Plagiarism Policy

Our Commitment to Originality

AIJNES publishes only original work. Every submission must be the authors’ own work, must not have been published previously, and must not be under consideration by another journal. The journal follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for preventing and handling plagiarism.

What Constitutes Plagiarism

  • Copying text, data, figures or ideas of others without proper acknowledgement
  • Paraphrasing another author’s work without citation
  • Self-plagiarism or text recycling from the author’s own published work without disclosure
  • Duplicate (redundant) publication or simultaneous submission
  • Data fabrication, falsification or image manipulation
  • Using AI-generated content without disclosure

Plagiarism Screening

All manuscripts are checked with Turnitin similarity-detection software at initial editorial screening, before they are sent for peer review, and again before publication. The similarity report is reviewed by the editor; a similarity score alone is never the basis of a decision.

Similarity Threshold

In line with the guidelines of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan, the overall similarity index must not exceed 19%, with no more than 5% from any single source, excluding references and properly quoted material.

Handling of Plagiarism Cases

Type of CaseEditorial Action
Minor overlap (e.g. missing citations, limited text overlap)Manuscript returned to the author for correction
Major plagiarism (extensive copying without attribution)Manuscript rejected; author informed with evidence
Plagiarism detected after publicationInvestigation following COPE flowcharts; correction or retraction as appropriate
Repeated or deliberate misconductRejection, notification of the author’s institution, and possible submission ban

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Authors who use generative AI for language editing or other support must disclose this in the manuscript (e.g. in the Methods or Acknowledgements section) and remain fully responsible for the accuracy and originality of the content. Reviewers and editors must not upload manuscripts to AI tools.

Author Declaration and Appeals

At submission, authors confirm that the work is original and properly cited. Authors may appeal a plagiarism-related decision by writing to the Editor-in-Chief (jawad@academia.edu.pk) with supporting evidence; appeals are handled under the journal’s Appeals Policy and COPE guidance.