RESEARCH ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE

The JLIS is committed to maintaining academic integrity, responsible research practices, and ethical standards throughout the submission, review, and publication process. Its Author Guidelines require originality, appropriate ethical approval where applicable, author accountability, permissions for published material, and compliance with the journal’s copyright and publication requirements. 

❖ ETHICAL GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS 

JLIS requires authors to take full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, research integrity, and ethical conduct of their submitted work. Manuscripts are initially assessed by an editor for conformity with the journal’s aims, scope, and minimum quality requirements before being considered for peer review. Where applicable, research must receive approval from an appropriate ethics committee in accordance with the legal requirements of the country in which the study was conducted and clear instructions are provided in the information for authors. 

❖ PLAGIARISM PREVENTION AND ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

❖ JLIS is committed to academic integrity, originality, and proper attribution in accordance with the UGC (Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2018. Authors must submit original work, provide accurate references, obtain necessary permissions, and meet applicable ethical requirements.

❖ Manuscripts undergo initial editorial assessment, followed, where suitable, by peer review. Textual similarity and AI-generated content are assessed separately. JLIS applies a 10% similarity threshold in accordance with its stated academic-integrity requirements.

❖ The editorial process comprises screening, peer review, and editorial decision. Manuscripts that meet the journal’s aims, scope, and quality requirements proceed to peer review, while unsuitable submissions may be desk rejected. Following peer review, the editor may accept, request revision and resubmission, or reject the manuscript. 

❖ CONFLIC OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE

❖ JLIS promotes transparency and accountability by requiring authors to disclose relevant information concerning their research and publication responsibilities. The submission guidelines specifically require authors to acknowledge external research funding and specify the funder’s role throughout the study, from research design to submission. A more explicit journal-wide policy covering conflicts of interest involving authors, editors, and reviewers could be stated separately if formally adopted. 

❖ AI CONTENT DISCLOSURE 

❖ JLIS has established specific Principles for the Use of AI Tools to promote responsible, transparent, and accountable use of AI in scholarly publishing. Authors and peer reviewers remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, authorship, and integrity of their work. Any permitted use of AI tools must be appropriately disclosed, including their role and purpose, and must not replace the author’s intellectual contribution.

❖ JLIS distinguishes AI-generated/AI-assisted text from textual similarity as separate assessment parameters. At present, AI-generated/AI-assisted text is permitted below 20%, subject to the journal’s requirements for responsible use and disclosure. AI tools may assist with copy-editing of an author’s original text but must not substitute for human scholarly contribution or be used to generate new scholarly content. 

❖ RESEARCH INTEGRITY POLICY

JLIS is committed to research integrity, ethical conduct, originality, accuracy, and accountability throughout the submission and publication process. Authors are responsible for the integrity of their work, appropriate ethical approval where required, accurate reporting, and compliance with applicable legal and ethical requirements. The current JLIS OJS does not explicitly state endorsement of or membership in COPE or other external research-ethics organizations. However, maintains the research integrity policy as per the UGC and University of Delhi guidelines, time to time. 

❖ INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND COPYRIGHT 

JLIS addresses intellectual property through its Copyright Transfer Agreement and submission requirements. Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish photographs, documents, datasets, and other copyrighted material included in their submissions. Authors also confirm that their manuscripts are original, do not infringe third-party rights, and comply with the journal’s copyright requirements. The Copyright Transfer Agreement provides the journal with rights to edit, publish, distribute, reproduce, and disseminate accepted work. 

❖ POST-PUBLICATION CORRECTIONS AND RETRACTIONS

❖ JLIS is committed to safeguarding the accuracy, reliability, and integrity of the scholarly record. Where necessary, published articles may be subject to appropriate correction, amendment, or withdrawal in accordance with established editorial policies and academic-integrity principles. As part of its commitment to continuous improvement, transparency, and author engagement, JLIS invites authors to share their publishing experiences through the dedicated JLIS Authors’ Publishing Experience Form.

❖ The OJS platform further promotes article-level visibility and usage transparency by displaying views and download statistics for individual articles and providing a “Most Read Articles” listing. These features enhance the discoverability of published research while providing authors and readers with meaningful indicators of article engagement. 

❖ Grounds for Retraction: A published JLIS article may be considered for retraction in cases involving plagiarism or duplicate publication, fabricated or falsified data, serious ethical or research misconduct, major undisclosed conflicts of interest, or fundamental errors that materially affect the validity of its findings or conclusions.

❖ Retraction Process: Any suspected case is subject to editorial examination and verification, followed by an appropriate decision in accordance with applicable University of Delhi and UGC requirements. Where retraction is warranted, the article will be clearly identified as “Retracted,” with a retraction statement and watermark applied to all pages of the published article, stating the reason for retraction and preserving transparency and the integrity of the scholarly record. 

❖ DATA SHARING AND REPRODUCIBILITY

JLIS requires authors to obtain permission for datasets and other materials included with a submission and to acknowledge relevant sources appropriately. The journal’s submission checklist also requires authors to ensure that permissions have been obtained for datasets and other submitted material. The current OJS does not prescribe a separate data-sharing, dataavailability, or reproducibility policy; such provisions could be developed where appropriate to encourage transparent and reproducible research practices. 

❖ COMPLAINTS APPEALS AND MISCONDUCT

❖ JLIS provides dedicated communication channels for authors and other stakeholders to submit complaints, appeals, or concerns regarding editorial decisions, research integrity, or publication ethics. Such matters may be submitted to the journal through jlis@libinfosci.du.ac.in or via the official JLIS Contact Page.

❖ The OJS currently does not specify a separate step-by-step procedure, a prescribed timeline, or a formal appeal mechanism for complaints or research misconduct cases. Accordingly, such matters are handled through the journal's established editorial communication and decision-making framework, with further formalization of a dedicated complaints and appeals procedure remaining an opportunity to strengthen transparency and accountability.

❖ JLIS demonstrates a clear commitment to research integrity through requirements concerning originality, ethical approval, authorship, permissions, funding disclosure, copyright, author accountability, and responsible use of AI tools. Its explicit principles for AI use are particularly relevant to contemporary scholarly publishing. Further formalization of policies on plagiarism screening thresholds, conflicts of interest, post-publication corrections and retractions, data availability, complaints and appeals, and recognized publication-ethics frameworks would provide an even more comprehensive ethical governance framework.