Plagiarism and Retraction
The editorial board of the Acta Pharmacy and Health Science (APHS) considers plagiarism unacceptable and has established the following policy, outlining specific actions (penalties) when plagiarism is identified in a submitted article. APHS uses Turnitin's originality checking software to detect text similarities in submissions. A maximum of 25% similarity is allowed for submitted papers. If we find that the similarity index exceeds 25%, the article will be returned to the author for correction and resubmission.
Definition:
Plagiarism involves using or closely imitating another author's language and thoughts and presenting them as one's original work.
Policy:
Papers must be original, unpublished, and not pending publication elsewhere. Any material taken verbatim from another source must be identified as distinct from the original text by (1) indentation, (2) quotation marks, and (3) source identification.
Any text exceeding fair use standards (more than two or three sentences or equivalent) must be properly cited. Any reproduced graphic material requires permission from the copyright holder and, if feasible, the original author(s), and must be properly cited.
When plagiarism is detected, the Chief Editor reviews the paper and decides on measures according to the plagiarism's extent, following these guidelines:
Level of Plagiarism
Minor:
A short section of another article is plagiarized without significant data or ideas taken.
Action:
The authors receive a warning and must change the text and properly cite the original source.
Intermediate:
A significant portion of the paper is plagiarized without proper citation.
Action:
The article is rejected, and the authors are banned from submitting articles for one year.
Severe:
A significant portion of the paper is plagiarized, reproducing original results or ideas from another publication.
Action:
The article is rejected, and the authors are banned from submitting articles for five years.
All authors are responsible for the content of their submitted papers, acknowledging APHS's Copyright and Licensing Terms. All authors will face the same penalty if plagiarism is found.
If a second plagiarism case by the same author(s) is identified, the Editorial board will decide on measures. The author(s) might be permanently banned from submitting articles.
This policy also applies to material reproduced from another publication by the same author(s). If an author uses text or figures previously published, these must be identified and cited. Permission must be obtained from the original author and publisher. If a significant overlap with another manuscript submitted to another journal is found during the review process or after publication, the editor of the other journal will be notified, and the case will be treated as severe plagiarism.
If an author uses previously published material to clarify new results, the material must be identified, and the differences from the current publication noted. Permission must be obtained from the copyright holder. For manuscripts initially published in conference proceedings and then submitted to APHS, the conference name and date must be identified, and permission to republish must be obtained.
An author may use material from an unpublished presentation in a subsequent journal publication. For publications in another language, the title, date, and original journal must be identified, and copyright obtained. The editor may accept such a translation to reach a wider audience. The editor may republish a "historic" paper to provide perspective on a series of papers, with the original publication date and journal identified and permissions obtained.
The APHS layout editor maintains a list of authors subjected to penalties and ensures no banned authors submit papers. If a banned author is identified, the layout editor informs the Editor-in-Chief, who takes appropriate measures. This policy is posted on the website with submission instructions and sent to authors with the confirmation email upon receipt of their manuscript.
Retraction Criteria:
APHS may retract papers if:
- There is clear evidence the findings are unreliable due to misconduct (e.g., data fabrication) or honest error (e.g., miscalculation or experimental error).
- The findings have been previously published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission, or justification (i.e., redundant publication).
- The paper constitutes plagiarism.
- The paper reports unethical research.
The retraction mechanism follows the Retraction Guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), accessible at COPE Retraction Guidelines.
