Plagiarism Policy
Plagiarism Policy
EJLMS has a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, and image manipulation. The journal treats research integrity as a non-negotiable condition of publication.
Originality screening
Every submission is screened with similarity-detection software at submission and again at acceptance. The journal targets a similarity index below 15% across the manuscript and below 3% from any single source. The 15% figure excludes references, methods boilerplate, and direct quotations attributed correctly.
Decision ladder
Where the similarity check or peer review identifies concerning overlap, the journal follows a graduated response:
- Minor overlap with attribution gap — authors are asked to revise with proper citation; manuscript continues in review.
- Substantial overlap with another work or self-plagiarism — manuscript is rejected; the corresponding author is notified.
- Verbatim reproduction without attribution / fabricated data / manipulated images — manuscript is rejected; misconduct is recorded; the author's institution may be informed; future submissions from the corresponding author may be subject to additional scrutiny.
- Post-publication discovery — the journal will issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction following COPE retraction guidelines.
Author responsibilities
- Submit only original work; cite all sources properly.
- Disclose prior publication of any portion of the manuscript (preprint, conference paper, thesis chapter).
- Obtain permission for any third-party material reproduced in the manuscript.
- Ensure all listed co-authors have approved the final submission.
Reporting suspected plagiarism
Suspected plagiarism in published articles may be reported confidentially to [email protected] with as much detail as possible. The editor will investigate following COPE guidelines.
