Ethical Oversight

Introduction
The International Journal of Data Science (IJoDS) is committed to ensuring that all research published in the journal has been conducted ethically and responsibly. This policy outlines the requirements for ethical oversight, including consent to publication, research involving human participants or sensitive data, and adherence to ethical business practices.

Description
Ethical oversight encompasses a range of considerations to protect the rights, dignity, and welfare of research participants, ensure the confidentiality of sensitive data, and maintain ethical standards in all aspects of the research and publication process. While IJoDS focuses on data science, ethical principles regarding data acquisition, use, and reporting are paramount.

The Policy

  • Research Involving Human Participants:
    • Studies involving human participants, their data, or identifiable material must have been performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and must have been approved by an appropriate ethics committee.
    • Authors must state in their manuscript that ethical approval was obtained, including the name of the ethics committee and reference number if applicable.
    • Informed consent must have been obtained from all participants (or their legal guardians for minors or vulnerable populations). Authors should state how informed consent was obtained.
  • Consent for Publication: Authors must obtain specific consent for publication if their manuscript contains any information that could potentially identify an individual (e.g., detailed case descriptions, images, or identifiable datasets). This is particularly important when dealing with data that, even if anonymized, could potentially be re-identified.
  • Vulnerable Populations: Research involving vulnerable populations requires special attention to ensure their protection and that participation is voluntary and informed.
  • Confidentiality and Data Privacy:
    • Authors must ensure that they have complied with all relevant data protection and privacy regulations when collecting, analyzing, and reporting data.
    • Steps taken to anonymize or de-identify data should be described. If full anonymization of data is not possible, the authors must justify this and obtain explicit consent for its publication.
  • Research Involving Animals: If research involves animals, it must have been conducted in accordance with relevant institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of animals and approved by an appropriate ethics committee. Authors must state those principles in their manuscript.
  • Ethical Business/Marketing Practices: IJoDS and its publisher, the Indonesian Society for Knowledge and Human Development (INSIGHT), are committed to ethical business and marketing practices. Solicitation of manuscripts will be appropriate, targeted, and unobtrusive.

Implementation of the Policy

  • Ethics Statements in Manuscripts: Authors must include a statement in their manuscript detailing ethical approvals, consent procedures, and compliance with relevant guidelines.
    • For studies involving human participants, this statement must confirm that ethical approval was obtained and informed consent was secured.
    • For studies using secondary data, authors should describe how the data were obtained and whether ethical approval or consent was required and obtained by the original data collectors.
  • Review of Ethical Considerations: Editors and reviewers will consider the ethical aspects of submitted manuscripts. If ethical concerns are raised, the journal may request further information or clarification from the authors or consult with an ethics committee.
  • Handling Confidential Data: IJoDS and its manuscript handling system will treat submitted manuscripts and associated data as confidential.
  • Consent Forms: While IJoDS does not typically collect signed consent forms from authors, it reserves the right to request evidence of consent if concerns arise. Authors are expected to retain records of consent.
  • Ethical Guidance: IJoDS will refer to established ethical guidelines for handling ethical concerns in submitted or published research.