Allegation of Research Misconduct

Maqolat: Journal of Islamic Studies is committed to maintaining the highest standards of research integrity and publication ethics. The journal takes allegations of research misconduct seriously and investigates them in a fair, transparent, impartial, and confidential manner.

Definition of Research Misconduct

Research misconduct refers to violations of responsible research practices and accepted standards of scholarly integrity, including but not limited to:

  • Fabrication — making up data, results, observations, participant information, or other research information and reporting them as genuine.
  • Falsification — manipulating research materials, procedures, data, images, participant information, or results so that the research record is inaccurately represented.
  • Plagiarism — using another person's ideas, words, data, figures, or other intellectual contributions without appropriate acknowledgment or attribution.
  • Duplicate or redundant publication — publishing substantially the same work in more than one publication without appropriate disclosure, justification, or permission.
  • Manipulation of citations — inappropriate practices intended to artificially increase citation counts, author metrics, or journal metrics.
  • Authorship misconduct — including guest, honorary, or ghost authorship, as well as unauthorized or inappropriate changes to authorship.
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest that could improperly influence the research, peer-review, or publication process.
  • Ethical violations involving research participants, including failure to obtain appropriate ethical approval, informed consent, parental or guardian consent, or other required permissions.
  • Violations involving children or vulnerable participants, including inappropriate collection, use, disclosure, or publication of personal information, images, recordings, or other identifiable participant information.
  • Manipulation or misuse of peer review, including interference with the peer-review process, falsification of reviewer identities, or submission of fraudulent reviewer information.
  • Misrepresentation of research findings, methods, participant characteristics, ethical approvals, funding, or other material information.
  • Other serious violations of accepted standards of research integrity and publication ethics.

Reporting Allegations

Allegations of research misconduct may be submitted to the Maqolat: Journal of Islamic Studies and Financeby authors, reviewers, readers, editors, institutions, research organizations, or other concerned parties.

Reports should provide sufficient information and, where possible, supporting evidence to allow the journal to assess the allegation. Allegations will be treated confidentially and handled impartially, without prejudice to the individuals concerned.

Maqolat: Journal of Islamic Studies encourages allegations to be submitted in good faith and supported by relevant evidence whenever available.

Investigation Procedure

When an allegation is received, Maqolat: Journal of Islamic Studies may take the following steps:

  1. Initial Assessment
    The Editor-in-Chief or a designated editor conducts a preliminary assessment to determine whether the allegation is sufficiently credible and falls within the journal's responsibility.
  2. Request for Clarification
    Where appropriate, the journal may contact the corresponding author or other relevant parties to request an explanation, clarification, original data, ethical approval documentation, consent documentation, or other supporting evidence.
  3. Further Investigation
    If the allegation appears credible or cannot be resolved through clarification, the journal may conduct a further investigation and may seek advice from independent experts, reviewers, editors, or the relevant author's institution or research organization.
  4. Institutional Involvement
    For serious allegations, particularly those involving fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, research involving children or vulnerable participants, or significant ethical violations, Maqolat: Journal of Islamic Studies may refer the matter to the relevant institution, research ethics committee, or research organization for formal investigation.
  5. Editorial Decision
    Based on the available evidence and, where applicable, the outcome of the institutional investigation, the journal will determine appropriate corrective or editorial action.

Possible Actions

Depending on the nature and severity of the alleged or established misconduct, Maqolat: Journal of Islamic Studies may:

  • reject a manuscript that is under review;
  • suspend or terminate the peer-review or publication process;
  • request corrections, clarification, or additional documentation;
  • require the authors to provide supporting research or ethical documentation;
  • publish a Correction or Expression of Concern;
  • retract a published article when the findings or publication process are seriously compromised;
  • notify the author's institution, research ethics committee, or relevant research authority;
  • restrict future submissions from individuals found to have committed serious misconduct, where justified and consistent with applicable publication-ethics principles; and
  • take other appropriate actions consistent with accepted research and publication-ethics practices.

Any Retraction, Correction, or Expression of Concern will be clearly identified and appropriately linked to the original article to maintain the integrity and transparency of the scholarly record.

Fairness and Confidentiality

Maqolat: Journal of Islamic Studies will handle allegations objectively, impartially, and confidentially. The journal will provide authors and other concerned parties with a reasonable opportunity to respond to allegations and provide relevant evidence before a final editorial decision is made, where appropriate.

The journal will not treat an allegation as proof of misconduct until the available evidence has been appropriately assessed and a determination has been made.

All parties involved in an investigation are expected to maintain appropriate confidentiality and refrain from publicly disclosing unverified allegations or confidential investigation materials.

Protection of the Scholarly Record

Maqolat: Journal of Islamic Studies is committed to protecting the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record. Where misconduct or a serious error is established after publication, the journal will take appropriate action to correct, clarify, or, when necessary, retract the affected publication.

Editorial actions will be proportionate to the nature and severity of the issue and will be undertaken with due consideration for fairness, transparency, and the integrity of the scholarly record.

Maqolat: Journal of Islamic Studies follows established principles of research and publication ethics and may refer to the guidelines and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when assessing and handling allegations of research misconduct.