Ethics Statement

Publication Ethics and Mal-Practice Statement (PEMS)

The Dialogues in Humanities and Social Sciences (DHSS) is committed to the academic community and the lay world in ensuring ethics in publication and the quality of articles in publication. Plagiarism is strictly condemned, and papers found to be plagiarized will be removed or not published in the DHSS. While signing the publication agreement the author(s) have to warrant that the article and associated materials are original, and it does not infringe the copyright of anyone. Also, the authors must warrant that there was a full consensus of all the authors, and it was neither submitted nor published previously. We state the following principles of Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement based on the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors of the Committee on Publication Ethics. The Dialogues in Humanities and Social Sciences (DHSS) has adopted and applies the ethical rules for publication in accordance with the guidelines of the COPE (Publication Ethics Committee) (available at http://publicationethics.org/).

Author(s) Guidelines (Authors Ethics)

  1. A full-length article should be around 7000 words, but should not exceed 7000 words, including references.
  2. A Focus essay—which we define as an essay written on an event, concept, or theory of enduring significance and for providing an initial thesis or creating understanding–should be around 4,000 words. Both types of articles will go through the similar double-blind peer review process.
  3. Author(s) should present an accurate account of the research performed and offer an objective discussion of its significance.
  4. DHSS follows APA Style for referencing and citation.
  5. Authorship should be limited to those who have made some significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the submitted study.
  6. The author(s) are required to submit a Similarity Index Report by using the service of Turnitin.org. It is required to ensure the originality of the work.
  7. The manuscript should offer new, original insights or interpretations that have not been published before or are not under consideration for publication in any other journal.
  8. Author(s) should declare all funding sources and any actual or potential conflicts including any financial, personal, or other relationships with other people and organizations.
  9. Author(s) is required to sign an agreement on the originality of work and its copyrights with the journal.

Duties of Reviewers (Reviewers Ethics)

Double-blind peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper.

  1. Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.
  2. Any manuscript received for review is treated as a confidential document.
  3. Double-blind peer reviews are conducted objectively. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
  4. Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.
  5. Unpublished material disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s own research without the express written consent of the author.

Duties of Publisher (Publisher Ethics)

  1. In cases of alleged or proven misconduct, fraudulent publication, or plagiarism, the publisher, in close collaboration with the editors, will take all appropriate measures to clarify the situation and to amend the article in question. This includes the prompt publication of an erratum, clarification, or, in the most severe case, the retraction of the affected work.
  2. The publisher is committed to the permanent availability and preservation of scholarly research and ensures accessibility by partnering with organizations and maintaining its own digital archive.
  3. If an inaccuracy, misleading text, or wrong explanations are found in the published article, it must be corrected promptly.
  4. All complaints will be seriously investigated by the editor regardless of who files the complaint.

Duties of Editor (Editor Ethics)

  1. Editors will examine all the submitted manuscripts exclusively on the basis of their academic merit: significance, timeliness, relevance, originality, and clarity. They would not take into account the author’s race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, citizenship, religious beliefs or institutional affiliation.  The editors will guard the integrity of the published record by issuing corrections and retractions and pursuing suspected or alleged research and publication misconduct when needed.
  2. Editors and staff will not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher as necessary.
  3. Unpublished material disclosed in a submitted manuscript will not be used in any editor’s own research. The editors should will ensure a fair and appropriate double-blind peer- review process: HEC Pakistan requires two international and one national review, which will be followed.
  4. Submissions from authors with which the editors have any conflict of interest will be assessed by a member of the Editorial Board. Submissions by members of the Editorial Board will be assigned to an Associate or Guest Editor to ensure a fair and appropriate process. The editors will require all contributors to disclose relevant competing interests and publish corrections if competing interests are revealed after publication.
  5. The editors ensure that all submitted manuscripts being considered for publication undergo double-blind peer-review by at least two international reviewers and one national reviewer (Pakistan) as required by HEC Pakistan. The reviewers must be experts in the field. The Editor is responsible for deciding which of the manuscripts submitted to the journal will be published, based on the validation of the work in question, its importance to researchers and readers, the reviewers’ comments, and such legal requirements as are currently in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The Editor confers with associate editors and/or reviewers in making this decision.

Guest Editors’ Ethics

  1. Guest editors are responsible for defining the subject matter and role of every article in a thematic issue.
  2. Providing clear guidelines to authors regarding the topic and boundaries of their contributions and the overall design of the issue.
  3. Ensuring, in collaboration with the executive editorial board, that appropriate reviewers are selected for all the articles (whether they have been commissioned or submitted because of a call for papers).
  4. Establishing a timeline for draft paper submission, peer review, revision, and final paper submission with the executive editorial board, and ensuring that all deadlines are met.