Plagiarism Screening Policy

IJSS: International Journal of Social Sciences maintains a zero-tolerance policy regarding scientific misconduct, data falsification, and plagiarism in all its forms. The editorial board is dedicated to publishing only original academic research that adheres strictly to global standards of scholarly integrity.

1. Automated Similarity Screening

All submitted manuscripts are subjected to rigorous automated plagiarism screening prior to being forwarded for external peer review. IJSS employs industry-standard software (such as Turnitin / iThenticate) to verify textual originality and identify overlapping scholarly sources.

2. Permissible Similarity Threshold

The journal enforces clear quantitative thresholds regarding textual similarity:

  • Maximum Overall Similarity: The overall similarity index must not exceed 20% across the entire manuscript (excluding legitimate references, author affiliations, and standard mathematical formulations).
  • Single-Source Threshold: The similarity from any single published source must not exceed 3%. Matches exceeding this threshold must be properly paraphrased, synthesized, and rigorously cited.

3. Editorial Actions on Detected Similarity

Depending on the nature and severity of identified textual overlap, the editorial board takes the following measures:

  • Minor Overlap (≤ 20% aggregate, but with concentrated matching passages): The manuscript is returned to the authors with an editorial request to paraphrase the highlighted text and improve proper attribution before external review commences.
  • Significant Overlap (> 20% aggregate or extensive uncredited verbatim copying): The manuscript is subject to immediate Desk Rejection without peer review. The editorial office will issue a formal explanation to the corresponding author.
  • Severe Academic Misconduct (Extensive verbatim duplication, data fabrication, or unauthorized translation of existing studies): The manuscript is permanently declined, and the editorial board reserves the right to notify the authors' affiliated institutions and relevant scholarly bodies following formal COPE guidelines.

4. Self-Plagiarism and Redundant Publication

Authors are reminded that recycling substantial portions of their own previously published work (text recycling / self-plagiarism) without proper attribution or clear scholarly justification constitutes an ethical infringement and is strictly prohibited.