Plagiarism Policy

The Journal evaluates submissions on the understanding that they are the original work of the authors. Re-use of text, data, figures, or images without appropriate acknowledgement or permission is considered plagiarism, as is the paraphrasing of text, concepts, and ideas. This includes copying sentences or paragraphs verbatim from someone else’s work, even if the original work is cited in the references. The ORI module “Avoiding Plagiarism, Self-Plagiarism, and Other Questionable Writing Practices: a Guide to Ethical Writing” can help authors identify questionable writing practices. All allegations of plagiarism are investigated by COPE guidelines detailed below:

  1. COPE guidelines on suspected plagiarism in a submitted manuscript
  2. COPE guidelines on suspected plagiarism in a published paper
  3. ICMJE Recommendations

In accordance with the guidelines of COPE, the journal observes Zero Tolerance for plagiarism. 

Plagiarism Detection

Journal uses either Turnitin or iThenticate for all research papers submitted to detect possible plagiarism. Journal is in the process of being a member of Crosscheck by CrossRef. iThenticate is a plagiarism screening service that confirms the originality of content before publication. We use this software to check submissions against millions of published research papers for potential plagiarism.

If the similarity is more than 10% overall and more than 5% from a single source, the paper is returned to the author(s) immediately. The journal follows COPE guidelines to determine whether (or to what extent) plagiarism exists. If plagiarism or other unethical practices are detected after publishing the paper, the editorial board has the authority to correct or retract the paper.  All authors are responsible for their content individually and collectively. In case of serious plagiarism issues, the editorial board may decide to consult the institutions of authors.

Self-plagiarism: verbatim or substantial copying of authors’ own published work (or under consideration for publication at some other outlet) affecting the originality of current submission is also not acceptable in any way.