Plagiarism Policy

The Journal of Multidisciplinary Engineering Research (JMER) is committed to maintaining high standards of academic integrity, originality, and ethical research and publication practices. Plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct are strictly unacceptable.

1. Originality of Manuscripts

All manuscripts submitted to JMER must be original works of the authors and must not have been previously published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all ideas, text, data, figures, tables, methodologies, and other materials obtained from other sources are properly acknowledged and cited.

2. Plagiarism

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

  • Copying another person's words, ideas, results, or intellectual contributions without proper acknowledgement.
  • Presenting another author's work as one's own.
  • Substantial copying or close paraphrasing of published or unpublished material without appropriate citation.
  • Reusing substantial portions of one's previously published work without proper acknowledgement (self-plagiarism).
  • Unauthorized reproduction or use of figures, tables, photographs, datasets, or other copyrighted materials.
  • Fabrication or manipulation of references or sources.

3. Similarity Screening

All manuscripts submitted to JMER may undergo plagiarism and similarity screening as part of the editorial assessment process.

Similarity reports are used as an editorial screening tool. A similarity score alone does not automatically constitute plagiarism; the Editorial Board will assess the nature, extent, and sources of the identified similarities before making a decision.

4. Manuscripts with Plagiarism

Where significant plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct are identified, JMER may:

  • Request an explanation or clarification from the authors.
  • Return the manuscript to the authors for appropriate correction where the issue is minor.
  • Reject the manuscript.
  • Withdraw a manuscript from the review or publication process.
  • Notify the author's institution or relevant authority where appropriate.
  • Restrict future submissions from authors involved in serious or repeated misconduct.

The action taken will depend on the seriousness and circumstances of each case.

5. Author Responsibilities

Authors submitting manuscripts to JMER must:

  • Ensure that their work is original.
  • Properly cite all sources used in the manuscript.
  • Clearly identify and acknowledge quotations and reproduced materials.
  • Obtain permission where necessary to use copyrighted materials.
  • Disclose substantial overlap with their previous publications or other works.
  • Ensure that the manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal.

6. Self-Plagiarism and Duplicate Publication

JMER recognizes that legitimate scholarly work may sometimes develop from previously presented research, including conference papers. However, authors must clearly disclose any previous version and appropriately cite the earlier work.

Submitting substantially the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously is not permitted.

7. Plagiarism Discovered After Publication

If plagiarism is discovered after an article has been published, JMER will investigate the matter and take appropriate action.

Depending on the findings, the journal may publish a correction or editorial notice, retract the article, or take other measures considered appropriate under its publication ethics procedures.

Serious cases may also be referred to the author's institution or relevant professional body.

8. Artificial Intelligence and Originality

Authors remain fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, and integrity of manuscripts prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools.

The use of AI tools does not exempt authors from the requirement to properly acknowledge sources or from responsibility for plagiarism, fabricated information, or inappropriate reproduction of existing material.

AI tools cannot be listed as authors of manuscripts submitted to JMER.

9. Commitment to Academic Integrity

JMER promotes a culture of original research, proper attribution, transparency, and responsible scholarly communication. Authors, reviewers, editors, and other contributors are expected to uphold these principles throughout the publication process.

JMER reserves the right to review and update this policy periodically in accordance with developments in scholarly publishing and research-integrity standards.