Plagiarism and Originality Policy

Originality screening is part of ZAHRA’s editorial assessment. The journal currently states that submitted manuscripts are screened for similarity and should remain below a similarity level of 25%.

Originality requirements

Submitted work must offer original scholarly content and should not duplicate an existing publication. Authors must identify the sources of borrowed facts, ideas, methods, text, figures, images, code, and datasets, including material from their own prior work.

Similarity threshold and interpretation

The journal’s existing editorial policy cites below 25% similarity as its screening tolerance. Similarity percentages are only one screening indicator. High overlap can include legitimate references or correctly quoted material, while serious plagiarism can occur even below a numerical threshold. Editorial assessment should consider the nature, source, and distribution of the overlaps.

Forms of unacceptable overlap

• Direct plagiarism: presenting another person’s text or ideas as original without sufficient attribution.
• Paraphrase plagiarism: closely reproducing the structure or wording of another source without adequate acknowledgment.
• Self-plagiarism or redundant publication: reusing substantial published content without disclosure or legitimate scholarly justification.
• Improper image or data reuse: republishing protected visuals, data, or results without required attribution or permission.
• Duplicate submission: sending substantially the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time.

How authors can prepare

1. Write the manuscript from the actual research evidence and original analyses.
2. Provide accurate citations and reference details for source material.
3. Use quotation marks where verbatim quotation is justified.
4. Explain relationships to earlier papers, theses, preprints, datasets, or conference versions.
5. Examine the originality report and correct inappropriate overlap without changing the scientific meaning.

Editorial handling of concerns

When significant overlap is identified, the editor may request clarification or revision, require additional source information, or reject the manuscript depending on the evidence. More serious integrity concerns should be considered under Publication Ethics.