Plagiarism Policy
A plagiarism policy consists of a set of rules and principles established by academic institutions, scientific journals, and scholarly publications to combat plagiarism in all its forms. Plagiarism, in its simplest definition, is the unethical act of using or reproducing another person's ideas, information, results, or words without proper acknowledgment of the original author and source.
Plagiarism may take several forms, including:
1. Verbatim Copying: Reproducing text from another source without using quotation marks and without proper citation of the original source.
2. Copying, Pasting, and Paraphrasing Without Proper Attribution: Copying portions of text from another source and rephrasing them in different ways without appropriate citation or acknowledgment.
3. Self-Plagiarism: Reusing substantial portions of an author's previously published work without proper reference or disclosure.
4. Multiple Submission or Duplicate Submission: Submitting the same manuscript simultaneously to multiple journals or publishers, which constitutes unethical and unacceptable publishing behavior.
Commitment to Academic Integrity
In light of the above, the University Forum Journal places the highest importance on academic integrity and ethical conduct. The journal considers plagiarism to be a serious form of academic misconduct that undermines research integrity, intellectual property rights, and scholarly credibility.
The journal recognizes that publication standards in both the humanities and applied sciences are founded upon the principles of academic honesty and proper attribution. Whenever scientific, literary, or scholarly material is used or cited, it must be appropriately credited to its original author. Therefore, all parties involved in the publication process are expected to uphold strict standards against plagiarism in order to preserve the long-established ethical norms of scholarship, publishing, and intellectual creativity.
Plagiarism Screening Procedures: The journal conducts a thorough examination of all submitted manuscripts to identify potential cases of plagiarism and takes strict measures when misconduct is detected.
To achieve this objective, the journal uses Turnitin, a globally recognized plagiarism detection system that compares submitted manuscripts against extensive databases containing millions of scholarly articles, research papers, books, conference proceedings, web pages, and other academic resources.
Maximum Permissible Similarity Index
The similarity index of a submitted manuscript must not exceed 25% of the total manuscript content.
This percentage includes all forms of similarity with previously published sources, whether through direct quotation or paraphrased material, with the exception of the reference list and bibliography.
Members of the Editorial Board, Scientific Committee, and peer reviewers are expected to remain vigilant regarding all forms of research and publication misconduct in order to identify manuscripts in which misconduct has occurred or is suspected.
Reviewers are encouraged to notify the journal immediately if they detect or suspect plagiarism in any manuscript assigned to them for review.
Procedures for Handling Plagiarism Cases:
When plagiarism is confirmed in a manuscript submitted for publication, the journal follows the procedures outlined below:
- Immediate Rejection: The manuscript will be rejected immediately and will not proceed to the peer-review stage.
- Notification of Author (s): The author(s) will be informed of the reasons for rejection and provided with evidence of plagiarism, including the relevant Turnitin similarity report.
- Notification of the Author’s Institution: In cases involving serious, deliberate, or repeated plagiarism, the journal reserves the right to notify the author's academic institution, employer, or relevant authority.
- Future Submission Restrictions: Authors found to have engaged in plagiarism may be prohibited from submitting future manuscripts to the journal for a specified period.
- Retraction of Published Articles: If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the journal will formally retract the article from its website and from any databases in which it has been indexed. A formal retraction notice will be published explaining the reasons for the retraction.
Authors’ Responsibilities: All authors are required to adhere to the following principles:
- Ensuring Originality: Authors must ensure that their work is original and free from any form of academic misconduct or unethical research practice.
- Proper Citation and Attribution: All sources used in the research must be accurately cited and referenced. Direct quotations must be clearly identified through the use of quotation marks and appropriate citations.
- Avoiding All Forms of Plagiarism: Authors are expected to carefully review their manuscripts before submission to ensure that they are free from any form of plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional.
Journal Commitment
The University Forum Journal is firmly committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and ethical publishing. The journal encourages all researchers to comply with this policy in order to foster a trustworthy, transparent, and ethical scholarly publishing environment.
The journal further affirms that it will apply this policy rigorously and consistently to safeguard the quality, credibility, and reputation of the research it publishes.
