Plagiarism Policy
Plagiarism occurs when an author presents words, ideas, data, mathematical results, figures, tables, algorithms, code, methods, or other intellectual contributions originating from another source without appropriate acknowledgment.
Plagiarism may involve published or unpublished material and may occur regardless of whether the original source is presented in printed, electronic, visual, computational, or other forms.
Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:
- copying words, sentences, paragraphs, or substantial portions of another work without appropriate quotation and citation;
- paraphrasing another author's ideas, arguments, or conclusions without appropriate acknowledgment;
- using another person's ideas, theories, hypotheses, concepts, or research methods without attribution;
- presenting data, datasets, statistical results, or research findings obtained by others as original work;
- reproducing figures, tables, diagrams, illustrations, or other visual material without appropriate attribution or permission where permission is required;
- reproducing mathematical derivations, proofs, models, equations, algorithms, or computational procedures in a manner that misrepresents their intellectual origin;
- copying software source code or computational scripts without acknowledgment where attribution is required;
- translating another person's publication from another language and presenting it as original work;
- submitting another person's manuscript or research work under different authorship;
- reusing substantial portions of one's own previously published material without appropriate citation and disclosure (redundant publication or inappropriate text recycling);
- presenting AI-generated, fabricated, or externally generated material as original human scholarly work where disclosure or attribution is required.
Authors must appropriately disclose and cite their own previously published work when it is reused in a new manuscript.
Limited repetition of standard methodological or technical descriptions may sometimes be unavoidable. However, substantial duplication of previously published text, results, tables, figures, or conclusions without appropriate disclosure is unacceptable.
Manuscripts must contain a sufficiently original scholarly contribution and must not constitute duplicate or redundant publication.
Manuscripts submitted to SEMPOA may be screened using Turnitin or other appropriate similarity-detection and research-integrity tools before or during the editorial process.
A similarity percentage represents the amount of text that matches material contained in the databases searched by the screening system. It does not automatically establish whether plagiarism has occurred.
Similarity may arise from legitimate material such as:
- properly cited quotations;
- reference lists;
- standard mathematical terminology;
- common methodological descriptions;
- institutional names and affiliations;
- standardized declarations or statements;
- previously deposited versions of the author's own manuscript.
Therefore, similarity reports are interpreted by editors by examining the location, source, extent, context, attribution, and nature of individual matches, rather than relying only on the overall similarity percentage.
SEMPOA generally expects manuscripts to demonstrate a low level of unnecessary textual overlap. An overall similarity level of approximately 15% or lower may be used as an internal screening reference after appropriate consideration of quotations, references, standard terminology, and other legitimate matches.
However, 15% is not an automatic acceptance threshold. A manuscript with a similarity score below 15% may still contain serious plagiarism if unattributed copying is identified.
Likewise, a manuscript with a similarity score above 15% is not automatically considered plagiarized if the identified matches are legitimate, appropriately cited, or otherwise satisfactorily explained.
Final assessment is based on editorial examination of the similarity report and the scholarly context of the matched material.
Editors may pay particular attention to substantial similarity with a single source or concentrated blocks of matching text even when the total similarity percentage is relatively low.
Conversely, numerous small and properly attributed matches distributed throughout a manuscript may produce a higher total similarity percentage without constituting plagiarism.
The editor examines the similarity report, identified sources, manuscript context, and available evidence.
The editor considers whether the overlap represents legitimate similarity, inadequate citation, minor inappropriate copying, substantial plagiarism, redundant publication, or another research-integrity concern.
Where appropriate, the corresponding author may be asked to provide an explanation, original sources, underlying material, or a revised manuscript.
The editor evaluates the author's response and available evidence before determining an appropriate action.
Depending on the seriousness of the issue, the manuscript may proceed, require correction or revision, be rejected, or become subject to further research-integrity procedures.
Minor concerns may include limited inappropriate wording overlap, inadequate paraphrasing, or citation errors that do not involve misappropriation of data, results, or substantial intellectual contributions.
Major concerns may include substantial unattributed copying, appropriation of another researcher's data or results, translation plagiarism, submission of another person's work, plagiarism of mathematical or computational contributions, or deliberate attempts to conceal copied material.
Actions will be proportionate to the nature and seriousness of the identified problem and may include:
- requesting correction of citations or attribution;
- requiring rewriting or appropriate quotation of matched material;
- requesting substantial manuscript revision;
- issuing a formal editorial warning;
- rejecting the manuscript;
- cancelling publication before final publication;
- issuing a correction to a published article;
- publishing an expression of concern where appropriate;
- retracting a published article in serious cases;
- contacting relevant institutions or other responsible bodies when serious research misconduct is reasonably supported by available evidence.
Allegations of plagiarism concerning already published articles will be evaluated by the editorial team rather than ignored solely because the article has completed peer review and publication.
Authors may be contacted and requested to respond to the evidence. Where necessary, additional documentary evidence or institutional clarification may be sought.
Depending on the findings, SEMPOA may publish a correction, expression of concern, retraction, or another appropriate notice in accordance with the journal's Correction and Retraction Policy.
Deliberate attempts to circumvent similarity screening through character substitution, hidden text, text spinning, inappropriate paraphrasing tools, image-based text, translation designed to conceal copying, or other technical manipulation may be treated as a research-integrity concern.
A similarity score is not equivalent to a plagiarism finding.
SEMPOA uses similarity-detection software as an editorial screening tool. Determinations concerning plagiarism are made through human evaluation of the matched material, attribution, context, extent of overlap, source, and available evidence.
The journal seeks to handle suspected plagiarism proportionately and, where appropriate, in accordance with recognized publication-ethics guidance.
