ISSN
Online: 2706-9443
Publisher
Sebha University, Libya
Open access · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · No fees
Plagiarism and Similarity Policy
Sebha University and the Journal of Medical Sciences (JOMS) are committed to publishing original, honestly reported research. This policy explains how JOMS defines plagiarism, how submitted manuscripts are screened for similarity, and how suspected cases are handled. It follows the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
1. Definition of Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presentation of another person's work, ideas, data or words as one's own without proper attribution. JOMS considers the following to be plagiarism or unacceptable overlap:
- Verbatim copying: reproducing text from any published or unpublished source without quotation marks and citation.
- Improper paraphrasing: closely rewording another author's text or ideas, including with paraphrasing or AI rewriting tools, without citing the original source.
- Plagiarism of data, figures and images: reusing tables, figures, images or datasets from another source without permission and citation.
- Translation plagiarism: translating another author's work from any language, including Arabic, and presenting it as original.
- Duplicate (redundant) publication: publishing the same study, or substantially the same results, in more than one journal.
- Text recycling (self-plagiarism): reusing substantial parts of the authors' own published work without citation and disclosure.
2. Similarity Screening with Turnitin
All manuscripts submitted to JOMS are screened with Turnitin similarity-detection software after the technical check and before the manuscript is sent for peer review. A manuscript may be screened again after revision and before acceptance.
The similarity report is read by the handling editor and is never judged by its percentage alone. The editor considers where the overlap occurs, how large each matching passage is, and whether the sources are cited. References, correctly quoted text and brief standard phrases are excluded. Overlap in the description of standard methods may be acceptable if the original source is cited.
The following thresholds guide the editorial decision:
| Overall similarity (excluding references and quoted text) | Editorial action |
|---|---|
| Below 15%, with no single source above 5% | Normally proceeds to peer review |
| 15–25%, or any single source above 5% | Returned to the authors to rewrite and cite correctly before review |
| Above 25%, or copied results, discussion, data or figures at any percentage | Rejected and handled under the COPE flowcharts |
The editor's judgement takes precedence over these figures. A low overall score does not clear a manuscript in which a key section has been copied from a single source.
3. Handling Suspected Plagiarism
Before publication. If significant overlap is found, the editor contacts the corresponding author, shares the relevant parts of the similarity report and asks for an explanation. Minor overlap may be corrected by revision. Substantial plagiarism leads to rejection.
After publication. If plagiarism is found in a published article, JOMS investigates following the COPE flowcharts. Depending on its extent, the journal will publish a correction or retract the article in line with the JOMS Corrections, Retractions and Withdrawals policy. The retraction notice is linked to the original article, which remains online and is marked as retracted.
Further action. In serious or repeated cases, JOMS may inform the authors' institutions or funding bodies and may decline further submissions from the authors for a defined period.
Anyone may raise a concern about plagiarism in a submitted or published article by contacting the Editorial Office. Concerns are handled confidentially.
4. Preprints, Theses and Conference Abstracts
Overlap with the authors' own preprint, thesis or dissertation, or conference abstract is not treated as duplicate publication, provided the earlier version is disclosed in the cover letter and cited in the manuscript.
5. Responsibilities of Authors
Authors are responsible for the originality of their work. Before submission, authors should:
- cite every source of text, data, figures and ideas in the JOMS reference style (Vancouver/NLM);
- place any verbatim text in quotation marks with a citation;
- obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted figures or tables and state it in the legend;
- disclose any related manuscripts under review or published elsewhere;
- check the manuscript with a similarity tool before submission, where one is available to them.
6. Responsibilities of Reviewers and Editors
Reviewers who suspect plagiarism or duplicate publication should inform the handling editor and give the source where possible. Editors read and interpret every similarity report themselves; the Turnitin score is a screening aid, and no decision is made on the score alone.
