Upholding the highest standards of scholarly integrity
Hakmah Theological Journal is committed to upholding the highest ethical standards in scholarly publishing. We follow the guidelines and best practices set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and adhere to international standards for academic integrity. All parties involved in the publication process—authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—are expected to comply with these ethical standards.
Authors must ensure that their work is entirely original. Any use of others' work must be properly cited and referenced. Plagiarism in all forms—including direct copying, paraphrasing, or self-plagiarism—is unethical and unacceptable.
All persons listed as authors must have made significant contributions to the research and manuscript preparation. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring all co-authors have approved the final version. All contributors who do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged.
Authors must disclose any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could influence their work. This includes funding sources, employment, consultancies, or any other potential conflicts.
Authors may be asked to provide raw data for review. They should retain this data for a reasonable period after publication and make it available upon request.
Manuscripts must not be submitted to multiple journals simultaneously. Publishing the same research in multiple journals is unethical. Authors should not submit previously published work unless explicitly permitted.
If authors discover significant errors in their published work, they must promptly notify the editor and cooperate to retract or correct the paper.
Editors are responsible for deciding which submitted articles are published. Decisions are based on scholarly merit, originality, clarity, and relevance to the journal's scope, without regard to authors' race, gender, religion, or institutional affiliation.
Editors must not disclose information about submitted manuscripts to anyone other than corresponding authors, reviewers, and the publisher. All communications regarding manuscripts must remain confidential.
Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on their intellectual content, without discrimination. Double-blind peer review ensures anonymity for both authors and reviewers.
Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where they have conflicts of interest, including personal or professional relationships with authors.
Peer review assists editors in making publication decisions and helps authors improve their manuscripts. Reviewers provide expert, objective assessment of scholarly work.
Reviewers who feel unqualified or unable to complete the review within the specified timeframe should immediately notify the editor.
Manuscripts under review are confidential documents. Reviewers must not share the manuscript or discuss it with others without editor authorization.
Reviews should be objective and constructive. Personal criticism is inappropriate. Reviewers should clearly express their views with supporting arguments.
Reviewers should identify relevant published work not cited by authors. They should also alert editors to any substantial similarity between the manuscript and other published works.
Reviewers must decline assignments where they have conflicts of interest and should disclose any potential biases.
Hakmah Theological College Kaltungo, as the publisher, is committed to ensuring that all advertising, reprint, and other commercial revenue does not impact editorial decisions. The publisher supports editors in handling ethical complaints and retractions.
The publisher ensures long-term digital preservation of all published content and maintains open access to all articles.
The publisher respects intellectual property rights and handles copyright agreements transparently under Creative Commons licenses.
Misconduct includes, but is not limited to:
All allegations of misconduct will be investigated thoroughly and confidentially. The journal follows COPE flowcharts for handling different types of misconduct. Possible outcomes include:
When errors are identified that do not invalidate the overall findings, the journal will publish a correction notice explaining the changes.
Articles will be retracted in cases of:
If an investigation is ongoing or inconclusive, the journal may publish an Expression of Concern.
Hakmah Theological Journal is a member of and follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We adhere to COPE's Core Practices and use COPE flowcharts to resolve ethical issues.
Hakmah Theological Journal is dedicated to publishing high-quality theological research with the utmost integrity. We pledge to maintain transparent editorial processes, fair peer review, and rigorous ethical standards. We are committed to combating plagiarism, data fabrication, and other forms of academic misconduct.
Together, we advance theological scholarship with integrity.