Plagiarism Policy

The International Journal of Agriculture and Food Science is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity in scholarly publishing. Originality is the foundation upon which scientific progress rests, and the journal regards plagiarism, in any of its forms, as a serious breach of publication ethics. This policy explains what the journal considers to constitute plagiarism, how submitted manuscripts are screened for originality, and the action that will be taken where plagiarism is detected. It applies to every author, reviewer, and member of the editorial team, and to every manuscript submitted to the journal, whether or not it is ultimately accepted for publication.

1. What Constitutes Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the use of another person’s ideas, words, data, results, or images without appropriate acknowledgement, and their presentation as though they were one’s own original work. For the purposes of this policy it is immaterial whether such use is deliberate or the result of carelessness; the effect upon the integrity of the scientific record is the same. The journal likewise treats the reproduction of previously published material — including an author’s own earlier work — without proper citation and disclosure as a form of plagiarism.

2. Forms of Plagiarism Recognised by the Journal

Verbatim (direct) plagiarism: the word-for-word reproduction of text from another source without quotation marks and without citation. This is the most readily identifiable form and admits of no justification.

Mosaic or patchwork plagiarism: the assembly of a passage from fragments drawn from several sources, sometimes with minor changes of wording, so as to give the appearance of original composition.

Insufficient paraphrasing: the restatement of a source’s content in a manner that follows the original too closely in structure or expression, even where a citation has been supplied.

Conceptual (idea) plagiarism: the appropriation of another’s original concept, hypothesis, interpretation, or line of argument without acknowledgement, notwithstanding that it may be expressed in one’s own words.

Self-plagiarism and text recycling: the reuse of substantial portions of one’s own previously published work without citation and without disclosure to the editor. Redundant or duplicate publication of the same findings across more than one paper is equally unacceptable.

Data and image plagiarism: the reuse of figures, tables, photographs, or datasets originating from another source without permission and acknowledgement.

3. Screening and Detection: Software Used

All manuscripts submitted to the International Journal of Agriculture and Food Science are subject to screening for originality. The journal checks every submission for textual similarity using Red Paper Plagiarism & AI Detector (www.checkplagiarism.ai), a cloud-based originality-detection platform with which the publisher, Comprehensive Publications, maintains a subscription agreement. Red Paper compares each manuscript against an extensive corpus of web pages, academic papers, theses, and dissertations, and returns a similarity index together with the matched sources and their locations, colour-coded to indicate the passages concerned. In addition to reporting textual similarity, the system reports content suspected of having been generated by artificial-intelligence writing tools. Manuscripts are transmitted and processed under encryption, and the platform provides the journal with a dedicated editorial dashboard through which submissions are screened and reports retained.

In the interest of efficiency, detailed similarity screening is ordinarily carried out once a manuscript has passed initial editorial assessment and is being considered for peer review. Software-based screening is not, however, relied upon alone: the journal’s expert reviewers play an important part in identifying borrowed, recycled, or unattributed material that automated tools may not detect.

4. Assessment of the Similarity Report

A Red Paper report provides an overall similarity index together with a breakdown of the sources against which matches have been found. Such a report is a tool to assist editorial judgement, not a substitute for it, and no manuscript is rejected or accepted on the basis of a numerical score alone. Some degree of textual overlap is unavoidable — for example in the description of standard methods, the names of materials and instruments, or commonly used technical expressions — and matches of this kind, together with correctly attributed quotations and the reference list, are disregarded when a report is assessed. The journal follows the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in determining acceptable levels of similarity. Where the extent or the nature of the overlap gives cause for concern, the manuscript is returned to the authors for revision or, depending on the circumstances, rejected. The final determination in every case rests with the editorial office.

5. Consequences of Plagiarism

Manuscripts under consideration: where plagiarism is identified in a manuscript that has not yet been published, the manuscript is rejected and is not considered further.

Published articles: where plagiarism comes to light after publication, the Editor-in-Chief will investigate the matter. If the allegation is substantiated, the article is formally retracted and a notice of retraction is published so that the scientific community is informed.

In addition to rejection or retraction, the journal may notify the authors’ institutions and any relevant professional or funding bodies of confirmed misconduct. Authors found responsible for plagiarism are debarred from submitting to the journal for a period of six months, and in serious or repeated cases may be barred for a longer period. These measures are applied irrespective of the seniority or standing of the authors concerned.

6. Proper Attribution of Sources

The journal actively encourages authors to build upon the existing body of knowledge, as this is the ordinary course of scientific enquiry. What is required is that the contribution of others be properly acknowledged. Authors should cite the source of every idea, quotation, figure, or dataset that is not their own; enclose directly quoted material within quotation marks; and obtain permission where the reproduction of copyrighted material so requires. Sound citation practice does not diminish an author’s contribution — it demonstrates command of the field and situates the new work within it.

7. Author Declaration and Responsibility

By submitting a manuscript to the International Journal of Agriculture and Food Science, authors affirm that the work is original, that it has not been published elsewhere and is not under consideration by any other journal, and that all sources have been appropriately acknowledged. Authors are strongly advised to check their manuscripts for originality before submission. Responsibility for the originality and integrity of a submission rests with the authors; the editorial board accepts no liability for plagiarism-related complaints, disputes, or legal consequences arising from published work.

8. Reporting Concerns

Concerns regarding possible plagiarism in any manuscript submitted to, or article published in, the International Journal of Agriculture and Food Science may be raised with the editorial office using the contact details given below. All such concerns are examined carefully and in confidence, in accordance with the procedures recommended by COPE, and the outcome is communicated to the person raising the matter.

Guidelines Followed

• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) — Flowcharts and Guidance on Plagiarism — practical guidance for handling plagiarism in submitted and published manuscripts. https://publicationethics.org/guidance
• European Association of Science Editors (EASE) — guidelines for authors and editors on originality and good publication practice. https://ease.org.uk/

Contact Us

Any query concerning this Plagiarism Policy, or any concern regarding the originality of a manuscript or published article, may be addressed to the editorial office:

Editorial Office — International Journal of Agriculture and Food Science

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.agriculturaljournals.com

P-ISSN / E-ISSN: 2664-844X / 2664-8458

Publisher: Comprehensive Publications

Postal Address: 3, H-34, Sector 3, Rohini, Delhi-110085, India

Telephone: +91-9711224068

Toll Free: 1800-1234070

Working Hours: 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM (IST), Monday to Saturday