Plagiarism in Research

Hello and thanks for reaching out. I admit that I found it a bit difficult to understand your question, but I hope I can provide some clarity and insights that will help you resolve the issue you are facing.Your question in the title mentions 100% similarity. However, you mention that the initial file showed 13%, similarity, and after the first revision, the file showed 63% similarity (I assumed that you were referring to that file and not the other one you are working on). It is surprising that the same file would show such varied similarity values, but I assume that extensive changes might have been made at the revision stage.Now, let me explain how Turnitin and other similarity checking/plagiarism detection tools work. Users upload their written work to Turnitin, which compares the submitted work against a vast database of academic materials and identifies similarities between the submitted work and the content in its database. After the comparison, Turnitin generates report that highlights any passages that match content in its database and provides a similarity score (expressed as a percentage). The similarity percentage represents the proportion of the document that matches other sources in the database. How to interpret Turnitin’s...

Dear Author,Thanks for writing to us.The answer depends on what was the reason for rejection from Journal A. If Journal A rejected the manuscript due to it not meeting the journal’s aims and scope, then we would not advice you resubmitting to Journal A, even after revisions. However, if the reason was rejection was due to low priority or with reviewers’ comments or due to high similarity index, then you can consider resubmitting to the journal A again after making significant revisions. 

Dear Author,Thank you for writing to us. As long as the research question is different, it is acceptable to publish studies that have similar or overlapping study groups. For more details, you may also refer to the following link: https://www.editage.com/insights/can-two-papers-with-same-data-but-different-analysis-be-considered-duplicate-publication.Please let us know if you’d like clarity in any other regard. We’d be happy to help. 

Dear Author,Thank you for your question. This is a common issue with plagiarism checkers, and since journals are aware of this, it usually doesn't cause a problem. You may share an additional note with the journal (perhaps as a part of your covering letter), explaining the scenario. We would be happy to assist you with this note or provide further help, if required.

Dear Author, thank you for your query.Most journals have a set similarity index and if that index for your manuscript is higher than the limit set by the journal, the journal will outright reject the paper. There are several ways of dealing with plagiarized text:Ensure copied text is clearly identified and the source acknowledged.You should always cite the source when you are borrowing a concept or an idea from another paper, even if you have summarized it in your own words.If you are using the same words as that of the source material, you should always use quotation marks.Remember that even if you are using a concept or idea from one of your own previously published papers, you have to cite the source; else, this will be considered as self-plagiarism.Once you have revised the paper, ensure that you run through a plagiarism software and then consider submitting it to another journal.

Thank you for your question. I have divided my answer into three parts for clarity.What is third party data authorization?Third party data authorization is required when you cite intellectual property from other works in your study. Permission should be sought from the rights holder to reproduce any substantial part of a copyrighted work. This includes any text, illustrations, charts, tables, photographs, or other material from previously published sources.When do you require third party data authorization and where to find it?It is acceptable to use reference citations if the work you are citing is licensed under an open access Creative Commons CC BY license, which means that you may download and read the paper for free. Moreover, the article may be reused and quoted provided that the original published version is cited. These conditions allow for maximum use and exposure of the work, while ensuring that the authors receive proper credit. However, some articles may be licensed differently and are protected by copyrights. In such cases, you would want to seek permissions before proceeding. You can find details regarding the copyrights in the online published versions of the articles/works in question.Obtaining permissionYou can contact the publisher of the material. Most publishers...

Thank you for your query, and we are very sorry to hear that this occurred! I agree that the timing of these events makes it reasonable to question whether there was any unethical behavior on the part of the individuals concerned, but the seriousness of this allegation means that it would be prudent to tread carefully. A reasonable course of action would be to contact the editor explaining your concerns that a publication with similar content to your submission was published at a similar time frame to when your manuscript was submitted, and noting that you hope the editor will be able to rule out any influence of your submission on the publication of this correction. The hope is that the implicit assumption of good faith will balance out the seriousness of the allegation and hopefully bring any such event to light. As you noted, because there is no direct evidence of plagiarism, it is difficult to proceed more decisively than this.

Thank you for your question. We understand that you wish to run your manuscript through URKUND for a plagiarism check. Unfortunately, we do not have any experience with this tool. Therefore, we recommend you make a copy of your manuscript and remove the reference list from this copy before you run it through URKUND to check if it takes into account referenced texts.

A score between 5% and 10% is not bad per se. A score around 5% is reasonable. Anything over 10% can be a problem, but it is always a good idea to check the plagiarism policy of your target journal.Most journals do not encourage plagiarism of any kind, including self-plagiarism. In fact, some journals may also consider this as text recycling (if you don’t reference the original source), which refers to repurposing one’s own previously published work without proper referencing. Some journal editors may regard such a submission unfavorably, like in this case, where the journal was on the verge of retracting the review article. While there is much debate and many differing views on this topic, we would suggest that you sufficiently cite the original article to avoid any such problems during the review phase. You will also find this article useful: Six ways to avoid plagiarism in research papers

Unfortunately, the answer is YES! When someone presents your work or part of your work—with or without your consent; and most importantly, without acknowledgement, it is termed as plagiarism. All published and unpublished material, in printed or electronic form, is covered under this definition. So, be it any era, if you have made a substantial contribution to a research—you duly deserve authorship. Sadly, this is quite common in academia when students do not wish to pursue further studies, supervisors conveniently ghost their contribution (search for Ghost authorship: https://publicationethics.org/authorship). In such cases, the student has to ask for their authorship and supervisor CANNOT deny as it is considered an unethical practice otherwise (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html)Related resourcesSix ways to avoid plagiarism in research papersHow do I respond to a potential case of plagiarism in a paper I am reviewing?What Is Plagiarism And How To Avoid It? How To Prevent Plagiarism?