Publication Ethics

Civil Engineering Science and Technology (CEST) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and ethical conduct in scholarly publishing. The journal follows the principles established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, and internationally accepted standards for academic publishing.

All parties involved in the publication process, including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—are expected to uphold ethical responsibilities to ensure that published research is original, reliable, transparent, and contributes meaningfully to the advancement of civil engineering science and technology.

Responsibility of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to CEST are expected to:

• Submit only original work that has not been published or simultaneously submitted elsewhere.
• Ensure that all data presented are accurate, authentic, and obtained through ethical research practices.
• Properly acknowledge the work of others through appropriate citations and references.
• Include as authors only individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the research.
• Disclose any financial support, funding sources, or potential conflicts of interest that could influence the research.
• Obtain all necessary ethical approvals and permissions when research involves human participants, animals, sensitive data, or proprietary information.
• Promptly notify the editorial office if significant errors are discovered after submission or publication.

Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, duplicate publication, image manipulation, citation manipulation, and any form of research misconduct are considered serious ethical violations.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for ensuring a fair, transparent, and objective editorial process. Editors shall:

• Evaluate manuscripts solely on their academic merit, originality, scientific quality, methodological rigor, and relevance to the journal's scope.
• Maintain confidentiality throughout the editorial and peer-review process.
• Avoid conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from handling manuscripts when appropriate.
• Ensure that all submissions undergo an impartial double-blind peer-review process.
• Make publication decisions based on reviewers' recommendations, editorial judgment, and ethical considerations.
• Take appropriate action when ethical concerns or research misconduct are identified.

Editorial decisions shall never be influenced by the authors' nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, race, religion, political beliefs, or commercial interests.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play a vital role in maintaining the scientific quality of the journal. Reviewers are expected to:

• Provide objective, constructive, and timely evaluations.
• Treat all manuscripts as confidential documents.
• Identify relevant published work that has not been cited.
• Report any suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, image manipulation, or unethical research practices.
• Decline review invitations when conflicts of interest exist or when they lack the appropriate expertise.
• Refrain from using unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal or professional advantage.

CEST adopts a double-blind peer review system, ensuring that both authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the review process.

Responsibilities of the Publisher

Universitas Sains dan Teknologi Komputer (STEKOM University), as the publisher of CEST, is committed to:

• Supporting editorial independence.
• Maintaining the integrity and permanence of the scholarly record.
• Providing transparent publication policies.
• Investigating allegations of publication misconduct in accordance with internationally accepted ethical guidelines.
• Facilitating corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern whenever necessary.

The publisher does not interfere with editorial decisions regarding manuscript acceptance or rejection.

Research Integrity

CEST promotes responsible research practices and expects all submitted manuscripts to comply with internationally recognized standards of research integrity.

The journal does not tolerate:

• Plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism
• Data fabrication
• Data falsification
• Image manipulation
• Citation manipulation
• Duplicate or redundant publication
• Undisclosed use of third-party writing services
• Fraudulent authorship practices

Any allegation of research misconduct will be investigated following COPE recommendations.

Ethical Oversight

Where applicable, authors must confirm that appropriate ethical approval has been obtained before conducting research involving:

• Human participants
• Animals
• Field experiments requiring permits
• Confidential or sensitive datasets
• Indigenous knowledge or protected resources

Authors should provide the name of the approving ethics committee and approval number whenever applicable.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, institutional, personal, or professional relationships that could influence the evaluation, interpretation, or publication of research.

Where no conflicts exist, authors should include the statement:

"The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper."

Corrections and Retractions 

CEST is committed to preserving the accuracy of the scholarly record.

When significant errors or ethical concerns are identified, the journal may publish:

• Corrections (Errata or Corrigenda)
• Expressions of Concern
• Retractions

All post-publication actions follow COPE recommendations and are conducted transparently.

Ethical Compliance

Submission of a manuscript to CEST implies that all authors have read, understood, and agreed to comply with this Publication Ethics statement and all editorial policies of the journal.

Failure to comply with these ethical standards may result in manuscript rejection, publication withdrawal, notification to the authors' institutions, or other appropriate editorial actions.