Ethical Policy

Samyukta: A Journal of Gender and Culture is dedicated to publishing original research articles that are crucial in furthering thought and dialogue on issues pertaining to gender and culture. The journal also provides a space for regional writing in translation as well as for works of creative expression.

The publishers are duty bound to ensure that the works published in the journal are of the highest quality and that they honour the universally accepted codes of integrity and intellectual honesty. The editorial policies of the journal have been formulated with these aims in mind. The COPE guidelines are considered binding on all stakeholders of the journal.

https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Guidelines

Editors’ Responsibilities

Samyukta supports editorial independence.

• To acknowledge all submissions.
• To do a preliminary review to ascertain whether the basic standards of quality and ethical correctness are met and send the article for peer review after that.
• To recommend articles on the basis of originality, quality and relevance.
• To make selections in a responsible and fair way without discrimination of any sort, including those based on gender, sexual orientation, religious or political belief, ethnic or geographical origin and the like.
• To facilitate transparent and objective peer review of the articles.
• To send regular updates to authors regarding editorial decisions and the peer review process.
• To carry out correspondence in a professional and courteous manner at all times.

Peer Reviewers’ Responsibilities

Reviewing is an arterial process that ensures the integrity and intellectual value of the publication. Samyukta follows a blind peer review system and is committed to a protocol that respects the views of the author as well as those of the reviewer. The reviews are carried out by people who are experts in the particular area and whose codes of conduct and intellectual integrity are above reproach.

• To ensure papers remain confidential while under review and not retain or copy the papers.
• To review papers objectively and in a timely manner.
• To inform the Editor immediately of any potential misconduct related to a paper such as fraudulent material, plagiarism, conflict of interest or other unethical behaviour.

Authors’ Responsibilities

The authors sending in their submissions are expected to share the vision of Samyukta in terms of quality and integrity of content.

• To assert that the article/paper is that of the author.
• To assert that the article/paper submitted is original and that it is not accepted or under consideration, for publication elsewhere.
• To declare any conflict of interest, funding agencies or projects that are associated with or have sponsored the studies leading to the content generated and mentioned in the article.
• To obtain written permission from copyright holders for reproducing or modifying any images, tables, figures or other material that have previously been published elsewhere.
• To acknowledge and cite content reproduced from other sources.
• To ensure that the work contains no material which is obscene, hateful, libellous, in breach of privacy, or otherwise in contravention of the relevant law.
• To protect the confidentiality of individuals who are the subjects of their studies or interviews.
• To promptly inform the editor of any inaccuracies or misleading statements in their work even post-publication.