraudulent authorship, and inappropriate manipulation or reporting of research data.
When an allegation of misconduct is received, the editor will conduct an initial assessment to determine whether the allegation is credible and falls within the scope of research or publication misconduct. Where appropriate, the corresponding author will be given an opportunity to respond to the allegation on behalf of the authors.
Additional review or consultation with relevant experts may be undertaken when necessary. Where misconduct is established, SAFIJ may reject the submitted manuscript or, in the case of a published article, issue a correction, retraction, removal, or other appropriate editorial action.
Where appropriate, the journal may communicate with the relevant institution or organization responsible for investigating allegations of research misconduct.
The editor is responsible for making publication decisions based on the manuscript's academic quality, originality, significance, methodological soundness, relevance to the journal's scope, reviewer recommendations, and applicable ethical and legal requirements. Such decisions may take into consideration issues relating to plagiarism, copyright infringement, defamation, and other legal or ethical concerns. Editors may consult members of the Editorial Board or peer reviewers when making decisions.
SAFIJ provides a mechanism for authors, reviewers, readers, and other stakeholders to raise legitimate complaints or appeals concerning the journal's editorial and publication processes.
Complaints may concern editorial decisions, reviewer conduct, conflicts of interest, citation manipulation, peer-review manipulation, publication procedures, or other matters related to the integrity of the journal's operations.
Complaints and appeals will be considered fairly and confidentially and, where appropriate, will be handled in accordance with applicable COPE principles. The journal may consult relevant Editorial Board members, reviewers, institutions, or independent experts when necessary.
SAFIJ welcomes legitimate scholarly discussion concerning published articles. Readers who identify significant errors, inaccuracies, methodological concerns, or other substantive issues in a published article may contact the editorial team with a clear explanation and supporting evidence.
Following editorial assessment, the journal may publish a correction, clarification, editorial note, or other appropriate post-publication statement. Where appropriate, authors will be given an opportunity to respond to substantive comments concerning their published work.
Post-publication actions are taken to preserve the accuracy, transparency, and integrity of the academic record.
Published articles constitute part of the permanent academic record and will generally remain accessible and unaltered. However, under exceptional circumstances, a published article may require correction, retraction, removal, or replacement to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.
Retraction may be initiated by the editor, authors, their institutions, or other authorized parties where there is substantial evidence of research or publication misconduct, serious error, or another circumstance that significantly affects the reliability or integrity of the published work.
An article may be withdrawn before publication when it contains serious errors, has been submitted or published elsewhere, involves duplicate submission, false authorship claims, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fraudulent data, or other serious violations of publication ethics. Withdrawal requests from authors should be submitted to the editorial team with an appropriate explanation.
A published article may be retracted when there is clear evidence of serious research or publication misconduct, including plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated or falsified data, fraudulent authorship, or other circumstances that substantially undermine the reliability of the article.
When an article is retracted, SAFIJ may publish a clearly identified retraction notice linked to the original article. The original article may remain accessible with an appropriate retraction watermark or notice so that the scholarly record remains transparent.
In extremely limited circumstances, an article may be removed from the online publication platform where its continued availability would create serious legal, ethical, or public-interest concerns, such as a court order, defamatory content, infringement of legal rights, or a significant threat to public safety. Where an article is removed, the bibliographic metadata may be retained together with an appropriate notice explaining the reason for removal.
In exceptional circumstances where the published article contains a serious error that may have significant consequences, the original article may be retracted and replaced with a corrected version. The replacement process will be clearly documented, and an appropriate notice will link the original publication record to the corrected version.
Scientia Accounting and Finance Journal (SAFIJ) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct throughout the publication process. The journal follows the principles and best practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in addressing publication ethics issues and suspected research misconduct.
