Plagiarism

Plagiarism is when you use someone else’s work (book, article, website, etc.) or idea, without acknowledging them as the source, whether it be copied verbatim or paraphrased. All cases of suspected or alleged plagiarism will be considered seriously and on an individual basis. The University subscribes to Turn-it-In. KovsieJournals may, at the discretion of the editorial boards, elect to use Turn-it-In or any other suitable service provider. The Journal reserves the right to submit manuscripts for consideration for publication to Turn-it-in to ascertain if potential plagiarism is detected before undergoing peer review to verify their originality. Similarity reports are usually reviewed on an individual basis based on the following categories, but the Journal may apply other parameters at its own discretion:

- no plagiarism detected = Turn-it-in similarity report is less than 15%
- plagiarism is minor = Turn-it-in similarity report is 16% - 24%
- plagiarism is extensive = Turn-it-in similarity report is more than 25%

(Specific journals, at the discretion of the editorial boards, may elect to exclude the List of References, direct quotes and any specified amount of consecutive words).

Submitted manuscripts

- When suspected plagiarism is reported to the Editorial Office, the report will be acknowledged and all relevant documentation/evidence will be retrieved and examined by the Editor-in-Chief, in conjunction with the relevant Associate Editor, to determine whether or not material has been plagiarised and, if so, the extent of the plagiarism.
- If material has been plagiarised, the corresponding author will be informed by the Editor-in-Chief that the manuscript is rejected on these grounds.
- If the extent of the plagiarism is considered to be minor in the sole discretion of the Journal and the Editor-in-Chief determines that the author/s did not intend to plagiarise, no further action will be taken. If the plagiarism is considered to be extensive in the sole discretion of the Journal or admitted to, the author/s’ institution/s and funding bodies may be informed of the alleged plagiarism (and that they may be banned from submitting to the Journal in the future)

Published articles

- When suspected plagiarism is reported by a third party to the Editorial Office, the report will be acknowledged and all relevant documentation/evidence will be retrieved and examined by the Editor-in-Chief, in conjunction with the relevant Associate Editor, to determine whether or not material has been plagiarised and, if so, the extent of the plagiarism.
- If material has been plagiarised, the corresponding author will be informed by the Editor-in-Chief and questioned.
- If the extent of the plagiarism is minor and the Editor-in-Chief determines that the author/s did not intend to plagiarise, a statement indicating the plagiarised material and appropriate reference will be published online and the article online will be linked to the statement and vice versa.
- If the plagiarism is extensive or admitted to, the article will be retracted and a statement published acknowledging the original author/s.
- The author/s’ institution/s and funding bodies will be informed of the offence (submitted and plagiarised material will be sent to them). Authors will be notified that the relevant institution/s will be informed and that they will be banned from submitting to the Journal in the future.
- The original author/s and publisher will also be informed of the offence, where it is reasonably possible.
- The third party that reported the alleged plagiarism will be informed of the outcome of the investigation.