Guidelines for authors and peer review guidelines and ethics.

A. General Submission Guidelines :

Authors submitting papers to Shodh Samvad must adhere to the following guidelines:

  • The research paper must be original, unpublished, and not under review elsewhere.
  • The manuscript should be professionally written, plagiarism-free, and in accordance with UGC guidelines.
  • Submissions must be relevant to Law, Psychology, or Humanities disciplines.

The paper should follow the structured format:

  • Title
  • Abstract (150–250 words) with Keywords (4–6 words)
  • Main Body (Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Analysis, Conclusion, References)
  • Word Limit:
    Research Articles: 3,000 – 6,000 words excluding footnotes
    Short Articles: 1,200–3,500 words, excluding footnotes

B. Formatting & Citation Standards:

  • Font: Times New Roman, Size 12 (for main text), Size 10 (for footnotes)
  • Spacing: 1.5 line spacing, justified alignment
  • Margins: 1-inch on all sides
  • File Format: Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx) or PDF
  • Referencing Style:
    Law papers – Bluebook (21st Edition)
    Psychology & Humanities papers – APA (7th Edition)

  • भाषा: शोध पत्र स्पष्ट, सरल और वैज्ञानिक भाषा में लिखा जाना चाहिए।
  • फोंट (Font):हिंदी के लिए Unicode Font (Mangal, Kruti Dev 010, Devlys 010) का प्रयोग करें।
  • आकार: शीर्षक - 14 Bold, उपशीर्षक - 12 Bold, मुख्य पाठ - 12 Normal।
  • शब्द सीमा: 3000-6000 शब्द।
  • अंतर (Spacing): 1.5 लाइन स्पेसिंग।
  • मार्जिन (Margins): 1 इंच चारों ओर।
  • संख्या प्रारूप (Numbering): खंड और उपखंडों को क्रम संख्या (1, 1.1, 1.2) द्वारा चिह्नित करें।
  • चित्र/तालिका (Figures & Tables): सभी चित्रों/तालिकाओं का क्रम संख्या और शीर्षक दें।
  • स्रोत का उल्लेख करें।

C. Plagiarism & Ethical Standards :

  • The paper must be plagiarism-free (below 10% similarity as per UGC regulations).
  • Proper citations must be provided for all references, quotes, and secondary sources.
  • Any data, interviews, or case studies must be conducted ethically and with proper consent.
  • Falsification, fabrication, or misrepresentation of data is strictly prohibited.
  • If the research involves human participants, ethical approval from a recognized Institutional Review Board (IRB) must be provided.
  • The journal does not accept papers generated, written, or heavily assisted by AI tools. All submissions must be original, human-authored research that meets scholarly standards.

D. Peer Review Process :

  • Shodh Samvad follows a double-blind peer review process to ensure academic rigor and credibility:
  • Papers are anonymized before being sent for review.
  • Two independent subject-matter experts will evaluate the paper based on:
    Relevance & originality
    Methodology & analysis
    Theoretical contribution & practical implications
  • Authors will receive review feedback within 4–6 weeks and may be required to revise & resubmit their paper.
  • Decisions will be Final: Accept, Minor Revisions, Major Revisions, or Reject.