PUBLICATION ETHICS

Publication Ethics Statement

TRANSFORMA: Journal of Community Innovation and Transformation is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and integrity throughout the editorial and publishing process. The journal follows internationally recognized principles of ethical publishing and expects all parties involved—including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—to uphold honesty, transparency, accountability, and professionalism.

All submitted manuscripts must represent original work that has not been published previously and is not under consideration by another journal. Any form of plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, or unethical research conduct is strictly prohibited.

The editorial process is conducted fairly, objectively, and without discrimination based on nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, institutional affiliation, or political beliefs.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are expected to:

  • Submit original and authentic manuscripts based on actual community service activities.
  • Ensure that all data, results, and conclusions are accurate and honestly presented.
  • Properly acknowledge the work, ideas, and publications of others through appropriate citations.
  • Ensure that the manuscript is not simultaneously submitted to another journal.
  • Disclose any financial support, sponsorship, or potential conflicts of interest.
  • Obtain all necessary ethical approvals or permissions whenever required.
  • Promptly notify the editorial office if significant errors are discovered after submission or publication.
  • Cooperate fully with editors during the review, revision, and publication processes.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for:

  • Making publication decisions solely on academic merit, originality, relevance, and scientific quality.
  • Conducting the editorial process fairly, independently, and confidentially.
  • Avoiding conflicts of interest in editorial decision-making.
  • Preserving the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts.
  • Taking appropriate action when ethical concerns or misconduct are identified.
  • Ensuring that allegations of research or publication misconduct are investigated objectively.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to:

  • Provide objective, constructive, and timely evaluations.
  • Maintain the confidentiality of all manuscripts received for review.
  • Declare any conflicts of interest before accepting a review assignment.
  • Identify relevant published works that have not been cited by the authors.
  • Report any suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, ethical concerns, or substantial similarities with other published works.

Responsibilities of the Publisher

The publisher is committed to:

  • Supporting editorial independence.
  • Maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.
  • Ensuring transparency throughout the publication process.
  • Preventing commercial interests from influencing editorial decisions.
  • Providing a secure and reliable publishing platform.
  • Supporting corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern whenever necessary.

Publication Misconduct

The following practices constitute publication misconduct and will not be tolerated:

  • Plagiarism.
  • Self-plagiarism or redundant publication.
  • Data fabrication or falsification.
  • Image manipulation that alters scientific meaning.
  • Fake authorship or guest authorship.
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest.
  • Citation manipulation.
  • Peer-review manipulation.
  • Submission of fraudulent ethical approval documents.
  • Any other unethical publishing practice.

When misconduct is suspected, the Editorial Office will conduct an investigation in accordance with the journal's editorial policies. Appropriate actions may include manuscript rejection, publication correction, article retraction, notification to the author's institution, or other necessary measures depending on the severity of the violation.

Ethical Commitment

By submitting a manuscript to TRANSFORMA, authors confirm that they have read, understood, and agreed to comply with the journal's publication ethics and editorial policies. The journal reserves the right to reject, correct, or retract any publication that violates these ethical standards in order to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.