Plagiarism Policy

International Journal of Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences (IJIMS) ISSN (Online): 3139-3071

Our Commitment

IJIMS is committed to publishing original, unpublished research and maintaining the highest standards of academic and publication integrity. The journal has zero tolerance for plagiarism in any form and follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for identifying and addressing suspected plagiarism.

Screening Process

  • All manuscripts submitted to IJIMS are screened for textual similarity using Turnitin as part of the initial editorial check, prior to being sent for peer review.

  • A similarity report is generated for every submission and reviewed by the editorial office.

  • Manuscripts may be re-screened at the revision stage and again prior to final acceptance, to ensure no substantial unoriginal content has been introduced during revisions.

Similarity Threshold

  • Manuscripts with an overall similarity index of more than 15% (excluding references, quotations, and standard methodological phrasing) are generally not considered for peer review and are returned to the authors.

  • A single-source similarity of more than 5% may also trigger editorial review, regardless of the overall score, if it indicates substantial unattributed overlap with one prior publication.

  • These thresholds serve as editorial guidance; the Editor-in-Chief retains discretion to evaluate borderline cases in context (e.g., legitimately reused methods sections, common technical terminology, or properly cited material flagged by the software).

Definition of Plagiarism

For the purposes of this policy, plagiarism includes but is not limited to:

  • Verbatim plagiarism: Copying text, data, or ideas from another source without attribution.

  • Self-plagiarism (text recycling): Reuse of an author's own previously published text or data without appropriate citation or disclosure.

  • Mosaic/patchwork plagiarism: Piecing together phrases or passages from one or more sources with minor word changes, without proper citation.

  • Paraphrasing plagiarism: Rewording another's work closely enough that the original source is not adequately credited.

  • Data plagiarism: Presenting others' data, results, or figures as one's own.

Editorial Action on Detected Plagiarism

Depending on the stage at which plagiarism is detected and its severity, IJIMS may take one or more of the following actions, consistent with COPE guidelines:

Stage

Possible Action

At submission (pre-review)

Manuscript rejected outright; corresponding author notified with the similarity report

During peer review

Manuscript rejected; authors notified with reasons

After acceptance, before publication

Publication withheld pending author clarification or manuscript withdrawal

After publication

Formal correction, Expression of Concern, or Retraction, in accordance with the journal's Retraction and Editorial Expressions of Concern policy

In cases of confirmed serious or repeated plagiarism, the journal reserves the right to:

  • Notify the author(s)' institution(s) and/or funding body

  • Bar the author(s) from future submissions to IJIMS for a specified period

  • Report the matter to COPE for further guidance, where warranted

Author Responsibilities

Authors are required to:

  • Submit only original work that has not been published elsewhere and is not under consideration by another journal.

  • Properly cite and attribute all sources of text, data, images, and ideas used from prior work, including their own previously published material.

  • Obtain necessary permissions for any reproduced content (e.g., figures, tables) from copyrighted sources.

  • Disclose if the manuscript is derived from a thesis, dissertation, or preprint.

Contact

Questions regarding this policy, or a similarity report for a specific submission, may be directed to the Editorial Office at chief_editor@ijims.in.