Plagiarism Screening

Journal of Marine Studies (JoMS) upholds the highest standards of academic integrity and publication ethics. To ensure the originality and credibility of all published content, every manuscript submitted to JoMS undergoes a thorough plagiarism screening process before being sent for peer review.

1. Purpose

The plagiarism screening policy aims to prevent unethical publication practices such as plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, and data manipulation. JoMS is committed to maintaining a trustworthy scholarly record and ensuring that all published articles are the result of genuine and original research.

2. Screening Process

Upon submission, all manuscripts are checked using advanced plagiarism detection software. The tool compares the submitted text against:

  • Published articles from scientific journals and conference proceedings,
  • Institutional repositories and preprint servers,
  • Books, theses, and dissertations, and
  • Online sources, including open-access materials and general web content.

The editorial office reviews the similarity report generated by the software and evaluates whether any detected similarities are acceptable (e.g., in methods, references, or standard phrases) or represent potential plagiarism.

3. Acceptable Similarity Threshold

The overall similarity index should be below 15%. A higher similarity score does not automatically indicate plagiarism, but any manuscript exceeding this threshold will be subject to detailed evaluation. If the overlap involves large sections of text, data, or analysis, the manuscript will be rejected immediately.

4. Editorial Actions

Based on the similarity report and editorial assessment, one of the following actions will be taken:

  • Minor Overlap (below 15%): The manuscript proceeds to the review stage, provided that the overlapping text is properly cited and does not affect originality.
  • Moderate Overlap (15–25%): The manuscript is returned to the author for revision, with a request to paraphrase overlapping sections or provide proper citations.
  • Severe Overlap (above 25% or direct copying): The submission is rejected immediately for plagiarism. Authors may be barred from future submissions for a defined period.

5. Author Responsibilities

Authors must ensure that all submitted work is entirely original and properly referenced. Any content reproduced from other works must be clearly cited, and permission should be obtained for copyrighted materials such as figures, tables, or extended quotations.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

  • Copying text, figures, or data from other sources without proper citation,
  • Using ideas or methods from other researchers without acknowledgment,
  • Self-plagiarism (reusing significant portions of one’s own previously published work without citation), and
  • Submitting the same or similar manuscript to multiple journals (duplicate submission).

6. Consequences of Plagiarism

If plagiarism is detected before publication, the manuscript will be rejected and the authors will be notified. If plagiarism is discovered after publication, JoMS may:

  • Issue a formal correction or retraction,
  • Inform the authors’ affiliated institutions or funding agencies, and
  • Blacklist the authors from future submissions to the journal.

7. Author Self-Check Recommendations

JoMS strongly encourages authors to check their manuscripts for similarity before submission using trusted plagiarism detection tools (e.g., Turnitin, iThenticate, Grammarly, or PlagScan). This helps reduce unintentional text overlap and ensures compliance with the journal’s ethical standards.

Authors should verify that:

  • All sources are appropriately cited,
  • Quotations are enclosed in quotation marks or formatted correctly,
  • Paraphrased text is written in their own words, and
  • All permissions for reproduced material have been obtained.

8. Commitment to Ethical Publishing

The Journal of Marine Studies follows international best practices and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines for handling plagiarism and related issues. These measures ensure fairness, transparency, and the protection of academic integrity throughout the publication process.

By submitting a manuscript to JoMS, authors acknowledge that they have read, understood, and agreed to comply with this plagiarism screening policy.