Plagiarism Policy

IJEVS is committed to maintaining originality, academic integrity, and ethical standards in all published scholarly works.

1. Policy Statement

The International Journal of Education and Vocational Studies (IJEVS) is committed to maintaining high standards of academic integrity and originality. All submitted manuscripts are expected to be original works and must not contain plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated content, falsified information, or inappropriate reuse of previously published material.

2. Similarity Threshold

IJEVS requires submitted manuscripts to have a similarity index below 15% based on the journal's plagiarism/similarity screening process.

The similarity percentage is used as an initial screening indicator and does not, by itself, determine whether plagiarism has occurred. Editors may examine the sources and context of matched text, including properly cited quotations, references, standard terminology, methodological expressions, and other legitimate similarities.

3. Plagiarism Screening

Manuscripts may be screened for text similarity during the editorial process. Screening may be conducted at initial submission, during revision, or whenever the editorial team considers additional verification necessary.

Manuscripts that exceed the journal's similarity threshold may be returned to the authors for clarification or revision, or may be rejected when the similarity indicates substantial inappropriate overlap.

4. Forms of Plagiarism

IJEVS considers the following practices unacceptable:

• Copying text, ideas, data, figures, tables, or other intellectual content without appropriate attribution.
• Presenting another person's work as one's own.
• Using substantial portions of previously published work without proper citation or permission where required.
• Improper paraphrasing that preserves the original structure or wording without adequate attribution.
• Duplicate or redundant publication of substantially similar work.
• Self-plagiarism or inappropriate reuse of the author's previously published material without proper citation.
• Manipulating citations or references to conceal inappropriate textual or intellectual reuse.

5. Proper Citation and Paraphrasing

Authors must properly acknowledge the sources of ideas, statements, data, methods, figures, tables, and other materials that are not their own. Direct quotations must be clearly identified and appropriately cited.

Authors should paraphrase sources using their own scholarly expression while retaining accurate meaning and providing appropriate citations. A low similarity score does not excuse inadequate attribution.

6. Self-Plagiarism and Duplicate Publication

Authors must disclose any substantial overlap between the submitted manuscript and their previous publications, conference papers, reports, theses, dissertations, or other publicly available works.

Reuse of previously published text, data, figures, or results must be properly acknowledged and must comply with applicable copyright and publishing conditions. Manuscripts that constitute duplicate or redundant publication may be rejected.

7. Editorial Action

When significant similarity or suspected plagiarism is identified, the editor may conduct an editorial assessment and request an explanation from the authors. Depending on the severity and circumstances, the journal may take one or more of the following actions:

• Request clarification or correction from the authors.
• Request revision of improperly cited or overlapping material.
• Reject the manuscript before publication.
• Refer the matter to the author's institution or relevant authority when appropriate.
• Initiate post-publication corrective action when plagiarism is discovered after publication.

8. Plagiarism Detected After Publication

If plagiarism or substantial unattributed overlap is identified after an article has been published, IJEVS will assess the evidence and determine the appropriate editorial response.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may publish a correction, expression of concern, or retraction and may notify relevant parties. The journal will maintain an appropriate record of post-publication actions to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

9. Responsibilities of Authors

• Submit only original and appropriately attributed work.
• Check the manuscript carefully before submission.
• Provide accurate citations and references.
• Disclose substantial overlap with previous publications.
• Respond honestly to editorial questions concerning similarity or originality.
• Correct any identified attribution or originality problems during the editorial process.

10. Editorial and Reviewer Responsibilities

Editors and reviewers should treat suspected plagiarism confidentially and objectively. Editorial decisions should be based on the evidence available, the scholarly context, and the journal's publication ethics policies. Reviewers should not use unpublished manuscript content for their own purposes or disclose confidential information.

Important Note on Similarity Scores

A similarity index of below 15% is the journal's screening threshold. However, similarity is not automatically equivalent to plagiarism. Conversely, a manuscript with a similarity score below 15% may still contain plagiarism if ideas, data, or distinctive content have been used without proper attribution. The final assessment remains an editorial decision based on the nature and source of the detected overlap.

IJEVS Plagiarism Standard