Plagiarism

Plagiarism Policy

The Journal is committed to publishing only original work and maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity. Plagiarism in any form—including unacknowledged copying, self-plagiarism, or paraphrasing without proper attribution—is strictly prohibited and unacceptable.

1. Screening & Similarity Thresholds

All submitted manuscripts are systematically screened using anti-plagiarism software (e.g., Turnitin) prior to being sent for peer review.

  • Overall Similarity Index: Must not exceed 20%.

  • Single Source Similarity: Must not exceed 3% from any single source.

  • Excluded Content: Standard bibliography/reference sections, small matches (< 1%), and properly cited direct quotations may be excluded during screening at the editor's discretion.

2. Actions Taken Upon Detection

  • Before/During Review: If a manuscript exceeds the allowable similarity threshold or exhibits potential plagiarism:

    • Minor Issues (21% – 30%): The manuscript will be returned to the authors for mandatory revision and rewriting before re-screening.

    • Major Issues (> 30% or direct copy-paste without citation): The manuscript will be rejected outright without peer review.

  • Post-Publication: If plagiarism is identified after publication, the Journal will conduct an immediate investigation following COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines. If confirmed:

    • The article will be formally retracted.

    • A public Notice of Retraction will be published alongside the article record.

    • The author's home institution and funding bodies may be notified of the infraction.

3. Self-Plagiarism & Duplicate Submission

Authors must ensure that the manuscript has not been published previously and is not under consideration by any other venue. Recycling text from an author's own previously published papers (self-plagiarism) without proper citation and contextual justification is treated as an ethical violation.