Misconduct & Plagiarism
The International Journal of Cultural Analysis and Social Change (IJCASC) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, research ethics, and responsible scholarly publishing. As an international peer-reviewed journal, IJCASC expects authors, reviewers, editors, and other parties involved in the publication process to uphold principles of honesty, transparency, accountability, and respect for intellectual property.
This policy provides guidance on research misconduct, publication malpractice, plagiarism, and other unethical practices that may compromise the integrity and credibility of scholarly communication.
1. Research and Publication Misconduct
Research and publication misconduct includes, but is not limited to:
Plagiarism or unauthorized use of another person's ideas, words, data, or intellectual contributions.
Fabrication of research data, results, references, or other scholarly information.
Falsification or manipulation of research materials, data, images, methods, or results.
Duplicate or redundant publication of substantially similar work.
Submission of a manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously.
Improper authorship, including the exclusion of individuals who have made significant contributions or the inclusion of individuals who have not contributed to the research.
Unauthorized use or misrepresentation of another person's unpublished work.
Manipulation or inappropriate citation practices intended to increase citation counts or improperly influence the scholarly record.
Failure to disclose relevant conflicts of interest.
Any other practice that violates accepted standards of research ethics and responsible academic publishing.
2. Plagiarism
Plagiarism is considered a serious violation of academic integrity. IJCASC defines plagiarism as presenting another person's words, ideas, arguments, data, findings, images, or other intellectual contributions as one's own without appropriate acknowledgment.
Plagiarism may occur in several forms, including:
Direct plagiarism – copying text or material word-for-word without quotation marks and proper citation.
Mosaic or patchwork plagiarism – combining phrases, sentences, or ideas from different sources without adequate attribution.
Paraphrasing plagiarism – substantially rewriting another author's work while failing to provide an appropriate citation.
Idea plagiarism – using another researcher's original ideas, concepts, arguments, or theoretical contributions without acknowledgment.
Self-plagiarism – reusing substantial portions of one's own previously published work without appropriate disclosure or citation.
Unauthorized reuse of figures, tables, images, datasets, or other materials without proper attribution or permission where required.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that all sources used in their manuscripts are properly acknowledged and cited.
3. Originality and Exclusive Submission
By submitting a manuscript to IJCASC, authors confirm that the manuscript is substantially original and has not been published previously in its current form.
Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to another journal. If a manuscript is under consideration by IJCASC, authors should not submit the same work to another publication unless the submission to IJCASC has been formally withdrawn.
Where portions of a manuscript have previously appeared in another publication, authors must clearly disclose this information to the Editor and provide appropriate references.
4. Use of Artificial Intelligence
Authors who use artificial intelligence or other automated tools during manuscript preparation remain fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, integrity, and ethical quality of their submitted work.
AI-assisted tools must not be used to fabricate data, generate false references, manipulate research findings, or misrepresent authorship or scholarly contributions.
Where the use of AI tools is relevant to the research methodology or manuscript preparation, authors should disclose such use in accordance with applicable journal policies and accepted standards of academic publishing.
AI tools cannot replace the responsibility of human authors for the submitted manuscript.
5. Detection and Investigation
IJCASC may use appropriate methods and tools to identify suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated information, manipulated content, citation manipulation, and other forms of publication misconduct.
Concerns regarding potential misconduct may be identified by editors, reviewers, authors, readers, or other members of the academic community.
When an allegation is received, the journal will assess the concern and, where appropriate, conduct an investigation based on the available evidence and relevant publication-ethics principles.
The journal seeks to handle allegations fairly, confidentially, and objectively while respecting the rights of all parties involved.
6. Actions in Cases of Misconduct
If plagiarism or other forms of publication misconduct are confirmed, IJCASC may take one or more of the following actions, depending on the seriousness and circumstances of the case:
Reject the submitted manuscript.
Request clarification or correction from the authors.
Require the authors to provide additional documentation or evidence.
Publish a correction or clarification where appropriate.
Retract a published article when its findings or publication record are seriously compromised.
Place restrictions on future submissions from authors involved in serious misconduct.
Notify the relevant institution, funding organization, or other appropriate authority when necessary.
Take other appropriate measures to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.
The specific action taken will depend on the nature, extent, and seriousness of the alleged or confirmed misconduct.
7. Post-Publication Concerns
IJCASC recognizes that concerns about published articles may arise after publication.
Readers and researchers who identify credible concerns regarding plagiarism, data integrity, authorship, methodology, or other aspects of a published article are encouraged to contact the journal's editorial team with sufficient information and supporting evidence.
The journal may investigate the matter and, where justified, publish an appropriate editorial notice, correction, expression of concern, or retraction.
8. Responsibilities of Authors
Authors submitting manuscripts to IJCASC are responsible for:
Ensuring that their work is original.
Properly acknowledging all sources and intellectual contributions.
Providing accurate and reliable research data and information.
Obtaining appropriate permissions for copyrighted material where necessary.
Declaring relevant conflicts of interest.
Ensuring that all listed authors have made meaningful contributions to the work.
Avoiding simultaneous submission and duplicate publication.
Cooperating with the journal during any investigation concerning the submitted or published work.
Correcting significant errors discovered after publication.
9. Responsibilities of Reviewers
Reviewers play an important role in maintaining publication integrity. Reviewers should:
Treat manuscripts as confidential documents.
Evaluate manuscripts objectively and professionally.
Avoid using unpublished information for personal advantage.
Disclose potential conflicts of interest.
Inform the editor if they identify suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated data, or other serious ethical concerns.
Avoid inappropriate citation requests intended primarily to increase their own citations or those of others.
10. Responsibilities of Editors
Editors of IJCASC are expected to:
Apply ethical and editorial standards consistently.
Handle allegations of misconduct objectively and confidentially.
Provide authors and other parties with an appropriate opportunity to respond to allegations.
Take reasonable action when misconduct is suspected or confirmed.
Protect the integrity of the academic record.
Avoid conflicts of interest in editorial decision-making.
Maintain fairness and transparency throughout the editorial and peer-review processes.
11. Fair and Confidential Process
IJCASC is committed to ensuring that allegations of misconduct are handled responsibly. An allegation does not automatically constitute proof of misconduct.
The journal will consider relevant evidence before making an editorial decision. Authors or other parties involved in an investigation may be given an opportunity to provide explanations or supporting information.
Information concerning an investigation will be treated confidentially to the extent reasonably possible, while recognizing that relevant institutions or authorities may need to be contacted in serious cases.
12. Commitment to Academic Integrity
The International Journal of Cultural Analysis and Social Change believes that trust is fundamental to scholarly communication. Maintaining academic integrity is therefore a shared responsibility among authors, editors, reviewers, researchers, institutions, and readers.
Through this Misconduct & Plagiarism Policy, IJCASC seeks to protect the credibility of published research, respect intellectual property, promote responsible research practices, and ensure that the journal contributes to the development of reliable and ethical scholarship in cultural analysis and social change.
Authors, reviewers, editors, and readers are encouraged to support these principles and to report credible concerns that may threaten the integrity of the scholarly record.
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