Plagiarism Policy –

1. What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism occurs when an author uses someone else’s ideas, words, data, or intellectual property without proper acknowledgment and presents it as their own original work.
This misleads readers about the true contribution of the author and is considered scientific misconduct.

Plagiarism can occur in published or unpublished material, including articles, abstracts, proposals, or institutional submissions.

2. Types of Plagiarism

a) Direct Plagiarism
Copying text exactly from another source without quotation marks or citation.

b) Mosaic Plagiarism
Incorporating phrases or ideas from a source with minor changes, without crediting the original author.

c) Self-Plagiarism
Reusing significant portions of your own previous work without citation. While not always considered misconduct, it may violate copyright agreements and is discouraged.

d) Image and Figure Plagiarism

Unauthorized reuse, manipulation, or duplication of figures, tables, photographs, graphs, or other visual material without appropriate permission or acknowledgment is considered plagiarism and publication misconduct.

3. Detection and Prevention

All submitted manuscripts are screened for textual similarity using plagiarism detection software before peer review. Editors may also use additional methods to investigate suspected plagiarism where necessary.
Authors are strongly encouraged to check their manuscripts for plagiarism before submission.

Similarity Assessment:  IJMSAR does not rely solely on a fixed similarity percentage when evaluating manuscripts. Editorial decisions are based on the nature, extent, location, and context of overlapping text. Even manuscripts with low similarity scores may be rejected if plagiarism is identified, while legitimate overlaps such as references, standard methods, or properly quoted material are assessed appropriately.

4. Procedure for Handling Plagiarism

1. Reporting – Suspected plagiarism should be reported to the editorial office immediately.

2. Evidence Submission – Provide both the original and suspected text, with copied sections highlighted.

3. Editorial Review – The editor evaluates the claim and may discuss with the author.

4. Communication with Original Source – If necessary, the editor will contact the journal or publisher of the original work.

5. Author Response – The author is asked to explain or clarify the issue.

6. Retraction – Confirmed cases of serious plagiarism may result in rejection, publication of a correction, retraction, notification of the author's institution, or other actions in accordance with COPE guidance.

7. Sanctions – The author may be temporarily barred from submitting (minimum six months) and the affiliated institution notified.

Actions in Confirmed Cases of Plagiarism

Before Publication

• Manuscript may be rejected.
• Authors may be asked to revise the manuscript.
• Additional explanations or supporting documents may be requested.

After Publication

• A correction may be issued where appropriate.
• An Expression of Concern may be published while an investigation is ongoing.
• The article may be retracted in accordance with COPE recommendations.
• The authors' institution or funding agency may be informed in serious cases.

5. Ethical Compliance

• IJMSAR follows COPE guidelines and internationally recognized publication ethics.

• All submissions and communication are confidential.

• Editors and reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest.

6. Author Responsibilities

Authors must:

• Ensure their work is original.

• Cite all sources properly.

• Avoid self-plagiarism.

• Follow the journal’s ethical and submission guidelines.

Citation Manipulation

Authors must not manipulate citations or include unnecessary references intended to artificially increase citation counts.

Translation Plagiarism

Translating previously published work into another language without proper disclosure and citation is considered plagiarism.

AI-generated Content

Authors must disclose the use of AI tools. AI-generated content presented as original scholarly work without appropriate disclosure may constitute unethical publication practice.

By adhering to these guidelines, IJMSAR ensures the integrity, quality, and credibility of the scientific research it publishes.