Plagiarism and Similarity Policy

Apollo: Journal of Tourism and Business is committed to maintaining the originality, integrity, and reliability of the scholarly record. All manuscripts submitted to the journal are expected to represent original work and must appropriately acknowledge all ideas, text, data, figures, methods, and other materials derived from external sources.

Plagiarism, including inappropriate reuse of previously published material, is considered a violation of publication ethics and may result in rejection, withdrawal, correction, retraction, or other appropriate editorial action.

What Constitutes Plagiarism?

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

• Copying text, sentences, paragraphs, or substantial portions of another work without appropriate quotation, citation, or attribution;
• Paraphrasing or summarizing another person's ideas, arguments, methods, or findings without appropriate acknowledgment;
• Presenting another person's ideas, concepts, interpretations, or intellectual contributions as one's own;
• Using data, research findings, tables, figures, photographs, charts, illustrations, or other materials without appropriate attribution and, where required, permission;
• Using direct quotations without clearly identifying the quoted material and citing the original source;
• Submitting work substantially written or produced by another person while representing it as the author's own scholarly work;
• Misrepresenting or concealing the original source of information, ideas, text, or other scholarly material;
• Translating substantial material from another language and presenting it as original work without appropriate citation; and
• Reusing substantial portions of an author's own previously published material without appropriate citation, disclosure, or justification.

Text Recycling and Redundant Publication

Authors must appropriately acknowledge their own previously published work when it is reused in a new manuscript. Substantial duplication of previously published material without appropriate citation or disclosure may constitute inappropriate text recycling or redundant publication.

The journal recognizes that limited similarity may legitimately occur in descriptions of standard methodologies, technical terminology, institutional names, references, or other conventional academic expressions. Such cases are evaluated in context rather than solely on the basis of a numerical similarity percentage.

Similarity Screening

Manuscripts submitted to Apollo: Journal of Tourism and Business may undergo similarity screening during the editorial process using similarity-detection software such as Turnitin and/or other appropriate similarity-checking tools.

The journal normally expects manuscripts to have an overall similarity score of no more than 15%. However, the similarity percentage is used only as an initial screening indicator and is not, by itself, a determination of plagiarism.

Editorial Assessment of Similarity

When evaluating a similarity report, the editorial team may consider:

• The overall similarity percentage;
• The percentage and extent of similarity originating from individual sources;
• Whether matching material has been properly cited or quoted;
• The location of matching material within the manuscript;
• The nature and significance of the duplicated material;
• Similarity involving methods, definitions, standard terminology, or unavoidable technical expressions;
• Potential text recycling from the authors' previous publications;
• Whether the similarity affects the originality or scholarly contribution of the manuscript; and
• Whether there is evidence of deliberate or systematic appropriation of another person's work.

The Editor-in-Chief or responsible editor may request revision, clarification, additional documentation, or rejection of a manuscript depending on the nature and extent of the identified similarity.

Screening Before and During Editorial Processing

Similarity screening may be conducted before external peer review, during revision, or before final publication when considered necessary by the editorial team.

A manuscript containing substantial unattributed material may be returned to the authors for correction or declined before external peer review.

Submission of a revised manuscript does not prevent the journal from conducting additional similarity screening.

Related Research Misconduct

Fabrication or falsification of research data, results, participants, references, images, or other research materials is considered serious research misconduct. Although such practices are distinct from plagiarism, they are addressed under the journal's Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement.

Authors remain fully responsible for the authenticity, accuracy, originality, and integrity of all materials submitted to the journal.

Editorial Actions and Sanctions

When plagiarism, inappropriate text recycling, redundant publication, or other serious originality concerns are identified, the journal may take one or more actions depending on the severity of the case and the stage of publication.

• Request clarification from the author(s);
• Require correction or revision of the manuscript;
• Issue a formal warning;
• Reject or decline the manuscript;
• Cancel the publication process before publication;
• Publish a correction or other appropriate notice where necessary;
• Retract a published article in serious cases; and
• Take other appropriate actions consistent with the journal's publication ethics procedures.

Where serious misconduct is suspected, the journal may request supporting information from the author(s) and may communicate with relevant institutions or other parties when appropriate.

Author Responsibility

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscript is original, that all sources are accurately cited, that quotations are clearly identified, and that permission has been obtained for copyrighted material where required.

Authors should not attempt to manipulate similarity-detection systems through inappropriate techniques intended to conceal copied or improperly reused material.

• Similarity screening: Yes
• Primary screening tool: Turnitin and/or other appropriate similarity-detection tools
• Journal's normal similarity threshold: ≤15%
• Automatic rejection based solely on percentage: No
• Editorial assessment of similarity report: Required
• Screening may be repeated after revision: Yes
• Plagiarism after publication: May result in correction or retraction, depending on severity