Publication Ethics

Early Childhood Holistic Innovation and Learning Development Journal (ECHILD) is an international peer-reviewed, open-access scholarly journal published biannually (June and December) by the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM), Universitas Islam Nusantara, Bandung, Indonesia. The journal employs a double-blind peer-review process to ensure fairness, objectivity, and academic quality.

This publication ethics statement outlines the ethical responsibilities of authors, editors, reviewers, editorial board members, and the publisher involved in the publication process. ECHILD is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and follows the principles and best practices established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Ethical Guidelines for Journal Publication

The publication of an article in Early Childhood Holistic Innovation and Learning Development Journal (ECHILD) represents an important contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of early childhood education, holistic child development, educational innovation, learning strategies, curriculum development, educational management, educational technology, parenting education, and child-centered research.
All published articles should reflect original scholarly work, conducted responsibly and ethically. Editors, reviewers, authors, and publishers are expected to uphold academic integrity, transparency, objectivity, and professionalism throughout the publication process.
The Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM), Universitas Islam Nusantara is committed to supporting editorial independence and ensuring that editorial decisions are made solely on academic merit without commercial, institutional, political, or personal influence.

Double-Blind Peer Review Process

ECHILD applies a double-blind peer-review system, in which the identities of both authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the review process.
Every submitted manuscript is evaluated by at least two independent reviewers who possess expertise relevant to the manuscript's subject area. Editorial decisions are based on originality, scientific contribution, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, clarity of presentation, reviewers' recommendations, and relevance to the journal scope.

Duties of Editors

Publication Decisions

Editors are responsible for deciding which submitted manuscripts should be published based on scholarly merit, originality, significance, methodological quality, ethical standards, and reviewers' recommendations.
Editors may consult members of the Editorial Board and reviewers before making publication decisions.

Fair Play

Editors evaluate manuscripts exclusively on academic merit without discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, institutional affiliation, disability, political beliefs, or personal characteristics of the authors.

Confidentiality

Editors and editorial staff must treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents and must not disclose any information regarding submissions except to authors, reviewers, editorial advisers, and the publisher when appropriate.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Editors must avoid handling manuscripts in which they have personal, institutional, financial, or academic conflicts of interest. Unpublished materials contained in submitted manuscripts must never be used for personal research without written permission from the authors.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer reviewers assist editors in making publication decisions while providing constructive feedback to improve manuscript quality.

Promptness

Reviewers who are unable to complete the review within the requested timeframe or who lack sufficient expertise should notify the editor immediately and decline the review invitation.

Confidentiality

Reviewers must treat manuscripts as confidential documents and may not disclose or discuss them with others without editorial authorization.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be objective, constructive, evidence-based, and free from personal criticism.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published literature not cited by the authors and notify editors regarding substantial overlap or similarity with previously published works.

Conflict of Interest

Reviewers should decline reviewing manuscripts when conflicts of interest exist.

Duties of Authors

Reporting Standards

Authors should present accurate, original, and transparent accounts of their research. Research methods, findings, analyses, and conclusions should be reported honestly and completely.

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts are entirely original.
All sources must be properly cited. Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, data falsification, image manipulation, and citation manipulation constitute unethical publishing practices.
All submissions may undergo similarity screening before peer review.

Multiple Submission

Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal.

Authorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made significant intellectual contributions to the study.
The corresponding author must ensure that all eligible co-authors approve the final manuscript before submission.

Data Availability

Authors are encouraged to retain research data supporting published findings and make such data available when requested, provided ethical or legal restrictions do not prevent disclosure.

Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could influence the interpretation of the research.

Funding

All research funding sources should be clearly acknowledged within the manuscript.

Research Involving Human Participants

ECHILD publishes research involving children, teachers, parents, caregivers, and educational practitioners.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that studies involving human participants comply with applicable ethical standards.
Research involving children should prioritize participants' safety, dignity, confidentiality, and welfare.
Where appropriate, informed consent should be obtained from participants or legal guardians before conducting research.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools may be used only to improve language, grammar, or readability.
AI technologies cannot be listed as authors.
Authors remain fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, integrity, and validity of all submitted content.
Any substantial use of AI-assisted writing tools should be disclosed within the manuscript.

Plagiarism Policy

All submitted manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism detection software.
Manuscripts containing plagiarism, duplicate publication, excessive similarity, fabricated data, falsified data, manipulated images, or other forms of research misconduct may be rejected or retracted.

Corrections and Retractions

ECHILD may publish corrections, errata, expressions of concern, or retractions whenever necessary to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.
Retraction may occur in cases involving plagiarism, unreliable findings, duplicate publication, unethical research practices, or serious publication misconduct.

Complaints and Appeals

Authors have the right to appeal editorial decisions by submitting a written explanation to the Editor-in-Chief.
All appeals will be considered objectively, fairly, and independently in accordance with the journal's editorial policies.

Copyright and Licensing

Authors retain copyright of their published work while granting ECHILD the right of first publication.
Published articles are distributed under the journal's selected Creative Commons License.

Publisher's Responsibilities

The Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM), Universitas Islam Nusantara supports editorial independence and upholds ethical publishing practices.
The publisher ensures that editorial decisions remain free from commercial or institutional influence and supports transparency, accountability, and integrity throughout the publication process.
The publisher also cooperates with editors, reviewers, authors, institutions, and indexing agencies to maintain the highest standards of scholarly publishing.