Journal of Science, Society and Language

Publication Ethics

The Journal of Science, Society and Language is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and adheres to the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All parties involved—authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers—are expected to uphold these ethical principles.

Any article(s) submitted/published, if found or proved to be violating publication ethics shall be taken down and authour(s) shall be blacklisted from future submission in the journal.

Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism in any form is unacceptable and constitutes a serious breach of academic integrity. JSSL defines plagiarism as:

• Presenting another person's work or ideas as one's own
• Using substantial portions of text without proper citation
• Self-plagiarism (republishing one's own previously published work without acknowledgment)
• Mosaic plagiarism (piecing together uncited text from multiple sources)

Detection and Action:

• All submissions are required to be screened using UGC-approved plagiarism detection software
• Acceptable similarity index: Less than 10% (excluding references and quotes)
• Manuscripts with similarity above 10% will be returned for revision
• Cases of deliberate plagiarism will result in immediate rejection
• Detected plagiarism in published articles will lead to retraction

Authorship Criteria

Authorship must be based on the following four criteria (based on ICMJE guidelines):

1. Substantial contributions to conception, design, data acquisition, or analysis
2. Drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content
3. Final approval of the version to be published
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work

All individuals listed as authors must meet all four criteria. Contributors who do not meet all criteria should be acknowledged but not listed as authors.

Peer Review Policy

JSSL employs a double-blind peer review process to ensure objectivity and fairness:

• Author identities are concealed from reviewers
• Reviewer identities are concealed from authors
• Minimum two independent reviewers per manuscript
• Reviewers are selected based on expertise in the subject area
• Reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest
• Review process is confidential
• Reviewers evaluate manuscripts based on originality, methodology, significance, and clarity

Conflict of Interest Policy

All authors must disclose any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could potentially bias their work. This includes:

• Financial support from organizations that may benefit from results
• Employment or consultancy relationships
• Stock ownership or equity interests
• Patents or patent applications
• Personal relationships with individuals or organizations

If no conflicts exist, authors must state: "The authors declare no conflicts of interest."

Research Ethics

Human Subject Research:

• Must have approval from an institutional ethics committee/IRB
• Informed consent must be obtained from all participants
• Participant privacy and confidentiality must be protected
• Ethics approval number must be stated in the manuscript

Animal Research:

• Must comply with institutional and national guidelines
• Ethical treatment and minimization of suffering required
• Ethics committee approval must be documented

Indigenous Knowledge and Traditional Practices:

• Research involving indigenous communities must have community consent
• Traditional knowledge should be documented respectfully
• Benefit-sharing arrangements should be established when appropriate
• Cultural sensitivities must be respected

Data Sharing Policy

JSSL encourages authors to make research data freely available. Authors should:

• Include a data availability statement in manuscripts
• Deposit data in recognized public repositories when possible
• Provide data upon reasonable request if public sharing is not feasible
• Clearly state any restrictions on data availability

Corrections and Retractions

Corrections: Minor errors that do not affect conclusions may be corrected through errata.

Retractions: Articles may be retracted if:

• Serious errors undermine the reliability of findings
• Research misconduct is detected (plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification)
• Ethical violations occurred
• Authorship disputes cannot be resolved
• Duplicate publication is discovered

Retracted articles remain online with clear retraction notices, maintaining transparency.

Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are based solely on academic merit and relevance to the journal's scope. The editorial process is independent of commercial interests or external pressures. The Publisher does not interfere with editorial decisions.

Complaint and Appeal Process

Authors may appeal editorial decisions or file complaints regarding the review process:

• Appeals must be submitted in writing to the Editor-in-Chief within 30 days
• Appeals should provide clear justification and new information if applicable
• Complaints about ethical misconduct will be investigated according to COPE guidelines
• All complaints are treated confidentially