Publication Ethics

• The publication of research and thought-provoking articles in the Symbolicus journal is a serious academic effort to develop Science by standing on scientific principles, values, and ethics that prioritize the principles of justice, honesty, equality, and novelty. Therefore, it is important to agree on the expected standards of the ethical behavior for all parties involved in the act of publishing: authors, journal editors, review partners, publishers and the public.
  
  Master of Communication Studies Program, Stisipol Candradimuka Palembang as the publisher of the Symbolicus journal has full responsibility to manage and maintain all stages of publishing in a professional manner. Therefore, non-academic factors that have the potential to emerge in the management process will not affect the decisions of the Editorial Board.
  
  As an added value in the context of expanding the network between academic institutions, especially with journal managers, publishers and the Editorial Board  will do an active role in building collaborative networks if needed.
  
  
• Publication Decision

The Editorial Board and the Editor-in-Chief have the authority and responsibility in determining which articles can be continued for review by reviewers, by considering aspects of fairness, scientificity, novelty, and alignment with the focus and scope of the journal.

Editors will be guided by the policies of the journal's Editorial Board and constrained by applicable regulations relating to plagiarism, copyright infringement, and/or defamation.

The final decision on publication rests with the Editor-in-Chief and the Managing/Associate Editor. 

• Aspects of Honesty, Fairness, Scientific, Novelty, and Alignment
• Symbolicus upholds the principle of honesty. Before being reviewed, all manuscripts will be checked using the Turnitin anti-plagiarism application. The allowed similarity threshold is 15%.
• Symbolicus will treat all accepted manuscripts equally regardless of gender, religion, and race-ethnicity.
• Symbolicus also highly upholds scientific methodology. Articles that are not providing clear concepts, theories, and reference sources will not be published.
• Symbolicus puts forward novelty. Articles that examine current phenomena are more likely to be accepted.
• Symbolicus also strives to maintain conformity between accepted articles and the focus and scope of the journal. Articles that are not aligned with the focus and scope will be rejected prior to the editorial review process. 

Copyright and Permissions

Symbolicus strongly emphasizes that the submitted manuscript is the author's own work, not plagiarism and does not violate copyright. All copyright of this journal belongs to the publisher. 

Reviewer's Tasks

• Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Symbolicus employs a double-blind review process. The reviewers provide recommendations to the editorial team for consideration in making editorial decisions. If necessary, the editor-in-chief will communicate with the authors, to assist them in improving the quality of the manuscript. 

• Promptness

The editorial team has committed to providing timely reviews to authors. If the reviewer does not submit his review on time, the paper is immediately sent to another reviewer. 

• Confidentiality

Symbolicus implements a strict double-blind review process. Except for the editor-in-chief, editors and reviewers may not discuss manuscripts with others, including authors, outside of prescribed procedures. 

• Objectivity

Editors and reviewers are required to objectively evaluate manuscripts based on their content, not based on personal or institutional interests. Comments or assesments given must respect the author. 

• Source Acknowledgment

The reviewer must identify the source of the citation cited by the author. Reviewers are strongly encouraged to communicate with the editor if they find any substantial similarities and/or overlaps between the manuscript to be reviewed or other articles to be published.

• Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

Information or reviews obtained through peer review process must be kept confidential and not used for personal benefit. Reviewers may not judge a manuscript for personal interest and are not justified in making recommendations based on subjective considerations such as close ties or other connections with the author, company, or any institution associated with the manuscript.

Author's Task

• Reporting Standard

The author must present the data accurately in the manuscript and have an objective discussion of its significance. Manuscripts should also contain sufficient citation sources to allow others to replicate the work wherever possible. Displaying inaccurate data is unethical and unacceptable behavior.

• Data Access and Retention

Authors may be required to provide raw data with respect to manuscripts submitted for editorial review and should be prepared to provide public access to such data where possible and retain such data after publication. 

• Originality and Plagiarism

The author must ensure that the submitted manuscript is entirely original, and has properly implemented the citation principle when using the results of research/thoughts and/or the words of others. Symbolicus is very concerned with respecting other people's scientific work and sets a maximum similarity limit of 15%. Manuscripts found with such issues are automatically rejected. 

• Multiple and Concurrent Publications

Authors are required to make a written statement that the submitted manuscript has never been published and or is in the stage of publication by another journal or other form of publication. Submission of manuscripts to multiple journals simultaneously is unethical and unacceptable behavior.

• Author List

Authors should be limited to those who have contributed significantly to the ideas, concepts, design, implementation and interpretation of the research reported in the manuscript. Correspondence authors have a responsibility to ensure all co-authors are included in the manuscript. If the manuscript is accepted then corresponding author is required to provide a signed statement that the research work is their original research work.

• Hazards and Human or Animal Subjects

If the being conducted research involves hazardous and unusual chemicals, procedures, or equipment inherent in their use, the authors must clearly identify these in the manuscript.

• Fundamental Errors in Published Works

When authors find significant errors or inaccuracies in his published manuscript, they are obliged to immediately notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the manuscript.