Social Sciences Advancement and Governance Excellence (SSAGE) strictly follows the plagiarism policy set by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. All submitted manuscripts undergo a rigorous similarity check using Turnitin software. As per HEC guidelines, the Similarity Score Index (SSI) must not exceed 15%.

The editorial team will conduct the plagiarism check up to three times as outlined in sections 2, 3, and 4 of the HEC Plagiarism Policy:

• Initial Check:
  Upon submission, a comprehensive SSI report is generated without excluding quotations, bibliography, or matches. This helps in evaluating the overall originality of the manuscript.
• Revision Check:
  If the paper is conditionally approved, authors are allowed to revise and resubmit. A second SSI report will be generated, potentially excluding quotations and bibliography.
• Final Check:
  If required, a third report is prepared before the manuscript is forwarded for peer review.

Failure to meet the acceptable SSI or to improve the paper after revision may lead to rejection, application of penalties, or reporting to HEC by the Internal Evaluation Committee.

The editorial team is responsible for managing and verifying all plagiarism-related evaluations.