Plagiarism Policy
Plagiarism is defined as the unethical act of copying someone else’s ideas, processes, results, or words without proper acknowledgment of the original author and source. Self-plagiarism occurs when an author reuses substantial parts of their own previously published work without appropriate references. This can range from submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals to revising a previously published paper with new data. The journal maintains a strict policy against any form of copying or plagiarism. Plagiarism is considered to have occurred when significant portions of a manuscript are taken from existing published works without proper citation. All manuscripts submitted to the IJHS are screened for plagiarism using software such as Plagiarism Checker X or Turnitin.
Manuscripts identified as plagiarized during the initial review process will be immediately rejected and will not be considered for publication. If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the Editor-in-Chief will conduct a preliminary investigation, potentially involving a designated committee.
If the manuscript is discovered to contain excessive plagiarism, the journal will notify the author's institution or funding agency.
A determination of misconduct may result in the journal publishing a statement linked to the original paper to indicate the plagiarism and reference the affected material. The problematic paper will also be marked on every page of the PDF, and depending on the severity, the paper may be formally retracted.
Types of Plagiarism
- **Full Plagiarism**: Representing previously published content without any modifications to the text, ideas, or grammar.
- **Partial Plagiarism**: Involves a mixture from various sources where the author has extensively paraphrased content, which constitutes partial plagiarism.
- **Self-Plagiarism**: Occurs when an author reuses complete or portions of their prior research, with complete self-plagiarism being the act of republishing their own previously published work in a new journal.
Policy and Actions for Plagiarism
The IJHS values intellectual property and is committed to protecting and promoting the original work of its authors. Manuscripts that contain plagiarized content undermine the standards of quality, research, and innovation. Consequently, all authors submitting work to IJHS are expected to uphold ethical standards and avoid any form of plagiarism. If an author is suspected of plagiarism in a submitted or published manuscript, IJHS will contact the author(s) to provide an explanation within two weeks. This response may be directed to a Fact Finding Committee (FFC) for further action. If no response is received within the specified timeframe, the Director, Dean, or Head of the respective College, Institution, or Organization, or the Vice Chancellor of the University to which the author is affiliated will be notified for appropriate action.
The IJHS is prepared to take serious measures against published manuscripts found to contain plagiarism, including removing them from the IJHS website and any third-party listings or indexes. Once any published article in the IJHS database is reported as plagiarized, a Fact Finding Committee (FFC) will be formed to investigate the claim. If it is determined that the manuscript has plagiarized content, IJHS will support the original author regardless of the publisher and may take one or more of the following actions, as recommended by the committee:
- The IJHS editorial office will immediately inform the Director, Dean, or Head of the respective College, Institution, or Organization, or the Vice Chancellor of the University associated with the author(s) for strict action.
- The PDF version of the published manuscript will be removed from the website, and all links to the full text will be disabled. The title of the published manuscript will include the designation “Plagiarized Manuscript".
- A list of such authors, including their contact details, may be published on the IJHS website.
- Any other actions deemed appropriate by the Committee or as determined by the Editorial Board may also be taken.
-The writer's account could be disabled, and they may be unable to submit work for three, five, or ten years, or even permanently banned.
