Ethical Policy

Sabrang Research Journal is committed to maintaining high standards of academic integrity, research quality, and publication ethics. The journal follows ethical principles and good publishing practices with reference to the guidelines and core practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and applicable academic integrity and plagiarism standards in India, including the University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations on Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher Educational Institutions, 2018.

The journal expects all authors, editors, reviewers, and other persons involved in the publication process to maintain honesty, transparency, confidentiality, academic independence, and professional conduct.

The following principles guide the journal's editorial and publication practices.

1. Responsibilities of the Editor-in-Chief and Editors

The Editor-in-Chief and the editorial team are responsible for maintaining the academic quality, integrity, and smooth functioning of the journal.

The editors shall:

Ensure that manuscripts are evaluated on the basis of their academic quality, originality, relevance to the journal's scope, methodological soundness, scholarly contribution, and clarity of presentation.
Make editorial decisions independently and without discrimination or inappropriate influence from authors, institutions, political interests, personal relationships, or other external pressures.
Ensure that manuscripts are subjected to an appropriate peer-review process before publication.
Maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and shall not disclose information about a manuscript to anyone other than those directly involved in the editorial and review process.
Ensure that appropriate plagiarism and similarity checks are carried out before publication. Cases of suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabrication, falsification, or other forms of academic misconduct shall be dealt with seriously and in accordance with applicable policies.
Select reviewers who have appropriate subject expertise and, as far as reasonably possible, are able to provide an impartial and constructive assessment of the manuscript.
Require reviewers and editorial team members to disclose any potential conflict of interest.
Ensure that personal characteristics or affiliations of authors, including gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, institutional affiliation, political views, seniority, or personal relationships, do not influence editorial decisions.
Respond to reasonable queries from authors regarding the status and editorial process of their submissions.
Consider requests for reconsideration or appeals against editorial decisions in a fair and transparent manner.
Take appropriate action when credible concerns are raised regarding published or unpublished work.
Publish corrections, clarifications, expressions of concern, retractions, or apologies where necessary to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.
Ensure that post-publication corrections or retractions are handled transparently and appropriately.
Maintain editorial independence and ensure that the journal's academic decisions are not improperly influenced by commercial, institutional, or personal interests.
Regularly review and improve the journal's editorial and peer-review procedures.

2. Authorship and Responsibilities of Authors

The journal expects all authors to follow accepted standards of responsible authorship.

Authors shall:

Ensure that the submitted manuscript is their original work and that all sources, quotations, ideas, data, and other material taken from other works are properly acknowledged and referenced.
Ensure that all individuals listed as authors have made a substantial intellectual or scholarly contribution to the research or manuscript.
Not include individuals as authors merely because of their position, seniority, institutional affiliation, or personal relationship.
Ensure that individuals who have made appropriate scholarly contributions but do not meet the criteria for authorship are acknowledged where appropriate.
Obtain the agreement of all co-authors before submitting the manuscript.
Ensure that the manuscript is not simultaneously submitted to another journal while it is under consideration by Sabrang Research Journal.
Inform the journal if substantially similar work has already been published, submitted elsewhere, or is under consideration elsewhere.
Present research findings honestly and accurately. Fabrication, falsification, manipulation of data, or knowingly misleading statements are unacceptable.
Provide sufficient information about the research, sources, methods, and evidence to allow readers to understand and evaluate the work.
Provide supporting information or data when reasonably requested by the editor for the purpose of verifying the accuracy or integrity of the research.
Disclose any financial, personal, professional, institutional, or other conflict of interest that could influence the research or its interpretation.
Acknowledge all sources of financial or institutional support relevant to the research.
Follow applicable ethical requirements when research involves human participants, personal data, vulnerable groups, or other ethically sensitive material.
Cooperate with the editor in investigating questions or concerns regarding the manuscript.
Correct any significant error discovered in their published article and cooperate with the journal in issuing a correction or other appropriate post-publication notice.

3. Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct

Sabrang Research Journal considers plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct to be serious violations of scholarly ethics.

Plagiarism includes presenting another person's words, ideas, arguments, data, structure, or other intellectual contribution as one's own without appropriate acknowledgement.

The journal may use appropriate plagiarism or similarity-detection tools during the editorial process.

Where plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct are suspected, the journal may:

Request an explanation from the author(s);
Request supporting documents or original sources;
Reject the manuscript;
Require correction or clarification where appropriate;
Refer serious cases to the relevant institution or authority;
Retract a published article where misconduct is established; and
Take other appropriate action consistent with applicable ethical and academic standards.

The journal will consider the nature, extent, context, and seriousness of the suspected misconduct rather than relying solely on a similarity percentage.

The journal follows applicable Indian academic integrity and plagiarism standards, including the UGC framework where applicable. The UGC's 2018 regulations establish standards concerning academic integrity and plagiarism in Indian higher educational institutions.

4. Policy for Peer Reviewers

Peer review is an important part of maintaining the quality and credibility of the journal. Reviewers are expected to conduct their work objectively, confidentially, and professionally.

Reviewers shall:

Accept a manuscript for review only when they have sufficient subject expertise to evaluate it.
Inform the editor promptly if they do not have the appropriate expertise or cannot complete the review within the required period.
Maintain the confidentiality of the manuscript and its contents.
Not use unpublished information, ideas, arguments, data, or findings obtained through peer review for personal or professional benefit.
Not share the manuscript or discuss its contents with others without permission from the editor.
Declare any actual or potential conflict of interest before accepting or completing the review.
Provide an objective, constructive, and academically appropriate assessment.
Avoid personal criticism of the author(s).
Clearly identify significant weaknesses, methodological problems, unsupported claims, missing references, or other issues relevant to the quality of the manuscript.
Inform the editor if they suspect plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated or falsified data, unethical research practices, or other forms of academic misconduct.
Support their substantive criticisms with appropriate reasoning and, where possible, relevant scholarly references.
Complete the review within the agreed period or inform the editor promptly if additional time is required.
Respect the confidentiality and anonymity requirements of the journal's peer-review model.

The final editorial decision regarding acceptance, revision, or rejection rests with the Editor-in-Chief or the authorized editor. Reviewer recommendations are an important part of the editorial process but do not by themselves determine the final decision.

5. Conflict of Interest

Sabrang Research Journal expects editors, reviewers, and authors to disclose any relationship or circumstance that may create an actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest.

Conflicts may include, but are not limited to:

Personal or family relationships;
Financial interests;
Professional or institutional relationships;
Employment or consultancy;
Academic competition;
Previous collaboration;
Intellectual or personal disagreements; or
Any other circumstance that could reasonably affect impartial judgment.

Editors and reviewers should not participate in decisions or reviews where a significant conflict of interest exists.

Authors should disclose relevant conflicts of interest at the time of submission.

6. Confidentiality

All unpublished manuscripts submitted to Sabrang Research Journal shall be treated as confidential documents.

Editors, reviewers, and other persons involved in the editorial process shall not disclose or use unpublished information from a manuscript except for legitimate editorial or scholarly purposes within the publication process.

The journal shall make reasonable efforts to protect the personal and professional information of authors and reviewers.

7. Duplicate, Redundant, and Simultaneous Publication

Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal.

A manuscript that has already been published, or is substantially similar to a previously published work, should not normally be submitted as an original research article unless the relationship with the earlier publication is clearly disclosed and the submission is justified.

If duplicate or redundant publication is discovered, the journal may take appropriate editorial action, including rejection, correction, expression of concern, or retraction where necessary.

8. Corrections, Retractions, and Post-Publication Issues

The journal recognizes that errors may occasionally be identified after publication.

Where an error does not invalidate the main findings of an article, the journal may publish an appropriate correction or clarification.

Where serious errors, misconduct, unreliable findings, plagiarism, duplicate publication, or other significant problems affect the integrity of the published article, the journal may issue an expression of concern or retract the article, as appropriate.

The journal will make reasonable efforts to ensure that corrections and retractions are clearly identified and linked to the original publication so that the scholarly record remains transparent.

9. Complaints and Appeals

Authors and other concerned persons may contact the editorial office regarding legitimate complaints about the editorial or publication process.

Complaints may concern, for example:

Editorial decisions;
Peer-review procedures;
Conflicts of interest;
Publication ethics;
Plagiarism or other misconduct;
Authorship disputes;
Errors in published articles; or
Conduct of editorial or review personnel.

The journal will consider legitimate complaints fairly and, where appropriate, confidentially.

Authors may request reconsideration of an editorial decision by providing clear academic or procedural reasons. An appeal does not guarantee reversal of the original decision.

The journal will make reasonable efforts to resolve complaints and appeals in accordance with its editorial policies and applicable ethical standards.

10. Research Ethics and Ethical Oversight

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their research complies with relevant ethical requirements.

Where applicable, manuscripts involving human participants, personal information, vulnerable groups, or other ethically sensitive research should include appropriate information regarding ethical approval, informed consent, permissions, or other relevant safeguards.

The journal may request additional information or documentation where ethical concerns arise.

11. Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Licensing

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the manuscript does not unlawfully reproduce copyrighted material.

Permission should be obtained where required for the reproduction of copyrighted figures, tables, images, substantial quotations, or other protected material.

The journal's copyright and licensing arrangements shall be clearly communicated to authors before publication.

12. Use of Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical standards of their manuscripts.

Generative AI tools may not be listed as authors or co-authors.

Where the use of AI tools has materially contributed to the preparation, analysis, translation, editing, or other aspects of a manuscript, authors should disclose such use where required by the journal's submission policy.

Authors must verify AI-generated information and remain responsible for citations, facts, interpretations, and originality.

Editors and reviewers should also maintain confidentiality and should not upload unpublished manuscripts or confidential review material to external AI systems where doing so could compromise confidentiality or intellectual property.

13. Editorial Independence

The editorial decisions of Sabrang Research Journal shall be based on academic and scholarly considerations.

The journal does not permit inappropriate interference in editorial decisions based on institutional position, personal relationships, political considerations, financial interests, religious affiliation, nationality, gender, ethnicity, or other irrelevant factors.

14. Commitment to Ethical Publishing

Sabrang Research Journal is committed to continuously improving its editorial policies and publication practices.

The journal may revise this Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement when necessary to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, research ethics, publication technology, and applicable Indian regulations and standards.

All authors, reviewers, editors, and members of the editorial team are expected to cooperate in maintaining the academic integrity and credibility of the journal.