Policies

INTRODUCTION

  1. FREQUENCY OF PUBLICATION

Research Journal for Societal Issues (RJSI) The frequency and regularity are the main requirement what directly influences the credibility of the journals. In this connection, the Journal of Social Research Development publication schedule comprises one (1) volume with four (4) issues each year on the regular basis with the following descriptions:

TIMELINE OF PUBLICATION

Research Journal for Societal Issues (RJSI) publication timeline of represents the complete duration from articles submissions to publications with the following descriptions:

March Issue

June Issue

September Issue

December Issue

  1. AUTHORSHIP OF PAPER

Authorship of papers represents authors’ (Faculties, Researchers, and Ph.D. Scholars) scholarly contributions in different scopes and domains as per their field and relevancy. Journal of Social Research Development accepts the authorships contributions as per the journal’s scope. The author's contributions statement (equal contributions) towards the research work is included as separate statement at the end of the article. The authors' substantial contributions to the research work have been mentioned. The authors’ names, affiliations and e-mail addresses along with contact numbers of all authors (corresponding, principal, & co-authors) of manuscript have been mentioned on first-page. Furthermore, ORCID identifiers identification is encouraged.

  1. ORIGINALITY AND PLAGIARISM POLICY

All authors submitting their works to the Research Journal for Societal Issues (RJSI) published original articles and book reviews which are not already published anywhere and similarity index is below 19 % as per HEC guidelines. Link of the HEC guidelines for Plagiarism is give as below.

Please use the below link for plagiarism policy.

https://www.hec.gov.pk/english/policies/Documents/Plagiarism-Policy.pdf

 

  1. PEER REVIEW POLICY
  2. Submission of Paper The corresponding author can submit the article for possible publication in Research Journal for Societal Issues via the online journal management system (OJS).
  3. Editorial Office Assessment The journal checks the article arrangement and composition as per the author's guidelines and scope of the Research Journal for Societal Issues. At this point, the quality of the article is not assessed.
  4. Appraisal by Chief Editor The chief editor checks that the article is appropriate as per the journal’s scope and is original and interesting. If not, the paper may be rejected at this stage without being reviewed any further.
  5. Chief Editor Assigns an Associate Editor After appraising the article by the chief editor, it is assigned to the associate editors to appraise the article through desk review/editing.
  6. Desk Review The associate editor examines the article as per the scope of the journal and as per the contents required by the Research Journal for Societal Issues and suggests the possible improvements in the article.
  7. Sharing suggestions with Authors The possible improvements as suggested by the associate editor through desk review is shared with the authors to incorporate the suggested changes to further improve the quality of the article. After these incorporations, the article is moved to the review phase.
  8. Invitation to Reviewers The associate editor sends invitations to the reviewers within specialized fields. As responses are received from the reviewers, the paper is sent to reviewers for review (one international & one national).
  9. Review is Conducted The reviewer sets time aside to read the article by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses. The first read is used to form an initial impression of the work. If major problems are found at this stage, the reviewer may feel comfortable rejecting the paper without further work is then submitted to the journal, with a recommendation to accept or reject (minor revision or major revisions).
  10. Journal Evaluates the Reviews The associate editor considers all the returned reviews before making an overall decision. If the reviews differ widely, the editor may invite an additional reviewer to get an extra opinion before making a decision.
  11. The Decision is Communicated The editor sends the decision email to the author including the relevant reviewer comments and suggests the author incorporate all these changes accordingly as per the suggestions of the reviewers.
  12. Final Decision The author incorporations are ensured by the editorial team and if found satisfactory then the article accepted and sent to copyediting. After the copyediting, the article is sent to production phases and the schedule for publication has been provided/specified.
  1. ARTICLE PROCESSING/PUBLICATION FEE

Research Journal for Societal Issues (RJSI), ISSN (P- 2788-7219) (E- 2788-7227), is managed under Universal Research Network (URN) (Pvt) Lt. Globally, the publication costs and associated expenses of many journals are covered by different resources like sponsoring parties that include organizations, societies, and research groups and thus do not demand any publication charges. In case of RJSI, there is no financial assistance and income sources to meet expenses associated with the publication process. RJSI is determined to index with well-reputed indexing agencies and ensures standard parameters to bring up journal at par with international level. Journals uses variety of means to generate income required to meet publication costs including editorial cost, peer review, website maintenance, indexing cost, content registration, promotion, circulation and production.

To meet desired standards and secure academic and financial scope of authors, RJSI recommends nominal publication charges to meet journal’s expenses. RJSI charges fee in two phases wherein Rs. 5000/- are charged at the time of submission that will cover article initial desk review through experts along with similarity index. In second phase, authors are charged Rs. 25000/- after acceptance of article for publication based upon positive reviews from reviewers and their recommendations for publications that will cover journal overall expenses. The publication charges of the RJSI will help to further improve standards and paves way towards inclusion of well-reputed indexing agencies like Scopus and web of science that is dire need in contemporary competitive situations wherein researchers are desirous for publications.

  1. DISCLOSURE AND CONFLICTS OF INTERES

Conflict of interest (COI) refers to situations in which truthfulness of an academic activity, specifically research, might be perceived as compromised by monetary or other personal interests. A conflict of interest happens when a secondary interest either gets distorted or has the potential to distort judgement or decision associated with the primary interest. Additionally, a professional’s judgment does not essentially have to be prejudiced because that researcher to have a conflict of interest, even the manifestation of a conflict of interest is ethically troublesome. COI is defined as anything that has potential to create a divided loyalty or appearance of one between researcher, institution, and individuals enrolled in research. COI could be circumstances, cause risk that scholar professional judgments or actions concerning primary interest [academic uprightness, employee benefits & societal obligations] will be markedly influenced by a secondary interest [personal, monetary & professional benefits]. 

Interests are broadly categorized into two types: conflicts of commitment and financial benefits. In this linking, the conflicts could be a personal affiliation; such as family association, friends relationships, and any other close personal associations; beliefs and ideologies, such as religious or political that is relevant to the research work; the academic interests such as competitors or somebody whose research work is critiqued; affiliation such as the employment, advisory board membership, or membership of an organization with an interest in the outcome of said work; financial such as funding, goods, services, and any other payments received/anticipated by author(s) related to the subject of the work or from an organization with an interest in the outcome of the work and maybe an intellectual property such as the trademarks or patents owned by an individual or an organization. 

  1. For Authors

All manuscripts, articles, editorials, original research reports, book reviews, comments, reviews, and letters that are submitted to journal must be accompanied by a conflict-of-interest disclosure statement or a declaration by the authors that they do not have any conflicts of interest to declare. All the research work such as articles, etc., published in this journal should mandatorily accompany conflict-of-interest disclosure statement or a statement that the authors have replied that they have no conflicts of interest to declare. To facilitate this policy, all authors must privately disclose ‘ALL their potential conflicts of interest’ to editors at time of submission. These include all financial and non-financial interests and relationships with other organizations. Authors should disclose any conflict of interest that may have influenced either the conduct or presentation of the research to editors, including but not limited to close relationships with those who might be helped or hurt by publication, academic interests and rivalries, and any personal, religious or political convictions relevant to topic at hand. In the article, authors must include a draft statement that discloses all relevant conflicts of interest and affiliations.

  1. For Editors and Reviewers

Editors and reviewers must reject/decline to be involved with the submission when they have a recent/current publication or submission with author. Share or recently shared affiliations with author, collaborate, or have close relationships with the author or financial interest/gain, or feel unable to be objective. Editorial staff must not use information gained through working with manuscripts for private gain.  Reviewers must declare any remaining interests in the ‘Confidential’ section of review form, which will be considered by the editor. Reviewer(s) must declare any conflict of interest which may affect their review work. In cases of conflict of interest, reviewer(s) are requested to notify the editorial team of their inability to review a particular research paper. Editors and peer reviewers should disclose interests that might appear to affect their ability to present or review work objectively. These might include the relevant financial interests or the personal, political, or religious interests, and detailed descriptions about tasks, responsibilities of all parties on how to avoid and manage COIs.

  1. CORRECTIONS AND RETRACTIONS OF RESEARCH ARTICLES

The main goal of Research Journal for Societal Issues is to share well-defined and exact knowledge while also assisting the academic community through information dissemination. Furthermore, in order to serve the academic community, Research Journal for Societal Issues believes in intelligibility by providing accurate information and keeping all necessary records. The journal outlines the process from the beginning to the end, and the publications are available in a variety of volumes and issues. Following the publication of a paper, the editorial team posts the volume and issues of the journal on the journal's website, where they can be freely viewed, read, downloaded, and shared thanks to the journal's open access policy.

The Research Journal for Societal Issues provides authors with the opportunity to have their submissions proofread prior to the publication of the online version, ensuring content accuracy. Because publishing corrigenda and errata increases the risk of journal content readers and users encountering problems, the contents are produced as error-free as feasible. Furthermore, even after a paper is published, partial revisions may be made at the discretion of the Research Journal for Societal Issues editorial committee. As a result, in order to improve the quality of published research work, the editorial staff may make minor changes and adjustments at any time, as they are necessary to ensure the integrity of the published materials and the quality and transparency of the research.

The Research Journal for Societal Issues takes copyright infringement, plagiarism, and other ethical code violations in the publication process very seriously. In this regard, the journal reserves the right to take appropriate and necessary actions to correct the record on a priority basis whenever any violation of publication ethics or copyright infringement is discovered, regardless of whether the authors present the issue intentionally or unintentionally and notify the journal's editorial team. As a result, materials previously published in this journal become the journal's intellectual property, and the journal retains the right to replace inaccurate information in the best interests of the journal and the academic community.

  1. POLICY AND PRINCIPLES ON RESEARCH DATA

The principle and policy towards the research data signifies authors’ responsibility to submit

reliable and accurate research data for publication with following description:

  1. The archives of the Research Journal for Societal Issues are freely available on the journal's website. As a result, in terms of copyright and licencing, the Journal of Social Research Development adheres to open access and open archives rules in order to make the journal's users' things simpler. Users must, however, cite the work with a correct citation if they use anything from the Research Journal for Societal Issues. The journal is responsible for maintaining metadata for papers processed for publications submitted to the journal, which can be communicated on demand if necessary.
  2. Research Journal for Societal Issues is an Open Access Journal, which means that all of its articles are freely available to the public. Users are allowed to read, download, and use its contents for lawful purposes without obtaining prior permission from the publisher; however, by doing so, users are required to quote the materials with references when they are used in citations that are prescribed under predetermined conditions specified by guidelines, code of conduct, and CC by NC. As a result, writers retain copyright to their work and may use it for legal purposes without seeking permission from the journal.
  3. By granting the Research Journal for Societal Issues first publication rights, the author/authors maintain the copyright of works published in RJSI. RJSI's editorial team will not be liable for any subsequent use of the author(s) work, and even if this is desired, it is the responsibility of the author(s) to take expropriation action by including a clear statement about the conflict of interest in the copyright agreement between the authors and the Research Journal for Societal Issues to ensure publication ethics transparency.
  4. CONTRIBUTION OF EACH AUTHOR WITH DETAILS

Innovative and original research that has not previously been published or is under discussion for publication with any other publisher or journal is considered for inclusion in the Research Journal for Societal Issues. It is the responsibility of the author(s) to ensure the originality of their research work before submitting it to a journal for publication, and to realize that the contents of the submission are not being considered by or for any other publisher or journal. Despite the fact that the Research Journal for Societal Issues reserves the right to alter, amend, and publish the author(s) contributions, the authors will get a statement from the journal's editorial representative prior to their publishing in the Research Journal for Societal Issues.

The author contributions statement is a separate statement that relates to work or equal contributions to the work. All those who have made significant contributions to research work should be listed under the headings. On the first page of the manuscript, all authors (principal, co-authors, and corresponding) must disclose their complete names, affiliations, and e-mail addresses, as well as phone numbers. Furthermore, ORCID identifiers are encouraged.

  1. ANY OTHER NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL GUIDELINE

The Research Journal for Societal Issues is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal with a multidisciplinary scope that considers the authors' scholarly contributions in the areas of elementary, secondary, and higher education, curriculum, adult education, mass communication, business and economics, health and physical education, human rights, sociology, gender studies, social work, psychology, international relations, defense and strategic studies, management studies, public administration, and public policy. The journal provides authors with the opportunity to publish high-quality, original research on a variety of topics and issues that fall within the scope of the journal.

Disclaimer

The purpose of this disclaimer is to inform readers and users of the journal's contents that all viewpoints and ideas contributed by the authors are solely their property and are not inevitably related to the author(s) employer, committee, organization any other group. All such viewpoints presented by the author(s) from various sources by investigating participants' perspectives from any institution or organization(s) do not substantially mirror the opinions and perspectives of the Journal of Social Research Development. It also stated that all viewpoints, opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed and articulated in both submitted and published research work, as well as any other contents, are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Journal of Social Research Development team or publisher.

Copyright

The author(s) retain copyright to manuscripts published in Research Journal for Societal Issues by granting first publishing rights to this journal. The Research Journal for Societal Issues and its editorial team will not be held liable for any subsequent or dual use of the author(s) research work, even if this is anticipated and desired. It is the author(s) responsibility to bring an encroachment act by postulating a clear declaration about the conflict of interest duly mentioned in the copyright agreement between the authors and the Research Journal for Societal Issues to ensure publication transparency. Authors are recommended and required to fulfill all of the following guidelines prior to submitting a research paper to Research Journal for Societal Issues; otherwise, contributions may be returned to authors:

  • The submission file must be in Microsoft Word, Open Office, or RTF document file format with no restrictions.
  • The work has neither previously been published nor is it for consideration to be published with any other publisher.
  • The text follows the formal, stylistic, and bibliographic prerequisites thoroughly outlined in the Author's Guidelines.
  • The text is written single-spaced, in 12-point font, and all figures, illustrations, and tables are placed within the text at exact points.
  • The manuscript includes nothing that could either be interpreted as abusive, defamatory, fraudulent, obscene, libelous or proscribed.
  • In case of sending the same research work to any other publisher either within or outside the country, authors are liable to let us know in anticipation and that would be considered as their volunteer withdrawal from the Journal of Social Research Development.
  1. Author (s) Agreement Form

Research Journal for Societal Issues

 

AUTHOR (S) AGREEMENT FORM

 

ARTICLE TITLE: __________________________________________________________________

 

INSTRUCTION:

Carefully read and sign this author agreement form in connection with the submission of your manuscript for publication in the Research Journal for Societal Issues (RJSI). No manuscript will be considered for publication until RJSI receives signed copies from the corresponding author. Please read the following statement carefully and put a mark (√ yes) if you agree with the statement.

 

1

Manuscript submitted is based on original work and is not plagiarized.

 

2

Manuscript has not been published previously in national/international journal.

 

3

Manuscript has not been submitted anywhere else for the publication.

 

4

All the authors have agreed to give you the status of corresponding author.

 

5

Permission from co-author(s) to sign this form on behalf of all has been taken.

 

6

Permission is obtained for all previously published and copyrighted material.

 

7

Previously published material has been properly cited with citations/references.

 

8

Acknowledgements for research has been addressed properly in cover letter.

 

9

Named those who have made significant contribution in completing research.

 

10

On behalf of all authors, you accept responsibility for contents of manuscripts.

 

11

All authors have reviewed manuscript and agreed on responsibility of content.

 

12

All authors have agreed to the order of authorship and names of all authors.

 

13

Author’s affiliation and address is provided for the future correspondence.

 

14

Affiliation for each author is given in cover letter as provided in author note.

 

15

Confidentiality of research has been maintained adequately in the manuscript.

 

16

All ethical considerations as per APA’s manual have been addressed/fulfilled.

 

17

There are no conflicts of interest associated with the manuscript for publication.

 

18

I understand that this agreement is only for one time publication in the journal.

 

19

I will have no objection if the authorities of journal suggest any modification(s)

 

20

I am ready to answer editorial questions and make required revisions in article.

 

 

 

Corresponding Author’s Name: Institutional Affiliation:

Email:

Mailing Address:

 

Note: Please email this form to through your OJS email ID and hardcopy of this form to the Editorial office:

  

Editor In Chief

Research Journal for Societal Issues

Universal Research Network (Pvt) Limited