Plagiarism and Similarity Screening Policy

The International Journal of Mathematics and Sciences Education (IJMSEd) is committed to maintaining high standards of originality, academic integrity, and ethical scholarly publishing. All manuscripts submitted to IJMSEd must represent original scholarly work and must appropriately acknowledge ideas, words, data, figures, methods, and other materials derived from previous sources. Plagiarism, duplicate publication, inappropriate text recycling, and other forms of unattributed copying are not acceptable.

1. Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism occurs when an author uses another person's words, ideas, data, images, arguments, results, or other intellectual contributions without appropriate acknowledgment.

Plagiarism may include, but is not limited to:

  • copying text without appropriate citation;

  • presenting another person's ideas as one's own;

  • inappropriate paraphrasing;

  • copying tables, figures, images, or data without appropriate attribution or permission where required;

  • using unpublished material obtained from another person without authorization;

  • translating previously published material without acknowledgment;

  • presenting another person's research findings as original work; and

  • substantial unattributed reproduction of material from digital or printed sources.

Plagiarism may involve published or unpublished sources.

2. Originality Requirement

Manuscripts submitted to IJMSEd must be original and must not have been published previously in substantially the same form.

Authors must ensure that all sources are properly cited and that quotations, paraphrases, data, figures, tables, and other reused materials are appropriately acknowledged.

Submission of a manuscript constitutes confirmation that the authors accept responsibility for the originality and integrity of the work.

3. Similarity Screening

IJMSEd may screen submitted manuscripts using appropriate similarity-detection software as part of the editorial assessment process.

Similarity screening may be conducted:

  • during initial editorial screening;

  • before peer review;

  • during revision;

  • before final acceptance; or

  • when a specific concern arises.

The purpose of similarity screening is to assist editors in identifying potentially problematic overlap that requires human evaluation.

4. Similarity Percentage Is Not a Determination of Plagiarism

A similarity percentage generated by software does not by itself establish whether plagiarism has occurred.

Similarity reports must be interpreted by an editor or another appropriately qualified person.

A manuscript with a relatively high similarity percentage may contain legitimate overlap arising from references, standard methodological terminology, appropriately quoted material, institutional names, technical expressions, or previously described procedures.

Conversely, a manuscript with a relatively low overall similarity percentage may still contain serious plagiarism if a significant idea, paragraph, figure, table, or other intellectual contribution has been copied without proper attribution.

Therefore, IJMSEd does not make plagiarism decisions solely on the basis of a numerical similarity score.

5. Evaluation of Similarity Reports

When evaluating a similarity report, editors may consider:

  • the source of the matching material;

  • the amount of overlap;

  • the location of the overlap;

  • whether appropriate citation has been provided;

  • whether quotation is required;

  • whether the wording has been appropriately paraphrased;

  • whether the overlap concerns original intellectual contribution;

  • whether the material comes from the authors' own previous publications; and

  • whether the overlap affects the originality or integrity of the manuscript.

Editorial judgment will be based on the nature and significance of the overlap rather than merely the total percentage reported by software.

6. Text Recycling and Self-Plagiarism

Authors must appropriately acknowledge their own previously published work.

Reuse of substantial portions of previously published text without appropriate citation or disclosure may constitute inappropriate text recycling.

Limited overlap may sometimes be unavoidable, particularly in descriptions of established methods, but authors should avoid unnecessary verbatim repetition and should cite relevant previous publications.

Previously published results must not be presented as new findings.

7. Duplicate and Redundant Publication

Authors must not submit manuscripts that substantially duplicate work already published or under consideration elsewhere.

Redundant publication may include:

  • publishing substantially the same study more than once;

  • dividing one study into multiple publications in a misleading manner;

  • reproducing substantial results without disclosure;

  • submitting substantially identical manuscripts to multiple journals simultaneously; or

  • republishing previously published work without appropriate justification and transparency.

Where a manuscript is substantially related to another work by the authors, the related publication should be appropriately cited and, where relevant, disclosed to the editor.

8. Conference Papers, Theses, Dissertations, and Preprints

Material derived from a thesis, dissertation, conference presentation, or preprint is not automatically considered plagiarism or duplicate publication.

Authors must, however, transparently acknowledge relevant earlier versions where appropriate and ensure that submission to IJMSEd complies with applicable copyright and publication requirements.

Where substantial material has previously been publicly disseminated, authors should disclose this information during submission.

The journal may evaluate whether the submitted manuscript provides sufficient scholarly contribution and complies with IJMSEd's originality requirements.

9. Figures, Tables, and Images

Authors must ensure that figures, tables, photographs, diagrams, and other visual materials are original or used with appropriate attribution and permission where required.

Reproducing or adapting copyrighted material without appropriate authorization may constitute copyright infringement even when the original source is cited.

Authors are responsible for obtaining any necessary permissions before publication.

10. Translation Plagiarism

Translating material from another language does not make the material original.

Authors must provide appropriate attribution when translating or closely paraphrasing previously published ideas or text.

Substantial translation of another person's work without acknowledgment will be treated as plagiarism.

11. Plagiarism Identified Before Peer Review

If potentially problematic overlap is identified during initial screening, the editor may:

  • request clarification;

  • request revision;

  • return the manuscript to the authors;

  • reject the manuscript; or

  • take another appropriate editorial action.

The response will depend on the nature and seriousness of the concern.

12. Plagiarism Identified During Peer Review

If a reviewer identifies suspected plagiarism or substantial unattributed overlap, the reviewer should confidentially inform the editor and provide relevant evidence where possible.

The reviewer should not contact the authors directly regarding allegations of misconduct.

The editor will assess the concern and determine the appropriate next step.

13. Plagiarism Identified After Publication

Allegations of plagiarism involving published articles will be evaluated under IJMSEd's Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement and Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern Policy.

Depending on the seriousness and extent of the problem, possible actions may include:

  • publication of a correction;

  • publication of an expression of concern;

  • retraction of the article; or

  • referral of the matter to the relevant institution or authority.

Post-publication action will be proportionate to the effect of the plagiarism on the integrity of the article and scholarly record.

14. Serious or Systematic Plagiarism

Serious plagiarism may include substantial copying of:

  • original ideas;

  • research findings;

  • data;

  • analyses;

  • results;

  • discussions;

  • figures;

  • tables; or

  • substantial portions of another work

without appropriate attribution.

Serious or systematic plagiarism may result in rejection of a manuscript or retraction of a published article.

Where appropriate, the journal may contact the authors' institution or another competent authority when formal investigation is warranted.

15. Author Responsibility

Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality of their manuscripts before submission.

Authors should:

  • cite all relevant sources accurately;

  • distinguish their original contributions from previously published work;

  • use quotation marks where direct quotation is appropriate;

  • avoid inappropriate paraphrasing;

  • disclose relevant previous dissemination;

  • obtain necessary copyright permissions; and

  • carefully verify all references and citations.

The corresponding author should ensure that all co-authors are aware of and comply with these responsibilities.

16. Artificial Intelligence and Plagiarism

The use of artificial intelligence or generative AI does not remove an author's responsibility for originality.

Authors must ensure that AI-assisted content does not contain:

  • plagiarized text;

  • fabricated citations;

  • nonexistent references;

  • unattributed paraphrases;

  • copyrighted material reproduced without authorization; or

  • misleading representations of another person's intellectual contribution.

Relevant substantive use of AI must be disclosed in accordance with the journal's Artificial Intelligence and Automated Tools Policy.

17. AI-Detection Tools

IJMSEd may use automated tools as supplementary screening mechanisms where appropriate.

However, automated AI-detection results will not be treated as conclusive evidence of inappropriate AI use or research misconduct.

Any concern identified by an automated tool must be evaluated by a human editor before editorial action is taken.

18. Confidentiality of Similarity Reports

Similarity reports generated during editorial assessment are part of the journal's confidential editorial records.

They should not be publicly distributed in a manner that could violate manuscript confidentiality, copyright, privacy, or the rights of authors and third parties.

Where appropriate, relevant portions of a similarity report may be communicated to authors to explain concerns or requested revisions.

19. Fair and Proportionate Response

IJMSEd will seek to distinguish between:

  • minor citation or attribution errors;

  • inappropriate text recycling;

  • substantial unattributed copying; and

  • serious or systematic plagiarism.

Editorial responses should be proportionate to the nature and seriousness of the problem.

The journal will avoid treating every textual similarity as research misconduct.

20. Appeals

Authors who believe that a plagiarism or similarity-related editorial decision was based on a factual or procedural error may submit an appeal in accordance with the journal's Complaints and Appeals Policy.

An appeal must provide clear scholarly or factual grounds for reconsideration.

21. Relationship to Other IJMSEd Policies

This policy should be read together with the journal's:

  • Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement;

  • Peer Review Policy;

  • Author Guidelines;

  • Artificial Intelligence and Automated Tools Policy;

  • Copyright and Licensing Policy;

  • Complaints and Appeals Policy; and

  • Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern Policy.

22. Contact

Questions regarding plagiarism, originality, or similarity screening may be directed to:

International Journal of Mathematics and Sciences Education (IJMSEd)
Publisher: Nashir Al-Kutub Indonesia