Plagiarism Policy

The Editorial Board of the Journal of Economics Research and Policy Studies considers plagiarism unacceptable and applies similarity screening to all manuscripts submitted for publication. As part of the journal’s internal editorial process, each submitted manuscript will initially be screened for textual similarity by the Editor using Plagiarism Checker X Professional. The maximum acceptable similarity score is 20%.

Authors are advised to use Turnitin when checking their manuscripts before submission and to ensure that the reported similarity score does not exceed 20%. The Turnitin score serves as a practical reference for authors because Plagiarism Checker X Professional is used internally by the journal. 

The Editorial Board may conduct an additional examination using Turnitin when the initial screening result requires further verification, particularly when the score is close to the permitted threshold or when the identified similarities require closer assessment. The same maximum similarity threshold of 20% will apply.

A similarity score does not automatically constitute plagiarism. The Editorial Board will assess the sources, context, citation practices, and extent of the matched text before making an editorial decision.

Plagiarism refers to presenting another person’s words, ideas, data, methods, or other intellectual contributions as one’s own without appropriate acknowledgment. Authors must clearly distinguish quoted material from their own writing and properly cite the original sources.

This definition applies regardless of:

  1. the source of the copied words, ideas, data, or other material;
  2. whether the authorship of the original material is known;
  3. whether the original author has granted permission for the material to be used;
  4. the type of document in which the copied material appears;
  5. whether the material has previously appeared in another publication; and
  6. whether the copied material originates from the author’s own previously published work, which may constitute self-plagiarism or inappropriate text recycling.

When potentially problematic textual similarities are identified through similarity-screening software, the Editorial Board will assess the manuscript and determine the appropriate action according to the nature and extent of the identified plagiarism.

Minor Plagiarism
Minor plagiarism involves limited textual similarity, such as a sentence or short passage reproduced from another source without adequate quotation or citation, without the appropriation of substantial data, findings, or original ideas.
Editorial action: The manuscript will be returned to the authors for correction. The authors will be required to revise the relevant passages and provide appropriate citations to the original sources.

Intermediate Plagiarism
Intermediate plagiarism involves substantial text, data, arguments, or ideas reproduced from another source without proper acknowledgment.
Editorial action: The manuscript may be rejected. The Editorial Board may request clarification from the authors before making the final decision.

Severe Plagiarism
Severe plagiarism involves extensive reproduction or appropriation of original findings, data, formulations, equations, ideas, methods, or substantial portions of another publication without appropriate acknowledgment.
Editorial action: The manuscript will be rejected. Depending on the seriousness of the violation, the authors may be prohibited from submitting manuscripts to the journal for a period determined by the Editorial Board.