Publication Ethics

ARISTHA: Ar-Risalah Journal of Islamic Tourism and Hospitality

Publisher: Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam (STAI) Ar-Risalah Sumatera Barat, Indonesia

1. Statement of Publication Ethics

ARISTHA: Ar-Risalah Journal of Islamic Tourism and Hospitality is committed to promoting ethical, responsible, transparent, and academically rigorous scholarly publishing. The journal recognizes that publication ethics is essential to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record and public confidence in academic research.

This policy establishes the ethical responsibilities of authors, editors, peer reviewers, and the publisher throughout the manuscript submission, evaluation, publication, and post-publication processes.

The journal's ethical principles are informed by internationally recognized scholarly publishing standards, particularly the guidance and core practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Reference to these standards does not imply organizational membership or formal endorsement.

2. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for safeguarding the integrity, quality, fairness, and independence of the editorial process.

Editorial responsibilities include:

Evaluating manuscripts on the basis of academic merit, originality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal's focus and scope.
Making editorial decisions without discrimination based on nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, institutional affiliation, or personal background.
Protecting the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and associated editorial communications.
Identifying and appropriately managing potential conflicts of interest.
Selecting reviewers with suitable subject expertise and avoiding inappropriate reviewer assignments.
Considering reviewers' recommendations critically while retaining responsibility for editorial decisions.
Addressing credible allegations of research or publication misconduct fairly and consistently.
Facilitating appropriate corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions when necessary to protect the scholarly record.

Editors must not use unpublished information obtained through editorial responsibilities for personal research or other unauthorized purposes.

3. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for the accuracy, originality, transparency, and integrity of the research submitted to ARISTHA.

Authors are expected to:

Submit original scholarly work that has not been published previously and is not under simultaneous consideration by another journal, except where prior dissemination has been appropriately disclosed and is permitted under journal policy.
Present research methods, findings, analysis, and conclusions accurately and without fabrication, falsification, or misleading manipulation.
Acknowledge relevant sources and provide appropriate citations.
Disclose financial, institutional, professional, or personal interests that could reasonably influence the research.
Identify funding sources and their roles, where applicable.
Obtain required ethical approvals, permissions, and informed consent for research involving human participants or identifiable personal information, where applicable.
Ensure that all listed authors meet legitimate authorship criteria and have approved the submitted manuscript.
Cooperate with reasonable editorial requests for clarification, supporting documentation, or research data, subject to ethical, legal, and confidentiality restrictions.
Inform the editorial office promptly if significant errors are discovered before or after publication.

Authors remain accountable for the integrity of their submitted and published work.

4. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must reflect substantial intellectual contributions to the research and manuscript.

Individuals listed as authors should have made meaningful contributions to the conception or design of the study, data acquisition or analysis, interpretation of findings, manuscript preparation, or substantive scholarly revision. All authors should approve the final manuscript and accept accountability for their respective contributions and the integrity of the work.

Contributors who do not qualify for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged, with their permission where necessary.

Guest, gift, honorary, and ghost authorship are unacceptable.

Changes to authorship after submission must be supported by a reasonable explanation and agreement among the affected contributors. The editorial office may request written confirmation before considering such changes.

5. Originality, Plagiarism, and Duplicate Publication

ARISTHA requires manuscripts to demonstrate scholarly originality and appropriate acknowledgment of existing literature.

Unacceptable practices include:

Presenting another person's words, ideas, data, or research findings as one's own.
Reproducing substantial material without appropriate attribution or permission where required.
Submitting substantially identical manuscripts to multiple journals simultaneously.
Republishing previously published work without appropriate disclosure, justification, and authorization.
Dividing one study into multiple misleadingly fragmented publications solely to increase publication output.
Reusing substantial portions of an author's previous work without appropriate citation or transparent disclosure.

Editors may evaluate textual similarity and investigate suspected plagiarism or redundant publication. Similarity scores, when available, must be interpreted in context rather than treated as automatic proof of misconduct.

6. Responsibilities of Peer Reviewers

Peer reviewers contribute to the journal's quality assurance by providing independent, constructive, evidence-based evaluations.

Reviewers are expected to:

Accept review assignments only when they possess relevant expertise and can complete the evaluation within the agreed period.
Maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts and associated review materials.
Provide objective, respectful, and substantiated assessments.
Evaluate the manuscript's originality, theoretical contribution, methodology, interpretation, presentation, and relevance.
Identify relevant published literature that has been overlooked when this materially affects the assessment.
Inform editors of suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated evidence, or other serious ethical concerns.
Disclose conflicts of interest and decline assignments when impartial evaluation cannot reasonably be maintained.
Refrain from using unpublished manuscript information for personal or professional advantage.

Reviewers must not request unnecessary citations to their own publications or engage in coercive citation practices.

7. Research Integrity and Data Transparency

Research findings must be supported by authentic evidence and responsible research practices.

Fabrication, falsification, selective manipulation of results, and intentional misrepresentation of research methods or findings are prohibited.

Authors should describe research designs, data collection procedures, analytical approaches, and relevant limitations sufficiently to support scholarly evaluation.

Where appropriate and ethically permissible, authors may be asked to provide supporting data, instruments, analytical documentation, or clarification of reported findings.

Requirements for transparency must be balanced against participant confidentiality, intellectual property rights, contractual obligations, and applicable data protection regulations.

8. Ethical Approval and Human Participant Protection

Research involving human participants, including interviews, surveys, observations, or identifiable personal information, must comply with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

Where institutional ethics review is required, authors must obtain the relevant approval or exemption and provide details when requested.

Authors should explain informed consent procedures where applicable and protect participant privacy and confidentiality.

For studies involving tourism communities, hospitality workers, religious institutions, pilgrims, travelers, or culturally sensitive environments, researchers should demonstrate appropriate respect for participant rights, local customs, and relevant religious and cultural contexts.

9. Conflicts of Interest

Authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose interests that could influence, or reasonably appear to influence, their judgments.

Potential conflicts may include financial relationships, institutional affiliations, personal relationships, academic competition, consultancy arrangements, or other professional commitments.

Disclosure does not necessarily disqualify participation. However, conflicts must be assessed and managed appropriately to preserve editorial impartiality.

Editors with significant conflicts concerning a manuscript should delegate editorial responsibility to an appropriately independent editor.

10. Use of Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Technologies

The use of generative artificial intelligence or AI-assisted technologies must not compromise authorship accountability, research integrity, confidentiality, or the accuracy of scholarly communication.

Authors remain fully responsible for all manuscript content, including text, references, data interpretation, tables, and other material prepared with AI assistance.

AI systems must not be listed as authors because they cannot accept responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of published research.

Authors should transparently disclose substantive use of generative AI in manuscript preparation or research activities, including the tool used and the nature of its contribution, where relevant.

Editors and reviewers must protect confidential manuscript content and should not upload unpublished submissions or confidential review material to external AI services without appropriate authorization and safeguards.

Further requirements may be specified in the journal's separate Generative AI Policy.

11. Ethical Concerns and Allegations of Misconduct

ARISTHA takes credible allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously.

Concerns may relate to plagiarism, fabricated or falsified data, inappropriate authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, unethical research practices, peer-review manipulation, or other conduct that threatens the integrity of scholarly publication.

The journal will seek to evaluate such concerns fairly, proportionately, and confidentially, taking into account available evidence and relevant ethical guidance.

Individuals involved should be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to substantive allegations before consequential decisions are made, where appropriate.

The journal may seek clarification from authors, reviewers, institutions, or other relevant parties when necessary.

12. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

ARISTHA recognizes its responsibility to maintain an accurate and trustworthy scholarly record.

When significant errors or ethical concerns are identified after publication, appropriate editorial actions may include:

Correction: To address errors that do not invalidate the overall findings or conclusions.
Expression of Concern: To alert readers to substantial unresolved concerns when sufficient information is not yet available for a definitive determination.
Retraction: To address publications whose findings are unreliable or whose publication involved serious ethical violations.

The nature of any post-publication action should be determined by the seriousness of the issue, available evidence, and its implications for the scholarly record.

Where an article is corrected or retracted, the journal should provide a clear and appropriately linked public notice explaining the editorial action.

13. Complaints and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, readers, and other stakeholders may raise concerns about editorial decisions, publication ethics, or the handling of submitted and published material.

Complaints and appeals should identify the relevant manuscript or publication and provide a clear explanation supported by available evidence.

The editorial team should assess complaints objectively and, where appropriate, arrange for review by an editor who was not directly involved in the disputed decision.

An appeal does not automatically result in reversal of an editorial decision.

14. Responsibilities of the Publisher

Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam (STAI) Ar-Risalah Sumatera Barat, Indonesia, as the publisher of ARISTHA, supports responsible scholarly publishing and the editorial independence of the journal.

The publisher's responsibilities include supporting the journal's editorial governance, encouraging compliance with ethical publishing principles, and facilitating appropriate responses to publication-related concerns.

Commercial, institutional, or personal interests must not improperly influence editorial assessments or publication decisions.

15. Policy Implementation and Review

This Publication Ethics Policy provides the ethical framework for manuscripts submitted to and published by ARISTHA.

The journal may review and update the policy to reflect developments in scholarly publishing standards, research ethics, applicable regulations, and editorial practice.

Authors, editors, reviewers, and other participants in the publication process are expected to familiarize themselves with the policy and comply with its applicable provisions.