Authorship and Contributorship Policy

Principles of Authorship

Authorship of work published in the Dyal Singh Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (DSJHSS) should reflect genuine scholarly responsibility and contribution.

A listed author should have made a substantial contribution to the conception, design, evidence, analysis, interpretation or drafting of the work; should approve the version submitted and the final version for publication; and should be prepared to take appropriate responsibility for the integrity of the contribution.

No person should be listed as an author solely because of seniority, administrative position, supervision, funding, personal relationship or general assistance.

Corresponding Author

The corresponding author acts as the principal contact with the journal and is responsible for ensuring that:

·        all listed authors satisfy the journal's authorship requirements;

·        all authors have seen and approved the submitted manuscript;

·        the author order is agreed by all authors;

·        required declarations, funding information and competing-interest statements are complete; and

·        all authors approve the final version before publication.

The corresponding author does not acquire greater ownership of the work merely by serving as the contact author.

Contributors and Acknowledgements

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged, with their permission where appropriate. Examples may include research assistance, language support, technical assistance, data collection or administrative support.

Funding sources should be disclosed separately where relevant.

Prohibited Authorship Practices

DSJHSS does not accept:

·        guest or honorary authorship, where a person is listed without a qualifying contribution;

·        gift authorship, where authorship is offered as a favour or benefit; or

·        ghost authorship, where a substantial contributor is intentionally omitted.

Changes in Authorship

Requests to add, remove or reorder authors after submission must be explained to the journal. The journal may require written agreement from all affected authors.

After acceptance or publication, authorship changes will be permitted only where there is a clear and justified reason. If a change is approved after publication, the journal may publish a correction to maintain an accurate scholarly record.

Disputes that cannot be resolved by the authors may be referred to the relevant institutions rather than adjudicated solely by the journal.

Artificial Intelligence

Generative-AI systems and other automated tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot take responsibility for the accuracy, integrity or ethical obligations of a scholarly work. Human authors remain fully responsible for any tool-assisted content.