1. Policy Statement

Jurnal Agrotek Tropika (JAT) is committed to protecting the integrity, reliability, transparency, and credibility of scientific research published in the journal.

The journal does not tolerate research misconduct or unethical publication practices that undermine confidence in the scholarly record.

All allegations of research misconduct should be addressed objectively, confidentially, fairly, and in accordance with recognized publication ethics principles.

2. Scope of Research Misconduct

Research misconduct may include, but is not limited to:

• Fabrication: Making up research data, experimental observations, or results and presenting them as genuine findings.

• Falsification: Manipulating research materials, experimental procedures, data, images, or results in a manner that misrepresents the research.

• Plagiarism: Presenting another person's intellectual contributions as one's own without appropriate acknowledgment.

• Duplicate or Redundant Publication: Publishing substantially overlapping findings without appropriate disclosure or justification.

• Authorship Misconduct: Inappropriately including, excluding, or changing authorship attribution.

• Unethical Research Practices: Conducting research without required approvals, permissions, or safeguards.

• Undisclosed Competing Interests: Failing to disclose relevant interests that could compromise the transparency or integrity of the research.

• Manipulation of the Peer Review Process: Providing false reviewer identities, inappropriate reviewer suggestions, or otherwise interfering with independent evaluation.

• Inappropriate Image or Data Manipulation: Altering research data or visual evidence in a manner that misleads readers.

3. Reporting Suspected Misconduct

Concerns regarding potential research misconduct may be reported to the Editorial Office by authors, reviewers, readers, institutions, or other concerned parties.

Reports should identify the manuscript or published article, describe the alleged misconduct, and provide relevant evidence or supporting documentation whenever possible.

Allegations should be submitted through the journal's official contact channels.

4. Preliminary Assessment

Upon receiving an allegation, the Editor-in-Chief or a designated editor should conduct a preliminary assessment to determine whether the concern falls within the journal's responsibility and whether sufficient information is available to justify further inquiry.

Where appropriate, the Editorial Board may examine manuscript records, published content, similarity reports, supporting data, and relevant correspondence.

Allegations must not be treated as established misconduct before adequate evidence has been assessed.

5. Investigation and Author Response

When a credible concern is identified, the authors may be contacted and given an opportunity to provide an explanation or relevant supporting evidence.

The journal may request original research data, laboratory records, ethical approval documentation, or other materials necessary to evaluate the allegation.

For matters requiring institutional authority or formal research investigation, the journal may refer the concern to the relevant institution or research organization.

6. Editorial Actions

Depending on the findings and seriousness of the concern, possible actions may include:

1. Requesting clarification or additional documentation.

2. Requiring corrections to the manuscript.

3. Rejecting a manuscript under consideration.

4. Publishing a correction or clarification.

5. Issuing an expression of concern.

6. Retracting a published article when its findings are unreliable or serious ethical violations are substantiated.

7. Referring the matter to the relevant institution or responsible authority.

Editorial actions should be proportionate to the evidence and the nature of the concern.

7. Confidentiality and Fairness

The Editorial Board should protect the confidentiality of individuals involved in an allegation to the extent reasonably possible.

All parties should be treated fairly, and decisions should be based on verifiable evidence rather than assumptions, personal relationships, or unsupported accusations.

Individuals with relevant competing interests should not participate in decisions concerning the allegation.

8. Post-Investigation Communication

Where an allegation concerns a published article, the journal should take appropriate steps to maintain the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record.

Any published correction, expression of concern, or retraction should clearly identify the affected article and explain the nature of the editorial action.

9. Ethical Framework

Jurnal Agrotek Tropika's approach to allegations of research misconduct is informed by the recommendations and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Jurnal Agrotek Tropika (JAT)

Department of Agrotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Lampung, Indonesia