Publication Ethics

JoSC (Journal of Sustainable Construction) is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. All parties involved in the publishing process—authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher—must adhere to ethical behavior as outlined below. This policy is based on the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Duties of Authors

  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must submit original work and properly cite others' work. All manuscripts are screened for plagiarism using plagiarism detection software (e.g., Turnitin). Manuscripts with an overall similarity index above 20%, or more than 5% from a single source, will be rejected.

  • Multiple Submissions: Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously is considered unethical and is not accepted.

  • Authorship: Only individuals who made substantial contributions to the research should be listed as authors. All co-authors must approve the final version.

  • Data Integrity: Authors must present accurate data. Fabrication, falsification, or manipulation of data is unacceptable.

  • Disclosure of Conflict of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflict of interest.

Duties of Reviewers

  • Confidentiality: Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.

  • Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively, with clear, constructive feedback and without personal bias.

  • Timeliness: Reviewers should respond within the agreed review period and inform the editors if they cannot complete the review on time.

  • Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must decline to review if they have a conflict of interest with the authors or the manuscript.

Duties of Editors

  • Fair Evaluation: Editors evaluate manuscripts based on their academic merit, without regard to the authors’ identity, institution, or background.

  • Confidentiality: Editors must maintain the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts.

  • Decision-making: Editors make publication decisions based on the reviewers’ evaluations and the relevance of the manuscript to the journal’s scope.

  • Handling Misconduct: Editors will act upon allegations of misconduct, including plagiarism, citation manipulation, or falsification, following COPE flowcharts.

Publisher’s Responsibilities

The publisher (Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Katolik Parahyangan) ensures that editorial decisions are independent and supports the editorial team in managing ethical issues and maintaining journal integrity.

JOSC (Journal of Sustainable Construction) upholds the principles of transparency, accountability, and academic excellence. We expect all parties involved in the publishing process to adhere strictly to this policy.