Publication Ethics & Policy

Publication Ethics and Academic Integrity

The International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences and Literary Research(IJHSLR) is firmly committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, academic integrity, and transparency. The journal adheres to the principles and best practices recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and follows UGC-CARE guidelines on plagiarism and ethical publishing. IJHSLR ensures that all published work upholds the values of originality, scholarly rigor, and accountability.

Ethical Guidelines and Publication Responsibilities

1. Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

• Authors must ensure that their submissions are original, unpublished, and not under review in any other journal.
• Proper acknowledgment of previously published work is mandatory. All sources must be appropriately cited.
• Plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, duplication, or redundant publication is strictly prohibited. Any manuscript violating these norms will be rejected immediately.
• Authors must disclose any computational tools, datasets, algorithms, or software used in their research with appropriate citations.
• All authors listed should have made a significant contribution to the conception, methodology, analysis, or preparation of the manuscript.
• Authors must approve the final version of the manuscript before submission.
• For studies involving sensitive or proprietary data (industrial datasets, restricted algorithms, confidential simulations), authors must ensure proper permissions and ethical compliance.

2. Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

• Editors must evaluate manuscripts solely based on academic merit, originality, and relevance, without bias regarding gender, nationality, institutional affiliation, or personal beliefs.
• Editors are responsible for maintaining complete confidentiality of all submissions.
• IJHSLR ensures a fair, unbiased, and peer-review process.
• Editors may reject, retract, or request revisions for manuscripts that violate ethical standards or show evidence of misconduct.
• In situations involving suspected ethical violations, editors will follow COPE’s recommended procedures.

3. Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

• Reviewers must treat all manuscripts as confidential documents and refrain from using unpublished information for personal advantage.
• Reviews should be constructive, objective, and delivered in a timely manner, highlighting both strengths and weaknesses of the manuscript.
• Reviewers must disclose any conflict of interest before accepting the review invitation.
• They must report any potential ethical issues such as plagiarism, improper citations, data manipulation, or computational errors.

4. Plagiarism and Misconduct Policy

• All submissions are screened using reliable plagiarism detection software prior to peer review.
• Manuscripts exceeding the similarity threshold prescribed by UGC will be rejected or returned for correction.
• Confirmed cases of plagiarism, fabrication, or unethical conduct will result in:
1. Rejection or retraction of the article
2. Notification to the author’s institution or funding agency
3. A possible ban on future submissions
• The journal follows COPE guidelines for handling retraction and misconduct cases.

5. Ethical Approval and Data Responsibility

While IJHSLR primarily publishes research in Social Science, Humanities and Literature (which typically does not involve human or animal subjects), the following applies where relevant:
• Studies involving human participants, personal data, or surveys must comply with ethical standards such as the Declaration of Helsinki.
• Computational or data-driven studies involving sensitive datasets must be accompanied by appropriate permissions or ethical clearance.
• Authors must include a statement on ethical approval and consent wherever applicable.

6. Conflict of Interest and Data Transparency

• Authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest, whether financial, professional, or personal.
• Authors are encouraged to provide data availability statements, source code, or supplementary files to enhance transparency and reproducibility.
• Where data cannot be publicly shared (due to confidentiality or licensing), authors must clearly state the reason.