Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism and AI Usage Policy
Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism is strictly prohibited in the Journal of Social Science Perspectives (JOSSP) as it constitutes academic dishonesty and compromises the integrity of scholarly publishing. As defined by the Concise Oxford Dictionary, plagiarism is “taking and using the thoughts, writings, and inventions of another person as one’s own.”

To ensure academic integrity, JOSSP uses Turnitin for plagiarism detection and adheres to the Higher Education Commission (HEC) policy on plagiarism, which permits:

  • A maximum overall similarity index of 19%
  • A maximum single-source similarity of 5%

The editorial board of JOSSP strictly enforces a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of academic misconduct, including:

  • Plagiarism: Verbatim copying, self-plagiarism, or paraphrasing without proper attribution
  • Citation Manipulation: Including fabricated, irrelevant, or misleading citations
  • Data Falsification and Fabrication: Altering or inventing research results or data

If plagiarism or misconduct is detected at any stage—before or after publication—JOSSP will take appropriate action in accordance with COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines, including:

  • Rejection of the manuscript
  • Retraction of published articles
  • Blacklisting of the responsible author(s)
  • Notification to the affiliated institution(s)

Use of AI Tools

In line with COPE’s Position Statement on Artificial Intelligence, AI-generated content cannot be listed as an author, since AI tools do not bear responsibility or accountability for the content.

Authors must clearly disclose any use of AI tools in the research and writing process. Acceptable uses may include:

  • Language editing or grammar correction
  • Image generation or data visualization
  • Support in data collection or analysis

However, final accountability for the accuracy, originality, and ethical compliance of the manuscript rests solely with the authors. Any use of AI tools that contributes to data fabrication, plagiarized content, inaccurate citations, or misleading results will be treated as a violation of JOSSP’s editorial policies and subject to sanctions per COPE guidelines.

By submitting a manuscript to JOSSP, authors affirm that their work is original, ethically conducted, and compliant with the journal’s Plagiarism and AI Usage Policy.