Plagiarism Notice

1. Plagiarism Policy

FEP Foundation strongly discourages and does not tolerate plagiarism in scholarly manuscripts.

Plagiarism occurs when an author uses another person's words, ideas, arguments, data, images, research results, or other intellectual contributions without appropriate acknowledgment.

Plagiarism may be intentional or unintentional. Regardless of intent, authors are responsible for ensuring that all sources used in their manuscripts are properly cited and that borrowed language is clearly distinguished from their own writing.

2. Similarity Screening

Manuscripts submitted to journals managed or supported by FEP Foundation may be screened for similarity with previously published or submitted material.

Similarity reports are intended to assist editors in identifying potentially problematic overlap. A similarity percentage alone does not automatically determine whether plagiarism has occurred.

Editors should evaluate the nature, extent, location, and context of the detected similarities. Properly cited quotations, references, commonly used terminology, methodological descriptions, and other legitimate overlap may contribute to a similarity score without necessarily constituting misconduct.

3. What Constitutes Plagiarism

Plagiarism may involve the inappropriate use of words, ideas, information, data, images, figures, or other intellectual material belonging to another person or source.

Examples may include:

1. Copying sentences or paragraphs from another source without quotation marks and appropriate citation.
2. Paraphrasing another author's ideas without acknowledging the original source.
3. Presenting another person's research data, results, figures, tables, or images as one's own.
4. Using material from unpublished manuscripts, theses, conference papers, reports, websites, or other sources without proper attribution.
5. Reproducing substantial portions of one's own previously published work without appropriate disclosure and citation.
6. Translating material from another language and presenting it as original work without acknowledging the original source.

4. Citation and Attribution

Authors are responsible for providing appropriate citations whenever information, ideas, methods, interpretations, arguments, or other intellectual contributions are obtained from identifiable sources.

When an author adopts an idea from another researcher, the original source should be cited even when the author develops, modifies, or expands that idea further.

Citation allows readers to distinguish between the author's original contribution and ideas derived from prior scholarship, and it enables readers to locate and evaluate the original source.

Information that is genuinely common knowledge may not require citation, but authors should use scholarly judgment. When in doubt, appropriate citation is generally preferable.

5. Use of Direct Quotations

When an author reproduces the exact words of another source, the borrowed text must be clearly identified as a direct quotation and accompanied by an appropriate citation.

Short quotations should normally be enclosed in quotation marks, while longer quotations may be presented as block quotations according to the citation and formatting style required by the relevant journal.

Citation alone is not sufficient when wording has been reproduced verbatim. Authors should clearly distinguish quoted language from their own writing.

6. Self-Plagiarism and Duplicate Publication

Authors should also avoid inappropriate reuse of substantial portions of their own previously published work without transparent acknowledgment.

A manuscript should not normally be submitted simultaneously to more than one journal, nor should substantially the same work be published repeatedly as separate original publications without appropriate justification and disclosure.

Where a manuscript substantially overlaps with a thesis, conference paper, preprint, report, book chapter, or previously published work, the author should disclose this information to the editor and appropriately cite or acknowledge the earlier version.

7. Editorial Action and Sanctions

Editors reserve the right to take appropriate action when plagiarism or serious inappropriate overlap is identified.

Depending on the nature and severity of the issue, editorial action may include:

1. Requesting clarification or revision from the author.
2. Requesting additional citations or corrections to attribution.
3. Rejecting a manuscript before peer review.
4. Rejecting a manuscript during or after peer review.
5. Withdrawing a previous acceptance decision if significant plagiarism is discovered before publication.
6. Informing the author's institution or other relevant academic body in serious cases.
7. Restricting future submissions in cases of serious or repeated misconduct where appropriate.

Editorial decisions should be proportional to the seriousness of the issue and handled fairly, consistently, and transparently.

8. Published Content

If plagiarism, substantial unattributed overlap, or another serious integrity issue is discovered after publication, the relevant journal may take action to correct the scholarly record.

Such action may include publishing a correction, an expression of concern, or a retraction notice depending on the nature and severity of the problem.

In exceptional circumstances involving legal violations, privacy concerns, serious infringement of third-party rights, or other compelling reasons, access to particular content may be restricted or removed according to the journal's publication policies and applicable law.

9. Contact Information

Questions regarding plagiarism, manuscript similarity, originality, or publication ethics should normally be directed to the editor of the relevant journal.

General publishing inquiries may also be sent to: info@fepfoundation.org.