Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement

Berkala Kesehatan Klinik (BKK) generally follows the standards and guidelines set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), particularly regarding misconduct and fraud, as well as the appropriate procedures for handling such cases. COPE provides a code of conduct with best practices in publishing and flowcharts that outline the necessary steps publishers and editors should take to identify and prevent the publication of articles involving research misconduct.

If the journal’s publisher or editors become aware of any allegations of research misconduct, they are responsible for addressing these allegations appropriately. BKK will follow the recommendations for handling misconduct as described in the “Dealing with Misconduct” section of The COPE Report 1999 (page 46).

BKK also adheres to the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing as defined by COPE and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). In accordance with these principles, several journal policies have been implemented and are described below.

Journal policies on authorship and contributorship

Authors of BKK are required to adhere to international standards of academic authorship ethics as outlined by COPE. Authorship should be based on four main criteria: significant contribution to the conception or design of the research, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; active involvement in drafting or critically revising the manuscript; final approval of the version to be published; and accountability for all aspects of the work. All individuals designated as authors must meet these criteria, while contributors who do not meet them will be acknowledged in a separate section.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all authors agree to the submission, understand the peer review process, and approve the final version. Any changes in authorship after submission must be accompanied by a clear justification and signed consent from all authors.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Assisted Technology

Authors must disclose the use of AI-assisted technologies (such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, or image generators) in manuscript preparation. The name of the tool, the reason for its use, and how it was applied must be clearly explained in the manuscript (e.g., in Acknowledgments or Methods). AI tools cannot be listed as authors, and responsibility for the integrity of the work remains entirely with human authors.

Conditions for submission – plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate, and preprint

BKK upholds the highest standards of academic integrity and only considers original and unpublished work. All submissions are screened using plagiarism detection tools, and the similarity score must be below 20%. Manuscripts exceeding this limit will be rejected or returned for revision. Duplicate or redundant submissions are not permitted. Preprints may be uploaded to non-commercial servers as long as full disclosure is provided, and a citation is included in the manuscript.

Peer review process

BKK applies a double-blind peer review process. Manuscripts are evaluated by at least two independent reviewers, and both authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the process. Editors and reviewers are required to declare any conflicts of interest, and reviewers are encouraged to suggest relevant literature that may have been overlooked. The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision to accept, revise, or reject a manuscript.

Conflict of interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must declare any financial, academic, or personal relationships that could influence the work. This information will be published in the article when relevant. Editors and reviewers with potential conflicts will be excluded from the evaluation process.

Ethical oversight

Research involving human or animal subjects must comply with institutional and national ethical standards. Informed consent must be obtained for all human participants, and identifying details must not be published unless scientifically necessary and with explicit written consent. Animal research must follow institutional and national regulations.

Intellectual property, copyright, and licensing

Authors retain the copyright of their articles. All works published in BKK are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA 4.0) license, allowing maximum dissemination while protecting author rights. Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce third-party materials.

Post-publication discussion and corrections

BKK supports academic transparency by facilitating post-publication discussions. Corrections will be issued if errors are found, and retractions will be published in cases of serious ethical or methodological breaches. Expressions of concern may be issued when integrity issues are under investigation.

Complaints and appeals

Authors who wish to appeal editorial decisions may submit a formal request to the Editor-in-Chief, including clear justification and supporting evidence. Appeals will be reviewed according to COPE guidelines, and the decision of the Editorial Board will be final.