Allegations of Research Misconduct

Research misconduct includes fabrication, falsification, citation manipulation, or plagiarism in producing, conducting, or reviewing research and writing articles by authors, or in reporting research results. When authors are found to be involved in research misconduct or other serious deviations involving articles published in a scientific journal, the Editor has the responsibility to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the scientific record.

In cases of alleged misconduct, the Editor and the Editorial Board will follow COPE's best practices to resolve complaints and handle misconduct fairly. This includes the Editor investigating the allegations. Manuscripts found to contain misconduct will be rejected. If a published paper is found to contain such misconduct, a retraction will be issued and linked to the original article.

The first step involves determining the validity of the allegations and assessing whether the allegations are consistent with the definition of research misconduct. This initial step also involves determining whether the individual making the allegations has any relevant conflicts of interest.

If there is a possibility of scientific error or other substantial research misconduct, the allegations will be shared with the appropriate author, who, on behalf of all co-authors, will be asked to provide a detailed response. After the response is received and evaluated, additional review and expert involvement (such as statistical reviewers) may be sought. In cases where no misconduct is found, clarification or additional analysis, or both, may be published as a letter to the editor, often accompanied by a correction notice on the published article.

Institutions are expected to conduct appropriate and thorough investigations of allegations of scientific misconduct. Ultimately, authors, journals, and institutions have a critical obligation to ensure the accuracy of the scientific record. By appropriately responding to concerns about scientific misconduct and taking necessary actions based on the evaluation of those concerns, such as corrections, retraction with replacement, and retraction, the Journal of SAKAGURU: Journal of Pedagogy and Creative will continue to fulfill its responsibility to ensure the validity and integrity of the scientific record.