Ethical guidelines for journal publication

The publisher, Universitas Hasanuddin, takes its duty of guardianship over all stages of the publishing process seriously and recognizes its ethical and other responsibilities.

We are committed to maintain editorial independence and prevent any commercial interests including advertising or reprint revenue from affecting our decision-making process. Furthermore, if needed and appropriate, Universitas Hasanuddin along with the Editorial Board will provide support in communicating with other publishers or journals.

Allegation of Research Misconduct

To ensure the accuracy and integrity of the scientific record, it is the responsibility of editors to address research misconduct or serious irregularities involving articles published in scientific journals. Research misconduct includes but not limited to plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, or citation manipulation during the production, review, or reporting of research and writing of articles by authors.

Editor and Editorial Board subscribe to the principles of Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) on how to deal with acts of misconduct, therefore committing to investigate allegations of misconduct in order to ensure the integrity of research.

The initial step involves the validity of the allegation and scrutiny to determine whether it aligns with the definition of research misconduct. It is subsequently checked whether the individuals who made the allegations have any relevant conflicts of interest.

If there is a chance of scientific misconduct or other significant irregularities in the research, the corresponding author is informed of the allegations and asked to provide a detailed response on behalf of all the coauthors. Once the response is received and assessed, additional review and input from experts may be sought. If it is improbable that misconduct has occurred, letters to the editor may be published containing clarifications or additional analyses. These letters often include a correction notice and correction to the published article.

Institutions are required to thoroughly investigate allegations of scientific misconduct to ensure the accuracy of the scientific record. All authors, journals, and institutions have a significant responsibility to maintain the integrity of research findings. By responding appropriately to concerns about research misconduct and taking necessary actions, such as issuing corrections or retractions, NCDJ can fulfill its responsibility to uphold the validity and integrity of the scientific record.

Screening for Plagiarism

NCDJ will utilize iThenticate to screen manuscripts submitted for plagiarism detection. Manuscripts containing a notable level of plagiarism (maximum 25% similarity), including instances of self-plagiarism, will be automatically declined.

Publication decisions

The editor of the NCDJ is responsible to decide which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The editor's decision is based on the quality and significance of the research. The editorial board's policies and legal considerations, such as libel, copyright, and plagiarism laws, also determined the editor's decision. The editor may seek input from other editors or reviewers when making the final determination.

Complaints and Appeals

NCDJ has established a transparent protocol to address complaints directed towards the journal, Editorial Staff, Editorial Board or Publisher. Any matters concerning the journal's operations, such as editorial processes, unethical citation practices, biased editors/reviewers, or manipulation of peer-review, can be addressed through this procedure. The complaints will be handled in accordance with the guidelines provided by COPE. To file a complaint, please send an email to ncdjournal@unhas.ac.id and asrir@med.unhas.ac.id.