Publication Ethics

Educatio Christi
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Publication Ethics

PUBLICATION ETHICS

Educatio Christi (E-ISSN: 2723-472x; P-ISSN: 0852-4882) is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Faculty of Theology, Universitas Kristen Indonesia Tomohon. This Publication Ethics Statement is based on the principles and best practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). It is intended to ensure academic integrity, transparency, fairness, confidentiality, and accountability throughout the publication process.

1. Authorship and Contributorship

Educatio Christi recognizes authorship as a matter of both scholarly credit and academic responsibility. Authorship must reflect substantial intellectual contributions to the work and must not be assigned solely on the basis of academic position, institutional affiliation, supervision, funding, or other non-substantive relationships.

An individual should be listed as an author only when they have made a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the study, acquisition of data, analysis or interpretation of data, development of the theological, conceptual, or methodological argument, or other substantive intellectual aspects of the manuscript.

In addition, authors are expected to participate in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content, approve the final version of the manuscript, and accept responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the work.

The corresponding author is responsible for communicating with the editorial office and for confirming that:

  1. all listed authors have made an appropriate contribution to the manuscript;
  2. all authors have approved the submitted and final versions of the manuscript;
  3. all authors have agreed to the submission and publication of the manuscript;
  4. the order of authors has been agreed upon by all authors; and
  5. any changes to authorship are properly communicated to and approved by all affected authors.

Educatio Christi does not permit guest authorship, honorary authorship, or ghost authorship.

Individuals who have contributed to the research or manuscript but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged, with their permission.

Any request to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission must be justified in writing and approved by all authors. The Editor-in-Chief may request additional documentation before approving such changes.

2. Complaints and Appeals

Educatio Christi is committed to handling complaints and appeals in a fair, transparent, timely, and impartial manner.

Authors, reviewers, readers, editors, and other stakeholders may submit complaints concerning editorial decisions, peer-review procedures, publication processes, authorship, conflicts of interest, research integrity, ethical concerns, or other matters relating to the journal.

Complaints and appeals should be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief or Editorial Office and should contain sufficient information and, where applicable, supporting evidence.

The journal will:

  1. acknowledge receipt of a complaint or appeal;
  2. assess the matter objectively and independently;
  3. investigate relevant evidence;
  4. consult editors, reviewers, authors, institutional representatives, or independent experts when necessary;
  5. maintain confidentiality throughout the investigation; and
  6. communicate the outcome and rationale of the investigation to the relevant parties.

An appeal against an editorial decision must provide substantive grounds, new evidence, or demonstrate a possible procedural or ethical problem in the original decision.

Disagreement with an editor's or reviewer's scholarly judgment alone does not ordinarily constitute sufficient grounds for an appeal.

The Editor-in-Chief may assign an appeal to an independent editor who was not involved in the original decision. Editorial decisions following a properly conducted peer-review process are normally final, except where evidence of procedural error, reviewer misconduct, undisclosed conflict of interest, or other circumstances indicates that the original decision may have been compromised.

3. Allegations of Research Misconduct

Educatio Christi takes allegations of research misconduct seriously and is committed to protecting the integrity of the scholarly record.

Research misconduct may include, but is not limited to:

  • fabrication of data or research findings;
  • falsification or manipulation of data, evidence, or research procedures;
  • plagiarism or substantial unattributed use of another person's work;
  • duplicate or redundant publication;
  • inappropriate text recycling;
  • citation manipulation;
  • manipulation of the peer-review process;
  • fraudulent or inappropriate authorship;
  • failure to disclose relevant conflicts of interest;
  • unethical research involving human participants;
  • unauthorized use or disclosure of confidential information; and
  • other practices that violate accepted standards of responsible research and publication.

When an allegation is received, the Editor-in-Chief will conduct an initial assessment to determine whether the concern warrants further investigation.

Where necessary, the journal may request explanations, supporting documentation, original research materials, ethical approval documentation, or other relevant evidence from the authors.

For serious allegations, the journal may refer the matter to the author's affiliated institution, research institution, funding body, or other competent authority for further investigation.

Depending on the findings, Educatio Christi may take one or more of the following actions:

  • reject the manuscript;
  • suspend the editorial process;
  • request clarification or correction;
  • issue an Expression of Concern;
  • publish a correction;
  • retract a published article;
  • notify the relevant institution; or
  • take other appropriate measures to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

The journal will not presume misconduct before sufficient evidence has been established.

4. Conflicts of Interest

Educatio Christi requires authors, editors, and reviewers to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the research, manuscript, peer-review process, editorial decision, or interpretation of findings.

Conflicts of interest may arise from, among other circumstances:

  • financial relationships;
  • employment or institutional affiliations;
  • personal relationships;
  • professional collaborations;
  • academic competition;
  • funding arrangements;
  • intellectual or ideological interests; or
  • other circumstances that may affect scholarly independence or impartiality.

Authors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest during manuscript submission.

Editors and reviewers must disclose any conflict of interest before participating in the editorial or peer-review process. An editor or reviewer with a significant conflict of interest should decline involvement with the manuscript.

A conflict of interest does not necessarily constitute misconduct. However, failure to disclose a relevant conflict may constitute a breach of publication ethics.

Where appropriate, disclosed conflicts may be published alongside the article to promote transparency.

5. Data Sharing and Reproducibility

Educatio Christi supports responsible research transparency and encourages authors to provide sufficient information to enable readers and other researchers to understand, evaluate, and, where applicable, reproduce the research process.

Authors of empirical studies should provide adequate information regarding:

  • research design;
  • data collection procedures;
  • analytical procedures;
  • methodological decisions;
  • research instruments or materials where appropriate; and
  • the basis upon which the findings and conclusions were derived.

Where ethically, legally, and practically permissible, authors are encouraged to make supporting research data or materials available through an appropriate repository or upon reasonable request.

However, data sharing must not compromise:

  • participant privacy;
  • confidentiality;
  • informed consent;
  • ethical approval conditions;
  • intellectual property rights;
  • legal obligations; or
  • the safety or welfare of research participants.

For qualitative, theological, biblical, historical, philosophical, and literature-based research, reproducibility should be understood in terms appropriate to the methodology. Authors should clearly identify their primary sources, interpretive frameworks, analytical procedures, methodological assumptions, and relevant limitations.

Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and provenance of the data, sources, and materials presented in their manuscripts.

6. Ethical Oversight

Educatio Christi requires research to comply with relevant ethical standards appropriate to its methodology, subject matter, and research context.

Research involving human participants, interviews, observations, personal information, sensitive data, or potentially vulnerable populations must comply with applicable institutional, national, and professional ethical requirements.

Where applicable, authors should provide information regarding:

  • ethical approval or clearance;
  • the institution or committee granting ethical approval;
  • the approval or reference number, where available;
  • informed consent procedures; and
  • measures taken to protect participants' privacy, confidentiality, dignity, and welfare.

For research involving vulnerable individuals or communities, authors must demonstrate particular attention to informed consent, confidentiality, risk minimization, and participant protection.

For theological, biblical, historical, philosophical, and literature-based studies that do not involve human participants, formal ethical approval may not be required. Nevertheless, such research remains subject to principles of academic integrity, accurate representation of sources, responsible interpretation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property.

Where ethical approval is not applicable, authors may be required to provide an appropriate statement explaining why formal ethical approval was not required.

7. Intellectual Property

Educatio Christi respects intellectual property rights and requires all submitted manuscripts to comply with applicable copyright and intellectual property regulations.

Authors must ensure that manuscripts are original and that all ideas, arguments, quotations, data, images, figures, tables, and other materials derived from third parties are properly attributed and referenced.

Direct quotations must be clearly identified and accurately cited. Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted material where such permission is required.

Manuscripts submitted to Educatio Christi must:

  1. be original scholarly work;
  2. not have been previously published in substantially the same form;
  3. not be simultaneously under consideration by another journal; and
  4. properly acknowledge all sources and intellectual contributions.

Educatio Christi publishes its content under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The application of the CC BY-SA license does not remove or override the copyright and permissions requirements applicable to third-party materials included in an article.

Authors retain responsibility for ensuring that their submissions do not infringe the intellectual property rights of other individuals, institutions, publishers, or copyright holders.

8. Post-Publication Discussions

Educatio Christi recognizes that scholarly evaluation and discussion may continue after publication.

Readers, researchers, authors, and other members of the academic community are encouraged to communicate substantive concerns, comments, clarifications, or scholarly responses concerning published articles.

Post-publication comments or concerns should be:

  • evidence-based;
  • academically relevant;
  • professionally expressed;
  • respectful of the authors and other members of the scholarly community; and
  • focused on the content, methodology, interpretation, or integrity of the published work.

When a substantive concern is received, the editorial team will assess the matter and may contact the authors for clarification or response.

Where appropriate, Educatio Christi may publish:

  • an author response;
  • a scholarly commentary;
  • a correction;
  • an editorial note;
  • an Expression of Concern; or
  • a retraction notice.

The journal may consult independent experts when the matter requires additional scholarly or methodological assessment.

Post-publication discussion is intended to strengthen scholarly dialogue and ensure the continuing accuracy, reliability, and integrity of the academic record.

9. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

Educatio Christi is committed to maintaining a reliable and transparent scholarly record. The journal therefore distinguishes between corrections, retractions, and Expressions of Concern according to the nature and seriousness of the issue identified.

9.1 Corrections

A correction may be issued when an article contains an error or omission that affects the accuracy, clarity, or completeness of the published record but does not invalidate the central argument, methodology, or findings of the article.

Corrections may concern:

  • factual inaccuracies;
  • author names or affiliations;
  • methodological descriptions;
  • figures or tables;
  • references or citations;
  • typographical errors that materially affect meaning; or
  • other substantive inaccuracies.

Corrections will be clearly identified and, where technically possible, linked to the original article.

9.2 Retractions

Educatio Christi may retract an article when there is clear and substantial evidence that the reliability or integrity of the published work has been seriously compromised.

Reasons for retraction may include:

  • fabricated or falsified data;
  • serious plagiarism;
  • substantial research misconduct;
  • duplicate or redundant publication;
  • major methodological or factual errors that invalidate the main conclusions;
  • serious ethical violations;
  • fraudulent authorship;
  • manipulation of the peer-review or publication process; or
  • other circumstances that substantially undermine the reliability of the article.

A retraction notice will identify the article, state the reason for the retraction, and provide sufficient information to explain the action taken.

The original article will normally remain accessible as part of the scholarly record but will be clearly marked RETRACTED. The retraction notice will be permanently linked to the original publication where technically possible.

9.3 Expression of Concern

An Expression of Concern may be issued when the journal has a serious and credible concern regarding the integrity, reliability, or ethical status of a published article but the available evidence is not yet sufficient to justify a correction or retraction.

An Expression of Concern may be issued while:

  • an institutional investigation is ongoing;
  • relevant evidence is being assessed;
  • the authors or institution have not yet provided sufficient clarification; or
  • the editorial team requires additional information before reaching a final decision.

The Expression of Concern will remain associated with the article until the matter has been resolved or further editorial action is determined to be appropriate.

Editorial Responsibility

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board of Educatio Christi are responsible for implementing these publication ethics policies and for ensuring that ethical considerations are appropriately addressed throughout the editorial and publication process.

Editorial decisions should be based primarily on the scholarly quality, originality, methodological rigor, relevance, and contribution of the manuscript rather than on the author's identity, institutional affiliation, nationality, gender, religious background, or other irrelevant personal characteristics.

The journal also expects editors and reviewers to maintain confidentiality, avoid conflicts of interest, provide objective scholarly assessments, and contribute to the integrity and quality of the publication process.

These policies may be revised periodically to reflect developments in international standards of research and publication ethics.

Educatio Christi is committed to continuous improvement in editorial governance and to maintaining a transparent, accountable, and ethically responsible scholarly publishing environment.