Plagiarism and Similarity Policy

The International Journal of Social Exploration (IJSoE) is committed to maintaining originality, academic integrity, and responsible scholarly publishing. Plagiarism, inappropriate text reuse, duplicate publication, redundant publication, fabricated citations, and other forms of academic misconduct are not acceptable.

Originality of Submissions

Authors must submit original work and appropriately acknowledge all ideas, words, data, arguments, tables, figures, and other material derived from previously published or unpublished sources.

Manuscripts submitted to IJSoE must not have been published previously in substantially the same form and must not be under simultaneous consideration by another journal.

Similarity Screening

Submitted manuscripts may be screened using appropriate similarity-detection software or other editorial checks before or during the review process.

A similarity report is used as an editorial screening tool and is not treated as automatic proof of plagiarism. Similarity may arise legitimately from references, standard methodological terminology, commonly used expressions, properly quoted material, institutional names, or previously disclosed work.

No Fixed Similarity Percentage

IJSoE does not rely solely on a fixed numerical similarity threshold when determining whether a manuscript contains plagiarism.

The Editorial Team evaluates the nature, source, location, extent, and academic significance of matching material. Particular attention is given to unattributed copying, substantial reproduction of another author's work, inappropriate reuse of previously published material, copied arguments or interpretations, and attempts to conceal the original source.

Self-Plagiarism and Text Recycling

Authors must transparently cite their own previously published work where relevant. Substantial reuse of previously published text, data, tables, figures, or findings without appropriate citation or disclosure may constitute unacceptable text recycling or redundant publication.

Limited reuse of standard methodological descriptions may be considered in context, provided that it does not misrepresent previously published material as entirely new work.

Duplicate and Redundant Publication

Authors must not submit substantially the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously or publish materially overlapping findings as separate publications without appropriate justification, disclosure, and cross-referencing.

If the submitted manuscript is related to another published, submitted, or forthcoming work, authors should disclose this information to the Editor.

Use of Sources and Quotations

Direct quotations must be clearly identified and appropriately cited. Paraphrased ideas, theories, findings, and arguments derived from other sources must also be properly acknowledged.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all citations and references included in their manuscripts.

Actions in Cases of Suspected Plagiarism

Where significant plagiarism or other inappropriate reuse is suspected before publication, the journal may seek clarification from the author(s), request revision, suspend editorial consideration, or reject the manuscript depending on the seriousness of the concern.

Where plagiarism or serious duplication is identified after publication, the journal may issue a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other appropriate notice after evaluating the available evidence.

Responsibility of Authors

Authors remain fully responsible for ensuring the originality and integrity of their submissions. Submission of a manuscript to IJSoE indicates that the authors accept responsibility for the originality of the work and for the appropriate acknowledgement of all sources.

Editorial Assessment

Decisions concerning plagiarism and similarity are based on academic judgement and the specific circumstances of each case rather than on similarity percentage alone. The Editorial Team may request additional information or supporting documentation where necessary.