Plagiarism Policy

JISTR is committed to maintaining academic integrity, originality, and ethical scholarly publishing. All submitted manuscripts must represent original scholarly work and appropriately acknowledge the intellectual contributions, ideas, data, methods, and publications of other researchers.

Plagiarism, improper citation, substantial unattributed text reuse, and duplicate publication are unacceptable. All manuscripts are subject to plagiarism screening using Turnitin as part of the journal's editorial quality assurance process.

1. Definition and Types of Plagiarism

Plagiarism occurs when an individual presents another person's words, ideas, data, research findings, or intellectual contributions as their own without appropriate acknowledgement.

The journal recognizes several forms of plagiarism and related publication misconduct:

• Direct Plagiarism: Reproducing another author's words or text without appropriate quotation and citation.
• Paraphrasing Plagiarism: Rewriting another person's ideas or arguments without acknowledging the original source.
• Mosaic Plagiarism: Combining copied or closely paraphrased material from multiple sources without proper attribution.
• Self-Plagiarism: Reusing substantial portions of previously published work without appropriate citation, disclosure, or justification.
• Data and Figure Plagiarism: Using another researcher's datasets, tables, figures, images, or experimental findings without appropriate acknowledgement or required permission.
• Source Misrepresentation: Providing misleading citations or representing secondary information as original research.
• Duplicate or Redundant Publication: Publishing or submitting substantially overlapping research findings as separate original publications without appropriate disclosure.

The editorial team evaluates suspected plagiarism based on the nature, extent, and context of the overlap rather than relying solely on automated similarity percentages.

2. Originality and Proper Citation

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts contain original scholarly contributions and that all sources used in preparing the research are accurately and appropriately acknowledged.

Authors are required to:

• Present original research findings, analyses, and scholarly interpretations.
• Properly cite published research, datasets, methodologies, and intellectual contributions obtained from other sources.
• Use quotation marks and appropriate citations when reproducing exact wording from another source.
• Paraphrase existing literature appropriately while acknowledging the original authors.
• Obtain permission when reproducing copyrighted figures, tables, images, or other protected materials, where required.
• Avoid misleading attribution, fabricated references, and inappropriate citation practices.
• Clearly disclose substantial overlap with previously published or publicly available versions of the manuscript.

Proper citation does not automatically justify extensive reproduction of previously published material. Authors must ensure that their manuscripts demonstrate meaningful originality and comply with applicable copyright requirements.

3. Similarity Screening and Threshold

JISTR uses Turnitin to evaluate textual similarity and identify potential overlap with published literature and other available sources.

The journal applies a maximum overall similarity threshold of 25% during the initial manuscript screening process.

A Turnitin similarity score indicates textual overlap and does not independently establish plagiarism. The editorial team examines the similarity report by considering the matched sources, quotation practices, citations, and the context of overlapping material.

Similarity arising from correctly cited quotations, standard terminology, reference lists, or commonly used methodological expressions may require contextual evaluation. Such material does not automatically constitute plagiarism.

Conversely, a manuscript with a similarity score below 25% may still be considered problematic if it contains unattributed copying, inappropriate paraphrasing, or other evidence of plagiarism.

The editorial team retains responsibility for determining whether the manuscript meets the journal's originality and research integrity requirements.

4. Plagiarism Screening Procedure

Plagiarism screening is integrated into the manuscript evaluation process and may involve the following stages:

1. Initial Screening: Submitted manuscripts are examined for textual similarity using Turnitin before proceeding to external peer review.
2. Similarity Report Evaluation: The editorial team reviews the similarity report, examines substantial matches, and evaluates whether the identified overlap is properly acknowledged.
3. Editorial Assessment: Manuscripts that meet the journal's originality requirements may proceed to further editorial evaluation and peer review.
4. Revision or Clarification: When potentially inappropriate overlap is detected, the editor may request clarification, improved citation, rewriting of affected sections, or other necessary corrections.
5. Reassessment: Revised manuscripts may undergo additional similarity screening to determine whether the identified concerns have been adequately addressed.
6. Editorial Decision: Manuscripts containing serious, unresolved, or deliberate plagiarism may be rejected in accordance with the journal's publication ethics requirements.

The editorial team may conduct additional similarity checks during subsequent manuscript revisions or before final publication when necessary.

Manuscripts are not automatically accepted or rejected solely on the basis of an automated similarity score. Editorial decisions consider the available evidence and the seriousness of any identified irregularities.

5. Duplicate Submission and Redundant Publication

Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to multiple journals or present previously published research as an entirely new scholarly contribution.

Submissions must not have been previously published as journal articles or be under consideration by another journal at the time of submission.

An extended version of a conference paper may be considered when it contains substantial new scholarly contributions, appropriately cites the original publication, and clearly discloses the relationship between the previous and submitted versions.

The editorial team determines whether such submissions demonstrate sufficient originality and comply with the journal's publication ethics and manuscript requirements.

Authors must disclose relevant earlier versions of their research to avoid misleading claims of originality or duplicate publication.

6. Plagiarism and AI-Assisted Content

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted technologies does not exempt authors from their responsibilities concerning originality, appropriate citation, research integrity, and intellectual property rights.

Authors must verify AI-assisted content to ensure that it does not contain unattributed reproduced material, fabricated references, misleading citations, or other forms of academic misconduct.

AI-generated text is not automatically classified as plagiarism. Concerns regarding AI-assisted content must be assessed based on evidence of inappropriate attribution, research misconduct, or violations of the journal's disclosure requirements.

Detailed requirements regarding responsible AI use and disclosure are provided in the AI Use Policy .

7. Handling Suspected Plagiarism

When suspected plagiarism is identified, the editorial team evaluates the concern in accordance with the journal's publication ethics and research integrity procedures.

Depending on the nature and severity of the concern, editorial actions may include:

• Requesting clarification or supporting documentation from the authors.
• Requiring correction of citations, quotations, or improperly reused material.
• Requesting manuscript revision and additional similarity screening.
• Rejecting manuscripts containing significant or unresolved plagiarism.
• Referring serious research integrity concerns to the relevant institution when appropriate.

Authors should be given a reasonable opportunity to explain the identified concerns before a final determination of misconduct is made.

If significant plagiarism is identified after publication, the journal may initiate an investigation and consider appropriate corrective actions, including publication of a correction, expression of concern, or retraction.

Post-publication actions must follow the journal's established procedures for maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.

8. Related Policies

This Plagiarism Policy should be read together with the following journal policies:

• Author Guidelines
• Peer Review Policy
• Publication Ethics
• AI Use Policy
• Copyright and Licensing
• Contact Information

For information about the similarity-checking software, please visit the official Turnitin website .