Plagiarism & Similarity Screening Policy

International Journal of Research, Exploration & Knowledge (IJREK) upholds a strict zero-tolerance position regarding all forms of academic plagiarism and uncredited reproduction. Plagiarism is defined as the unacknowledged appropriation of another author's ideas, text, empirical data, software code, mathematical models, figures, or tables.

• Verbatim Text Plagiarism: Reproducing text word-for-word from previously published works without enclosed quotation marks and clear bibliographic citation.
• Paraphrasing Without Citation: Altering phrases or vocabulary while retaining the original conceptual architecture without crediting the source author.
• Self-Plagiarism & Text Recycling: Reusing extensive verbatim passages or figures from the author's own prior published articles without explicit disclosure and permission.
• Figure, Table & Code Plagiarism: Copying illustrations, experimental diagrams, data tables, or algorithm code without attribution or required copyright clearance.

All submissions undergo a standardized, systematic five-stage evaluation protocol to safeguard the integrity of the scholarly literature:

IJREK does not apply rigid, automated percentage thresholds mechanically. Handling editors conduct a thorough qualitative assessment of every similarity report:

• Excluded from Penalty: Legitimate bibliography citations, standard mathematical equations, standard names of laboratory instruments, established universal formulas, and common methodological protocols (e.g. standard software libraries).
• Critical Violations: Overlapping novel hypotheses, uncredited discussion paragraphs, verbatim copying of results interpretation, or copied experimental figures.

Submitting a manuscript simultaneously to multiple journals, or submitting research that has already been published in full in another journal or conference proceedings, is strictly prohibited.

Prior publication as a short abstract in an academic conference or as an un-reviewed working paper in a recognized institutional preprint repository (such as arXiv) is acceptable, provided the author discloses the preprint URL upon submission.

When significant, deliberate plagiarism or redundant submission is confirmed during editorial screening or peer review:

• The manuscript is immediately rejected with prejudice.
• All listed co-authors are formally notified of the violation.
• The corresponding author may be subject to a submission moratorium (1 to 3 years) across all IJREK publication tracks.
• In cases of severe intellectual theft or falsification, a formal notification letter is transmitted to the authors' university department head or research ethics committee.

If credible evidence of plagiarism is brought forward after an article has been published:

• The Editor-in-Chief initiates a formal investigation in accordance with the COPE Flowchart on Post-Publication Plagiarism.
• The authors are given 14 business days to submit an official explanation and documentation.
• If plagiarism is substantiated, the article is formally retracted. A permanent, transparent Retraction Notice is linked to the online record, and the article PDF is watermarked as “RETRACTED”.