Originality, Plagiarism and Redundant Publication Policy

Originality Requirement

The Dyal Singh Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (DSJHSS) considers manuscripts on the understanding that they are original scholarly submissions, have not been published in substantially the same form elsewhere, and are not simultaneously under consideration by another journal.

Authors must cite and acknowledge the words, ideas, data, arguments, translations and other intellectual contributions of others appropriately.

Similarity Screening

DSJHSS uses Turnitin as a textual-similarity screening tool. A similarity report is an aid to editorial assessment; it is not, by itself, a finding of plagiarism and it is not treated as an automatic acceptance or rejection score.

Editors examine the nature, extent and location of textual overlap. Legitimate quotations, references, standard methodological language and other properly attributed material may contribute to a similarity score without constituting plagiarism. Conversely, a low overall score does not excuse significant unattributed copying in a particular passage.

The journal observes applicable requirements and guidance of the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan and its parent institution while retaining human editorial assessment of similarity reports.

Forms of Unacceptable Overlap

Concerns may include:

·        direct copying without quotation or attribution;

·        close or disguised paraphrasing without attribution;

·        appropriation of another person's ideas, argument, data or structure without acknowledgement;

·        unacknowledged translation of previously published material;

·        duplicate or redundant publication of substantially the same work;

·        inappropriate reuse of an author's own previously published text without transparent citation; and

·        manipulation intended to conceal copied or previously published material.

Preprints, Theses and Earlier Dissemination

Prior circulation as a thesis, dissertation, institutional report, working paper or preprint does not automatically constitute duplicate publication, provided that the relationship is disclosed where relevant, the manuscript satisfies journal requirements, and prior material is cited or acknowledged appropriately.

Editorial Response

Where concerning overlap is identified before publication, the journal may request explanation or correction, return the manuscript for revision, reject it, or investigate further.

If significant plagiarism or redundant publication is discovered after publication, the journal may issue a correction, expression of concern or retraction, depending on the seriousness and effect on the scholarly record.

Author Responsibility

Authors are responsible for checking their manuscript before submission. Attempts to manipulate similarity-detection systems, conceal sources, or misrepresent the originality of a submission may be treated as research misconduct.