eISSN: 2978-3747 editor@irjernet.com
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Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism Policy

Frontiers in Medical and Clinical Sciences (FMCS)

eISSN: 2978-3747

1. Introduction & Overview

Frontiers in Medical and Clinical Sciences (FMCS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, clinical originality, and ethical biomedical publishing. The journal expects all submitted manuscripts to represent the authors' own original clinical and scientific work and to appropriately acknowledge the intellectual contributions of others through accurate citation and referencing.

The journal follows internationally recognized principles of publication ethics and research integrity, including the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and Scopus selection criteria. Plagiarism, in any form, is considered a severe violation of scholarly ethics and clinical trust, resulting in immediate editorial action before or after publication.

2. Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the presentation of another person’s ideas, words, clinical data, figures, diagnostic images, tables, or intellectual work as one’s own without appropriate acknowledgment, permission, or citation. FMCS considers both intentional and unintentional plagiarism to be completely unacceptable.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

  • Direct Copying: Copying text verbatim from published or unpublished medical sources without proper attribution or quotation marks.

  • Substantial Paraphrasing: Paraphrasing another author's scientific concepts, theoretical models, or clinical trial methodologies without clear, appropriate citation.

  • Data & Visual Plagiarism: Utilizing clinical figures, diagnostic scans, charts, tables, patient datasets, or analytical models without authorization or explicit source attribution.

  • Translation Plagiarism: Translating published biomedical content from another language and presenting it as original research without proper citation.

  • Uncredited Text Recycling: Reusing substantial portions of previously published medical text or study designs without full disclosure.

3. Originality Requirement

By submitting a manuscript to FMCS, authors confirm that their submission complies with the journal's strict originality requirements and ethical standards:

  • The manuscript represents original, unpublished scholarly work in the field of medical and clinical sciences.

  • The manuscript has not been published previously in whole or in part (except as an academic thesis, dissertation, conference abstract, or preliminary preprint, which must be formally declared upon submission).

  • The manuscript is not under simultaneous evaluation or consideration by any other journal, book chapter, or conference proceedings.

  • All external clinical data, secondary research, diagnostic criteria, and medical models have been accurately cited in standard citation formats.

  • Written copyright permissions have been obtained for any third-party materials, tables, diagnostic figures, or patient evaluation scales.

  • All listed authors have reviewed, contributed to, and approved the final submitted version.

4. Similarity Screening

All submitted manuscripts undergo mandatory automated similarity screening using advanced plagiarism detection software (e.g., Turnitin / iThenticate) during initial technical review.

  • Threshold Guidelines: FMCS adheres to an overall similarity index threshold of less than 15%, with no single source exceeding 3–5%, excluding references, standard medical terminology, and standard clinical trial method descriptions.

  • Contextual Editorial Evaluation: Editorial decisions are based on the nature, context, clinical source, and severity of any detected similarity rather than relying strictly on a single numerical score.

  • Legitimate Similarities: Common medical citations, standard clinical trial protocol descriptions, institutional ethical terminology, and properly quoted text are evaluated contextually by the handling editor.

5. Editorial Assessment of Suspected Plagiarism

If potential plagiarism or originality issues are identified during initial screening, peer review, or production, the Editorial Office will conduct an investigation in accordance with COPE flowcharts.

Depending on the severity of the issue, the Editorial Office may:

  • Request formal clarification or a point-by-point explanation from the corresponding author.

  • Request technical revisions and proper attribution of affected sections.

  • Request anonymized raw clinical data, laboratory worksheets, or primary source files for verification.

  • Reject the manuscript outright prior to peer review if substantial plagiarism or uncredited text recycling is detected.

  • Issue a formal warning or notify the authors' affiliated institutions, medical boards, or funding bodies in cases of severe academic misconduct.

6. Plagiarism Detected After Publication

If plagiarism, clinical data fabrication, or major originality violations are identified after an article has been published, FMCS will conduct an objective and confidential investigation following COPE and ICMJE protocols.

Depending on the investigation outcome, the journal may:

  • Publish a Correction / Corrigendum if minor attribution errors occurred without unethical intent.

  • Issue an Editorial Expression of Concern while a formal institutional investigation is ongoing.

  • Formally Retract the published article in cases of confirmed serious plagiarism, duplicate submission, or uncredited text recycling.

  • Formally notify the authors' affiliated institution(s), medical councils, research ethics committees, or academic bodies.

7. Self-Plagiarism & Redundant Publication

Authors must avoid excessive reuse of their own previously published work without explicit disclosure, citation, or editorial authorization.

Unacceptable practices include:

  • Duplicate Submission: Submitting substantially identical clinical manuscripts to multiple journals concurrently.

  • Redundant / Duplicate Publication: Publishing identical clinical trial findings or patient datasets across multiple outlets without transparency.

  • Text Recycling: Reusing large passages of verbatim text from the authors' previous medical publications without attribution.

  • Salami Slicing: Fragmenting a single comprehensive clinical study into multiple overlapping, minimal publishable units without scientific justification.

8. AI-Assisted Writing & Originality

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) for language polishing, grammar improvement, or translation assistance is permitted, provided it does not compromise research integrity or clinical accuracy.

  • Authorship Restrictions: AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.

  • Author Responsibility: Authors remain 100% accountable for the originality, clinical accuracy, diagnostic safety, and integrity of all content produced or refined using AI tools.

  • AI-Generated Plagiarism: Content produced by AI that replicates existing literature without proper citation or produces fabricated medical references will be treated as plagiarism and ethical misconduct.

9. Image and Data Integrity

Authors must ensure that all clinical figures, high-resolution medical scans, histological slides, tables, graphs, and empirical datasets accurately reflect the study's original findings.

Inappropriate manipulation of medical images, selective reporting, statistical falsification, clinical data fabrication, or misleading visual data representations constitute grave scientific misconduct and will lead to immediate manuscript rejection or formal post-publication retraction.

10. Authors' Responsibilities

  • Ensure absolute originality, authenticity, and scientific rigor in the manuscript.

  • Accurately credit all secondary medical data, prior trial outcomes, literature, and clinical frameworks.

  • Secure written permission for any copyrighted third-party tables, clinical scales, or diagnostic models.

  • Cooperate fully with editorial inquiries regarding data validation, raw trial file checks, or similarity reports.

  • Immediately notify the Editorial Office if a significant error or oversight is discovered post-submission or post-publication.

11. Editorial Independence & APC Separation

Editorial assessments regarding plagiarism, manuscript screening, and ethical investigations are completely autonomous and insulated from commercial considerations or Article Processing Charge (APC) considerations.

  • Article Processing Charges (APCs) are evaluated and requested only after formal double-blind peer review and official editorial acceptance.

  • The payment or waiver of an APC has no bearing on similarity checks, plagiarism investigations, or editorial decisions regarding manuscript integrity.

  • Ethical standards and plagiarism thresholds are applied uniformly to all submissions without exception.

12. Commitment to Research Integrity

FMCS is dedicated to fostering academic honesty, medical transparency, and scholarly trust. The journal treats all allegations of plagiarism, text recycling, and research misconduct with utmost seriousness, conducting evidence-based, impartial, and confidential investigations to safeguard the medical scientific record.

13. Contact Information

For questions regarding this Plagiarism Policy, similarity screening reports, or research integrity standards, please contact the Editorial Office:

  • Editorial Email: editor@irjernet.com