Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism Policy

Kotaragama Comparativa is strictly committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity. Plagiarism in any form is considered a serious ethical violation. This policy outlines the journal's stance on plagiarism, the detection methods used, and the sanctions imposed on offenders.

1. Definition of Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined as the act of taking someone else's work, ideas, words, or expressions and passing them off as one's own without proper acknowledgment or citation. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • Copying text directly from books, journals, websites, or other sources without quotation marks and citations.
  • Paraphrasing someone else's ideas without giving proper credit.
  • Using data, images, tables, or figures from other sources without permission and attribution.
  • Self-plagiarism: Reusing one's own previously published work without citing the original publication.
2. Detection Tools and Similarity Threshold
Detection Software All submitted manuscripts are screened using Turnitin, the industry-standard plagiarism detection software.
Maximum Similarity Index The maximum allowable similarity index is 25%.
Single Source Limit The similarity from a single source must not exceed 5%.
3. Types of Plagiarism Monitored
The editorial team actively monitors the following types of plagiarism:
  • Direct Plagiarism: Verbatim copying of text without quotation marks or citation.
  • Mosaic Plagiarism: Piecing together text from multiple sources with minor word changes, without proper citation.
  • Self-Plagiarism (Duplicate Publication): Submitting a manuscript that has already been published in another journal or conference.
  • Accidental Plagiarism: Failing to cite sources properly due to negligence. (Note: Ignorance is not an excuse; authors are responsible for checking their work).
  • AI-Generated Plagiarism: Submitting text generated entirely by Artificial Intelligence (e.g., ChatGPT) without disclosure or substantial human intellectual contribution.
4. Sanctions and Consequences
Before Publication If plagiarism is detected during the initial screening or peer review process:
  • The manuscript will be immediately desk-rejected.
  • The author will be notified of the violation.
  • The author's institution may be informed in cases of severe plagiarism.
After Publication If plagiarism is discovered after the article has been published:
  • The article will be retracted immediately.
  • A formal Retraction Notice will be published, clearly stating the reason for retraction.
  • The author(s) will be blacklisted and banned from submitting future manuscripts to Kotaragama Comparativa.
  • The author's institution and funding agency will be formally notified.
5. Author Responsibilities
To avoid plagiarism, authors are strongly advised to:
  • Always use proper citation and referencing styles (Chicago Manual of Style) for all sources used.
  • Use quotation marks for direct quotes and provide the exact page number.
  • Paraphrase carefully and ensure the original source is fully cited.
  • Run their own manuscript through a plagiarism checker (e.g., Turnitin) before submission to ensure the similarity index is below 25%.
  • Disclose any use of AI tools in the Acknowledgment section and ensure the final intellectual contribution is their own.
Summary: Kotaragama Comparativa enforces a strict zero-tolerance policy towards plagiarism. All manuscripts are screened using Turnitin, and the maximum similarity index allowed is 25% (with a maximum of 5% from a single source). Violations will result in immediate rejection, retraction, and potential blacklisting of the authors.
Report Plagiarism: If you suspect that a published article in Kotaragama Comparativa contains plagiarized content, please report it immediately and confidentially to the Editor-in-Chief at journal.kotaragama@gmail.com. All reports will be investigated thoroughly.