
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a serious ethical violation and an infringement of academic integrity and journalistic ethics. It occurs when an author tries to pass off someone else's work as their own, and it can take several forms:
Exact Content Copying:
This happens when an author replicates the precise wording and content from another source without proper citation.
Reproduction of Elements:
Authors might reproduce elements from someone else's work, such as figures, tables, equations, or illustrations, without giving credit to the original source. This is also considered plagiarism.
Text from Internet Sources:
Using text directly from the internet without attribution is another form of plagiarism. Even though information is easily accessible online, proper referencing is crucial.
Copying Figures and Visuals:
Plagiarism extends to visuals like figures, photographs, and diagrams. Authors should always acknowledge the sources of such visuals if they are not common knowledge.
Dealing with plagiarism in the editorial process is essential. Depending on the extent of plagiarism found in a submitted manuscript, different actions are taken:
10% Plagiarism:
The manuscript is returned to the author for content revision, and they are requested to resubmit the revised article for further processing in the journal.
10-25% Plagiarism:
Similarly, the manuscript is returned to the author for content revision, and they must resubmit the revised article for processing in the journal.
>25-40% Plagiarism:
In this case, the manuscript is rejected without undergoing the review process. Authors are advised to thoroughly revise the manuscript and then resubmit it.
Plagiarism is not only detrimental to an author's credibility but also undermines the trust and integrity of the academic and journalistic communities. Therefore, it is crucial to uphold high standards of honesty and attribution in all scholarly and journalistic work.