Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of using another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit. It includes, but is not limited to:

• Verbatim copying of text without quotation marks and citation.
• Paraphrasing text, concepts, or data without acknowledgment.
• Reusing substantial parts of an author’s own published work (self-plagiarism) without proper citation.

Policy Statement

AFKAR is committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity and publication ethics. All manuscripts submitted for publication must be free from plagiarism. The journal will not tolerate any form of plagiarism, and all submissions will be screened for plagiarism using Turnitin software.

Author Responsibilities

• Original Work: Authors must ensure that their submitted manuscript is original and has not been published elsewhere in any form or language.
• Citation and Attribution: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have influenced the content and context of their work.
• Disclosure: Authors should disclose any potential conflicts of interest and provide information on any previous publication or presentation of the material in any form.

Editor Responsibilities

• Initial Screening: Upon submission, the editor will perform an initial screening of the manuscript using plagiarism detection software.
• Assessment: If significant plagiarism is detected, the manuscript will be rejected outright. If minor overlaps or similarities are detected, the editor may require revisions from the authors.
• Decision: The final decision on the manuscript will be made based on the originality, significance, and contribution of the work to the field.

Reviewer Responsibilities

• Vigilance: Reviewers are expected to be vigilant and report any suspected cases of plagiarism to the editor.
• Confidentiality: Reviewers must treat the manuscript confidentially and not use any information obtained through peer review for personal advantage.

Consequences of Plagiarism

• Rejection: Manuscripts found to contain significant plagiarism will be rejected immediately.
• Retraction: If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the article will be retracted and a retraction notice will be published in the journal.
• Notification: The authors’ institutions and relevant funding agencies may be notified of the plagiarism case.
• Ban: Authors found to have committed plagiarism may be banned from submitting future manuscripts to AFKAR

Reporting Plagiarism

If a reader suspects plagiarism in any published article, they should report it to the editor with sufficient information and evidence. The journal will investigate the claim thoroughly and take appropriate action based on the findings.

Ethical Compliance

All authors must comply with ethical standards and guidelines provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and other relevant ethical bodies.

By submitting a manuscript to AFKAR, authors agree to adhere to this plagiarism policy.