Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism Policy

At Global Journals®, we uphold the highest standards of originality and ethical scholarship. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes a serious violation of publishing ethics, and we commit to detecting, investigating, and responding to it rigorously.

Defining Plagiarism & Overlap

  • Plagiarism occurs when an author presents another person’s work, ideas, text, or data without proper acknowledgment or permission. This includes
  • Textual copying
  • verbatim reproduction of words or sentences without quotation marks or citation
  • Paraphrasing without attribution
  • rewriting ideas or content from others without citing the source
  • Self-plagiarism / redundant publication
  • reusing one’s own previously published text or data without transparent citation or disclosure (sometimes called “duplicate publication”)
  • Data or figure reuse
  • employing data points, tables, images, or graphs from prior work without proper permission or credit
  • Improper reuse of unpublished material
  • using material shared privately (e.g. in peer review, grant proposals, personal communications) without authorization
Understanding Paraphrase and Plagiarism Risks
  • English is the dominant language of academic publishing, but many researchers write in it as a second or third language. In mathematical or technical fields, certain expressions, especially in statistical descriptions, become so standardized that their reuse may not constitute plagiarism. However, in fields relying heavily on expressive language (e.g., humanities, law, economics), the boundary is much more delicate.
  • While it is reasonable to draw on published sources for phrasing or structure, doing so risks copying too much of a distinctive phrase or sentence. That risk is not limited to non-native speakers, anyone writing outside their core field may inadvertently “borrow” explanations too closely. To avoid crossing into plagiarism, always use quotation marks and cite the original source, even if it slightly disrupts the visual flow of the page.
How Much Paraphrase Is Too Much?
  • At Global Journals® (GJ), we recognize that determining the boundary between acceptable paraphrasing and plagiarism can be complex. There is no universally accepted numerical threshold defining how many overlapping words turn a paraphrase into plagiarism. While earlier academic practices permitted greater textual overlap, contemporary standards, particularly those followed by GJ and other leading publishers are much stricter.
  • We do not rely on arbitrary word-count limits. Instead, GJ evaluates each manuscript based on context, originality, and the author’s ability to express ideas in their own scholarly voice. A proper paraphrase should reflect the author’s unique structure, reasoning, and tone, while retaining only indispensable technical or domain-specific terminology. Authors are strongly encouraged to review and justify any textual reuse to uphold the highest standards of integrity and transparency.
Literature Reviews: A High-Risk Zone
  • In reviews, authors often summarize others’ findings, making overlap more tempting. Because paraphrase is common in literature reviews, these sections are especially vulnerable to plagiarism accusations. Always provide clear citations, and when reusing complex phrasing is unavoidable, use quotation marks or reference the source explicitly.
Facts vs. Plagiarism
  • Even simple factual statements may be flagged by similarity detectors. For example, the statement “Berlin is the capital of Germany” is a factual assertion that appears in many texts. Such multi-word overlaps may be caught by software, though they are not plagiarism. General, widely known facts (e.g. boiling point of water) generally need no citation, but less familiar data (e.g. historical dates, specialized definitions) should be sourced.
Acknowledging Intellectual Ownership
  • Plagiarism is more than copying words, it also includes unacknowledged use of others’ ideas. The University of Oxford, for example, defines plagiarism broadly as “presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own… without full acknowledgement.” That means you must cite not just text, but underlying frameworks, logic, or reasoning that you draw from others.
  • This is especially relevant given advances in AI writing tools. Even if AI tools generate text for you, presenting that output without attribution could be considered plagiarism, because the content is not entirely your original expression or intellectual effort.
Detection & Screening
  • All submissions are screened using similarity detection software (e.g. CrossCheck / iThenticate or equivalent) to identify overlapping text or content.
  • Editors may also use additional manual review or expert advice to assess borderline cases, context, and justification.
  • High similarity scores alone do not automatically mean misconduct; editors will examine context, citation, and originality before making a decision.
Response to Plagiarism
  • When plagiarism or overlap is detected, the steps we may take include
  • Initial assessment​
  • The editorial office reviews the flagged passages and compares them to source texts, evaluating extent, citation, and context.
  • Author inquiry & explanation
  • The corresponding author is informed, given evidence of overlap, and asked for an explanation or clarification.
  • Decision & corrective action
  • Based on the explanation, editorial judgment, and policy, possible outcomes include
  • Request revisions and proper citation
  • Rejection of the manuscript
  • Withdrawal of the manuscript
  • Publication of a correction or retraction (if already published)
  • Temporary or permanent ban on further submissions, in severe or repeated cases
  • Transparency & record
  • Any corrective notices (correction, retraction, expression of concern) will be permanently linked to the article and publicly visible.
Responsibilities & Best Practices
  • For Authors
  • Ensure your submission is wholly original except where appropriately cited
  • Cite all sources clearly and accurately, using quotations when necessary
  • Avoid paraphrasing too closely, rework ideas in your own words plus attribution
  • Disclose overlapping or related work, e.g. conference abstracts, theses, preprints
  • Seek permission when reusing figures, tables, or large text segments from previous work
  • For Editors & Reviewers
  • Be vigilant for signs of plagiarism, unexplained overlaps, or reuse of data
  • Query unclear citations, missing acknowledgments, or duplicated content
  • Use judgment to distinguish acceptable similarity (e.g. common phrases) from unethical copying
  • Recuse yourself if you detect overlap with your own or close collaborators’ work
Plagiarism in the Context of AI & Automated Tools
  • If authors use AI or automated tools (e.g. for language polishing or summarizing), they must check outputs carefully and ensure no uncredited copying or misattribution occurs
  • Editors will evaluate AI-assisted text with scrutiny; failing to revise AI output responsibly may be treated as plagiarism
  • Any use of AI tools must be transparently disclosed (per our AI policy)
  • If plagiarism is detected after publication, Global Journals® (GJ) enforces the strictest possible actions. We fully support and protect the rights of the original authors, ensuring that their intellectual property is respected. The concerned institutions and affiliated organizations are formally notified of the incident, and the authors found responsible are blacklisted from all future publishing activities within the Global Journals® network.