Priviet Social Sciences Journal (PSSJ) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. The journal follows the principles and best practices recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and expects all authors, reviewers, editors, and publisher representatives to uphold these standards throughout the submission, review, and publication process.

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting to PSSJ must ensure that their manuscripts are original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere. Any form of plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, or omission of significant material is considered unethical and will result in rejection of the manuscript. Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy of all statements, citations, and materials included in their submissions.

Authors must present their research honestly, clearly, and with sufficient detail to allow replication where appropriate. They may be requested to provide raw data for editorial review and should retain research data for a reasonable period after publication, subject to ethical and legal limitations.

Manuscripts must not be submitted simultaneously to more than one journal. Duplicate, redundant, or concurrent publication is not acceptable unless explicitly justified and agreed upon by all relevant editors.

Only individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the work should be listed as authors. All authors must approve the final version of the manuscript and consent to its submission. Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately.

Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that may influence the interpretation of their work. All sources of funding must also be clearly declared in the manuscript.

Where research involves human participants, animals, hazardous materials, or sensitive procedures, authors must confirm compliance with relevant institutional and legal requirements, including ethical approval and informed consent where applicable.

Authors are expected to participate fully in the peer review process by responding promptly and thoroughly to reviewer and editor comments. If significant errors are discovered after publication, authors must immediately notify the journal and cooperate in issuing corrections or retractions where necessary.

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

All manuscripts submitted to PSSJ are subject to a fair, objective, and rigorous peer review process. Reviewers are expected to evaluate submissions professionally, constructively, and without personal bias. Reviews should be based solely on scholarly merit and relevance to the journal.

Reviewers must treat all manuscripts as confidential documents. They should not share, discuss, or use the content for personal advantage. Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest and decline review invitations where such conflicts exist or where they are unable to provide a timely and competent review.

Reviewers should also identify relevant published work not cited by the authors and alert editors to any substantial similarity or overlap with other known works.

Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for managing the peer review and publication process in a confidential, unbiased, and professional manner. Editorial decisions are made solely on the basis of academic merit, originality, clarity, relevance to the journal’s scope, and the validity of the research.

Editors and editorial staff must maintain confidentiality regarding submitted manuscripts and must not use unpublished material for personal research or advantage. When conflicts of interest arise, editors must recuse themselves from the editorial process.

The Editor-in-Chief has full authority over editorial decisions and publication timing. Manuscripts are normally evaluated by at least two expert reviewers, although the editor may desk-reject submissions that fall outside the journal’s standards or scope.

When ethical concerns are raised, editors will follow COPE guidance in investigating the matter and may issue corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions when warranted.

Responsibilities of the Publisher

The publisher works closely with the editors to handle cases of suspected misconduct, plagiarism, fraudulent publication, or other unethical behavior. Appropriate action may include clarification, correction, or retraction of published articles. The publisher is committed to preventing research misconduct and supporting ethical editorial practices.

Open Access Policy

PSSJ provides immediate open access to its content, enabling readers to access published articles freely online. This supports wider dissemination, visibility, and citation of scholarly work.

Archiving Policy

The journal uses the LOCKSS system to ensure long-term digital preservation and restoration of published content. PSSJ also assigns DOIs to its articles to support persistent identification and citation.

Withdrawal and Retraction

Withdrawal after publication is generally not permitted except in serious cases such as plagiarism, data fabrication, or scientific misconduct. In such cases, the article may be replaced with a formal withdrawal notice. If an author withdraws a manuscript after payment, the publication fee is non-refundable.

AI and Research Integrity

Authors are encouraged to follow the journal’s policy on AI and Research Integrity, including appropriate disclosure of AI-assisted tools used in manuscript preparation. Transparency in this area is essential to maintaining scholarly quality and ethical standards.