Ethical Statement:

Shodh Manjusha ensures the publication of high-quality original research that has public trust and impact. The publisher remains constrained by requirements such as copyright, infringement and plagiarism, following the norms prescribed by the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) to support publication ethics. The publisher shall be responsible for keeping all correspondence secret and under no circumstances shall disclose anything that goes against the interest of authors, referees and editors of the journal. Stakeholders, including the authors, reviewers and editors in the publication and review process, are supposed to carefully follow the publication ethics and discourage publication malpractices of any kind.

Authors should refrain from misrepresenting research results, which could damage the trust in the journal, the professionalism, and ultimately the entire research community & endeavour. The manuscript should not be submitted to more than one publication for simultaneous consideration. The submitted work should be original and should not have been published elsewhere in any form or language (partially or in full), unless the new work concerns an expansion of previous work. (Please provide transparency on the re-use of material to avoid the concerns about text-recycling (‘self-plagiarism’). A single study should not be split up into several parts to increase the quantity of submissions and submitted to various publications or to one publication over time (i.e.  ‘salami-slicing/publishing’). Concurrent or secondary publication is sometimes justifiable, provided certain conditions are met. Results should be presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification or inappropriate data manipulation (including image-based manipulation). Authors should adhere to discipline-specific rules for acquiring, selecting and processing data. No data, text, or theories by others are presented as if they were the author’s own (‘plagiarism’). Proper acknowledgements to other works must be given (this includes material that is closely copied (near verbatim), summarized and/or paraphrased), quotation marks (to indicate words taken from another source) are used for verbatim copying of material, and permissions secured for material that is copyrighted.

If there is suspicion of misbehavior or alleged fraud the Journal and/or Publisher will carry out an investigation following COPE guidelines.  If, after investigation, there are valid concerns, the author(s) concerned will be contacted under their given e-mail address and given an opportunity to address the issue as per Corrections and Retractions Policy.

Consent

Informed consent is the process of telling potential research participants about the key elements of a research study and what their participation will involve.  The informed consent process is one of the central components of the ethical conduct of research with human subjects.  The consent process typically includes providing the required information (i.e., elements of informed consent) and the presentation of that information to prospective participants. Authors will be responsible for the personal information of the subject included in the article. Please read the Informed Consent Guidelines.

Conflict of Interest Statement and Research Misconduct

As per Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines:

‘Conflicts of interest arise when authors, reviewers, or editors have interests that are not fully apparent and that may influence their judgments on what is published. They have been described as those which, when revealed later, would make a reasonable reader feel misled or deceived.’

Authors are required to read the journal’s author instruction and ethical policies carefully and to adhere to the terms before submission.

Many scholars, researchers and professionals may have potential conflicts of interest, that could – or could be seen to – have an effect on their research.

The editors, authors, and peer reviewers should disclose interests that might appear to affect their ability to present or review work objectively. These might include relevant financial interests (for example, patent ownership, stock ownership, consultancies, or speaker’s fees), or personal, political, or religious interests.

Articles will be evaluated fairly and will not necessarily be rejected when any competing interests are declared.  Report of research misconduct, if any, may be related to a published article or a manuscript under peer-review process, should proceed with sensitivity, tact, in confidence, to shodhmanjusha@niilmuniversity.ac.in

All research misconduct complaints will be treated as per complaints and appeal policy, and Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines.

Ethical guidelines for authors

The editorial board of Shodh Manjusha is committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards in academic publishing. To ensure the integrity of the scholarly record, all authors submitting to our journal must adhere to the following guidelines. Failure to comply with these principles is considered serious misconduct and may result in sanctions.

• Authors must submit original work and avoid plagiarism, including self-plagiarism.
• Proper citation of all sources is required.
• Manuscripts are screened for similarity, and unoriginal material may lead to rejection or retraction.

• All significant contributors should be listed as authors.
• Practices such as “ghost,” “guest,” and “gift” authorship are not permitted.
• All co-authors must approve the final manuscript and its publication.
• Specify individual contributions and acknowledge non-author participants.

• Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest.
• All funding sources must be declared.

• Research results must be presented accurately and without manipulation.
• Clearly describe methods to allow for reproducibility and make raw data available where possible.
• For research involving human or animal subjects, confirm ethical approval and adhere to relevant standards.
• Protect participant confidentiality and obtain informed consent.

• Do not submit manuscripts to other journals while under consideration at Shodh Manjusha.
• Engage constructively in the peer-review process.
• Withdrawing a manuscript during peer review is unethical and may incur a penalty fee.
• Notify the editor immediately if significant errors are found in published work.