VARIANSI treats research misconduct as a breach of the neutrality, justice, and honesty values in our Publication Ethics statement. Misconduct means fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, duplication, or citation manipulation while planning, conducting, reviewing, or reporting research. It also covers misconduct by reviewers and editors.

Who can report

Anyone can report a concern: readers, reviewers, editors, authors, and institutions. Email variansi@unm.ac.id with the article title, the authors’ names, a description of the concern, and your evidence, such as overlapping text, data, or images. We keep reports confidential. We also consider anonymous reports when they come with evidence we can verify.

How we handle a report

1. Screening. The Editor-in-Chief checks whether the report describes misconduct as defined above, whether the evidence is sufficient, and whether the person reporting has a conflict of interest. Honest errors and disagreements over interpretation go to the correction process instead.
2. Author response. If the concern holds, the Editor-in-Chief sends it to the corresponding author, who replies on behalf of all co-authors within 14 days. We do not disclose the reporter’s identity unless the case requires it.
3. Evaluation. Editors assess the response. They may ask for the raw data, run a similarity check, or consult outside experts, including a statistical reviewer. Anyone with a conflict of interest steps out of the case.
4. Institutional referral. When the evidence points to misconduct, the Editor-in-Chief informs the authors’ institution and, where relevant, the funder, and asks them to investigate. VARIANSI decides what happens to the article. The institution decides on sanctions.

Possible outcomes

• A manuscript under review or in production is rejected. In serious cases we notify the author’s institution.
• A published article receives a correction, an expression of concern while the investigation continues, or a retraction.
• A retraction notice states the reason, is linked to the original article, and the article stays online marked as retracted.
• A reviewer or editor found responsible is removed from the reviewer pool or editorial team.

We follow the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) throughout and keep records of every case. See also our Publication Ethics, Plagiarism Policy, and Correction and Retraction pages.