The Society for Himalayan Action Research and Development (SHARAD), a registered society
(Registration No. 762/2006-2007, dated 17.11.2005), publishes the peer-reviewed
Himalayan Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (HJSSH) (ISSN: 0975-9891) since 2006.
The journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and ensuring the
quality and integrity of the articles published.
In line with internationally accepted guidelines
(COPE – Committee on Publication Ethics, and Publication Standards), the following policies apply:
1. Duties of Authors
- Ensure originality of work and avoid plagiarism or fraudulent data.
- Do not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously.
- Obtain necessary permissions for copyrighted material.
- Provide certificate of approval for research on endangered, banned, or protected species.
- Disclose all funding sources and potential conflicts of interest.
2. Duties of Editors
- Ensure fair, unbiased, and timely review of manuscripts.
- Maintain confidentiality of submissions and avoid conflicts of interest.
- Decide acceptance, revision, or rejection based on quality, originality, and relevance.
- Handle suspected cases of misconduct following COPE guidelines.
3. Duties of Reviewers
- Evaluate manuscripts objectively and confidentially.
- Declare conflicts of interest and decline review if necessary.
- Provide constructive feedback to improve manuscripts.
4. Duties of the Publisher / SHARAD
- Ensure good practice in all publication processes.
- Support editors in handling ethical concerns such as plagiarism, authorship disputes, and misconduct.
5. Publication Malpractice and Misconduct
- Plagiarism, falsification of data, or unethical practices will result in rejection or retraction.
- Authors found guilty of malpractice may be blacklisted.
- Editors or reviewers found guilty of malpractice will be removed from the board.
6. Corrections, Retractions, and Post-Publication Updates
- Errata (Corrections): Minor errors will be incorporated and linked to the article.
- Retractions: Articles will be retracted in cases of plagiarism, falsification, or unethical research.
Retraction notices will be published and linked.
- Post-publication discussions: Comments or concerns will be reviewed by the editorial board for action.
7. Ethical Oversight
- All submissions are screened for plagiarism before acceptance.
- Ethical approval documents may be required for research involving humans, animals, or sensitive cultural data.
This policy ensures transparency, accountability, and adherence to the highest ethical standards in academic publishing,
in line with Scopus-indexed journals.
