Plagiarism Screening Policy

International Journal of Social Sciences, Humanities and Communication (IJSSHC) maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism and all forms of academic misconduct. Every submitted manuscript is screened using recognized plagiarism detection software before entering the peer-review process to ensure originality, academic integrity, and compliance with international publication ethics.

The following practices are considered unethical and constitute plagiarism or publication misconduct:

  • Direct plagiarism
  • Self-plagiarism (text recycling without appropriate disclosure)
  • Mosaic (patchwork) plagiarism
  • Duplicate or redundant publication
  • Data plagiarism or unauthorized use of research data
  • Improper or inadequate citation of sources
  • Copyright infringement and unauthorized reproduction of figures, tables, images, or other published materials

Manuscripts found to contain significant plagiarism or other forms of publication misconduct may be rejected immediately without entering the peer-review process. If plagiarism or ethical violations are identified after publication, the journal reserves the right to publish a correction, issue an expression of concern, retract the article, notify the authors' affiliated institutions, funding agencies, or relevant authorities, and impose temporary or permanent restrictions on future submissions.

IJSSHC is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and follows the ethical principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in the prevention, investigation, and resolution of plagiarism and publication misconduct. All allegations are handled fairly, confidentially, and transparently in accordance with the COPE Core Practices and relevant COPE flowcharts.

The journal also complies with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan's policies and guidelines on plagiarism and research ethics, including the HEC Plagiarism Policy and any subsequent amendments. Authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to adhere to these standards to preserve the integrity, credibility, and quality of scholarly publishing.