Publications Ethics

SPEAR: Studies in Physics Education and Applied Research is a peer-reviewed journal published by the Master of Physics Education Study Program, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Sebelas Maret. It is available in online formats and is published twice times a year. This statement clarifies the ethical behavior of all parties involved in the act of publishing an article in this journal, including the author, the editor-in-chief, the Editorial Board, the peer reviewers, and the publisher. This statement is based on COPE’s Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.

Ethical Guidelines for Journal Publication

The publication of an article in SPEAR is an essential building block in the development of a coherent and respected network of knowledge in the fields of physics education, applied science, and engineering. It reflects directly on the quality of the work of the authors and the institutions that support them. Peer-reviewed articles support and embody the scientific method and align with SPEAR's vision of advancing innovations within the Global South context. Therefore, it is important to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved: the author, the journal editor, the peer reviewer, the publisher, and the academic community.

The Master of Physics Education, Universitas Sebelas Maret, as the publisher of SPEAR, takes its duties of guardianship over all stages of publishing extremely seriously, and we recognize our ethical responsibilities. We are committed to ensuring that advertising, reprint, or other commercial revenue has no impact or influence on editorial decisions.

 

Duties of Editors

Publication Decisions

The Editor of SPEAR is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always be the overriding factors in such decisions. The editor may be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

Fair Play

An editor at any time evaluates manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

Confidentiality

The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author.

 

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper.

Promptness

Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse themselves from the review process.

Confidentiality

Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. A reviewer should also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

 

Duties of Authors

Reporting Standards

Authors of reports of original research should 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 paper. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Data Access and Retention

Authors are asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review, and should be prepared to provide public access to such data, if practicable, and should be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

Originality and Plagiarism

The authors should 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.

Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication

In general, an author should not publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior.

Authorship of the Paper

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors are included and that they have seen and approved the final version of the paper before submission.

Hazards and Human Subjects

If the work involves chemicals, procedures, or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must clearly identify these in the manuscript. Research involving human subjects (e.g., students or teachers) must comply with applicable laws and policies (e.g., the Declaration of Helsinki). Authors must explicitly state that institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee approval was obtained.

Fundamental Errors in Published Works

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 or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

 

Manuscript Withdrawal

Authors are not allowed to withdraw submitted manuscripts because the withdrawal is a waste of valuable resources spent by editors and referees. However, authors may suggest withdrawal if there is no update on the review progress after six months from our side.