Plagiarism and Policy

The Scientific Journal of Health Sciences places the highest priority on academic integrity and the originality of scholarly work. To maintain the quality and credibility of published research, all submitted manuscripts undergo thorough plagiarism screening using advanced detection tools such as CrossCheck and iThenticate. Manuscripts found to contain plagiarism or self-plagiarism will be rejected immediately without further peer review.

Plagiarism Screening Process

Before manuscripts are sent to peer reviewers, the editorial team conducts a similarity check using plagiarism detection software. This initial review ensures that submissions meet the journal’s standards for originality and ethical scholarship. The journal requires manuscripts to have a similarity index below 15% to proceed further. Manuscripts exceeding this threshold may be returned for revision or rejected outright, depending on the extent and context of similarity.

Understanding Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s ideas, language, or expressions as one’s own original work without proper permission, credit, or acknowledgment. This unethical practice violates academic honesty and intellectual integrity.

Plagiarism may take various forms, including but not limited to:

  1. Direct Copying
    Copying text word-for-word, in whole or in part, from another source without permission, acknowledgment, or citation is a clear ethical breach. This form can be detected by comparing the submitted manuscript with the original source.

  2. Substantial Copying
    Reproducing a significant portion—either quantitatively or qualitatively—of another author’s work without proper authorization or citation. The term “substantial” refers both to the amount and the importance of the copied material relative to the entire work, and is considered a violation of intellectual property rights.

  3. Paraphrasing Without Citation
    Rewriting ideas or phrases from a source into new sentences without proper citation constitutes plagiarism. While paraphrasing is acceptable when correctly cited, failure to attribute the source is unethical and more difficult to detect but equally serious.

  4. Self-Plagiarism
    Republishing one’s own previously published work, in whole or in part, without clear acknowledgment or permission. Authors must disclose if their submission overlaps with prior publications such as conference proceedings or preprints.

Ethical Implications and Consequences

Plagiarism undermines trust in the authenticity and originality of scholarly publications. It disrespects the original author’s work and misleads readers and the academic community. Therefore, the Scientific Journal of Health Sciences enforces strict penalties for plagiarism, including:

  • Immediate rejection of the manuscript without peer review.

  • Notification to the authors’ affiliated institutions or funding agencies when necessary.

  • Retraction of published articles if plagiarism is discovered post-publication.

  • Suspension or prohibition of future submissions by offending authors for a specified period.

Author Responsibilities

Authors submitting to the Scientific Journal of Health Sciences are expected to:

  • Ensure that their work is original and that all sources and previous research are properly cited.

  • Avoid submitting manuscripts containing any form of plagiarized material.

  • Disclose any overlap with prior works, including preprints or conference papers.

  • Familiarize themselves with and comply with the journal’s ethical standards and guidelines.

By upholding these standards, the Scientific Journal of Health Sciences aims to foster a culture of honesty, transparency, and respect in academic publishing, contributing to the advancement of trustworthy and impactful health research.