Plagiarism Policy

Overview

The National Journal of Original and Applied Research (NJOAR) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, originality, ethical publishing, and responsible scholarly communication. The journal strictly opposes plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, falsification, and all forms of academic misconduct.

NJOAR follows internationally accepted ethical publishing practices and adheres to the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), along with relevant academic integrity guidelines and institutional research ethics standards.

To ensure originality and research integrity, all submitted manuscripts undergo plagiarism screening before entering the peer-review process.

Similarity Threshold and Screening

Plagiarism Detection Tools

The journal may use recognized plagiarism detection software and similarity assessment tools, including:

  • iThenticate
  • Crossref Similarity Check
  • Turnitin
  • or equivalent academic plagiarism screening systems

Permissible Similarity Limit

Submitted manuscripts should generally maintain a similarity index below the journal’s acceptable threshold after excluding standard academic content.

The similarity assessment focuses on:

  • originality of content,
  • proper citation practices,
  • ethical paraphrasing,
  • and avoidance of unattributed textual overlap.

Manuscripts with excessive similarity may be returned for revision, subjected to further investigation, or rejected depending on the nature and extent of overlap.

Exclusions from Similarity Assessment

The following content may be excluded during similarity evaluation:

  • Properly quoted and cited material
  • References and bibliography
  • Standard methodological descriptions
  • Common technical phrases and terminologies
  • Acknowledgements
  • Legitimate self-citations with appropriate disclosure

Editorial assessment is conducted manually in addition to automated similarity reports to ensure fair evaluation.

Author Responsibilities

Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted manuscripts:

  • are original and unpublished,
  • properly cite all sources,
  • contain accurate quotations and paraphrasing,
  • avoid plagiarism and duplicate publication,
  • and comply with ethical research and publication standards.

Authors should carefully review manuscripts using appropriate plagiarism detection tools before submission.

The corresponding author confirms that:

  • the work is original,
  • all co-authors approve submission,
  • proper attribution has been provided,
  • and the manuscript complies with academic integrity requirements.

Plagiarism Screening Process

All submissions undergo the following process:

  1. Automated similarity screening
  2. Editorial examination of flagged content
  3. Contextual and manual assessment of overlap
  4. Ethical evaluation where necessary

Similarity reports are interpreted carefully, as percentage similarity alone does not automatically determine plagiarism.

Editorial Actions Based on Similarity

Acceptable Similarity

Manuscripts with acceptable originality and properly cited overlap may proceed to peer review.

Moderate Similarity

Where moderate overlap is identified:

  • authors may be requested to revise the manuscript,
  • improve citations,
  • or reduce textual similarity before further processing.

Serious Plagiarism or Academic Misconduct

Manuscripts containing:

  • substantial unattributed copying,
  • deliberate plagiarism,
  • data theft,
  • duplicate publication,
  • or fabricated material

may be:

  • immediately rejected,
  • barred from resubmission,
  • and subjected to further ethical investigation.

The journal reserves the right to notify affiliated institutions or relevant authorities in serious cases of misconduct.

Self-Plagiarism and Text Recycling

Authors must appropriately disclose and cite reused portions of their previously published work.

Limited overlap in:

  • methodology,
  • theoretical background,
  • or standard research descriptions

may be acceptable if properly referenced.

Undisclosed or excessive reuse of previously published material may be treated as self-plagiarism and handled according to journal ethics policies.

Duplicate Submission and Redundant Publication

Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to multiple journals.

The journal does not accept:

  • duplicate submissions,
  • redundant publications,
  • or manuscripts substantially similar to previously published work without proper disclosure.

Post-Publication Ethical Actions

If plagiarism or ethical misconduct is discovered after publication, NJOAR may take corrective actions including:

  • publication of corrections,
  • expressions of concern,
  • article withdrawal,
  • formal retraction,
  • or notification to relevant institutions and indexing agencies.

Such actions are taken in accordance with internationally recognized publication ethics standards.

Retraction and Corrections

Articles may be retracted if significant ethical violations are confirmed, including:

  • plagiarism,
  • falsified data,
  • unethical research practices,
  • manipulated peer review,
  • or major authorship disputes.

Retraction notices will remain publicly available to maintain transparency in the scholarly record.

Ethical Commitment

NJOAR is dedicated to promoting:

  • originality,
  • responsible research conduct,
  • transparency,
  • academic honesty,
  • and ethical scholarly publishing.

Authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members are expected to uphold these principles throughout the publication process.