Immortalis Journal of Social Development (IJSD) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures against any publication malpractices. All theoretical and empirical research papers submitted to IJSD undergo a rigorous double-blind peer-review process to ensure academic integrity.

1. Duties of Editors

• Publication Decisions: The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published based on the validation of the work and its importance to researchers and readers.

• Fair Play: Editors evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

• Confidentiality: Editors and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and the publisher.

• Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author.

2. Duties of Reviewers

• Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and may also assist the author in improving the paper.

• Promptness: Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse themselves from the review process.

• Standard of Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

• Acknowledgement of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.

3. Duties of Authors

• Reporting Standards: Authors of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance.

• Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that they have written entirely original works. If the authors have used the work and/or words of others, this must be appropriately cited or quoted. IJSD uses Turnitin to check for plagiarism; a similarity index above 20% may result in immediate rejection.

• Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication: An author should not, in general, publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication.

• 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.

4. Handling of Ethical Complaints

• Ethical Violations: The journal will take reasonably responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper. This includes contacting the author and giving due consideration of the complaint or claims made.

• Corrections and Retractions: If an ethical violation is discovered after publication, the journal will issue a correction, clarification, retraction, or apology as appropriate.

5. Research Involving Human Subjects

Authors must ensure that research involving human subjects is conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration. Authors must state in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained from all participants and that the research was approved by an institutional ethics committee (if applicable).