TAZKIYA Journal of Psychology, published by the Faculty of Psychology, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University of Jakarta, is committed to maintaining academic integrity, fair editorial practices, transparent communication, and responsible scholarly publishing. The journal welcomes legitimate complaints and appeals concerning editorial decisions, peer review, publication ethics, authorship, research integrity, and the handling of published articles.

This policy provides a structured process for receiving, assessing, investigating, and resolving complaints fairly and confidentially. All complaints are considered according to their substance, available evidence, relevance to the journal's responsibilities, and applicable publication ethics principles.

1. Scope of Complaints

Complaints may be submitted by authors, reviewers, readers, researchers, institutions, or other parties with a legitimate interest in the integrity of TAZKIYA Journal of Psychology. Complaints may concern the following matters:

• Editorial decisions: concerns about manuscript screening, rejection decisions, editorial handling, or the consistency of editorial procedures.
• Peer review: concerns about reviewer conduct, inappropriate comments, confidentiality breaches, suspected bias, or potential conflicts of interest during the review process.
• Publication ethics: suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated or falsified data, inappropriate authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, or other potential breaches of research integrity.
• Research ethics: concerns regarding informed consent, participant confidentiality, ethical approval, or the responsible reporting of psychological research involving human participants.
• Authorship and contribution: disputes regarding author attribution, contributor recognition, or requests to change authorship.
• Published articles: concerns about errors, unreliable findings, misleading reporting, or other matters that may require correction, an expression of concern, or retraction.
• Editorial conduct: concerns about inappropriate behavior, discrimination, harassment, confidentiality, or a failure to follow the journal's stated policies.

Complaints should relate to the journal's editorial responsibilities, publication processes, published content, or research integrity. The journal may redirect matters that fall outside its authority to the appropriate institution, publisher, or relevant organization.

2. Who May Submit a Complaint

Complaints may be submitted by any person or organization with relevant information about a matter within the scope of this policy. A complainant does not need to be an author or reviewer of the journal.

Complainants are encouraged to identify themselves and provide contact information so that the editorial team can seek clarification when necessary. Anonymous complaints may also be considered when they contain sufficiently specific information to permit a preliminary assessment.

The journal does not require complainants to establish a personal relationship with the affected manuscript or article. However, complaints should be submitted in good faith and supported by relevant information or evidence where available.

3. How to Submit a Complaint

Complaints should be submitted in writing to the editorial team through the journal's official contact channel. The complainant should provide sufficient information for the journal to understand and assess the concern.

Where possible, a complaint should include:

• The complainant's name and contact details, if provided.
• The title of the manuscript or published article, where applicable.
• The manuscript identification number, DOI, publication details, or relevant submission information, if available.
• A clear description of the issue or alleged concern.
• Relevant supporting evidence, documents, correspondence, or references.
• The action or clarification being requested, where appropriate.

Complaints should be sent to the journal's official email address:

Complainants should avoid sending unnecessary personal information, confidential participant records, or sensitive research data. Where such information is relevant to the complaint, it should be shared only to the extent necessary and through an appropriate confidential channel.

4. Assessment and Investigation Process

The journal handles complaints through a proportionate process based on the nature and seriousness of the issue.

1. Receipt and preliminary assessment. The editorial team reviews the complaint to determine whether it falls within the journal's responsibilities and contains sufficient information for further consideration.
2. Clarification and evidence review. Where necessary, the journal may request additional information from the complainant or other relevant parties and examine available editorial records, correspondence, manuscript files, or supporting documentation.
3. Impartial consideration. The complaint is assessed fairly, taking into account the evidence, relevant journal policies, publication ethics principles, and the rights of the parties involved.
4. Consultation with relevant parties. Where appropriate, the journal may invite authors, reviewers, editors, institutions, or other relevant parties to provide clarification or a response.
5. Decision and communication. The journal determines an appropriate outcome and communicates the decision or next steps to the complainant where reasonably possible, subject to confidentiality obligations.
6. Further action where necessary. Serious or unresolved matters may require additional investigation, consultation with the publisher or relevant institution, or action under another applicable journal policy.

The scope and duration of an investigation depend on the complexity of the matter, the availability of evidence, and the need to consult relevant parties. The journal aims to handle complaints as promptly as reasonably possible without compromising fairness or the quality of the assessment.

5. Appeals Against Editorial Decisions

Authors may appeal an editorial decision when they believe that a significant factual misunderstanding, procedural irregularity, demonstrable bias, or material consideration was overlooked during the assessment of their manuscript.

An appeal should identify the decision being challenged, explain the specific grounds for reconsideration, and provide relevant supporting information. Disagreement with an editorial decision, without substantive grounds or new relevant evidence, does not by itself require the journal to reverse the decision.

Appeals should be submitted in writing to the editorial team. Where the complaint or appeal concerns the Editor-in-Chief or another editor directly involved in the original decision, the matter should, where feasible, be referred to an independent editor or appropriate representative of the publisher who was not involved in the decision under appeal.

The journal may uphold the original decision, reconsider the matter, request an additional independent assessment, or take another action justified by the evidence and applicable policies. The outcome of an appeal is communicated to the author where reasonably possible. An appeal does not guarantee acceptance or publication of the manuscript.

6. Complaints Concerning Research and Publication Ethics

Allegations of research misconduct or publication ethics violations are assessed carefully and should not be treated as established facts solely because a complaint has been submitted.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may examine the available evidence, seek an explanation from the authors, consult independent experts, or contact the relevant institution or research ethics body when appropriate. The journal may also consider guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when handling complex publication ethics concerns.

Potential outcomes may include no further action where the concern is not substantiated, a request for clarification or correction, additional editorial review, publication of an expression of concern, or retraction where the evidence and circumstances justify such action.

Any action affecting a published article should be proportionate to the findings of the investigation and handled in accordance with the journal's relevant policies. A complaint alone does not automatically justify rejection, correction, or retraction.

7. Confidentiality and Protection Against Retaliation

The journal handles complaints with appropriate confidentiality and restricts access to complaint-related information to individuals who need it for assessment or resolution. Information may be shared with relevant parties when necessary to conduct a fair investigation or comply with applicable obligations.

The identities of complainants, authors, reviewers, and other parties will be protected to the extent reasonably possible. Absolute confidentiality cannot be guaranteed where disclosure is necessary for a fair investigation, where information must be referred to an appropriate institution, or where disclosure is required by applicable law or other legitimate obligations.

The journal does not tolerate retaliation against individuals who raise legitimate concerns in good faith. Knowingly fabricated allegations, abusive conduct, threats, or attempts to misuse the complaints process may be addressed appropriately, while preserving the right to raise substantiated concerns about research integrity.

8. Conflicts of Interest in Complaint Handling

Individuals involved in assessing a complaint must disclose any relevant conflict of interest that could affect their impartiality. An editor should not lead an investigation or decide an appeal when their own conduct, decision, research, or personal interests are directly involved in the matter.

Where a conflict of interest exists, the journal should, where feasible, assign the matter to an independent editor or an appropriate representative of the publisher. The handling of the complaint should remain evidence-based, fair, and independent of inappropriate personal, institutional, financial, or professional influence.

9. Complaints Regarding Published Articles

Readers and researchers are encouraged to report substantive concerns about published articles, including material errors, unreliable findings, questionable research practices, or possible violations of publication ethics.

Where a concern is substantiated, the journal may consider an appropriate editorial response. Depending on the circumstances, this may include a correction, an expression of concern, retraction, or another transparent notice linked to the affected article.

The journal distinguishes legitimate scholarly disagreement from evidence of error or misconduct. Differences in interpretation, theoretical perspective, or scientific opinion do not by themselves constitute grounds for retraction or other corrective action.

Where appropriate, the journal may facilitate constructive scholarly discussion or invite a response from the original authors. Such discussion must remain evidence-based, respectful, and consistent with the journal's editorial standards.

10. Outcomes and Record Keeping

Following assessment, the journal may determine that no further action is necessary, request additional information, provide clarification, reconsider a decision, initiate further investigation, refer the matter to an appropriate institution, or implement corrective action under the relevant journal policy.

Complaint records and relevant supporting documentation are retained as appropriate to support accountability, consistency, and the integrity of the editorial process. Such records are handled in accordance with applicable confidentiality and data protection requirements.

The journal may decline to reopen a matter that has already been reasonably investigated unless substantial new evidence or a material procedural concern is presented.

11. Relationship with Other Journal Policies

This Complaints and Appeals Policy should be read together with the following policies of TAZKIYA Journal of Psychology:

• Publication Ethics
• Peer Review Process
• Retraction, Withdrawal, and Correction Policy
• Plagiarism Notice
• Copyright Notice
• Open Access Policy

12. Commitment to Fair and Responsible Complaint Handling

TAZKIYA Journal of Psychology is committed to addressing legitimate complaints and appeals in a fair, confidential, impartial, and evidence-based manner. The journal seeks to protect the integrity of psychological research, uphold responsible editorial practice, and maintain trust among authors, reviewers, readers, and the wider academic community.