Insights–Journal of Life and Social Sciences (IJLSS)

ISSN: 3007-2956

Publisher: Health and Research Insights
Lahore, Pakistan

Document status: Consolidated policy version

Document Use and Standards Statement

Purpose of this document
This consolidated policy document presents the journal’s operational, editorial, ethical and open-access policies in a clear and consistent format. It is intended for authors, reviewers, editors, readers, institutions and regulatory bodies.

The journal’s policies are informed by relevant principles and recommendations issued by organizations such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA).

Reference to these organizations or frameworks means that the journal has considered their relevant guidance. It does not imply formal membership, endorsement, certification or indexing unless that status is expressly stated and independently verifiable.

Where a policy refers to an indicative processing period, the period is an operational target rather than a guaranteed deadline. Actual processing time may vary according to manuscript complexity, reviewer availability, revision requirements, ethical queries and author responsiveness.

About the Journal
Aims and Scope
Publication Frequency and Issue Schedule
Peer Review Policy and Process
Reviewer Guidelines
Originality and Plagiarism Policy
Open Access, Subscription and Licensing
Journal Operations
Ethics, Consent and Publication Malpractice
Privacy Statement
Copyright Policy
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Corrections, Retractions and Other Post-Publication Actions
Adherence to Scholarly Community Standards
Editor Selection and Appointment Policy
Data Sharing Policy
Artificial Intelligence Policy
Grant Support and Funding Disclosure
Indexing and Abstracting Information

1. About the Journal

The Insights–Journal of Life and Social Sciences (IJLSS) is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access scholarly journal published by Health and Research Insights. Established in January 2023, it provides a multidisciplinary platform for researchers, academics and professionals working across the life sciences, social sciences, humanities and related applied fields.

IJLSS publishes research concerning biological systems, human behaviour, public health, environmental conditions, social structures, policy and societal development. The journal particularly welcomes research that addresses contemporary problems, contributes to knowledge and has relevance for professional practice, policy formulation or community development.

Every submission undergoes an initial editorial assessment for scope, completeness, originality, ethical compliance and conformity with the journal’s requirements. Manuscripts that pass this assessment are normally evaluated through double-blind peer review, in which the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from one another as far as reasonably possible.

The journal is committed to editorial independence, research integrity, transparent procedures and responsible publication. It welcomes submissions from emerging and established scholars and seeks to promote interdisciplinary dialogue and evidence-informed decision-making.

All published articles are available online without subscription charges to readers. The journal maintains a separate and transparent Article Processing Charge policy. Payment is requested only after formal acceptance and does not influence editorial or peer-review decisions.

2. Aims and Scope

2.1 Aim

The primary aim of IJLSS is to publish high-quality, ethically sound and methodologically rigorous research that advances understanding of biological, behavioural, environmental, social, cultural, political and economic phenomena.

The journal seeks to connect theoretical scholarship with practical relevance by encouraging work that informs public policy, professional practice, education, health, environmental sustainability and community development.

2.2 Types of Contributions

Original research articles
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
Scoping and narrative reviews
Methodological studies
Theoretical and conceptual papers
Policy analyses and evidence-based perspectives
Brief research reports and field-based studies where appropriate

2.3 Disciplinary Scope

Life Sciences

Molecular and cellular biology
Biochemistry
Genetics and genomics
Microbiology
Developmental biology
Human biology and translational life sciences
Food science, nutrition and applied biological sciences

Environmental Sciences

Climate change and environmental health
Ecology, ecosystems and conservation
Environmental policy and sustainability
Pollution control and natural-resource management
Human–environment interactions

Social Sciences

Sociology, psychology and anthropology
Criminology, political science and human geography
History, demography and population studies
Gender studies and social welfare
Economics, development studies, governance and public policy
International relations, law, human rights and linguistics

Education and Pedagogy

Curriculum development
Educational psychology
Teaching and assessment methods
Teacher education and professional development
Higher education policy
Educational technology and innovation

Public Health and Social Well-Being

Epidemiology and population health
Health systems and healthcare policy
Community health and health promotion
Social determinants of health
Mental and behavioural health
Health equity and interdisciplinary health research

Humanities and Applied Social Fields

Philosophy, ethics and religious studies
Media, communication, library and information sciences
Business, management and corporate governance
Public administration and industrial relations
Cultural and cross-cultural studies
Women’s studies, visual arts and performing arts

Interdisciplinary and Emerging Areas

Biosocial and behavioural interactions
Environmental sociology and human ecology
Computational and digital social sciences
Forensic and criminological studies
Artificial intelligence and society
Technology, health and human behaviour
Sustainable development and policy-oriented interdisciplinary research

2.4 Manuscript Assessment Criteria

Relevance to the journal’s aims and scope
A clearly defined research question or objective
Appropriate and clearly described methods
Originality and contribution to knowledge
Compliance with applicable ethical requirements
Transparent reporting of methods and findings
Appropriate analysis and interpretation
Clear language, organization and presentation
Relevance to regional, national or global issues

3. Publication Frequency and Issue Schedule

3.1 Publication Frequency

IJLSS published two issues per year during 2023 and 2024. The issues covered January–June and July–December. From January 2025 onward, the journal adopted a monthly publication schedule and accepts submissions continuously.

Period	Frequency	Issue timing
2023–2024	Biannual	Issue 1: January–June; Issue 2: July–December
2025 onward	Monthly	One issue scheduled for publication each month

3.2 Indicative Processing Timeline

Stage	Indicative period
Administrative and initial editorial screening	3–7 days
External peer review	Approximately 2–3 weeks
Author revision	Normally 7–14 days, depending on the decision
Final editorial assessment	Depends on the extent of revision and further review
Production and publication	After acceptance, payment formalities and proof approval

These periods are targets rather than guaranteed deadlines. Manuscripts requiring additional reviewers, ethical clarification, extensive revision or institutional verification may take longer.

3.3 Special Issues

The journal may publish thematic or special issues addressing emerging topics, conference themes or collaborative research initiatives. Special-issue manuscripts are subject to the same editorial, peer-review, conflict-of-interest and ethical requirements as regular submissions.

4. Peer Review Policy and Process

IJLSS uses a double-blind peer-review model for manuscripts that pass initial editorial screening. Peer review is intended to assess scholarly quality, methodological suitability, originality, ethical compliance and contribution to knowledge.

4.1 Core Principles

Impartial assessment based on academic merit
Confidentiality of submitted material and reviewer identities
Selection of reviewers with relevant subject or methodological expertise
Constructive, evidence-based and respectful feedback
Disclosure and management of conflicts of interest
Editorial decisions based on the complete record, not on payment or commercial influence

4.2 Peer-Review Workflow

Stage	Description
Submission and initial screening	The editorial office checks scope, completeness, formatting, required declarations and similarity results. Incomplete submissions may be returned, and unsuitable manuscripts may be declined without external review.
Assignment to an editor	A subject-appropriate editor assesses relevance, novelty, methodological suitability and ethical documentation.
Reviewer selection	Normally at least two independent reviewers are invited. A third reviewer may be used where reports conflict or additional expertise is required.
Double-blind review	Reviewers receive an anonymized manuscript and evaluate originality, methods, analysis, interpretation, literature use, ethics and presentation.
Reviewer recommendation	Recommendations may include accept, minor revision, major revision, resubmit for review or reject.
Editorial decision	The handling editor considers the reports and communicates the decision, comments and revision requirements to the corresponding author.
Revision and reassessment	Authors submit a revised manuscript and a point-by-point response. The revision may be assessed by the editor, original reviewers or additional reviewers.
Final decision and production	The Editor-in-Chief or authorized editor makes the final decision. Accepted articles proceed to copyediting, typesetting, proof review, DOI processing and publication.

4.3 Possible Decisions

Accept without further revision
Minor revision
Major revision
Resubmit for additional review
Reject

Acceptance is not automatic after revision. A manuscript may be rejected if the revisions do not adequately address substantive concerns or if new ethical or methodological issues arise.

4.4 Confidentiality

Submitted manuscripts are confidential. Editors and reviewers must not disclose, distribute or use unpublished content for personal, professional or commercial advantage. Reviewer identities and reports are protected except where disclosure is required by law, necessary for an authorized investigation, or agreed under an open-review arrangement.

5. Reviewer Guidelines

5.1 Reviewer Responsibilities

Accept assignments only when the subject matter is within their competence and the review can be completed within the requested period.
Declare any financial, institutional, professional or personal conflict that could affect impartiality.
Treat the manuscript, data and correspondence as confidential.
Provide a fair, respectful and evidence-based assessment.
Identify major methodological, ethical, reporting or interpretive concerns.
Avoid personal remarks, hostile language and unsupported allegations.
Recommend citations only when they are genuinely relevant and not for personal citation gain.
Notify the editor promptly if plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabrication or another ethical concern is suspected.

5.2 Evaluation Criteria

Originality and significance of the research question
Appropriateness and reproducibility of the methodology
Validity of statistical or qualitative analysis
Consistency between results, discussion and conclusions
Ethical approval and informed-consent reporting where applicable
Quality and relevance of the literature review
Clarity, organization and scientific language
Quality and accuracy of tables, figures and supplementary material

5.3 Use of Artificial Intelligence by Reviewers

Reviewers must not upload confidential manuscripts, figures, data or reviewer correspondence to public or third-party generative AI systems. Review reports must reflect the reviewer’s own scholarly assessment. Limited use of secure tools for spelling or grammar may be acceptable only when confidentiality is preserved and the reviewer remains fully responsible for the report.

6. Originality and Plagiarism Policy

IJLSS requires submitted work to be original, properly attributed and free from fabrication, falsification, plagiarism and redundant publication. Every manuscript is subject to similarity screening and editorial assessment.

6.1 Forms of Unacceptable Overlap

Verbatim copying without quotation and citation
Paraphrasing another source without appropriate attribution
Reuse of substantial portions of an author’s previous publication without disclosure and citation
Duplicate or redundant submission or publication
Use of figures, tables, images or data without permission or attribution
Fabricated references or misrepresentation of source material
Undisclosed presentation of AI-generated text, data or citations as original author work

6.2 Similarity Screening

The journal uses Turnitin or another available similarity-screening service. A similarity score is a screening indicator and is not, by itself, proof of plagiarism. Reports are evaluated qualitatively by the editorial office, with attention to the location, extent and nature of the overlap.

Operational threshold
A total similarity score above 15%, excluding properly quoted material and references where the software permits, normally triggers additional editorial assessment. The journal may also investigate a manuscript with a lower score if the overlap is concentrated in substantive or unattributed text.

6.3 Actions

Finding	Possible action
Minor or correctable overlap	Return for revision, citation correction or rewriting before further consideration
Substantial or deliberate plagiarism	Reject the manuscript and consider notifying the authors’ institution
Duplicate submission	Reject the manuscript and communicate with the other journal where appropriate
Post-publication discovery	Publish a correction, expression of concern or retraction according to the severity and evidence

7. Open Access, Subscription and Licensing

7.1 Open-Access Model

IJLSS operates on a Gold Open Access model. Readers may access published articles online without subscription or paywall restrictions. Individuals and institutions are not charged a subscription fee.

7.2 Licence

Unless otherwise stated, articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0). The licence permits sharing and adaptation for any lawful purpose provided that appropriate credit is given, a link to the licence is supplied and changes are indicated.

7.3 Reader and Author Rights

Readers may read, download, print, share and reuse content subject to the applicable licence.
Authors retain copyright in their articles.
Authors may deposit published versions in institutional or subject repositories, subject to accurate citation and licensing information.
Authors may reuse their work in teaching, presentations, theses and later scholarly work with proper citation.

7.4 Fees

No subscription fee is charged.
No manuscript submission fee is charged.
An Article Processing Charge applies only after formal acceptance.
Waiver or discount requests are considered according to the journal’s published fee policy.

7.5 Digital Preservation and Institutional Use

The journal prepares article files and metadata for online access, DOI registration and digital preservation. Libraries and institutions may catalogue the journal and include article metadata in repositories or discovery systems subject to the applicable licence and metadata terms.

8. Journal Operations

8.1 Editorial Governance

Role	Primary responsibilities
Editor-in-Chief	Editorial direction, final decisions, scholarly standards, ethical oversight and editorial independence
Managing or Publishing Editor	Administrative screening, workflow coordination, author and reviewer communication, production tracking
Associate or Section Editors	Subject-specific assessment, reviewer selection, report evaluation and recommendations
Editorial Board	Policy advice, reviewer support, subject expertise and journal development
Advisory Board	Strategic guidance, interdisciplinary input and external academic perspectives

8.2 Manuscript Workflow

Online submission with required files and declarations
Administrative and technical screening
Preliminary editorial assessment
Double-blind peer review
Editorial decision and author revision
Final editorial decision
Article Processing Charge after acceptance
Copyediting, reference checking and typesetting
Author proof approval
DOI processing, online publication and archiving

8.3 Quality Control

Scope and structural checks
Similarity screening and manual interpretation
Verification of ethical statements and author declarations
Assessment of methods, analysis and reporting through editorial and peer review
Copyediting and production quality checks
Author verification of final proofs
Post-publication correction and retraction procedures

8.4 Digital and Technical Systems

Online manuscript-management and editorial workflow
Secure user access and regular backups
PDF and web-based article production; XML may be prepared where operationally supported
DOI registration through the appropriate service or publisher arrangement
Metadata preparation using relevant standards such as Dublin Core, Crossref fields and JATS XML where applicable
Mobile-responsive website maintenance and accessibility improvements

8.5 Author and Reviewer Support

Authors receive submission instructions, editorial correspondence, reviewer reports and proofing guidance. Reviewers receive a structured review form, confidentiality requirements and ethical guidance. Certificates or acknowledgements of review may be provided on request where appropriate.

9. Ethics, Consent and Publication Malpractice

9.1 Human-Participant Research

Approval from an appropriate institutional or independent ethics committee must be obtained where required.
The manuscript must identify the approving body and approval number where available.
Informed consent or assent must be obtained and reported where applicable.
Privacy, confidentiality and anonymity must be protected.
Additional safeguards are required for vulnerable participants.

9.2 Animal Research

Animal studies must comply with applicable institutional and national animal-care requirements and must report approval from the relevant committee where required. Authors should describe measures taken to minimize harm and justify the use of animals.

9.3 Permissions and Identifiable Material

Authors must obtain permission for third-party figures, images, datasets and other copyrighted material. Identifiable participant information or images require explicit consent for publication unless lawful and ethical anonymization makes identification impossible.

9.4 Responsibilities of Authors

Submit original work and avoid simultaneous submission.
Report data and methods accurately and transparently.
Disclose funding, conflicts of interest and author contributions.
Obtain and report ethical approval and consent where required.
Retain supporting records and cooperate with reasonable editorial queries.
Correct significant errors discovered before or after publication.

9.5 Responsibilities of Editors

Make impartial decisions based on scholarly and ethical considerations.
Protect confidentiality and manage conflicts of interest.
Select suitable and independent reviewers.
Provide clear communication and a fair opportunity for response.
Investigate credible concerns and preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

9.6 Responsibilities of Reviewers

Maintain confidentiality and decline conflicted assignments.
Provide objective, constructive and timely reports.
Identify suspected ethical or reporting problems.
Avoid misuse of unpublished material.

9.7 Prohibited Practices

Data fabrication or falsification
Image or statistical manipulation that misrepresents findings
Plagiarism, self-plagiarism or duplicate publication
Ghost, guest or gift authorship
Undisclosed conflicts of interest
Unethical human or animal research
Simultaneous submission of the same manuscript
Suppression or selective reporting of material findings

9.8 Handling Suspected Misconduct

The concern is recorded and initially assessed.
Relevant authors, reviewers or editors may be asked for a written response.
The journal may request raw data, ethics documents, contribution records or institutional confirmation.
External experts or the relevant institution may be consulted where necessary.
Editorial action may include rejection, correction, expression of concern, retraction or notification to an institution or authority.
Decisions are documented and communicated with due regard for confidentiality, fairness and the public record.

10. Privacy Statement

IJLSS is committed to protecting the personal information and confidentiality of authors, reviewers, editors, readers and website users. The journal collects and processes only information reasonably required for editorial, peer-review, publication, security and administrative purposes.

10.1 Information Collected

Name and contact information
Institutional affiliation and professional designation
ORCID or other academic identifiers where voluntarily provided
Manuscript files, metadata and editorial correspondence
Reviewer reports and editorial decisions
Website account and technical information required for secure operation

10.2 Use of Information

Managing submissions, peer review and editorial communication
Verifying authorship and affiliation
Publishing article metadata
Registering DOI and supplying metadata to indexing, archiving or discovery services
Investigating complaints, appeals or ethical concerns
Maintaining website security and the scholarly record

10.3 Public Author Information

For published articles, author names, affiliations, corresponding-author contact details, ORCID identifiers, contribution statements, funding information and conflict-of-interest declarations may be made public as part of the scholarly record.

10.4 Reviewer Confidentiality

Reviewer identities and reports are confidential. Disclosure may occur only with the reviewer’s consent, under an authorized open-review arrangement, where required by law, or where limited disclosure is necessary for a legitimate misconduct investigation.

10.5 Sharing and Security

The journal does not sell or rent personal information. Necessary information may be shared with service providers supporting hosting, DOI registration, plagiarism screening, production, indexing or archiving. Reasonable safeguards include password-protected access, restricted permissions, secure hosting, software updates and backups. No online system can guarantee absolute security.

10.6 Data Retention and User Requests

Editorial and publication records may be retained for as long as required to complete journal processes, preserve the scholarly record, address complaints or meet legal and archiving requirements. Users may request correction of inaccurate data or removal of non-essential profile information. Published names, citations and essential editorial records are not normally deleted because they form part of the permanent scholarly record.

10.7 Cookies

The website may use essential cookies for registration, login, session management, manuscript tracking and security. The journal does not use cookies for targeted advertising. Any technical analytics should be limited to operational, security or service-improvement purposes.

11. Copyright Policy

11.1 Ownership and Publishing Licence

Authors retain copyright in their published work. Upon acceptance and publication, authors grant IJLSS a non-exclusive licence to publish, distribute, archive, index and reproduce the article in electronic or print formats under the applicable open-access licence.

11.2 CC BY 4.0

Under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence, others may share and adapt the work provided that the authors and source are properly credited, the licence is linked and any changes are indicated. Reuse must not imply endorsement by the authors or journal.

11.3 Author Reuse Rights

Deposit the article in institutional or subject repositories
Share the article on academic and professional platforms
Reuse content in a thesis, book, lecture or presentation with proper citation
Reuse figures or data created by the authors, subject to third-party rights and accurate attribution

11.4 Third-Party Material

Authors must obtain permission for copyrighted material that is not covered by an applicable exception or open licence. Permission evidence may be requested before publication.

11.5 Infringement

Credible copyright complaints will be assessed. The journal may correct attribution, restrict access temporarily, publish a notice or retract material where infringement is established and cannot be resolved through a correction.

12. Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

A conflict of interest exists when a secondary interest could influence, or reasonably appear to influence, professional judgment concerning research, review or publication. Disclosure does not necessarily imply wrongdoing; it enables transparent assessment.

12.1 Types of Conflict

Financial: employment, consultancy, grants, honoraria, stock ownership, patents or commercial agreements
Non-financial: personal relationships, academic rivalry, intellectual commitments, advocacy roles or ideological interests
Institutional: an institution’s commercial, policy or organizational interest in the study outcome
Editorial: an editor’s authorship, collaboration, institutional relationship or other connection with a manuscript

12.2 Author Requirements

Disclose all funding and material support.
Describe relevant financial and non-financial relationships.
Explain the role of the funder in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing and the decision to publish.
Confirm that authors had appropriate access to data and responsibility for the manuscript.
Include a conflict-of-interest statement even when no conflict exists.

12.3 Reviewer Requirements

Reviewers must decline an assignment when a relationship, recent collaboration, direct competition, financial interest or institutional connection could prevent impartial review. When uncertain, the reviewer should disclose the matter to the editor before accepting.

12.4 Editor Requirements

Editors must recuse themselves from manuscripts in which they have a conflict. An alternative editor without the conflict will be assigned. Editorial decisions must not be influenced by payment, sponsorship or personal advantage.

12.5 Undisclosed Conflicts

If an undisclosed conflict is identified, the journal may request clarification, amend the disclosure through a correction, reassign editorial responsibility, reject the manuscript, publish an editorial notice or retract the article in serious cases.

13. Corrections, Retractions and Other Post-Publication Actions

IJLSS seeks to maintain an accurate and traceable scholarly record. Post-publication action is selected according to the nature, reliability and impact of the problem.

13.1 Types of Action

Action	Purpose
Correction / Erratum / Corrigendum	Corrects an error that does not invalidate the central findings, such as an affiliation, label, typographical or limited data-presentation error
Addendum	Adds important information that became available after publication without changing the article’s core validity
Editorial note	Provides clarification or records a concern or investigation status
Expression of concern	Alerts readers to serious unresolved concerns while an investigation is ongoing or inconclusive
Retraction	Marks an article whose findings or ethical basis are unreliable because of fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, duplicate publication, serious error or misconduct
Removal	Used only in exceptional circumstances involving legal requirements, court orders, privacy violations or a serious risk to public safety
Pre-publication withdrawal	Ends processing before publication at the authors’ justified request or because of serious ethical, legal or methodological concerns

13.2 Investigation and Decision Process

Receive and document the concern.
Conduct a preliminary assessment of credibility and seriousness.
Notify the authors and request a response where appropriate.
Request data, ethics documents or institutional information and consult experts if needed.
Decide whether no action, correction, note, expression of concern, retraction or removal is appropriate.
Publish a clear and linked notice that explains the action without defamatory or unsupported statements.
Notify DOI, indexing and archiving services where relevant.

13.3 Principles

Transparency: notices are clear, dated, linked and openly accessible.
Fairness: affected parties are given a reasonable opportunity to respond.
Evidence: actions are based on available evidence and the reliability of the scholarly record.
Permanence: retracted articles remain identifiable and linked to the retraction notice.
Neutrality: the purpose is correction of the record rather than punishment.

14. Adherence to Scholarly Community Standards

IJLSS seeks to follow recognized principles of ethical publishing, transparent peer review, open access, data responsibility and editorial independence. Policies are periodically reviewed as publishing practices and technology evolve.

14.1 Areas of Alignment

Authorship, peer review, conflicts of interest, misconduct and retractions
Transparent open-access licensing and Article Processing Charges
Methodological and statistical transparency
Ethical protection of human and animal participants
Data availability and responsible research-data management
Clear editorial governance and complaint handling
Accurate metadata, DOI use and long-term discoverability

14.2 Scientific Rigor

Clearly described study designs, tools and procedures
Appropriate statistical or qualitative methods
Transparent limitations and uncertainty
Avoidance of selective reporting and inappropriate analysis
Data and protocol availability where ethically and legally possible

14.3 Inclusivity and Professional Conduct

The journal welcomes submissions from diverse regions, institutions, disciplines and career stages. Authors, reviewers and editors are expected to communicate respectfully and avoid discrimination or harassment. Decisions are based on scholarly relevance, quality and ethical compliance.

14.4 Complaints and Appeals

Authors and readers may submit complaints concerning editorial procedure, peer review, ethics, authorship or published content. Appeals must identify the specific error or overlooked evidence rather than merely express disagreement with a decision. Complaints and appeals are reviewed confidentially by an editor or senior person not directly responsible for the disputed decision where possible.

14.5 Continuous Improvement

The journal periodically reviews editorial policies, peer-review procedures, technical systems, accessibility, reviewer guidance and author support to improve consistency, transparency and service quality.

15. Editor Selection and Appointment Policy

Editors are selected through a merit-based process intended to protect editorial independence, subject expertise, ethical conduct and diversity.

15.1 Editorial Roles

Editor-in-Chief
Managing or Publishing Editor
Associate and Section Editors
Editorial Board Members
Advisory Board Members
Guest Editors for approved special issues

15.2 Selection Principles

Relevant academic or professional expertise
Evidence of research, publication or peer-review experience
Ability to evaluate appropriate methodologies
Commitment to confidentiality and ethical publishing
Clear disclosure and management of conflicts of interest
Disciplinary, geographic and career-stage diversity where practicable
Independence from commercial, political or personal pressure

15.3 Eligibility and Evidence

Candidates should normally hold an appropriate postgraduate or research qualification and demonstrate relevant scholarly or professional experience. The journal may request a curriculum vitae, publication record, institutional affiliation, ORCID, editorial experience, conflict-of-interest declaration and written consent to serve.

15.4 Appointment Process

Nomination, invitation or formal application
Review of qualifications, expertise, publications, editorial experience and conflicts
Approval by the Editor-in-Chief and publisher or advisory structure according to the role
Issue of an appointment or consent letter defining responsibilities and term
Publication of verified affiliation and contact information on the journal website

15.5 Term and Performance

The standard appointment term is three years and may be renewed following review. Performance considerations include timeliness, quality of decisions, confidentiality, conflict management, policy compliance and contribution to journal development.

15.6 Resignation or Removal

An editor may resign by written notice. Removal may occur for persistent inactivity, unreasonable delay, breach of confidentiality, unmanaged conflicts, serious misconduct, misrepresentation of affiliation or failure to follow journal policies. The editor should normally be informed of the concern and given an opportunity to respond.

16. Data Sharing Policy

IJLSS supports transparent and reproducible research while recognizing ethical, legal, privacy and intellectual-property restrictions. Every manuscript must include a Data Availability Statement.

16.1 Data and Materials Covered

Raw and processed datasets
Statistical code and analytical scripts
Study protocols
Research instruments and questionnaires
Custom software or computational workflows
Metadata and supplementary files
Audio, image or video material where ethical and lawful sharing is possible

16.2 Data Availability Statement

The statement should explain whether data are available, where they are stored, how access may be obtained, and any ethical or legal restrictions. A repository DOI or persistent link should be supplied where available.

Example statements
“De-identified data and analysis code are available from [repository] at [DOI/link].” | “Data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request and subject to ethics approval.” | “The data cannot be publicly shared because the consent and ethics approval do not permit open release.”

16.3 Repositories and Citation

Authors may use general or discipline-specific repositories that provide stable access and persistent identifiers. Examples listed by the journal include Zenodo, Figshare, Dryad, the Open Science Framework, Mendeley Data, GenBank and ICPSR. Datasets should be cited with author, year, title, repository and DOI or persistent identifier.

16.4 Sensitive Data

Participant privacy, consent, confidentiality agreements, institutional requirements and applicable law take priority over open sharing. Sensitive data must be appropriately anonymized, restricted or withheld, and the reason must be stated clearly.

16.5 Embargoes and Reviewer Access

An embargo of up to 12 months may be requested when justified by ongoing analysis, intellectual-property considerations or a related research programme. Editors or reviewers may request confidential access to supporting data for validation, subject to ethical and legal constraints.

16.6 Data Misconduct

Fabrication, falsification, deletion to conceal results, selective reporting or unjustified refusal to provide evidence may result in rejection, correction, retraction or institutional notification.

17. Artificial Intelligence Policy

IJLSS recognizes that artificial intelligence, machine-learning systems and large language models may assist some research and writing tasks. Their use must be transparent, verifiable and subordinate to human scholarly judgment.

17.1 Permitted Assistance

Spelling, grammar and language improvement
Formatting or presentation support
Code suggestions or software assistance that authors independently verify
Data visualization support that accurately represents verified data
Preliminary exploratory analysis followed by full human validation

17.2 Mandatory Disclosure

Authors must disclose the name and version of the tool, the purpose for which it was used and the extent of its contribution. A disclosure may state: “A generative AI tool was used only for language editing. The authors reviewed and verified the entire manuscript and remain responsible for its content.”

17.3 Prohibited or Unacceptable Use

Listing an AI system as an author
Fabricating or generating research data, participants, results or statistical outputs
Creating false, unverifiable or hallucinated references
Using AI to replace the authors’ scientific reasoning, interpretation or accountability
Presenting AI-generated content as original work without disclosure
Uploading confidential participant data, proprietary material or unpublished manuscripts to systems without appropriate privacy safeguards
Manipulating images or graphs in a manner that changes or misrepresents findings

17.4 Images and Figures

AI-assisted visual material must be disclosed and must not alter the meaning of empirical data. Authors must retain source files and explain any image generation or modification when requested. Identifiable or copyrighted material must not be used without authorization.

17.5 Editors and Reviewers

Editors and reviewers must not upload confidential manuscripts or data to public AI systems. They remain personally responsible for editorial decisions and review reports. Secure administrative tools may be used only where confidentiality is protected and the tool does not replace scholarly assessment.

17.6 Accountability and Misuse

Authors remain responsible for all text, citations, analyses, images and conclusions regardless of the tools used. Undisclosed or misleading AI use may result in revision, rejection, correction, retraction or notification to the relevant institution.

18. Grant Support and Funding Disclosure

Every manuscript must include a funding statement, including manuscripts that received no external financial support. Funding disclosure allows readers and editors to assess the financial context and possible influence on the research.

18.1 Support That Must Be Disclosed

Government, university, institutional, foundation or non-governmental grants
Commercial or industrial sponsorship
Scholarships, fellowships and research incentives
Equipment, software, laboratory, staff or fieldwork support
Travel, data-collection or publication support
Any indirect support that materially enabled the research

18.2 Role of the Funder

Authors must state whether the funder participated in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation or the decision to submit. Any restriction on data access or publication must be disclosed.

18.3 Example Statements

“This research was supported by [funder] under Grant No. [number].”
“This study received no external funding.”
“The funder had no role in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation or the decision to publish.”

18.4 Editorial Independence

Funding or sponsorship does not guarantee acceptance and does not permit control over peer review or editorial decisions. A study may be declined where a sponsor requires suppression of results, prevents appropriate author access to data or imposes conditions inconsistent with research integrity.

18.5 Journal Funding

The journal may be supported by publisher resources, Article Processing Charges, workshops, educational programmes, research consultancy and editorial services. These sources do not control the acceptance, rejection, correction or retraction of individual articles.

19. Indexing and Abstracting Information

The journal reports that its articles and metadata are discoverable through the following services or scholarly platforms:

Google Scholar
OpenAlex
Semantic Scholar

Authors may also share or maintain scholarly profiles and article records on platforms such as ResearchGate and Academia.edu. These platforms are not presented here as substitutes for formal bibliographic indexing services.

19.1 Planned Applications

The journal has identified the following services as intended future application targets:

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
Scopus
Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Web of Science

Status clarification
A planned application does not indicate acceptance or inclusion. The journal should update its website promptly when an application is submitted, accepted, deferred or declined, and should provide a verifiable link for every confirmed indexing claim.

19.2 Metadata and Discoverability

The journal continues to improve article metadata, DOI records, citation formatting, website structure and digital preservation to support discoverability and future indexing applications.

Policy Review and Contact

These policies may be revised to reflect changes in journal procedures, technology, legal requirements or accepted scholarly publishing practices. The current approved version should be displayed on the journal website with the date of revision.

Questions about these policies should be directed to the editorial office through the journal’s official contact channels.

Journal	Insights–Journal of Life and Social Sciences (IJLSS)
ISSN	3007-2956
Publisher	Health and Research Insights
Location	Lahore, Pakistan
Editorial email	editor@insightsjlss.com
Publisher website	www.hrinsights.link

Policy Document