Plagiarism Policy

All submissions are screened with similarity-checking software before peer review. The similarity report is examined by an editor; the overall percentage alone does not determine the outcome.

Thresholds for Editorial Examination

A manuscript is examined in detail when, excluding references and properly quoted material:

• the overall similarity index exceeds 20 percent; or
• more than 5 percent of the text matches a single source.

Outcomes

• Minor overlap, such as standard phrases in the methods section, may be accepted or returned for revision.
• Substantial overlap with previously published work, including the authors' own, leads to rejection before publication.
• Plagiarism, duplicate publication, or redundant publication identified after publication leads to retraction, in line with the COPE Retraction Guidelines.

Text Recycling and Duplicate Submission

Authors must not reuse substantial parts of their own published text without citation, and must not submit a manuscript that is under consideration elsewhere. Suspected cases are handled following the COPE flowcharts.