Plagiarism Policy

Sabrang Research Journal is committed to maintaining academic integrity and originality in scholarly publishing. Plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabrication, falsification, and other forms of academic misconduct are not acceptable.

By submitting a manuscript to Sabrang Research Journal, authors confirm that the manuscript is their original work, has not been published previously, and is not under consideration by another journal.

1. What Constitutes Plagiarism?

Plagiarism includes presenting another person's words, ideas, arguments, findings, data, images, tables, figures, or other intellectual work as one's own without appropriate acknowledgement.

Plagiarism may take different forms, including:

  • Copying text from another source without proper citation;

  • Presenting another author's ideas or arguments without acknowledgement;

  • Reproducing figures, tables, illustrations, images, or other copyrighted material without appropriate permission or attribution;

  • Copying substantial portions of another research paper;

  • Submitting another person's work as one's own;

  • Reusing previously published material without appropriate acknowledgement; and

  • Duplicate or redundant publication of substantially similar work.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all borrowed material is properly cited and referenced.

2. Self-Plagiarism and Duplicate Publication

Sabrang Research Journal does not permit the substantial reuse of an author's previously published work without appropriate acknowledgement.

Self-plagiarism may occur when an author reuses substantial portions of their own previously published work without citing the original publication or without clearly informing the reader about the earlier work.

However, limited reuse of previously published material may be acceptable where it is properly acknowledged and justified.

A manuscript based substantially on a paper previously presented at a conference may be considered for publication if the earlier presentation or proceedings publication is clearly disclosed and properly referenced, and the submitted manuscript contains sufficient original scholarly contribution.

Authors must disclose any previous version of the manuscript at the time of submission.

3. Plagiarism and Similarity Check

Sabrang Research Journal may conduct a plagiarism or text-similarity check before sending a manuscript for peer review and may conduct additional checks during the editorial and production process.

The journal may use appropriate plagiarism or similarity-detection software as well as manual examination by the editorial team.

A similarity report is considered an editorial assessment tool and not, by itself, proof of plagiarism. The editorial team will consider the nature, source, extent, and context of the similarity.

Properly cited quotations, references, bibliography, standard terminology, common knowledge, and other legitimate similarities may not constitute plagiarism.

The journal may exclude appropriate material from the similarity assessment where the software and editorial process permit such exclusions.

4. Similarity and Editorial Assessment

Sabrang Research Journal does not treat a single similarity percentage as an automatic determination of plagiarism.

The editorial team may consider the following factors:

  • The total similarity percentage;

  • The number and nature of sources;

  • Whether the material is properly cited;

  • Whether substantial text has been copied from a single source;

  • Whether ideas, data, figures, tables, or arguments have been improperly reproduced;

  • Whether the similarity occurs in quotations, references, or standard academic language; and

  • Whether the manuscript contains evidence of intentional or systematic plagiarism.

Where appropriate, the journal may ask authors to revise the manuscript and provide proper citations before the manuscript proceeds further.

Serious or substantial plagiarism may result in rejection of the manuscript.

The journal follows applicable academic integrity and plagiarism standards in India, including the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2018, where applicable. The UGC framework distinguishes different levels of similarity and provides for the exclusion of properly attributed quotations, references, bibliography, and certain standard material from similarity assessment.

5. Action When Plagiarism Is Detected Before Publication

If plagiarism or substantial unattributed similarity is identified before publication, the Editor-in-Chief may:

  • Ask the author(s) for an explanation;

  • Request correction and proper citation;

  • Return the manuscript for revision;

  • Reject the manuscript;

  • Refer serious cases to the author's institution or other appropriate authority; or

  • Take any other appropriate action in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policy.

The action taken will depend on the seriousness and circumstances of the case.

6. Plagiarism Detected During Peer Review

If a reviewer or editorial team member suspects plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated material, or other academic misconduct, the concern should be reported to the Editor-in-Chief with supporting evidence where possible.

The editor may investigate the matter and, where necessary, contact the author(s) for clarification before making an editorial decision.

Reviewers should not directly accuse authors of misconduct or communicate allegations outside the editorial process.

7. Plagiarism Detected After Publication

If credible evidence of plagiarism is received after an article has been published, Sabrang Research Journal will investigate the matter.

The investigation may include:

  • Examination of the published article and the alleged original source;

  • Review of similarity reports or other evidence;

  • Communication with the author(s);

  • Consultation with members of the editorial team or appropriate experts; and

  • Communication with the relevant institution or authority where appropriate.

If substantial plagiarism is established, the journal may issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction depending on the seriousness of the case.

A retracted article will remain part of the scholarly record where appropriate, but its retracted status will be clearly identified on the journal website and in the article record.

The journal may also notify the author's institution or relevant authority in serious cases.

8. Plagiarism in Urdu and Other Languages

Sabrang Research Journal recognizes that similarity-detection software may have limitations when dealing with Urdu and other languages, particularly where text is written in different scripts, fonts, transliterations, translations, or linguistic variations.

Therefore, software-generated similarity reports may be supplemented by manual examination by the editorial team.

Where necessary, the journal may examine the original sources, references, translations, structure, arguments, figures, tables, and other relevant material to determine whether academic misconduct has occurred.

9. Author Declaration

Authors are required to confirm at the time of submission that:

  • The manuscript is their original work;

  • The manuscript has not been published previously;

  • The manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal;

  • All sources have been appropriately acknowledged;

  • All quotations and reproduced material have been properly cited;

  • The authors have disclosed any previous version of the manuscript;

  • All listed authors have made an appropriate contribution to the work; and

  • They accept responsibility for the originality and academic integrity of the submitted manuscript.

The journal may require an authorship and originality declaration or undertaking where considered necessary.

10. Responsibility of Authors

The primary responsibility for the originality and academic integrity of a submitted manuscript rests with the author(s).

Where a manuscript has multiple authors, all authors share responsibility for ensuring that the manuscript complies with the journal's ethical and publication requirements.

The corresponding or principal author is responsible for communicating the journal's requirements to all co-authors and ensuring that the necessary declarations are completed.

11. Ethical and Academic Standards

Sabrang Research Journal follows recognized principles of responsible scholarly publishing, including relevant principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and applicable Indian academic integrity standards.

The journal may update this policy when necessary to reflect developments in publication ethics, academic integrity, plagiarism-detection practices, and applicable regulations.