The journal “Bulletin of Problems in Biology and Medicine” considers only original articles, i.e. their materials have not been published before and have not been submitted for consideration to another journal.
Counteraction to plagiarism and self-plagiarism is mandatory and one of the most essential principles of the editorial policy.
Plagiarism is the publication (in part or in whole) of scientific (creative) results obtained by other persons as the results of one’s research (creativity) and/or reproduction of published texts by other authors without attribution.
Autoplagiarism (self-plagiarism) is the presentation of one’s own previously published scientific results as new results in the materials of a manuscript.
Since each manuscript is protected by copyright, after its publication, the author transfers the exclusive rights to print and use it to the publisher by signing an Agreement on Copyright Assignation. Therefore, the author may copy their own material only with the copyright holder’s permission. An exception may be the quotation of short phrases from the author’s own work with appropriate references.
The journal “Bulletin of Problems in Biology and Medicine” uses Unicheck and Turnitin software to detect textual borrowings in submitted manuscripts.
Plagiarism before publication
The journal’s editorial board analyses any case of plagiarism. If editors or reviewers detect textual borrowings or plagiarism at any stage before the publication of the manuscript, the author(s) are warned of the need to revise and correct the text or provide a correct reference to the original source. If the plagiarism rate is more than 25%, the article may be rejected, and information about this is provided to the author’s institution/employer.
Plagiarism checking policy
The level of text similarity is determined using specialized plagiarism detection software and is evaluated by the editorial board of the journal.
Manuscripts in which signs of plagiarism are detected are assessed depending on the level of text similarity:
- if the similarity level is between 10% and 25%, the manuscript is returned to the authors for revision with the possibility of resubmission as a new submission;
- if the similarity level exceeds 25%, the manuscript is rejected without being sent for editorial or peer review.
Plagiarism after publication
Suppose plagiarism is detected after the manuscript has been published. In that case, the editorial board conducts a detailed analysis of this fact. If there is a high level of borrowing without indicating the correct primary sources, the document may also be withdrawn (deleted).
Recommendations for avoiding plagiarism
We recommend that authors use their own words to paraphrase or summarise information from different sources. Authors are responsible for obtaining copyright permission to use illustrations, tables, and figures from other authors and/or sources. Permission must be given under each such element.