Plagiarism Policy

The Journal of South Asian Issues (JSAI) is committed to maintaining originality, proper attribution, and integrity in scholarly publishing.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted manuscripts are original, appropriately acknowledge the work of others, and do not contain substantial unattributed material from previously published or unpublished sources.

Plagiarism and Improper Attribution

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

  • Copying text, ideas, arguments, data, images, or other material without appropriate acknowledgement.
  • Closely paraphrasing another source without proper citation.
  • Presenting another person’s work or ideas as one’s own.
  • Using material from unpublished sources without appropriate attribution or permission where required.
  • Misrepresenting or inaccurately citing the source of material.

Direct quotations must be clearly identified and appropriately cited.

Similarity Screening

Submitted manuscripts may be screened using similarity-detection software as part of the editorial assessment process.

A similarity report is not, by itself, treated as proof of plagiarism. Similarity may arise from properly cited quotations, references, standard terminology, methodological descriptions, or other legitimate overlap.

Where concerns arise, the editorial team will assess the nature, extent, context, and attribution of the overlapping material before taking a decision.

JSAI does not rely on a fixed similarity-percentage threshold to determine whether plagiarism has occurred.

Text Recycling and Previous Publications

Authors must appropriately cite their own previously published work where relevant.

Substantial reuse of previously published text, data, analysis, figures, or other material without appropriate disclosure or citation may constitute inappropriate text recycling or redundant publication.

A manuscript must not substantially duplicate work that has already been published or is simultaneously under consideration elsewhere.

Limited overlap may be acceptable where it is necessary, appropriately attributed, and does not misrepresent previously published material as new work.

Editorial Action

Where potential plagiarism, inappropriate overlap, or redundant publication is identified before publication, the journal may:

  • Request an explanation or clarification from the author.
  • Ask the author to revise or properly attribute the relevant material.
  • Request supporting documents or source materials where necessary.
  • Reject the manuscript where the concern is substantial or cannot be satisfactorily resolved.

The action taken will depend on the nature and seriousness of the concern.

Concerns Identified After Publication

If potential plagiarism or substantial unattributed overlap is identified after publication, the journal will review the matter and may seek an explanation from the author and, where appropriate, relevant supporting information.

Depending on the findings and seriousness of the issue, the journal may take appropriate action, including publication of a correction, retraction, or other notice.

Post-publication cases will be handled in accordance with the journal’s Retraction and Correction Policy and Publication Ethics policy.

Author Responsibility

Authors are responsible for:

  • Ensuring the originality of their submissions.
  • Providing accurate and complete citations.
  • Obtaining permission for copyrighted or third-party material where required.
  • Disclosing relevant previous publications or substantial overlap.
  • Responding promptly and transparently to editorial queries concerning originality or attribution.

Submission of a manuscript to JSAI indicates that the authors accept responsibility for the originality and integrity of the work.