Plagiarism and Similarity Screening

Journal of Language Education and Literacy (JLEL) is committed to maintaining academic integrity and preventing plagiarism, inappropriate textual reuse, duplicate publication, and other related forms of publication misconduct.

Originality

Authors must ensure that manuscripts submitted to JLEL represent original scholarly work.

Manuscripts must not be under simultaneous consideration by another journal. Work that has been published substantially elsewhere should not be submitted as an original publication unless transparent disclosure is made and the submission is ethically and legally appropriate under the journal's policies.

Any words, ideas, data, figures, tables, images, or other materials derived from other sources must be appropriately acknowledged and cited in accordance with accepted academic practices.

Plagiarism, including the unattributed use of another person's words, ideas, data, images, or other intellectual contributions, is considered a serious breach of publication ethics.

Similarity Screening

Submitted manuscripts may be screened using Turnitin or other appropriate similarity-detection software as part of the initial editorial assessment and, when necessary, at subsequent stages of the publication process.

Similarity-detection software is used as a screening tool to identify potential textual overlap. A numerical similarity score alone does not constitute a determination of plagiarism.

The editorial team evaluates similarity reports by considering:

  • The nature and source of the textual overlap;

  • The extent and significance of the overlapping material;

  • Whether the original sources have been appropriately cited;

  • Whether quotation and paraphrasing practices are appropriate;

  • Similarity arising from methods, standard terminology, references, or other legitimately recurring text;

  • Potential inappropriate textual reuse or duplicate publication; and

  • The overall context of the identified similarities.

JLEL does not determine plagiarism solely on the basis of a fixed numerical similarity threshold. Similarity reports are interpreted in their scholarly context, and editorial judgment is applied to determine whether identified overlap represents legitimate similarity, inappropriate textual reuse, plagiarism, duplicate publication, or another potential integrity concern.

Editorial Action

When significant or inappropriate textual overlap is identified, the editorial team will evaluate the case according to its nature, extent, context, and severity.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may:

  • Request clarification from the author(s);

  • Request revision, appropriate citation, paraphrasing, or rewriting;

  • Return the manuscript to the author(s) before peer review;

  • Reject the manuscript when serious plagiarism or other publication misconduct is identified; or

  • Take other appropriate action in accordance with JLEL's Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement.

If potential plagiarism or inappropriate textual reuse is identified after publication, JLEL will investigate the matter and may issue a Correction, Retraction, Expression of Concern, or other appropriate notice when warranted.

Authors' Responsibility

Authors are responsible for the originality, accuracy, and integrity of their manuscripts.

Authors must ensure that all sources are properly acknowledged, quotations are clearly identified, paraphrased material is appropriately cited, and permissions have been obtained for copyrighted materials where required.

Authors must not engage in plagiarism, inappropriate textual reuse, duplicate or redundant publication, data fabrication, data falsification, citation manipulation, or other forms of research or publication misconduct.

Authors are responsible for reviewing their manuscripts carefully before submission and for responding honestly and completely to any editorial questions concerning potential textual overlap.

Editorial Responsibility

The editorial team is responsible for interpreting similarity reports in their scholarly context. Editorial decisions will not be based solely on the percentage generated by similarity-detection software.

Editors will consider the nature, source, extent, significance, and context of identified textual overlap and may request clarification or supporting information from authors when necessary.

Suspected cases of plagiarism, inappropriate textual reuse, duplicate publication, or other publication misconduct will be handled in accordance with JLEL's Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement and relevant recognized principles of publication ethics.