Plagiarism Screening

Plagiarism Screening

Informatics and Digital Expert (INDEX) publishes only original work. Authors must submit manuscripts that are entirely their own, that have not been published before in any language, and that are not under consideration by another journal. Plagiarism in any form, including self-plagiarism and the reuse of text, data, figures, or code without proper attribution, is a breach of publication ethics.

Screening

  • Every manuscript is screened with Turnitin at submission, and again after the final revision before acceptance.
  • The maximum acceptable similarity index is 20%, calculated after excluding the reference list, properly marked quotations, and matches shorter than 10 words.
  • A similarity index above 20% does not automatically mean plagiarism; the editor examines the report to distinguish common phrases and properly cited material from copied text.

Actions

  • Similarity 20% or less, no copied passages: the manuscript proceeds to peer review.
  • Similarity above 20%, or copied passages found: the manuscript is returned to the authors for paraphrasing and proper citation before it can be considered further.
  • Substantial plagiarism, duplicate submission, or fabricated content: the manuscript is rejected. The journal may inform the authors' institution and may decline future submissions from the authors concerned.

After publication

If plagiarism is detected in a published article, the journal follows the COPE flowcharts. Depending on the severity, the article will be corrected or retracted, and a notice will be published. See the Corrections, Retractions, and Complaints policy.

Related policies