Kirkuk University Journal for Agricultural Sciences (KUJAS)

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Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism Policy

KUJAS treats plagiarism and related forms of publication misconduct as serious violations of publication ethics. All submissions may be screened using similarity-checking tools as part of editorial assessment.

Similarity Screening

All manuscripts under review or published in Kirkuk University Journal for Agricultural Sciences (KUJAS) may be screened using similarity-checking software (e.g., Turnitin) to support the editorial assessment of originality.

Important: A similarity report is an indicator of text overlap. It does not, by itself, prove plagiarism. Editorial judgment is required to interpret the report in context (e.g., quotations, references, methods, and legitimate reuse).

KUJAS may run similarity screening at submission, during peer review, and post-publication when concerns arise.

CrossCheck (Crossref Similarity Check)

CrossCheck (Crossref Similarity Check) is a service used by publishers and journals to help verify originality. In many publishing workflows, it is powered by iThenticate.

Learn more: Crossref Similarity Check

Unacceptable Practices

Plagiarism and unethical publishing behaviors include (but are not limited to):

  • Plagiarism: using another person’s text, ideas, data, or figures without proper attribution.
  • Self-plagiarism / redundant publication: substantial reuse of one’s own published text or results without transparent citation and justification.
  • Duplicate publication: publishing the same or substantially similar work more than once without full disclosure.
  • Simultaneous submission: submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time.
  • Data fabrication or falsification: inventing data, manipulating results, or omitting data in a misleading way.
  • Improper authorship credit: including authors who did not contribute substantially or excluding those who did.

How KUJAS Evaluates Similarity

The similarity report shows the percentage of text overlap between the submitted manuscript and existing sources. A high similarity percentage does not necessarily indicate plagiarism, and a low percentage does not guarantee originality.

  • Overlap may arise from correctly cited quotations, standard methods language, or reference lists.
  • The same percentage can reflect one large overlap source or many small overlaps.
  • Figures and equations may not be fully evaluated by similarity tools.
Decision basis: KUJAS evaluates overlap case-by-case. Editorial assessment considers context, attribution, and the nature of the overlap.

Similarity Threshold and Editorial Judgment

As a general administrative guideline, manuscripts with an overall similarity percentage above 20% may be returned to authors for clarification, revision, or may be rejected before peer review, depending on the nature and source of the overlap.

However, the similarity percentage alone is not the final basis for editorial decision. KUJAS evaluates similarity reports case by case, considering properly cited material, standard methodological wording, references, legitimate reuse, and the presence of any unattributed or excessive overlap.