Plagiarism Policy

Purpose

Scholar Insight Journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, originality, and ethical scholarly publishing. The Journal has a zero-tolerance policy towards plagiarism, duplicate publication, data falsification, citation manipulation, and other forms of research misconduct.

This policy applies to all authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial staff involved in the publication process.

Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

  • Copying text without proper acknowledgment.

  • Presenting another person's ideas, data, figures, tables, or research findings as one's own.

  • Inadequate or incorrect citation of sources.

  • Mosaic (patchwork) plagiarism.

  • Self-plagiarism or redundant publication.

  • Duplicate or simultaneous submission of the same manuscript.

  • Translation plagiarism without appropriate attribution.

  • AI-generated content presented as original scholarly work without proper disclosure.

Originality Requirement

Authors must submit only original work that has not been published previously and is not under consideration by another journal.

All sources, quotations, data, figures, tables, and ideas obtained from other publications must be properly cited according to the Journal's referencing guidelines.

Similarity Screening

All submitted manuscripts are screened using recognized plagiarism detection software, including Turnitin and/or iThenticate, before entering the peer-review process.

Similarity reports are evaluated by the Editorial Office. Editorial decisions are based on the nature, extent, location, and context of overlapping text, rather than on the similarity percentage alone.

Where applicable, the Journal follows the plagiarism limits prescribed by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan and evaluates each manuscript on a case-by-case basis.

Editorial Actions

If plagiarism or unethical overlap is identified, the Journal may:

  • Request clarification from the authors.

  • Require revision and proper citation.

  • Reject the manuscript.

  • Withdraw an accepted manuscript.

  • Retract a published article.

  • Notify the authors' institution or funding agency where appropriate.

Editorial actions are taken in accordance with internationally recognized publication ethics and the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Self-Plagiarism

Authors must not substantially reproduce their previously published work without appropriate citation and justification.

Any reuse of previously published material must be transparent and properly referenced.

Citation Manipulation

The Journal does not tolerate citation manipulation, including:

  • Excessive self-citation.

  • Coercive citation.

  • Citation stacking.

  • Inclusion of irrelevant references solely to increase citation counts.

AI and Plagiarism

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools does not exempt authors from originality requirements.

Authors remain fully responsible for ensuring that AI-assisted content does not contain plagiarism, fabricated references, copyrighted material, or misleading information.

Any significant use of AI must be disclosed in accordance with the Journal's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy.

Authors' Responsibilities

Authors are responsible for:

  • Ensuring the originality of their work.

  • Providing accurate citations.

  • Obtaining permission for copyrighted material where required.

  • Correcting any identified plagiarism promptly.

  • Complying with all Journal publication ethics policies.

Policy Review

Scholar Insight Journal periodically reviews this policy to ensure alignment with evolving international standards of scholarly publishing.

International Standards

This policy is informed by internationally recognized publication ethics principles and reflects the recommendations and best practices of:

  • Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

  • International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)

  • Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)

  • Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan

  • International scholarly publishing best practices

Scholar Insight Journal is committed to protecting the integrity, originality, credibility, and reliability of the scholarly record through rigorous plagiarism screening and ethical editorial practices.