Ethics Statement for Authors

Ethics Statement

Agricultural Science Journal of Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Merdeka is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. This Ethics Statement outlines the responsibilities of authors and ethical publishing practices, and is made publicly available on the journal website to ensure transparency and accountability in the publication process.

Conflict of Interest
Authors are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest, whether financial or non-financial, that could influence the results, interpretation, or presentation of their manuscript. Conflicts of interest may include personal relationships, institutional affiliations, research funding, grants, or other relevant interests. A conflict of interest statement must be clearly stated in the manuscript.

Authorship
Authorship of manuscripts submitted to Agricultural Science Journal should accurately reflect significant intellectual contributions to the research. Each listed author must have substantially contributed to the conception and design of the study, data acquisition and/or analysis, manuscript drafting or critical revision, and must approve the final version for publication. Unethical authorship practices such as guest authorship, gift authorship, and ghost authorship are not permitted.

Plagiarism
Agricultural Science Journal applies a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism in all forms, including direct plagiarism, indirect plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and citation manipulation. All submitted manuscripts are screened using plagiarism detection software. Manuscripts found to contain plagiarism will be rejected or retracted depending on the severity of the violation.

Retraction
Published articles may be retracted if serious ethical violations are identified, including data fabrication or falsification, plagiarism, duplicate publication, or major errors that compromise the validity of the research. Retraction procedures are conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and will be publicly announced on the journal website.

Correction
If minor errors that do not affect the overall conclusions of an article are identified after publication, the journal will issue a correction in the form of an erratum or corrigendum. Corrections will be clearly linked to the original article to maintain the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record.

Publication Malpractice
Agricultural Science Journal does not tolerate any form of publication malpractice, including data manipulation, undisclosed conflicts of interest, misuse of the peer-review process, falsification of authorship, or duplicate publication. Allegations of misconduct will be investigated thoroughly and handled in accordance with established ethical procedures.

Ethical Guidelines References
The publication ethics of Agricultural Science Journal of Universitas Merdeka are guided by internationally recognized standards, including:
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): https://publicationethics.org
World Association of Medical Editors (WAME): https://www.wame.org