Plagiarism Policy

For Authors/Readers

SJUOZ uses the Turnitin Plagiarism Program

Plagiarism pens if somebody purposefully duplicates another's research or if somebody duplicates content without citing suitable references or by using other's quotes without quotation marks.

Plagiarism before Publishing

SJUOZ is judging any instance of plagiarism on its point of confinement. In the event that plagiarism is identified by the editorial board number, reviewer, editor, supervisor, and so on., in any phase of the article process earlier or after acceptance, amid editing, or at a galley proof level. We caution the same to the author(s) and will request them to rewrite or refer to the references from where the substance has been taken. On the off chance that over 20% of the paper is plagiarized, the article might be rejected and the same is informed to the author.

The Plagiarism Check

All the submitted original research for article publication is checked for plagiarism after submission and prior to peer review.

Handling Plagiarism

The manuscripts in which the plagiarism is authenticated are taken care of in view of the degree of the plagiarism.

 <5% Plagiarism: The article will be accepted but the copied parts of the article are highlighted and will be sent to the author for content modification.

5-20% Plagiarism: The article will not be accepted but the copied parts of the article are highlighted and will be sent to the author for content modification.

 >20% Plagiarism: The manuscript will be rejected without any review. The authors are encouraged to modify the manuscript and resubmit the manuscript.

Why Manuscripts with >20% Plagiarism are Rejected

When plagiarism is distinguished over 20%, it is noted that the authors are probably not going to modify the original copy and present the modified version. Notwithstanding, authors are welcome to do the required modifications and present the original copy as a new submission.

If there is a case of Plagiarism in our Journal

By any chance you cross an instance of plagiarism in our journal, kindly advise the editorial office(s), giving them the journal names, the title of manuscripts, the name of authors, volume number, issue number, year of publication, and whatever other data that you have. The editorial offices will deal with the cases according to their policy.

Imagine a scenario where Plagiarism detected after the Publication

 When plagiarism is recognized after publication, the Journals will do a plagiarism review. In the event that counterfeiting or plagiarism is discovered, the journal editorial office will contact the author's institute and funding agencies. The manuscript containing the plagiarism will be highlighted/marked as retracted on each page of the PDF. Contingent upon the degree of the plagiarism, the paper may likewise be formally retracted.

Acknowledging the Author(S) Sources

Self-plagiarism is a related issue. In this record, we characterize self-plagiarism as the verbatim or close verbatim reuse of huge bits of one's own copyrighted work without referring to the first source. Note that self-plagiarism does not matter to publications in view of the author's own already copyrighted work (e.g., Proceedings of a conference) where an explicit reference is made to the pre-publication. Such reuse does not require quotes to depict the reused data, however, requires that the source is referred to. When an author’s own copyrighted material is needed to be included in his own words then it should be given within the double quotes, provided proper citation should be given. The using of citation without double quotes are not accepted because the text we see is for us to read and understand but not to be used as such; using as such violated the copyrights of the publisher and author as it is intellectual property.

Confidential or Unintentional

One may not realize that they are plagiarism. It is the author(s) whose duty is to verify that they comprehend the distinction between citing and summarizing, and in addition the best possible approach to refer to the material.

Conspicuous / Blatant

Author(s) aware that plagiarism is - intentionally utilizing another person's thoughts or work without legitimate acknowledgment. This incorporates handing over borrowed or purchased research articles one's own.

Self

Publishing the same texts in two different articles by the same author without getting written permission from the publisher is self-plagiarism.

 

AI and Authorship Policy

AI and Authorship

Science Journal of University of Zakho (SJUOZ) is a member of COPE. As such, SJUOZ follows COPE Guidelines on artificial intelligence (AI) and authorship. Our policy is that AI software cannot be listed as an author on a paper.

ChatGPT and similar software are not human, and for this reason, cannot independently design studies, create and critique methodologies, interpret data, or be held responsible for the outcomes and implications of the study in question. For this reason, ChatGPT and similar software should be treated as tools, not authors, for more information on COPE’s guidance on AI and authorship.

 

AI and Automated Tools

SJUOZ policies on the use of AI and automated tools are the following:

  • SJUOZ will not review or accept manuscripts written by nonhuman authors. Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI tools should not be listed in a byline for any reason.
  • Authors are required to disclose whether AI tools were used in the creation and preparation of their manuscripts. SJUOZ reserves the right to ask for and receive detailed information on how LLMs and AI were used in the creation of a manuscript.
  • Reviewers shall not use LLMs or AI tools when reviewing manuscripts or preparing comments to authors.
  • SJUOZ will continue to monitor the ethical implications of using AI tools and automation as they evolve and change.
  • The maximum ratio for AI to be used is not more than 15%.

View COPE’s guidelines and recommendations regarding AI tools and automation for more information.