Plagiarism Screening Policy

The Arghand Journal of Social Sciences (AJSS) maintains a strict policy on plagiarism to uphold the integrity and originality of academic work. All submissions are screened for plagiarism before entering the peer-review process.

This policy is designed to ensure that the research published in AJSS adheres to the highest ethical and scholarly standards.

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Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined as the presentation of another person’s words, ideas, data, or creative work as one’s own without proper attribution. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Verbatim copying of text without quotation marks or citation.
  • Paraphrasing substantial portions of another work without acknowledgment.
  • Presenting another researcher’s findings, figures, or data as original.
  • Self-plagiarism (republishing one’s own previously published work without citation or journal consent).

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Phases of Plagiarism Screening

Phase 1: Initial Editorial Check

Step 1: Pre-Screening Using Plagiarism Detection Software

  • All submitted manuscripts are screened using trusted plagiarism detection tools (e.g., Turnitin, iThenticate, or equivalent).
  • Similarity reports are generated to identify overlapping text and possible ethical concerns.

Step 2: Preliminary Evaluation

  • The editorial team reviews the similarity report to distinguish between:
    ✅ Legitimate overlaps (e.g., references, methodology descriptions)
    ✅ Unacceptable overlaps (e.g., copied results, uncredited text)

Threshold Guidelines:

Similarity Index

Editorial Action

       ≤ 15%

Acceptable; proceed to peer review.

       16%–30%

Conditional; author revision required.

       > 30%

Rejected for unethical similarity.

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Phase 2: Author Notification and Action

Step 3: Communication with Authors

  • Authors whose manuscripts exceed acceptable similarity levels are notified and requested to revise and resubmit with proper citations.

Step 4: Resubmission Screening

  • Revised manuscripts undergo re-screening to ensure compliance.

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Phase 3: Post-Acceptance Screening

Even after acceptance, AJSS reserves the right to conduct random plagiarism checks. If plagiarism is detected at this stage:

  • The manuscript may be withdrawn.
  • The authors’ institutions may be informed.

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Handling Plagiarism Cases

For confirmed plagiarism, AJSS follows these steps:

  1. Reject the manuscript and provide a detailed explanation to the author.
  2. In serious cases, blacklist the author for a specified period (e.g., 1 year).
  3. Inform the author’s affiliated institution if misconduct is severe.

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Acceptable Use of Similarity

AJSS recognizes that certain overlaps are acceptable, such as:

  • Standard phrases and definitions
  • Properly cited quotations
  • Bibliographies and references
    These are excluded from the similarity index during manual assessment.

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Ethical Considerations

The AJSS plagiarism policy aligns with:
✅ Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines
✅ Islamic ethical standards on academic integrity
✅ Kandahar University’s institutional policies

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Review and Updates

This plagiarism policy is reviewed annually and updated as necessary to reflect evolving standards in academic publishing.

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Contact for Queries or Reports

For queries or to report plagiarism concerns:

alimr.212@gmail.com
CC: rpashtoon@hotmail.com