Plagiarism
Definition of plagiarism
Derived from the Latin word plagiatius (“kidnapper”), to plagiarize means “to commit literary theft” and to “present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source” (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary [Ll.th ed.; 2003; print]). Plagiarism involves two kinds of wrongs. Using another person’s ideas, information, or expressions without acknowledging that person’s work constitutes intellectual theft. Passing off another person’s ideas, information, or expressions as your own to get a better grade or gain some other advantage constitutes fraud. Plagiarism is sometimes a moral and ethical offense rather than a legal one since some instances of plagiarism fall outside the scope of copyright infringement, a legal offense.
Plagiarism and copyright
- Journal editors and readers have a right to expect that submitted work is the author’s own, that it has not been plagiarized (i.e. taken from other authors without permission, if permission is required) and that copyright has not been breached (for example, if figures or tables are reproduced). The journal requires authors to declare that the work reported is their own and that they are the copyright owner (or else have obtained the copyright owner’s permission).
- A Copyright form given to each author requires the signature from the corresponding author to warrant that the article is an original work, has not been published before and is not being considered for publication elsewhere in its final form either in printed or electronic form.
- While allowing articles to be published and made freely available for all to access online, this form of copyright agreement enables the owners of intellectual property (be they authors) to retain copyright in their journal articles.
Reference:
MLA Handbook for writers and research papers. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2009. Print.
Peer review mechanism
- Peer review statement:
Journal editors, members of editorial boards and other editorial staff have a responsibility to ensure the peer-review process is fair and should aim to minimize bias. All research articles and creative writing in this journal have undergone a rigorous double-blind peer review, with initial editorial board screening and anonymized reviewing.
- Peer review policy:
Our journal employs a single blind review but we monitor closely experience with double-blind review. All research articles and creative writing published in this journal have undergone a rigorous double-blind peer review, based on initial editorial board screening and reviewed by at least two reviewers.
- Publishing work from journal’s own staff:
When making editorial decisions about peer reviewed articles where an editor is an author or is acknowledged as a contributor, the journal ensures that the affected editors or staff members exclude themselves and are not involved in the publication decision. When journal editors, members of editorial boards and other editorial staff (including peer reviewers) are presented with papers where their own interests may impair their ability to make an unbiased editorial decision, we will deputize decisions about the paper to a suitably qualified individual.
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