Editorial Responsibilities
The editors of Lingua: Jurnal Ilmiah are responsible for maintaining the quality, integrity, fairness, and transparency of the journal's editorial and publication processes. Editorial decisions should be based on scholarly merit and the journal's scope and policies rather than personal, institutional, commercial, or other inappropriate considerations.
1. Editorial Independence
Editors are responsible for making independent and objective editorial decisions. Decisions regarding manuscript evaluation and publication should not be influenced by commercial interests, institutional pressure, personal relationships, or other inappropriate considerations.
2. Fair and Objective Evaluation
Editors evaluate manuscripts based on their scholarly content, originality, relevance, methodological quality, and contribution to the field.
Editors must not discriminate against authors based on characteristics such as gender, nationality, ethnicity, institutional affiliation, political or religious views, or other irrelevant personal characteristics.
3. Confidentiality
Editors must protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and information obtained during the editorial process.
Information about a submitted manuscript should only be shared with individuals directly involved in the evaluation, review, or publication process, unless disclosure is required for legitimate ethical or legal reasons.
Editors must not use unpublished information from submitted manuscripts for their own research or personal advantage without the authors' permission.
4. Manuscript Assessment and Peer Review
Editors are responsible for ensuring that manuscripts undergo an appropriate and fair evaluation process.
Editors should:
- conduct appropriate initial screening;
- select qualified and independent reviewers;
- consider reviewers' comments carefully;
- provide authors with clear editorial decisions;
- ensure that peer review is conducted fairly and confidentially; and
- take reasonable steps to identify and address potential peer-review manipulation.
Editors should not unnecessarily delay the review or publication process.
5. Conflicts of Interest
Editors must disclose and appropriately manage conflicts of interest.
An editor should not handle a manuscript when they have a personal, professional, financial, or academic relationship that could reasonably affect their objectivity.
When appropriate, the manuscript should be assigned to another editor who can make an independent decision.
6. Editorial Decisions
Editorial decisions should be based on the manuscript's scholarly quality, originality, relevance, methodological soundness, ethical compliance, and suitability for the journal.
Editors should not reject a manuscript solely because its conclusions differ from their own views or prevailing opinions.
Editors may reject manuscripts without external peer review when the manuscript is clearly outside the journal's scope, fails to meet basic submission requirements, presents serious ethical concerns, or does not meet the journal's minimum scholarly standards.
7. Handling Ethical Concerns
Editors have a responsibility to investigate credible allegations of research or publication misconduct.
Potential concerns may include:
- plagiarism;
- duplicate or redundant publication;
- fabricated or falsified data;
- inappropriate authorship;
- undisclosed conflicts of interest;
- unethical research practices;
- manipulation of citations;
- peer-review manipulation; and
- inappropriate use of generative AI.
When necessary, editors may request explanations or supporting documentation from authors and may consult reviewers, editorial board members, independent experts, or relevant institutions.
8. Corrections and Retractions
Editors are responsible for taking appropriate action when significant errors or ethical problems are identified after publication.
Depending on the circumstances, the journal may publish:
- a correction;
- a clarification;
- an editorial notice; or
- a retraction.
Editorial decisions regarding corrections and retractions should be based on evidence and follow the journal's established publication ethics procedures.
9. Reviewer Selection and Management
Editors should select reviewers with appropriate expertise and, as far as practicable, without conflicts of interest.
Editors should respect reviewers' confidentiality and should not disclose reviewer identities to authors in a double-blind review process.
Editors should monitor the timeliness and quality of peer reviews and take reasonable measures to prevent reviewer misconduct or manipulation.
10. Use of Generative AI by Editors
Editors may use appropriate technological tools, including generative AI, for limited administrative or editorial assistance where this does not compromise confidentiality, intellectual property, or the integrity of the editorial process.
Editors must not upload confidential manuscripts, reviewer reports, personal information, or other unpublished materials to generative AI systems when doing so could compromise confidentiality or intellectual property.
AI tools must not replace editorial judgment. Final decisions concerning manuscript screening, peer review, acceptance, rejection, corrections, or retractions remain the responsibility of the editors.
11. Continuous Improvement
The editorial team is committed to continuously improving the journal's editorial and publication processes. Editors should periodically review journal policies and procedures to ensure that they remain consistent with developments in scholarly publishing, research ethics, and responsible publication practices.
Lingua: Jurnal Ilmiah encourages transparency, accountability, and constructive communication among authors, reviewers, editors, and other stakeholders involved in the publication process.
