Screening for Plagiarism

The International Journal of Essential Competencies in Education (IJECE), published by Lembaga Penelitian dan Pemberdayaan Masyarakat (LITPAM), Indonesia, is committed to maintaining originality, academic integrity, and ethical standards in scholarly publishing.

All submitted manuscripts are expected to present original scholarly contributions and appropriately acknowledge previously published research, intellectual ideas, data, and other sources.

To support these principles, IJECE uses Turnitin similarity-detection software as part of its editorial screening procedures. Similarity reports are evaluated by the editorial team to identify potentially inappropriate textual overlap, plagiarism, redundant publication, and other concerns relating to research originality.

1. Definition and Forms of Plagiarism

Plagiarism occurs when authors present another person's words, ideas, research findings, data, or intellectual contributions as their own without appropriate acknowledgment.

Forms of plagiarism and inappropriate scholarly reuse may include:

  • Direct Plagiarism: Reproducing text from another source without proper quotation or attribution.
  • Paraphrasing Plagiarism: Rewriting or closely paraphrasing another author's work without acknowledging the original source.
  • Idea Plagiarism: Presenting another researcher's original ideas, arguments, interpretations, or theoretical contributions without appropriate citation.
  • Data or Research Plagiarism: Using another researcher's data, findings, tables, figures, instruments, or other research materials without appropriate acknowledgment or permission where required.
  • Inappropriate Text Recycling: Reusing substantial portions of an author's previously published text without appropriate disclosure, citation, or justification.
  • Redundant or Duplicate Publication: Submitting or publishing substantially the same scholarly work more than once without appropriate disclosure and editorial authorization.

Not all textual similarities constitute plagiarism. The editorial team evaluates the nature, extent, context, attribution, and scholarly significance of identified similarities before determining whether an ethical concern exists.

2. Similarity Screening Using Turnitin

IJECE conducts similarity screening using Turnitin as part of its manuscript evaluation process.

The journal establishes an overall similarity score of 20% as its standard preliminary screening benchmark.

Manuscripts with similarity scores exceeding 20% will normally be subject to further editorial examination and may be returned to the authors for clarification or revision.

However, a similarity score above 20% does not automatically establish plagiarism, and a score of 20% or below does not guarantee that a manuscript is free from plagiarism or other ethical concerns.

Editorial decisions are based on the analysis of the similarity report and the manuscript's scholarly content rather than solely on the numerical similarity percentage.

3. Evaluation of Similarity Reports

When interpreting Turnitin similarity reports, the editorial team considers:

  1. The overall similarity percentage and distribution of matched text.
  2. The proportion of text overlapping with individual sources.
  3. The presence of properly attributed quotations, citations, and references.
  4. Similarities involving standard academic terminology, commonly used expressions, or established methodological descriptions.
  5. Substantial textual overlap in the introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, or conclusions.
  6. The reuse of previously published material by the same authors and whether such reuse has been appropriately disclosed.
  7. The possibility of duplicate publication or substantial overlap with another manuscript or published article.
  8. The extent to which the identified similarities affect the originality, transparency, and scholarly contribution of the submitted work.

Bibliographic references, properly quoted passages, and other potentially legitimate matches may be examined separately when assessing the significance of textual overlap.

Similarity report filters and exclusions may be used where appropriate, but they must not be applied to conceal substantial copying or artificially misrepresent the originality of a manuscript.

4. Editorial Decisions and Corrective Actions

Following similarity assessment, the editorial team may take one or more of the following actions:

  • Proceed with Editorial Evaluation: The manuscript may continue to editorial assessment or peer review when the identified similarities are appropriately attributed and do not raise significant concerns.
  • Request Clarification: Authors may be asked to explain the origin of matched material, provide references, or clarify the relationship between the submission and previously disseminated work.
  • Request Revision: Authors may be required to correct inadequate citations, improve paraphrasing, remove inappropriate textual overlap, or revise sections that do not meet the journal's originality standards.
  • Conduct Further Investigation: The editorial team may examine relevant source documents or consult appropriate experts when substantial or unexplained similarities are identified.
  • Reject the Manuscript: Manuscripts may be rejected when substantial plagiarism, deliberate misrepresentation, serious redundant publication, or other significant violations of publication ethics are established.

Authors will be given an appropriate opportunity to respond to significant concerns when further investigation is warranted.

The editorial team retains responsibility for determining whether a manuscript satisfies the journal's originality and publication ethics requirements.

5. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to IJECE are responsible for ensuring the originality, accuracy, and proper attribution of their scholarly work.

Authors are required to:

  • Submit original research or scholarly contributions that have not been published in substantially the same form or submitted simultaneously to another journal.
  • Provide appropriate citations for ideas, data, quotations, methods, and other material derived from previously published sources.
  • Use quotation marks or other appropriate conventions when reproducing text directly from another source.
  • Disclose relevant previous dissemination of the work, including preprints, conference proceedings, working papers, or related publications.
  • Obtain necessary permissions for copyrighted third-party materials where required.
  • Avoid misleading paraphrasing, substantial unattributed copying, and inappropriate reuse of previously published content.
  • Respond appropriately to editorial requests concerning originality, similarity reports, and publication ethics.

Authors are encouraged to review the originality of their manuscripts before submission. However, a low similarity score does not replace the responsibility to comply with ethical standards and appropriate scholarly attribution.

6. Similarity Reassessment After Revision

IJECE may conduct additional similarity screening following manuscript revision when necessary to verify that identified textual overlap has been appropriately addressed.

The editorial team may request further corrections if significant concerns remain after revision.

Reassessment focuses on the substantive resolution of originality concerns rather than merely reducing the numerical similarity percentage.

Manuscripts that fail to satisfy the journal's originality and research integrity requirements may be rejected regardless of their similarity score.

7. Plagiarism Identified After Publication

If credible concerns about plagiarism or substantial redundant publication arise after an article has been published, IJECE will assess the allegations in accordance with its Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement and relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

The editorial team may examine supporting evidence, request explanations from the authors, consult independent experts, or contact relevant institutions when appropriate.

Depending on the nature and severity of the problem, possible outcomes may include clarification, publication of a correction, an expression of concern, or retraction of the article.

Any corrective action will seek to protect the integrity, accuracy, and transparency of the scholarly record.

8. Policy Implementation and Ethical Guidance

The Editor-in-Chief and authorized editorial team members are responsible for implementing the journal's similarity screening and plagiarism assessment procedures.

Similarity reports and unpublished manuscripts must be handled with appropriate confidentiality and access restrictions.

IJECE may periodically review this policy to maintain consistency with developments in scholarly publishing, publication ethics, and similarity-detection technologies.

This policy is informed by the following resources:

IJECE remains committed to ensuring that published articles meet appropriate standards of originality, ethical attribution, and scholarly integrity.