Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism and Similarity Policy

The Iraqi Journal for Applied Science (IJAS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, research ethics, and responsible scholarly publishing. The journal has a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism and other forms of research misconduct.

All submitted manuscripts are screened for textual similarity before entering the peer-review process. Editorial decisions are based on a comprehensive assessment of the originality of the work and not solely on similarity percentages.

1. Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the presentation of another person's ideas, words, data, images, or intellectual property as one's own without appropriate acknowledgment.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

Copying text without proper citation.
Using figures, tables, or illustrations without permission or attribution.
Reproducing data or research findings without acknowledgment.
Paraphrasing another author's work without appropriate citation.
Presenting another researcher's ideas as original work.
Translation plagiarism.
Mosaic or patchwork plagiarism.
Contract cheating or ghostwriting.
Unauthorized use of unpublished material.

Plagiarism is considered a serious violation of publication ethics.

2. Similarity Screening

All submitted manuscripts are screened using recognized plagiarism-detection software before peer review.

Similarity reports are evaluated by the Editorial Office with consideration of:

The source of overlapping text.
Proper citation and attribution.
Common scientific terminology.
Standard methodological descriptions.
References and bibliographic material.
Legitimate quotations.

Editorial decisions are based on the context and nature of the overlap rather than similarity percentages alone.

3. Similarity Thresholds

As general editorial guidance:

Overall Similarity Index	Editorial Action
Less than 20%	Normally acceptable for editorial evaluation, subject to contextual assessment.
20–30%	May be returned to the authors for revision and reduction of overlap before peer review.
Greater than 30%	Normally rejected due to excessive textual similarity.

In addition:

Similarity from a single source should normally remain below 5%.
Properly quoted and cited material may be excluded from similarity calculations where appropriate.
Editorial judgment always takes precedence over numerical similarity scores.

4. Self-Plagiarism

Authors must avoid substantial reuse of their own previously published work without proper citation and disclosure.

Examples include:

Duplicate publication.
Redundant publication.
Text recycling without attribution.
Reuse of previously published figures or tables without permission.
Reuse of previously published datasets without disclosure.

Any overlap with previously published work should be clearly identified during submission.

5. Other Forms of Research Misconduct

In addition to plagiarism, IJAS considers the following unacceptable:

Data fabrication.
Data falsification.
Image manipulation.
Citation manipulation.
Fake authorship.
Peer-review manipulation.
Undisclosed conflicts of interest.
Duplicate submission.
Paper mill submissions.

Suspected misconduct is investigated according to internationally recognized ethical guidelines.

6. Editorial Actions

When plagiarism or research misconduct is suspected, the Editorial Office may initiate an investigation in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Before Publication

Depending on the severity of the issue, the journal may:

Request clarification from the authors.
Return the manuscript for correction.
Reject the manuscript.
Suspend editorial processing while an investigation is conducted.
Notify the authors' institution in cases of serious misconduct where appropriate.

After Publication

If misconduct is confirmed after publication, the journal may:

Publish a correction.
Publish an expression of concern.
Retract the article.
Update bibliographic records.
Notify relevant institutions, publishers, or funding agencies where appropriate.

7. Author Responsibilities

Authors are responsible for ensuring that:

Submitted work is original.
All sources are properly cited.
Permissions have been obtained for copyrighted material.
Previously published work is appropriately acknowledged.
Similarity levels comply with journal requirements.
The manuscript complies with accepted standards of publication ethics.

Submission of a manuscript implies that all authors accept responsibility for the originality and integrity of the work.

8. Editorial Responsibility

The Editorial Board evaluates each case individually and fairly.

Similarity reports are interpreted by experienced editors, and editorial decisions are based on scientific integrity rather than numerical similarity values alone.

The journal recognizes that some overlap in methodological descriptions, references, and standard scientific terminology may be unavoidable.

9. Appeals

Authors who disagree with an editorial decision related to plagiarism or similarity assessment may submit a written appeal to the Editorial Office.

Appeals should include:

A detailed explanation.
Supporting evidence.
Any relevant documentation.

Appeals are reviewed independently by the Editor-in-Chief and, where appropriate, members of the Editorial Board not previously involved in the original decision.

The outcome of the appeal is considered final.