Policies

Tamilvalam – International Research Journal of Tamil (TIRJT) Policies

Tamilvalam – International Research Journal of Tamil (TIRJT) is committed to upholding the highest standards of academic publishing. Our policies are designed to ensure the integrity, quality, and accessibility of the research we publish, benefiting authors, reviewers, and readers alike.

1. Online Publication

TIRJT is published exclusively in a digital format. All accepted and peer-reviewed scholarly articles are made available as downloadable PDF files, ensuring free and immediate access for readers, researchers, and academicians globally. Articles are published online promptly upon successful completion of the peer-review process and all requisite publishing procedures.

2. Open Access Statement

TIRJT operates under an Open Access model, ensuring that all published research is freely and immediately available online to the global academic community. Users are permitted to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles for any lawful purpose, provided proper attribution is given.

3. Licensing and Copyright

  • Licensing: All articles published in TIRJT are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are properly credited.
  • Copyright: Authors retain the copyright to their work published in TIRJT. By submitting and publishing, authors grant TIRJT a non-exclusive publishing right, allowing the journal to be the first publisher of the work. Simultaneously, the article is licensed under the CC BY 4.0 license, which permits others to share and adapt the work with proper acknowledgment of its authorship and initial publication in TIRJT.

4. Review Policy

TIRJT employs a rigorous double-blind peer-review process to ensure the highest quality and integrity of published research. This means both the authors’ and reviewers’ identities are concealed from each other throughout the review period.

  • Expert Evaluation: Each submitted manuscript is evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts. Reviewers assess the manuscript’s originality, methodology, clarity, significance, and adherence to the journal’s scholarly standards.
  • Revision and Re-evaluation: Should a manuscript require revisions, the same reviewers will typically re-evaluate the revised version to confirm that all necessary improvements have been adequately addressed and that the revised work meets the required quality standards.
  • Reviewer Ethics:
    • Reviewers are expected to conduct their assessment objectively, providing constructive and unbiased feedback.
    • Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest before agreeing to review a manuscript.
    • Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not yet been cited in the manuscript.
    • The peer-review process is strictly confidential. Reviewers must not disclose any information about the manuscript under review to anyone.

5. Plagiarism Policy

TIRJT maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards plagiarism. We consider plagiarism a severe academic offense, undermining the integrity of scholarship and denying due credit to original creators.

  • Author Responsibility: Authors are solely responsible for ensuring the originality of their work and providing proper attribution for all cited sources, ideas, and materials through accurate and comprehensive citation.
  • Consequences of Plagiarism: The Editorial Board reserves the absolute right to reject any submitted manuscript found to contain plagiarism, whether minor or major, at any stage of the review or publication process. Furthermore, published articles found to contain plagiarism may be retracted.
  • Institutional Notification: In cases of confirmed plagiarism, the journal committee will initiate an official inquiry. This may include informing the author’s affiliated institution (e.g., higher official, Dean of Research) to facilitate appropriate action against the student, scholar, or faculty member involved, thereby upholding academic integrity and deterring unethical practices.

6. AI Generated Content Policy

TIRJT acknowledges the evolving landscape of AI tools in academic research and writing. While AI can augment research processes, its use raises critical concerns regarding academic integrity, originality, and potential biases.

  • For Authors: The use of AI-generated content (e.g., text, images, data) in the preparation of a manuscript is strictly prohibited. Manuscripts found to contain AI-generated content will be immediately disqualified, and the submitting author will be permanently banned from future publications in TIRJT.
  • For Reviewers: Reviewers are also strictly prohibited from using AI tools to assist in the peer-review process, ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of the evaluation.

7. Article Selection Policy

TIRJT receives a significant volume of submissions during its four annual cycles. Given our commitment to quality and focus on Tamil scholarship, we typically select and publish 20-30 high-quality, original articles written in Tamil per year. The Editor-in-Chief’s decision on the selection and publication of articles is final.

8. Author Guidelines

Authors are required to adhere strictly to the Tamilvalam Author Guidelines and the style specifications outlined in the MLA Handbook, 8th edition (for English language components), when preparing their manuscripts. Failure to comply may result in desk rejection.

9. Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

TIRJT is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. We are committed to identifying and preventing publication misconduct and maintaining the integrity of the academic record.

  • Handling Misconduct: Any allegations of research misconduct, including but not limited to fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism (as detailed in our Plagiarism Policy), will be investigated thoroughly and professionally. Proven instances of misconduct may lead to the retraction of published articles and other appropriate actions.
  • Corrections and Retractions: In cases where errors or misconduct are identified in a published article, TIRJT will take prompt action. Requests for corrections, clarifications, or retractions must be submitted to the Editor with supporting documentation. The journal will issue a formal correction or retraction notice on its website and in subsequent issues, ensuring transparency and accuracy.
  • Issue Structure & Quality Assurance: Both regular and special issues of TIRJT are published in continuous serial order. Special issues undergo the same rigorous peer-review and editorial processes as regular issues to maintain consistent scholarly quality.
  • Global Reach & Indexing Enhancement: To enhance global accessibility, readership, and indexing for major databases, future articles will include English titles, abstracts, keywords, and references within their PDF versions. Furthermore, back issues on our webpage will be updated with PDFs containing these English metadata elements to benefit universal readers, scholars, and academicians.

10. Archiving Policy

TIRJT ensures the long-term preservation of its content. Full issues of the journal are archived and publicly accessible via the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/@tamilvalam.

11. Publication Model

TIRJT operates on an academic year schedule, publishing four issues annually from January to September. Each volume begins with Issue 1 in January. For example, Volume 1, Issue 1 was published in January 2025, and Volume 2, Issue 1 will follow in January 2026. This model will be consistently maintained for all future volumes and issues.

12. Contact Information

For manuscript submissions or any inquiries regarding TIRJT policies or published content, please visit our submission portal at https://tamilvalam.in/submission/ or contact the Chief Editor directly at editor@tamilvalam.in.

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