Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism is defined as the unethical act of copying someone else’s ideas, processes, results, or words without proper acknowledgment of the original author and source. Self-plagiarism occurs when an author reuses substantial parts of their own previously published work without appropriate references. This can range from submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals to revising a previously published paper with new data.

The Shahroud Journal of Medical Sciences (SJMS) maintains a strict, zero-tolerance policy against any form of copying or plagiarism. Plagiarism is considered to have occurred when significant portions of a manuscript are taken from existing published works without proper citation. All manuscripts submitted to SJMS are rigorously screened for plagiarism using standardized detection software (such as Turnitin, Plagiarism Checker X, or equivalent tools).

Acceptable Similarity Threshold

  • Strict Limit: SJMS requires that all submitted manuscripts maintain a total similarity score of below 25%. Manuscripts exceeding this threshold during the initial screening will be returned to the authors for revision or rejected outright depending on the severity of the overlap.

Types of Plagiarism

  • Full Plagiarism: Representing previously published content without any modifications to the text, ideas, or grammar.
  • Partial Plagiarism: Involves a mixture of content from various sources where text has been extensively paraphrased or stitched together improperly.
  • Self-Plagiarism: Occurs when an author reuses complete papers or substantial portions of their prior research, with complete self-plagiarism being the act of republishing their own previously published work in a new journal without disclosure.

Screening, Investigation, and Actions for Plagiarism

  • Initial Review & Rejection: Manuscripts identified as plagiarized or exceeding the acceptable similarity limit during the initial screening process will be immediately rejected or sent back for mandatory revision.
  • Author Explanation: If an author is suspected of plagiarism, SJMS will contact the corresponding author to provide an official explanation within two (2) weeks. If no response is received within the specified timeframe, the Director, Dean, Head of the respective College/Institution, or the Vice-Chancellor of the author’s affiliated University will be notified.
  • Fact-Finding Committee (FFC): Unresolved or severe cases may be directed to an internal Fact-Finding Committee (FFC) for formal investigation.
  • Measures for Published Papers: If a published article is determined to contain plagiarized content, SJMS will take decisive corrective actions, which may include:
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Measures for Published Papers

If a published article is determined to contain plagiarized content, SJMS will take decisive corrective actions, which may include:

  • Immediately informing the Director, Dean, Head of Institution, or University Vice-Chancellor of the author(s).
  • Informing the editor of the journal from which the material was plagiarized.
  • Removing the PDF version of the published manuscript from the website and disabling all full-text links.
  • Modifying the title of the published article to include the designation “Plagiarized Manuscript”.
  • Publishing a retraction notice and listing the involved authors and their contact details on the SJMS website.
  • Disabling the submission accounts of the involved authors resulting in a temporary (3- to 10-year) or permanent submission ban.