Plagiarism Policy

Medical and Health Journey Journal

Policy Statement

Medical and Health Journey Journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and originality. All submitted manuscripts must be free from plagiarism and must represent the authors’ original work.

Plagiarism in any form is considered unethical and unacceptable.

Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

  • Copying text, ideas, images, or data from other sources without proper citation
  • Paraphrasing substantial portions of another work without acknowledgment
  • Self-plagiarism (reusing one’s own previously published work without citation)
  • Duplicate or redundant publication
  • Improper attribution of authorship

Similarity Check

All manuscripts submitted to the journal will be screened using plagiarism detection software such as:

  • Turnitin
  • iThenticate

Acceptable similarity threshold:

  • Maximum similarity index: ?20%
  • Similarity from a single source should not exceed 5% (recommended standard)

Manuscripts exceeding these thresholds may be returned to authors for revision or rejected.

Screening Process

Plagiarism screening is conducted at multiple stages:

  1. Initial submission screening by the editorial team
  2. Pre-review verification before sending to reviewers
  3. Final check before publication

Handling of Plagiarism Cases

Minor Overlap (e.g., poor paraphrasing)

  • Authors will be asked to revise and properly cite sources

Moderate Plagiarism

  • Manuscript may be rejected
  • Authors may be required to resubmit after significant revision

Severe Plagiarism

  • Immediate rejection
  • Notification to authors’ institutions (if necessary)
  • Blacklisting of authors for future submissions (in serious cases)

Self-Plagiarism Policy

Authors must properly cite their previously published work. Reuse of large portions of one’s own work without citation is not permitted.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for:

  • Ensuring the originality of their manuscript
  • Properly citing all sources
  • Using quotation marks where necessary
  • Avoiding duplicate submissions

Responsibilities of Editors and Reviewers

Editors and reviewers are expected to:

  • Identify potential plagiarism
  • Report suspected ethical issues
  • Maintain confidentiality during the investigation process

Post-Publication Actions

If plagiarism is detected after publication, the journal will take appropriate actions, including:

  • Publication of corrections or retractions
  • Notification to indexing databases
  • Informing authors’ affiliated institutions

Ethical Compliance

This policy follows international publication ethics standards, including:

  • Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines
  • Best practices in scholarly publishing

Author Declaration

By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that:

  • The work is original
  • It has not been published elsewhere
  • It is not under consideration by another journal
  • All sources have been properly cited

Sanctions

Violation of this policy may result in:

  • Manuscript rejection
  • Retraction of published articles
  • Suspension of submission privileges