Publishing Ethic

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Edukids: Jurnal Pertumbuhan, Perkembangan, dan Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini is published by the Early Childhood Teacher Education Study Program, Faculty of Education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI), and managed in cooperation with the Office of Journals and Publications (Kantor Jurnal dan Publikasi), UPI. This statement sets out the ethical standards expected of authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher. It follows the Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and complements institutional, national, and international codes of research conduct.

1. Ethics for Authors

Research integrity and reporting

  • Authors must ensure that their work is original, accurate, and complete, and that it was conducted and reported according to recognised research standards.

  • Data, methods, and analyses must be described in enough detail to allow verification and, where appropriate, replication. Fabrication, falsification, and inappropriate manipulation of data or images are not acceptable.

Authorship and contributorship

  • Authorship is limited to those who made a substantial intellectual contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study and who agree to be accountable for the work. Each author's role is stated in the Declarations section using the CRediT taxonomy.

  • Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria are acknowledged. Guest, gift, and ghost authorship are not permitted. Changes to the author list after submission require a written, justified request signed by all authors and approval by the editor.

Originality, plagiarism, and redundant publication

  • Manuscripts must be original and must not be published or under consideration elsewhere, in whole or in part.

  • Plagiarism, including self-plagiarism and redundant or overlapping publication, is prohibited. Every submission must include a Turnitin similarity report; the similarity index, excluding references, must not exceed 20%.

Conflicts of interest and funding

  • Authors must disclose any financial, personal, academic, or other conflict of interest that could reasonably be seen to influence the work, as well as all sources of funding, in the Declarations section.

  • If a funder had a role in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or the decision to publish, this must be described.

Research involving children

  • Research involving children, parents, or teachers must comply with institutional and legal requirements and, where available, have ethics approval. The approval number, issuing body, and year are stated in the Method and Declarations sections.

  • Where formal approval is not available, authors must state that written informed consent was obtained from parents or guardians, that the children's assent was sought, and that the institution gave permission.

  • Children must not be identifiable: authors use pseudonyms and blur children's faces in photographs. Supporting documents must be provided to the editor on request.

Use of generative AI

  • AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Any use of generative AI must be disclosed in the Declarations section, and authors remain fully responsible for the content. Details are set out in the Edukids Artificial Intelligence Policy.

Post-publication responsibilities

  • Authors must promptly notify the editor of any significant error in their submitted or published work and cooperate in issuing a correction or retraction.

2. Ethics for Reviewers

Contribution

  • Reviewers help editors make decisions and help authors improve their manuscripts through objective, constructive, and substantive feedback within their area of expertise.

Confidentiality

  • Manuscripts under review are confidential. They must not be shared, discussed with others, used for personal advantage, or uploaded to any AI application. Reviewers must not attempt to identify the authors of a manuscript under double-blind review.

Objectivity and conflicts of interest

  • Reviews must be impartial, evidence-based, and free from hostile or discriminatory language. Reviewers should report ethical concerns, such as possible plagiarism or inadequate consent.

  • Reviewers must declare any conflict of interest and decline to review when a personal, institutional, financial, or competitive relationship could compromise their impartiality.

Timeliness and competence

  • Reviewers who feel unqualified to assess a manuscript, or who cannot complete the review within the agreed time, should inform the editor promptly.

3. Ethics for Editors

Editorial independence

  • Editors are responsible for all content published in Edukids. Decisions are based only on academic merit, relevance to the journal's scope, and legal requirements. Payment of any fee, including the fast-track fee, never influences an editorial decision.

Peer review management

  • Edukids uses double-blind peer review by at least two reviewers. Editors assign manuscripts to qualified reviewers, protect the confidentiality of authors and reviewers, and apply the procedures described in the Peer Review Policy consistently.

Conflicts of interest and recusal

  • Editors must declare their own conflicts of interest and withdraw from handling any manuscript in which they have such a conflict. Manuscripts submitted by editors or editorial staff are handled by another editor and reviewed under the same double-blind process, and the submitting editor has no access to the review.

Handling misconduct

  • Editors follow COPE Core Practices and COPE flowcharts when responding to allegations of misconduct, complaints, and appeals.

4. Journal Management and Publisher

  • Information on ownership, the editorial board, peer review, fees, and open access is published on the journal website. Edukids does not offer fee waivers or subscriptions.

  • Copyright of published articles is held by the Office of Journals and Publications, UPI, and articles are published open access under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.

  • Edukids preserves its content through electronic archiving and indexing services and does not engage in deceptive or predatory publishing practices, such as guaranteed acceptance, issuing a Letter of Acceptance before acceptance, or adding articles to issues that have already been published.

5. Post-publication Discussion and Corrections

  • Readers may send comments or questions about a published article to the editor at [email protected]. Substantive comments may be forwarded to the authors and, where appropriate, published with the authors' reply.

  • Edukids corrects the scholarly record when necessary through: a correction (erratum or corrigendum) for errors that do not affect the conclusions; an expression of concern while an investigation is in progress; and a retraction when the findings are unreliable or misconduct is confirmed.

6. Handling Allegations of Misconduct

  • Anyone may raise a concern about misconduct by writing to the editor-in-chief with supporting evidence. Anonymous concerns are considered if they are specific and supported by evidence.

  • The editor makes an initial assessment and follows the relevant COPE flowchart, which may involve contacting the authors, reviewers, institutions, or funders.

  • Depending on the seriousness of the case, outcomes may include revision, rejection, a correction, an expression of concern, retraction, notification of the authors' institution or funder, or a restriction on future submissions or reviewing. All actions are documented and proportionate, with the aim of protecting the integrity of the scholarly record.

7. Retraction Procedure

Edukids retracts articles in line with COPE guidelines for reasons including plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, duplicate publication, unethical research, authorship disputes, or major errors that invalidate the conclusions.

  • Initiation: concerns are submitted in writing to the editor-in-chief with supporting evidence.

  • Initial assessment: the editor assesses the concern, where possible within 2 weeks, and contacts the corresponding author.

  • Investigation: for serious cases, the journal may involve the authors' institution, funder, or ethics committee. Authors are asked to respond within 30 days.

  • Decision: the editor-in-chief decides whether to retract. All authors are notified and may comment, and their institutions are informed where appropriate.

  • Retraction notice: a dated notice stating the reason is published and linked to the original article. The article is not removed; its PDF is marked "Retracted", and its metadata is updated with Crossref and indexing services.

  • Appeals: authors may appeal a retraction decision in writing within 30 days.

8. Plagiarism Procedure

Edukids follows the COPE flowcharts for suspected plagiarism in submitted and published work.

  • Submitted manuscripts: every manuscript is screened with Turnitin before review. Manuscripts with a similarity index above 20% (excluding references), or with clear unattributed copying, are returned to the authors or rejected. Where the overlap is minor or the result of an honest error, the authors are asked to revise and cite properly.

  • Published articles: when plagiarism is reported, the editor asks the authors to respond within 30 days and, if necessary, involves their institution. Minor cases lead to a correction; serious cases lead to retraction and notification of the authors' institution.

9. Complaints and Appeals

  • Authors may appeal an editorial decision, and anyone may complain about the journal's processes, by writing to [email protected] with a clear explanation and supporting evidence.

  • The editor acknowledges the complaint or appeal within 14 days. Appeals are reviewed by an editor who was not involved in the original decision and, if needed, by an additional reviewer. The decision on an appeal is final.

10. Manuscript Withdrawal

  • Authors may withdraw a manuscript before it is sent for review by writing to the editor.

  • After review has begun or the manuscript has been accepted, withdrawal is allowed only for a compelling reason, such as a serious error discovered by the authors, and requires a written request signed by all authors.

  • Published articles cannot be withdrawn; they can only be corrected or retracted under the procedures above.