Punjab Geographer Journal All Head Image

Punjab Geographer
(ISSN-0973-3485)

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement (PEMS)

Punjab Geographer is committed to uphold research integrity. It has well defined ethics policy for all those who are associated in the process of its publication. The journal levees no publication charges on the authors for processing and publication of research papers. Apart from providing free hard copies of the journal to its members, Punjab Geographer is an online Open Access (OA) journal to make its research findings freely available for any one to access and view. All the issues of the journal are available for open access on www.punjabgeographer.org.

Editorial Ethics

  • Editor(s) shall not discriminate among the authors on the basis of their gender, religion, political belief, ethnicity, geographical origin of the authors, their affiliations to academic institutions and academic status of the authors.
  • A paper from a research scholar and that from a professor in the university shall be evaluated only on account of the quality of research and not on the basis of their academic status.
  • The papers will be considered or accepted solely on the basis of their academic merit.
  • Editor must treat all the submitted papers as confidential.
  • In case of any complaint or allegation of research misconduct, the editor will ensure the authenticity of the complainer and if satisfied will provide reasonable opportunity to the author(s) to defend before taking any decision in the meeting of the editorial board. The decision of the editorial board will be conveyed to the author(s).
  • Editor should always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when required.
  • Editor shall not insist for the membership of the Association of Punjab Geographers, India (APG) or of Kanwar Surjit Singh Institute for Spatial Planning and Environment Research, Panchkula, India (KSSISPER) while accepting papers for publication. In other words, editor shall invite papers from all the research scholars irrespective of the fact that they are members of APG and KSSISPER or not.
  • Editor shall ensure on-line availability of the current volume of the journal as soon as it is out of the press and distributed to the members.
  • Editor must not make use of data, arguments or interpretations of a published paper without getting permission from the author.
  • Editor must accept responsibility if any flaw is found in the published paper and take appropriate steps to solve the problem.
  • Editor may take suggestions from the authors as to who may act as reviewer of the paper, but it is not obligatory for the editor to choose suggested referees, and he is free to get the opinion of any expert in the field.
  • Editor shall not compromise with the format of the paper suggested under the publication policy of the journal and the quality of maps and figures to be published.

Authors’ Ethics
Authors’ responsibility is:

  • To certify that the paper submitted by him/her/them for publication is his/her/their original research work and neither the whole article nor any substantial part of it has been submitted for publication or published elsewhere.
  • To disclose all the sources and methods used to obtain the data.
  • To explain in detail the methods of analysis of data; and source must be provided if the methodology is not in common use.
  • To maintain accurate records of the data associated with their submitted manuscript and to supply or provide access to the editor if required.
  • To acknowledge and cite those sources of the content that overlap in the submitted paper with the published or submitted content elsewhere.
  • To provide a copy to the editor of any submitted or published manuscript that might contain overlapping or closely related contents.
  • To acknowledge and cite the contents reproduced from other sources.
  • To obtain permission for copyright material if used.
  • To own the responsibility of the views expressed in their papers.
  • To inform the editor if a significant error in their publication is identified. And cooperate with the editor to publish an erratum, addendum, corrigendum notice if it is necessary.
  • In case of multiple authors, if there is no contribution of a particular individual in preparation of any part of the study, then that individual should not be credited with authorship.
  • To prepare the manuscript according to the guidelines for the authors and the format of the paper (example paper is available for download on the website) suggested in the publication policy of the journal. It is obligatory for the authors to follow the guidelines in totality. The processing of the manuscript will start only if editor is satisfied about the format of the paper as per the laid down publication policy of the journal.
  • To provide good quality of maps and figures for publication. Editor is authorized to withdraw the paper from publication if reproduction of maps and figures is not up to the mark.
  • In case of multiple authors of a manuscript, the above responsibilities lie with the corresponding author.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is generally understood as an act of copying and showing another’s research work as one's own. Any sort of reproduction without mentioning the source is considered as plagiarism. Punjab Geographer does not accept any sort of plagiarized material for publication. Even self-plagiarism i.e. reproduction of one’s own work in full or partial is not allowed. However, the authors are allowed to use the findings of other’s work or even of their own to support their arguments in the paper under communication, but with due reference and acknowledgement. Author found communicating plagiarized paper for publication shall be de-bard/black-listed from communicating any paper for publication in future. However, the author will be provided full chance to defend.

Peer-review Process and Reviewers’ Ethics
Peer review is widely accepted method for research validation. Its purpose is to ensure that published paper meet rigorous academic standards, through objective and independent assessment by experts in a given field. Adoption of peer review process is very important to uphold the quality and validity of research paper. It also enhances the quality and validity of the journal adopting peer review process with integrity.

Double-blind review process is adopted by Punjab Geographer under which, identity of both the authors and reviewers is not disclosed. Author’s anonymity prevents any reviewer’s bias, based on the origin, caste or religion and academic status of the author. Since the reviewers play very significant role in improving the quality of the research paper and subsequently the quality of the journal without any charge, therefore Punjab Geographer publishes the list of the ‘Referees of the Issue’ as an acknowledgement of their contribution without mentioning the papers reviewed by them. Peer reviewers are the experts chosen by the editor to provide written opinion for improving the quality of the study under review.

Procedure:
A paper submitted for publication will initially be looked at by the editor(s), who will consider its relevance to the scope of the journal as well as its methodology, the quality of language, clarity of arguments, format of presentation and quality of tables and figures as per the policy of the journal. If satisfied, the editor will send the paper to two reviewers who are experts in the field. Their feedback will be sent to the authors to improve the paper accordingly and resubmit. The revised paper will again be scrutinized by the editor to check the incorporation of the suggestions by the reviewers. If not satisfied the editor may ask for another revision or resend it to the reviewer to look into it again. In the light of the fresh comments of the reviewer the author has to revise it again and resubmit. Editor may accept or reject the revised paper. In case of rejection the editor will share the comments in order to help the author to understand the reasons for the decision.

Reviewers are also subject to follow the following responsibilities/ethics:

  • It the responsibility of the reviewers to alert the editor if they note any type of plagiarism/misconduct in the paper under review.
  • Reviewers shall also share the basis of such opinion with the editor.
  • They shall not retain the copy of the manuscript under their review.
  • If the reviewers find any potential conflict of interest with the author they shall alert the editor and if necessary they can withdraw their services for manuscript under review.
  • Reviewer must not make use of data, arguments or interpretations, of the paper under review without informing the editor and getting permission from the author.
  • Reviewer shall provide speedy, accurate, unbiased, and justifiable report after accepting assignment.

Publication Ethics

  • The journal levees no publication charges on the authors for processing and publication of research papers, articles and abstracts of the research reports.
  • Members of the Association of Punjab Geographers, India (APG) and Kanwar Surjit Singh Institute for Spatial Planning and Environment Research, Panchkula, India (KSSISPER) shall be provided free hard copies of the journal. Even postal expenditure shall not to be charged.
  • Publisher shall not compromise with the quality of the publication.
  • Publisher shall ensure coloured printing of the maps and figures.
  • Publisher shall keep the stock of the back issues of the journal and supply to the scholars on demand.
  • Soft copies of the reprints of the published papers shall be provided to all the authors without any charge.

Copyright and access
Publisher of the journal reserves the copyright of the published papers in Punjab Geographer. Copyright for the reproduction of any material from Punjab Geographer may be obtained from Jaswant Singh, Secretary General; Kanwar Surjit Singh Institute for Spatial Planning and Environment Research, Panchkula, India. Email: isperonline@gmail.com. Copyright is available free of cost. Punjab Geographer is an online Open Access (OA) journal to make its research findings freely available for any one to access and view.

Publication Schedule
Punjab Geographer is being published regularly once a year. Thus, it is an annual publication.

Archives
Publication of Punjab Geographer was started in 2005 and since then it is published regularly once a year. All issues of the journal published so far are available for free open access to researchers on www.punjabgeographer.org. Hard copies of all previous volumes are available with the publisher.