Journal of Education & Social Sciences


Ethical Policy

The Journal of Education and Social Sciences (JESS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity throughout the editorial and publishing process. The Journal follows internationally recognized principles of ethical publishing and adheres to the ethical standards and best practices recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan. All participants in the publication process, including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher, are expected to comply with these ethical principles.

Publication Ethics

JESS is dedicated to ensuring that all published research is original, reliable, transparent, and conducted responsibly. Editorial decisions are based solely on the scholarly merit, originality, methodological rigor, and relevance of the submitted work, without discrimination based on the authors' nationality, gender, institutional affiliation, ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to JESS are expected to:

  • Submit only original and unpublished work that is not under consideration elsewhere.
  • Ensure that all data presented are accurate, authentic, and honestly reported.
  • Properly acknowledge the work of others through appropriate citations and references.
  • Avoid plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, and image manipulation.
  • Include as authors only those individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the research.
  • Disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that may influence the research or its interpretation.
  • Obtain ethical approval for studies involving human participants or animals where applicable and provide evidence upon request.
  • Promptly notify the Editorial Office if a significant error is discovered after publication so that appropriate corrections or retractions can be made.

Responsibilities of Editors

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board are responsible for ensuring a fair, transparent, and unbiased editorial process. Editors shall:

  • Evaluate manuscripts solely on academic merit and relevance to the journal's scope.
  • Maintain confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts.
  • Ensure that manuscripts undergo an objective double-blind peer review process.
  • Avoid conflicts of interest in editorial decision-making.
  • Take appropriate action in cases of suspected ethical misconduct, including plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated data, authorship disputes, or unethical research practices.
  • Publish corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions whenever necessary to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Peer reviewers play a vital role in maintaining the quality of published research. Reviewers are expected to:

  • Conduct reviews objectively, constructively, and within the specified timeframe.
  • Maintain strict confidentiality regarding all manuscript content.
  • Declare any conflict of interest before accepting a review assignment.
  • Identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.
  • Report any suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, ethical concerns, or research misconduct to the Editor.

Plagiarism Policy

JESS maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards plagiarism. All submitted manuscripts are screened using plagiarism detection software before entering the peer review process. Manuscripts containing unacceptable levels of textual similarity, copied content, or evidence of plagiarism will be rejected immediately. Proven cases of plagiarism discovered after publication may result in correction, retraction, and notification of the authors' affiliated institutions where appropriate.

Conflict of Interest

All authors, reviewers, and editors are required to disclose any personal, professional, financial, or institutional relationships that could influence the publication process. Such disclosures enable the Editorial Office to ensure objective and impartial decision-making.

Research Ethics

Research involving human participants, personal data, or animals must comply with internationally accepted ethical standards and the regulations of the relevant institutional ethics committee. Authors should clearly state the approval obtained from the appropriate ethics review board and confirm that informed consent was obtained whenever required.

Complaints and Appeals

JESS provides a transparent mechanism for handling complaints related to editorial decisions, peer review, publication ethics, or allegations of misconduct. Appeals against editorial decisions are reviewed fairly and independently by the Editor-in-Chief or an appropriate Editorial Committee.

Corrections and Retractions

Where significant errors or ethical concerns are identified after publication, JESS will publish corrections, corrigenda, expressions of concern, or retractions in accordance with internationally accepted publication ethics standards to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record.

Research Misconduct

The Journal investigates all allegations of research misconduct, including but not limited to plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, data falsification, unethical research practices, inappropriate authorship, citation manipulation, and peer-review manipulation. Confirmed cases may lead to manuscript rejection, article retraction, notification of authors' institutions, and other appropriate editorial actions.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

Artificial intelligence and generative AI tools may only be used to support language editing or improve readability. Such tools must not be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the integrity, originality, or accuracy of the work. Authors remain fully accountable for all content submitted to the Journal and should disclose any significant use of AI-assisted tools in manuscript preparation where appropriate.

Ethical Commitment

JESS is committed to safeguarding research integrity by promoting transparency, accountability, fairness, and responsible scholarly communication. The Journal continuously updates its editorial practices in accordance with internationally recognized ethical standards to ensure the credibility and quality of the research it publishes.

Policies

The Journal of Education & Social Sciences (JESS) is a multidisciplinary journal in the field of Education & Social Sciences. The goal of JESS is to publish intuitive, original and impactful research in the relevant arena.

JESS welcomes submissions of research manuscripts in any sub-domains of Education and Social Sciences. Within our scope are all aspects of management related to strategy, innovation, inclusive education, early childhood education, ICT in education, economics of education, educational leadership and management, curriculum development and pedagogy, and organizations as well as all functional areas of education. JESS also welcome articles within the scope of social sciences. A free online access and free publication make it easily available. A high-quality Double-Blind Peer review ensures its quality and original contributions in the field of Education and Social Sciences.

We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics' International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics International Standards for Authors

Also, read Guidelines published on good publication and the Code of Conduct by the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE).


SUBMIT MANUSCRIPT

The Journal of Education & Social Sciences facilitate its authors with a web-based submission and review process offered by Manuscript Editorial which enables authors to submit and check the status of their papers online. Please read the following instructions for authors before moving on to the actual submission process (at Submit a Paper )


PRE-SUBMISSION ENGLISH-LANGUAGE EDITING

Authors for whom English is a second language may choose to have their manuscript professionally edited before submission to improve the English. An independent editing service can be found at Language Lab. All services are paid for and arranged by the author, and use of this service does not guarantee acceptance or preference for publication.


PEER-REVIEW POLICY

All submissions made to the journal via the online submission portal are first reviewed for completeness, and only then sent to be assessed by an Associate Editor who will decide whether they are suitable for peer review based on the scope, quality of communication, and the similarity of the manuscript.

Editor(s) are expected to obtain a minimum of two peer reviewers (both national and international) for manuscripts reporting primary research or secondary analysis of primary research.Authors are then notified of the decision with a copy of suggested reviewer's comments if the manuscript is accepted or rejected.

The accepted ones will be resubmitted with their revised manuscripts along with a Response Sheet explaining how they incorporated the reviewer's suggestions.


PLAGIARISM POLICY

The authors should guarantee that their work is entirely original and that if they have utilized the work and/or words of others, this has been properly credited or quoted. All manuscripts submitted to the journal will be checked for originality using Turnitin software. The maximum amount of plagiarism that may be tolerated is 17%. The editor of the journal, on the other hand, may commence the investigation by evaluating any allegations of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or text recycling. If the assertions are correct, all identified authors will be contacted in order to conduct an inquiry about the overlapping material. Further feedback from the Editorial Board members and the author's institution may be sought if needed.

The journal's decision will be based on the author's research and response (s). Depending on the nature and severity of the problem, the following steps may be taken:

Note: In each of the scenarios, the author's institution may also be contacted.


ARCHIVING POLICY

IQRA University has its own database for keeping a record of all published articles to be accessed by readers when required. Recently, we have collaborated with Tehqeeqat (A Research Indexing and Archiving Platform) supported by Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan to publish the journal's content on their website for the ease of online users.


COMPLAINT POLICY
  • The journal encourages editorial changes, and author's genuine appeals; however, it is essential to understand that the editor's ultimate decision is a product of broad discretion that aligns with the best interests of the journal. Thus, for the appeals to be considered, the provision of concrete evidence or new data by the author(s) that addresses and alleviates the concerns of the reviewers and editors is a major requirement.

    The editor(s) will consider appeals such as:

    • Inclusion of factual input by the author(s).
    • Revision of manuscript or data.
    • Claims about conflict of interest.
    • Concerns about biased peer review.

    Furthermore, receival of an eligible appeal can lead to the following:

    • The editor(s) will mediate all exchanges between author(s) and peer reviewer(s) during the review proceedings. Additional reviewers can be included if the editor deems it necessary.
    • The review process can be unavoidably longer than usual for time-sensitive results. Meanwhile, if the author(s) chooses to withdraw their manuscript, it is crucial that they formally notify the editor(s) and wait for an official confirmation. Only after receiving an approval from the editor(s), the author(s) can submit their manuscript to another journal.
    • After carefully reviewing the appeal, the editor's verdict will be the final decision.

    In case of an appeal or a complaint, the author(s) should email the editor at editjess@iuk.edu.pk

CORRECTION AND RETRACTION POLICY

After a paper is published, we generally do not allow making any changes to the paper. However, the editorial board may allow corrections in the published paper in exceptional cases.

The corrections may be allowed to rectify unintentional miscalculations, human lapses or technical errors in the published paper.

The published papers may be retracted if a clear evidence of fraudulent data, plagiarism or unethical publication practices is found.

The copyright infringement or non-disclosure of conflict interest may also result in retraction of the published papers.

The decision of correction or retraction will be made on case to case basis following the COPE's Retraction Guidelines.

The decision of the editorial board with regards to correction or retraction will be final and cannot be challenged.


REPOSITORY POLICY

Our repository policy aims to increase the access and citation of the published articles in our Journal.

Journal of Education & Social Sciences allows authors to archive their published articles in an institutional repository which should be on a non-profit server. The authors can also self-archive their published articles on their personal website or web space.

A link to the Journal's home page or the article's DOI number must be mentioned along with the deposited article in the institutional or personal repository.

What is a DOI?
DOI stands for digital object identifier. It is a unique identifying code assigned to each article at the time of publication on the IQRA University website. DOIs are distributed by independent registration agencies, such as CrossRef.


ALL PAPERS MUST BE SUBMITTED VIA THE ONLINE SYSTEM

IMPORTANT: All papers will be acknowledged on receipt by email and will receive a preliminary editorial review within four weeks. Papers of high interest will be sent out for external review. We aim to notify authors of acceptance, rejection or need for revision within four months of submission. Recently, due to the high volume of submissions and demands on referees, it may not always be possible to meet this target, but we aim to have your manuscript reviewed within six months.


Reporting Standards

Authors of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.


Data Access and Retention

Authors are asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review, if practicable, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.


Originality and Plagiarism

The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted.


Acknowledgement of Sources

Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.


Authorship of the Paper

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.


Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.


Fundamental Errors in Published Work

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the journal editor and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.


Research Involving Animals and Human Subjects

While reporting research on human subjects, kindly demonstrate the methods used were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional or regional). The rights of the children should be protected and the consent form should be duly obtained from their parents or guardians before they participate in a research study. Include written approvals from an Institutional Review Board or an Animal Care and Use Committee. Authors must have informed consent from patients or guardians. If a patient is dead, the author should look for authorization from a family member. If an animal is used in experiments, authors must look for authorization from the relevant committee of the concerned department or institution.

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