Plagiarism Policy

The International Journal of Social Sciences and Development Review (IJSSDR) upholds the highest standards of academic honesty, originality, and ethical scholarship. All manuscripts submitted to IJSSDR must be the authors’ original work and must properly credit any sources, ideas, or materials derived from other researchers.

Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism occurs when the work or ideas of others are used without proper acknowledgment. This includes:

  • Verbatim Copying: Directly using text from another source without quotation marks or proper citation
  • Improper Paraphrasing: Rewriting someone else’s ideas, interpretations, or findings without attribution
  • Misuse of Data or Visuals: Using tables, figures, images, or datasets from other works without proper credit
  • Self-Plagiarism: Reusing one’s previously published or submitted work without disclosure or appropriate citation

Similarity Threshold

Following the guidelines of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan, IJSSDR enforces a maximum similarity index of 19%. Manuscripts exceeding this threshold may be returned to the author for correction or may be rejected outright to maintain scholarly integrity.

Detection and Author Responsibility

  • All submissions are screened using industry-standard plagiarism detection tools (e.g., Turnitin).
  • Authors are fully responsible for ensuring the originality of their work and accurate citation of all sources.
  • Manuscripts failing to meet these standards will not proceed to peer review.

Handling Violations

  • Minor Overlaps: Small citation or reference errors → Manuscript returned for correction
  • Major Plagiarism: Extensive copying or failure to attribute → Immediate rejection or retraction if published
  • Repeated or Severe Cases: Authors may be blacklisted and their affiliated institutions notified

Author Declarations

All authors must submit a Statement of Originality, confirming that:

  • The manuscript is original and unpublished
  • All external sources are properly cited
  • The manuscript is not under consideration elsewhere

Appeals Process

Authors may formally appeal plagiarism findings by submitting a request to the editorial office. The editorial board will review the appeal and issue a final decision.

AI-Generated Content Policy

IJSSDR does not allow AI-generated content (e.g., ChatGPT, Bard, Gemini) in manuscripts.

❌ Submissions containing AI-generated text, analysis, or interpretation will be rejected or retracted.
✅ Only original human research and scholarly work is acceptable.

Transparency and Retraction

In confirmed cases of plagiarism, IJSSDR will issue a formal retraction notice to ensure academic transparency and protect the integrity of the scholarly record.