Policy on Screening for Plagiarism

Policy on Screening for Plagiarism: "The Journal of Law, Society, and Religion"

"The Journal of Law, Society, and Religion" is fully committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity and publication ethics. Plagiarism is an unethical and unacceptable practice that undermines the credibility of scholarship and the scientific publication process. This journal takes serious measures to ensure that all submitted manuscripts are original work and free from plagiarism.

Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined as the presentation of another's work, ideas, words, or processes as one's own without proper attribution. This includes (but is not limited to):

Direct Plagiarism: Copying text verbatim without proper citation and quotation marks.
Paraphrasing Plagiarism: Presenting someone else's ideas in one's own words without proper attribution.
Mosaic (Patchwork) Plagiarism: Interweaving copied phrases with one's own words without clear attribution.
Source Plagiarism: Citing a non-existent source or misciting a source.
Self-Plagiarism (Duplication): Reusing one's own previously published work (in part or whole) without proper attribution or disclosure that the work has been previously published, or submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously.

Plagiarism Screening Procedure

All manuscripts submitted to "The Journal of Law, Society, and Religion" will undergo a thorough plagiarism check as part of the initial editorial process:

Initial Editorial Check: Upon submission, the responsible editor will conduct an initial review of the manuscript. This includes ensuring the manuscript aligns with the journal's scope and adheres to author guidelines.
Use of Plagiarism Detection Software: Every manuscript will be analyzed using leading and advanced plagiarism detection software (e.g., Turnitin, iThenticate, or equivalent). The similarity report generated by this software will be carefully reviewed by the editorial team.
Similarity Threshold: While there isn't a universal "safe" threshold for similarity percentage (as it can vary based on manuscript type, common phrasing, etc.), the editorial team will thoroughly investigate any manuscript showing a significant degree of similarity, especially beyond proper citations and references. The focus is not solely on the percentage but on the nature of the matched material.
Manual Review: The software report will be complemented by a manual review by editors to differentiate between proper citation and potential plagiarism. Editors will consider context, attribution, and the use of quotation marks.

Actions Against Plagiarism

If plagiarism is detected at any stage of the publication process, "The Journal of Law, Society, and Religion" will take appropriate action in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). These actions may include:

Pre-Publication (During Review/Editing):
- Immediate Rejection: If substantial plagiarism or duplication is detected, the manuscript will be immediately rejected.
- Request for Revision: For instances of unintentional or minor plagiarism (e.g., insufficient citation), authors may be asked to revise the manuscript and properly cite the sources. Failure to do so will result in rejection.
- Notification to Institution: In cases of serious and intentional plagiarism, the journal reserves the right to notify the author's institution.
Post-Publication (If Plagiarism is Detected After Publication):
- Issuance of a Correction: For minor plagiarism that does not affect the overall integrity of the work.
- Issuance of an Expression of Concern: If there is strong indication of plagiarism but not enough evidence for full retraction.
- Retraction of the Article: For severe cases of plagiarism, where a significant portion or the entirety of the article is found to be plagiarized. A retraction notice will be published and linked to the original article, as well as forwarded to indexing databases.
- Author Sanctions: Authors found to have committed plagiarism may be barred from submitting future manuscripts to the journal.

Prevention

"The Journal of Law, Society, and Religion" urges all authors to:

Produce original work.
Cite all sources properly and comprehensively, adhering to the journal's specified citation style.
Use quotation marks for all direct quotes.
Paraphrase carefully, ensuring that others' ideas are expressed in the author's own words and attributed to the original source.
Disclose any reuse of their own previously published material.

Policy on Screening for Plagiarism