Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Southeast Asian Journal of Service Management (SEAJSM) is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures against publication malpractice. This statement is based on the principles and best-practice guidelines developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and applies to authors, reviewers, and editors involved in the journal.

Duties of Editors

  • Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on their intellectual merit, originality, clarity, and relevance to the journal's scope, without regard to the authors' race, gender, religion, nationality, or institutional affiliation.
  • Editors and editorial staff must not disclose information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and the publisher, as appropriate.
  • Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used by editors or editorial board members in their own research without the express written consent of the author.
  • Editors are responsible for deciding which submitted articles are published, guided by the journal's editorial policies and constrained by legal requirements on libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.
  • Editors will act on any reported cases of suspected misconduct, whether the manuscript is published or unpublished, and take reasonable responsive measures, following COPE flowcharts where applicable.

Duties of Reviewers

  • Peer review assists editors in making editorial decisions and, through editorial communication with authors, may also assist authors in improving their manuscript.
  • Reviewers who feel unqualified to review a manuscript, or who cannot complete the review in a timely manner, should notify the editor and excuse themselves from the process.
  • Any manuscript received for review must be treated as a confidential document and must not be shared with or discussed with others without editorial authorization.
  • Reviews should be conducted objectively. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate.
  • Reviewers must identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors and alert the editor to any substantial similarity between the manuscript and any other published work of which they have personal knowledge.
  • Reviewers must disclose to the editor any conflicts of interest, whether financial, institutional, collaborative, or otherwise, that could influence their judgment of the manuscript, and decline to review where appropriate.

Duties of Authors

  • Authors of original research must present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the manuscript. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
  • Authors must ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, this must be appropriately cited or quoted. All submissions are screened for plagiarism using Turnitin prior to acceptance.
  • An author should not, in general, publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior.
  • Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors.
  • Authors must disclose any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript, and disclose all sources of financial support for the project.
  • When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the journal editor and cooperate to retract or correct the paper.

Handling of Research and Publication Misconduct

SEAJSM takes allegations of misconduct, including but not limited to plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate publication, and undisclosed conflicts of interest, seriously. Reports of suspected misconduct are investigated by the Editor-in-Chief, in consultation with the editorial board and, where appropriate, the authors' institutions, following COPE's guidelines and flowcharts. Depending on the outcome of an investigation, actions may include requesting a correction, issuing an expression of concern, retracting the article, or, in serious cases, banning the author from future submissions to the journal.

Retraction Policy

Articles may be retracted if there is clear evidence of unreliable findings due to misconduct or honest error, if the findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing or justification, if it constitutes plagiarism, or if it reports unethical research. Retracted articles remain accessible online, clearly marked as retracted, together with the reason for retraction.

For questions regarding this policy, or to report a suspected case of publication misconduct, please contact the editorial office at admin@seajsm.org.