Editorial Independence
Editorial decisions must be based on scholarly merit, methodological quality, ethical integrity, relevance to the journal, clarity, originality, and contribution to public health. They must not be determined by financial interests, institutional hierarchy, political pressure, personal relationships, advertising, sponsorship, article processing charges, or the status of an author.
The Editor-in-Chief, supported by authorised editors, has final responsibility for the journal's editorial content. This authority includes:
The publisher and journal owner may establish the journal's broad mission, provide funding, appoint editors through transparent governance procedures, maintain infrastructure, support legal and ethical compliance, and approve general administrative policies. They must not direct the outcome of an individual manuscript or interfere with reviewer selection, editorial evaluation, or the wording of editorial decisions.
PJKM editors evaluate manuscripts according to criteria that are relevant to scholarly publication.
Validity, originality, methodological rigour, and quality of analysis.
Compliance with research ethics, authorship, consent, disclosure, and publication standards.
Alignment with the journal's focus, scope, audience, and public health mission.
Clarity, completeness, transparency, and use of appropriate reporting guidelines.
Editorial decisions must not be influenced by an author's nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, sex, gender, political belief, institutional prestige, geographic location, academic seniority, professional rank, or other characteristic unrelated to the manuscript's scholarly quality and ethical acceptability.
Editorial staff responsible for scientific decisions should not be required to optimise revenue by accepting manuscripts. Where practical, personnel handling payments should not control manuscript decisions.
An editor must not handle a manuscript when a personal, professional, financial, institutional, academic, political, religious, or intellectual interest could reasonably affect—or appear to affect—impartial judgment. The manuscript must be transferred to another qualified editor who has no relevant conflict.
PJKM may consider manuscripts submitted by editorial board members, staff, or authors affiliated with the publisher or Universitas Muhammadiyah Palu. Such manuscripts must follow the same editorial standards and be handled independently by an editor without a relevant conflict. The submitting editor or institutional official must not participate in reviewer selection, review correspondence, or the final decision.
Editors may be appointed and evaluated through institutional governance procedures based on competence, integrity, performance, and alignment with the journal's mission. An editor should not be removed or threatened with removal solely because of a lawful, ethical, and evidence-based editorial decision that is unpopular with an author, sponsor, institutional leader, or external party.
Removal may be justified for misconduct, persistent failure to perform duties, serious breach of confidentiality, unmanaged conflict of interest, abuse of authority, or sustained non-compliance with approved journal policies.
The editor records the request, pressure, communication, or attempted influence.
The editor explains that individual decisions must follow journal policy and scholarly criteria.
The matter may be referred to the Editor-in-Chief, publisher, ethics body, or designated institutional authority.
The manuscript may be reassigned or protected through additional independent oversight where necessary.
Editorial independence does not mean that editors are exempt from standards, review, or accountability. Editors must follow approved policies, document decisions appropriately, address conflicts of interest, maintain confidentiality, respond to complaints, and correct errors. Decisions may be appealed through the journal's Complaints and Appeals Policy, but should not be overturned for non-scholarly reasons.
Reviewer identities, confidential reports, unpublished manuscripts, editorial discussions, and internal decision records must not be disclosed to owners, sponsors, institutional leaders, or third parties unless disclosure is authorised, necessary for a formal investigation, or required by law.
Protect independent decision-making, manage editor conflicts, and ensure consistent policy implementation.
Make impartial decisions, recuse when conflicted, preserve confidentiality, and document material concerns.
Provide resources, respect editorial autonomy, and establish governance mechanisms that protect editors from improper pressure.
Use formal communication, disclose interests, and avoid attempting to influence decisions outside the approved editorial process.
