Plagiarism policy

Policy Statement

The journal maintains a strict policy against plagiarism and requires that all submitted manuscripts are original works. Plagiarism includes the use of others’ work without proper attribution and inappropriate reuse of an author’s own previously published material.

Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism includes verbatim copying, close paraphrasing without citation, reuse of figures or data without permission, self-plagiarism, translation plagiarism, and reuse of images or datasets without acknowledgment.

Similarity Assessment

Similarity reports are used as a screening tool only. Editorial decisions are based on context, nature of overlap, citation, and potential copyright concerns. Fixed percentage thresholds are not used.

Acceptable Overlap

Limited overlap may be acceptable in methods, standard phrases, or properly cited background text. Duplication of results or figures is not acceptable.

Screening Process

All manuscripts are screened before peer review and may be re-checked during revision or after publication if needed.

Artificial Intelligence

AI-generated content must be disclosed. AI must not be used to generate plagiarized or fabricated content.

Paper Mills and Manipulation

The journal screens for paper mills, template manuscripts, and manipulated content. Suspected cases may be rejected and reported.

Editorial Actions

Actions may include revision requests, rejection, withdrawal, sanctions, or institutional notification depending on severity.

Post-Publication Plagiarism

Post-publication issues may lead to corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions.

Reporting Plagiarism

Reports of suspected plagiarism are handled confidentially and investigated objectively.

Policy Review

This policy will be periodically updated to reflect best practices.