Plagiarism Policy

1. Policy Statement

Plagiarism in any form is not acceptable in Impaxon journals. Authors must ensure that all submitted work is original and that the ideas, words, data, images, methods, and findings of others are properly cited and acknowledged.

Manuscripts may be screened for similarity, plagiarism, duplicate publication, text recycling, citation manipulation, and other research integrity concerns at any stage of the editorial process.

2. Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism occurs when an author uses another person’s words, ideas, data, images, figures, tables, methods, results, or creative work without proper acknowledgement, citation, or permission where required.

Plagiarism may involve copied text, paraphrased material, translated content, reused data, reproduced images, unattributed concepts, or misleading presentation of another person’s work as the author’s own.

3. Forms of Plagiarism

Plagiarism may include, but is not limited to:

• Copying text from published or unpublished sources without proper citation;
• Paraphrasing another work too closely without acknowledgement;
• Using another author’s ideas, arguments, methods, or findings without attribution;
• Reusing figures, tables, images, diagrams, or datasets without permission or citation;
• Translating content from another language without acknowledgement;
• Submitting work prepared by another person, organisation, or service as one’s own;
• Using artificial intelligence tools to generate unattributed or misleading scholarly content.

4. Self-Plagiarism and Text Recycling

Authors must avoid inappropriate reuse of their own previously published work without proper citation. Self-plagiarism may include reusing substantial sections of text, methods, results, figures, or conclusions from earlier publications without acknowledgement.

Limited reuse of standard methodological descriptions may be acceptable where necessary, but authors must ensure that the manuscript clearly distinguishes new contributions from previously published material.

5. Duplicate Submission and Duplicate Publication

Manuscripts submitted to Impaxon journals must not be under consideration by another journal at the same time. Authors must not submit substantially the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously.

Duplicate publication occurs when substantially similar work is published more than once without clear disclosure, appropriate citation, or legitimate justification. Duplicate publication is not acceptable.

6. Overlapping Publications

Where a submitted manuscript is based on earlier work, conference papers, preprints, theses, datasets, or related publications, authors must disclose this clearly during submission and cite the related work appropriately.

Editors may request copies of related manuscripts or publications to assess the degree of overlap and the originality of the submitted work.

7. Similarity Checking

Impaxon may use similarity detection tools, editorial checks, reviewer comments, and manual assessment to identify potential plagiarism or inappropriate overlap.

Similarity reports are used as editorial aids and do not automatically determine whether plagiarism has occurred. Editors consider the context, source of similarity, amount of overlap, citation practices, and scholarly justification before making a decision.

8. Image, Figure, and Data Plagiarism

Plagiarism is not limited to text. Authors must not reuse, modify, or present images, figures, tables, charts, datasets, code, or research outputs from other sources without proper permission, citation, and disclosure.

Manipulation or reuse of visual or data-based material in a way that misleads readers, editors, or reviewers may be treated as a serious research integrity concern.

9. Citation and Attribution

Authors must provide accurate citations whenever they refer to, quote, paraphrase, adapt, reproduce, or build upon the work of others.

Citations should be relevant, accurate, and used to acknowledge intellectual sources. Citation manipulation, excessive self-citation, irrelevant citation, or coercive citation practices are not acceptable.

10. Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

Authors must not use artificial intelligence tools to create plagiarised, fabricated, misleading, or unattributed scholarly content. Any substantial AI-assisted content generation must be disclosed in accordance with the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy.

Authors remain fully responsible for checking AI-assisted content for originality, accuracy, proper attribution, and compliance with publication ethics.

11. Editorial Action Before Publication

If plagiarism or inappropriate overlap is identified before publication, Impaxon may request clarification, require revision, ask for additional documentation, reject the manuscript, or take other appropriate editorial action.

Serious cases may result in rejection without further review. The journal may also inform authors’ institutions or other relevant parties where appropriate and in accordance with accepted publication ethics guidance.

12. Editorial Action After Publication

If plagiarism or inappropriate overlap is identified after publication, Impaxon may investigate the concern and take appropriate action depending on the nature and severity of the issue.

Possible actions include correction, expression of concern, retraction, notification of institutions, or other measures required to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

13. Author Responsibility

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts are original, properly cited, ethically prepared, and free from plagiarism or inappropriate reuse.

All authors share responsibility for the integrity of the submitted and published work. Corresponding authors should ensure that all co-authors understand and comply with this policy.

14. Appeals

Authors may respond to plagiarism concerns by providing evidence, explanation, permissions, citations, or related publications for editorial consideration.

Appeals against editorial decisions involving plagiarism are handled in accordance with the Complaints & Appeals Policy.

15. Changes to this Policy

Impaxon may revise this policy periodically to reflect developments in plagiarism detection, research integrity standards, publication ethics, and editorial best practices.