Publication Ethics

Pejabat Karang Mengarang (UPSI Press) is committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards by ensuring transparency in fees and funding, upholding editorial independence, and enforcing rigorous peer review processes. All publication decisions are based solely on scholarly merit, free from external influence, and all stakeholders must disclose and manage any conflicts of interest. Authors retain copyright but must adhere to clear licensing agreements, while UPSI ensures permanent archiving and indexing. Manuscripts undergo plagiarism screening and, if post‐publication issues arise, corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions are issued as needed. Confidentiality of submissions and personal data is strictly protected, and all staff and editors receive regular ethics training. An Ethics Committee oversees compliance, investigates misconduct, and enforces sanctions, while all policies and performance metrics are published publicly to promote accountability and continuous improvement.

The Malaysian Journal of Music follows the editorial guidelines recommended by the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE). Papers will be accepted or rejected on the basis of importance in the field, originality, and clarity of writing. In addition, the alignment with the stated scope and remit of the Journal will be evaluated.

Code of Conduct for Authors

  • Authors must follow the published guidelines as set out on this website. [Link]
  • The submitted articles must be unpublished and not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
  • Plagiarism checks will be carried out by MJM, but authors are expected to ensure that originality and correct citation processes are followed.
  • Copyright for images, musical examples, etc. is the responsibility of the author.
  • A copyright transfer form must be completed.
  • The identity of reviewers will not be disclosed to authors.

Code of Conduct for Peer Reviewers

  • All manuscripts are reviewed fairly based on the intellectual content of the paper regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, citizenry, or political values of the authors.
  • Reviewers should provide speedy, accurate, courteous, unbiased, and justifiable reports to the manuscript reviewed and conduct a review for a maximum of 4 weeks. If a reviewer exceeds the specified time limit, the editorial board has the right to cancel the assignment and assign a new reviewer to assess the manuscript.
  • Reviewers assigned to a manuscript will evaluate the following items:
    • The originality and importance of the study
    • The strengths and weaknesses of the data analysis
    • Writing, organization, and presentation
    • The degree to which the findings justify the conclusion
    • The validity of the manuscript's references and citations
    • The relevance, usefulness, and comprehensibility of the article for the journal's target audience
  • Reviewers must notify the editorial board of writing errors, so they are immediately forwarded to the author for correction.
  • All information about the manuscript is kept confidential.
  • Any information that may be the reason for a publication rejection must be communicated to the editor.
  • Any observed conflict of interest during the review must be communicated to the editor.

Code of Conduct for Editors

  • Editors must review all submitted manuscripts transparently, objectively, neutrally, and professionally regardless of business interests, gender, religion, ethnicity, race, and nationality.
  • Editors should provide speedy, accurate, courteous, unbiased, and justifiable reports to the manuscript reviewed for 2 weeks, with the following reminder timeline:
    • 1st reminder will be noticed after the first week the manuscript is assigned to an editor.
    • 2nd reminder is noticed on the 14th day after the manuscript is assigned to an editor. At that time, the editor must immediately submit the assessment result and assign reviewers.
    • 3rd reminder is noticed a week after reminder 2. This reminder will be the cancellation of the manuscript assignment and the editorial board will assign it to another editor.
  • Editors must mediate all exchanges between authors and peer reviewers during peer review.
  • Editors should encourage peer reviewers to consider ethical issues raised by the research they are reviewing.
  • Editors must ensure peer-reviewers understand the provisions and the manuscript review process clearly.
  • Editors must ensure timely peer-review and publication of manuscripts they receive.
  • Editors must keep peer-reviewers' identities from authors and vice versa.
  • Editors must encourage peer-reviewers to decline peer-review requests if they identify a conflict of interest with the manuscript.
  • Editors' decisions to accept or reject a manuscript for publication should be based only on the paper's importance, originality, and clarity and the study's relevance to the journal's remit.
  • Editors' decisions about whether or not to publish submitted manuscripts must not be influenced by pressure from the editor's employer, the journal owner, or the publisher.
  • Editors should reserve the right to reject manuscripts if there is a doubt about whether appropriate procedures have been followed.
  • Editors must keep any information related to the rights and privacy of the author properly.
  • Editors adhere to the points of publication ethics above to avoid conflicts of interest.