Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Edu Consilium: Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Pendidikan Islam is a peer-reviewed and open-access journal. The main objective of Edu Consilium is to disseminate original research and scientific knowledge within the field of Islamic Educational Guidance and Counseling, fostering dialogue on spiritual, transpersonal, and multicultural counseling in various educational contexts.

This statement clarifies the ethical behavior of all parties involved in the act of publishing an article in this journal, namely: the author, the chief editor, and the peer-reviewer. This statement is based on COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.

Ethical Guideline for Journal Publication

The publication of an article in the peer-reviewed Edu Consilium is an essential building block in the development of a coherent and respected network of knowledge. It is a direct reflection of the quality of the work of the authors and the institutions that support them. Peer-reviewed articles support and embody the scientific method. It is therefore important to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the journal editor, and the peer reviewer.

The Editorial Board of this journal takes its duties of guardianship over all stages of publishing extremely seriously and recognizes its ethical and other responsibilities. The journal is committed to ensuring that advertising, reprint, or other commercial revenue has no impact or influence on editorial decisions. In addition, the Editorial Board will assist in communications with other journals where such collaboration is useful and necessary to maintain the integrity of the scientific record.

Allegations of Research Misconduct

Research misconduct means fabrication, falsification, citation manipulation, or plagiarism in producing, performing, or reviewing research and writing the article by authors, or in reporting research results. When authors are found to have been involved with research misconduct or other serious irregularities involving articles that have been published in scientific journals, editors have a responsibility to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the scientific record.

In cases of suspected misconduct, the editors and editorial board will use the best practices of COPE to assist them in resolving the complaint and addressing the misconduct fairly. This will include an investigation of the allegation by the editors. A submitted manuscript that is found to contain such misconduct will be rejected. In cases where a published paper is found to contain such misconduct, a retraction can be published and will be linked to the original article.

The first step involves determining the validity of the allegation and an assessment of whether the allegation is consistent with the definition of research misconduct. If scientific misconduct or the presence of other substantial research irregularities is a possibility, the allegations are shared with the corresponding author, who, on behalf of all of the co-authors, is requested to provide a detailed response. After the response is received and evaluated, additional review and involvement of experts may be obtained. Ultimately, authors and the journal have an important obligation to ensure the accuracy of the scientific record.

Plagiarism

Authors must not use the words, figures, or ideas of others without attribution. All sources must be cited at the point they are used, and reuse of wording must be limited and be attributed or quoted in the text.

Edu Consilium uses Turnitin and other similarity-check software to detect submissions that overlap with published and submitted manuscripts. The maximum similarity that this journal will tolerate is 20%. Manuscripts that are found to have been plagiarized from a manuscript by other authors, whether published or unpublished, will be rejected and the authors may incur sanctions. Any published articles may need to be corrected or retracted.

Publication Decisions

The editor of Edu Consilium is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always drive such decisions. The editors may be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The editors may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

Duties of Editors

• Editorial Decisions: The Editor-in-Chief and the editorial team are responsible for making final decisions on all submitted manuscripts. These decisions are critical to the journal’s academic standing and are based solely on peer review and scientific merit.
• Fair Play and Objectivity: Manuscripts are evaluated based on their intellectual and academic quality. The editorial process is strictly neutral; no regard is given to the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political leanings. Decisions must remain free from commercial or self-interested influences.
• Confidentiality: The editorial staff must maintain absolute confidentiality regarding submitted manuscripts. Information will only be shared with the corresponding author, designated reviewers, and editorial advisors as necessary.
• Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Editors are prohibited from using unpublished information or data from a submitted manuscript for their own research without explicit, written consent from the authors.
• Academic Transparency: The editorial board is committed to maintaining the integrity of the academic record. This includes a willingness to facilitate and publish retractions, corrections, and clarifications whenever ethical standards or scientific accuracy are compromised.
• Integrity and Misconduct: Editors must actively protect the rectitude of research. If misconduct—such as fabrication or plagiarism—is suspected, the journal will conduct a thorough investigation and resolve the matter with the appropriate authorities.

Duties of Reviewers

• Support for Editorial Decisions: Peer reviewers assist the editors in making informed decisions and help authors improve their work through constructive, detailed feedback.
• Promptness and Reliability: Reviewers who feel unqualified to assess a specific manuscript or who are unable to meet the deadline must notify the editor immediately and withdraw from the process to ensure a timely review cycle.
• Confidentiality and AI Policy: All manuscripts must be treated as privileged documents. Reviewers may not share or discuss the work with others unless authorized by the editor. This confidentiality extends to the use of generative AI; reviewers must comply with journal policies regarding the use of AI tools in the evaluation process.
• Ethical Citation Practices: Reviewers should only suggest additional citations if they are scientifically necessary. Recommending citations solely to increase the citation count of the reviewer or their colleagues is considered unethical.
• Standards of Objectivity: Reviews must be conducted without personal bias. Referees should provide clear, evidence-based arguments to support their evaluation of the work’s scientific content.
• Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers are expected to identify relevant published work that the authors may have missed. Any observation or argument previously reported must be cited. Reviewers must alert the editor to any significant overlap between the manuscript and other published works or any ethical concerns regarding the treatment of human or animal subjects.
• Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers must decline to evaluate manuscripts where they have a conflict of interest—whether financial, professional, or personal—resulting from connections to the authors, institutions, or companies involved.

Duties of Authors

• Reporting Standards: Authors of original research must provide an accurate account of their methodology and an objective discussion of its results. The manuscript should contain enough detail and references to allow others to replicate the study. Providing false or intentionally inaccurate data is unacceptable.
• Data Access and Retention: Authors should be prepared to provide raw research data for editorial review and, where possible, make this data accessible to the public. This data should be retained for a reasonable duration following publication.
• Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must guarantee that their work is entirely original. Any use of the work or words of others must be properly cited or quoted.
• Submission Policy: Submitting the same research to more than one journal simultaneously is considered unethical. Authors should not publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in multiple primary publications.
• Authorship and Contributions: Authorship is restricted to those who made a significant contribution to the study's design, execution, or interpretation. All such contributors should be listed as co-authors. The corresponding author ensures that all co-authors have approved the final version and agreed to its submission.
• Ethical Oversight and Hazards: If the research involves human subjects, animals, or hazardous materials, authors must clearly identify these in the manuscript and provide evidence of legal and ethical clearance (e.g., IRB approval).
• Disclosure of Conflicts: All authors must disclose any financial or substantive interests that could be perceived to influence the results or interpretation of their work. All funding sources must be acknowledged.
• Correcting Errors: If an author discovers a significant error in their published work, they are obligated to notify the journal editor immediately and cooperate in the retraction or correction of the paper.
• Permissions: Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to include any previously published tables, figures, or text passages from the original copyright owners.

Journal Management Responsibilities

• Safeguarding the Scholarly Record: The journal is dedicated to preserving the integrity of the "minutes of science." We work to ensure that best practices are followed and that the editorial process remains independent of commercial interests.
• Handling Unethical Behavior: In cases of proven misconduct or plagiarism, the journal management will work with the editors to rectify the situation. This may involve publishing errata, formal clarifications, or the full retraction of the affected article.
• Independence and Support: We ensure that editorial decisions are never influenced by potential revenue from advertising or reprints. We provide editors with the technical and procedural support necessary to uphold these ethical standards.