Plagiarism Policy

Sentralisasi is committed to maintaining academic integrity, originality, transparency, and responsible scholarly publishing. This policy applies to all manuscripts submitted to the journal and to published articles in which potential plagiarism or inappropriate text reuse is identified. The policy is informed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices, which state that journals should clearly define plagiarism and redundant or overlapping publication as part of their intellectual property policies.

1. Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the use of another person's words, ideas, data, findings, images, tables, or other intellectual contributions without appropriate acknowledgment, attribution, or permission where required. COPE distinguishes plagiarism from text recycling, which involves the reuse of an author's own previously published text, usually without appropriate acknowledgment; editors should assess both issues according to their nature and significance. See the official COPE flowchart on suspected plagiarism in a published article and COPE guidance on text recycling.

Plagiarism may include, but is not limited to, copying text without proper citation, presenting another person's ideas or findings as one's own, reproducing tables or figures without appropriate acknowledgment, paraphrasing a source without citing it, and submitting another person's work under one's own name. Sentralisasi will evaluate suspected cases in context rather than determining misconduct solely from the percentage of text similarity, consistent with the case-by-case approach described in COPE's text recycling guidance.

2. Similarity Screening and the Maximum Threshold

All submitted manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism and text-similarity detection software, specifically Turnitin or iThenticate, as available to the journal. The purpose of screening is to identify passages requiring editorial assessment and to support the journal's evaluation of originality and appropriate attribution. COPE discusses the use of text-similarity detection tools as part of the editorial assessment of suspected text recycling; see COPE's text recycling guidance.

Sentralisasi establishes a maximum overall similarity index of 20% as its journal-specific screening criterion. Manuscripts with a similarity index above 20% may be returned to the authors for revision or rejected, depending on the extent, location, nature, and seriousness of the overlap. This 20% threshold is a policy established by Sentralisasi; it is not a universal percentage limit prescribed by COPE.

A similarity index of 20% or less does not automatically establish that a manuscript is free from plagiarism, and a score above 20% does not by itself prove misconduct. Editors must examine the similarity report to determine whether matched passages represent properly cited material, standard terminology, references, legitimate quotations, methods descriptions, problematic copying, or potentially redundant publication. This contextual assessment is consistent with COPE's guidance that the significance of text recycling should be considered on a case-by-case basis.

3. Assessment of Similarity Reports

The editor or an authorized editorial team member will review the similarity report and examine the source, extent, and context of the matched text. The assessment may consider whether the overlap occurs in the introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusions, figures, tables, or other parts of the manuscript; whether the source is acknowledged; whether previously published data or findings have been reused; and whether copyright or attribution concerns arise. These considerations reflect the issues identified in COPE's text recycling guidance.

Where appropriate and supported by the software, reference lists, bibliographic information, and correctly identified quotations may be excluded or separately assessed to avoid misleading interpretations of the similarity percentage. Such exclusions must not be used to conceal substantive copying or to manipulate the report. COPE's discussion document on plagiarism notes that references and quoted material can affect similarity results and emphasizes the need for editorial judgment when interpreting them; see COPE's discussion document, “How should editors respond to plagiarism?”.

4. Editorial Decisions Based on Screening Results

a. Similarity index of 20% or less: The manuscript may proceed to the next stage of editorial assessment if the editor finds no substantive plagiarism, inappropriate text reuse, or other publication ethics concerns. Passing the similarity threshold does not guarantee acceptance or exempt the manuscript from further ethical review.

b. Similarity index above 20%: The manuscript may be returned to the authors for revision, clarification, proper attribution, or reduction of inappropriate overlap. The editor may reject the manuscript when the overlap is substantial, inadequately attributed, or otherwise incompatible with the journal's publication standards. COPE's guidance indicates that minor text recycling may warrant revision and citation, while more significant overlap may justify rejection; see COPE's text recycling guidance.

c. Suspected serious plagiarism: Where the editor identifies substantial unattributed copying, misappropriation of data or findings, or other serious concerns, the journal may suspend processing while seeking an explanation and evaluating the available evidence. COPE provides a process for handling suspected plagiarism in published articles, including gathering evidence, contacting the author, and considering further action where appropriate; see the COPE plagiarism flowchart.

5. Authors' Responsibilities

Authors must submit original work, acknowledge the sources of ideas and materials that are not their own, use quotation marks or other appropriate formatting for direct quotations, provide accurate citations, and obtain permission for third-party material where necessary. Authors must also disclose relevant overlap with their own previously published work and cite such work appropriately. These requirements are consistent with COPE's emphasis on clear policies concerning plagiarism, intellectual property, and redundant or overlapping publication in its Core Practices and text recycling guidance.

Authors are responsible for reviewing their manuscripts before submission and correcting inappropriate textual overlap, missing citations, or incomplete acknowledgments. Authors must not manipulate similarity reports, remove citations to evade detection, or submit revised text that continues to misrepresent another person's work.

6. Handling Suspected Plagiarism Before Publication

When suspected plagiarism is identified before publication, the editor may request an explanation from the corresponding author, ask for supporting documentation, or seek clarification from the other authors where necessary. Depending on the findings, the journal may request substantial revision, reject the manuscript, or take other proportionate action. COPE's guidance on suspected plagiarism emphasizes examining the evidence, contacting the author, and determining an appropriate response based on the circumstances; see the COPE plagiarism flowchart.

The journal will handle allegations fairly and confidentially to the extent possible, give the relevant authors an appropriate opportunity to respond, and document the editorial assessment and decision. COPE's Core Practices state that journals should have a clearly described process for handling allegations of misconduct and should take such allegations seriously before and after publication.

7. Plagiarism Identified After Publication

If credible evidence of plagiarism is identified after an article has been published, Sentralisasi will assess the concern, review the available evidence, and contact the relevant authors where appropriate. Depending on the seriousness and consequences of the findings, the journal may publish a correction, issue an expression of concern, or retract the article. COPE provides guidance for investigating suspected plagiarism in published articles and identifies possible editorial actions; see the COPE flowchart on suspected plagiarism in a published article and COPE Core Practices on post-publication discussions and corrections.

Retraction or correction decisions will be based on the evidence and the effect of the problem on the integrity of the scholarly record, not solely on the similarity percentage. Where an investigation identifies overlapping publication or recycled material, the editor will consider the nature and extent of the overlap and whether the published article remains sufficiently original and reliable. See COPE's text recycling guidance.

8. Editorial Independence and Final Decisions

The editor-in-chief or an authorized editor is responsible for making the final editorial decision on suspected plagiarism, taking into account the similarity report, the manuscript's content, the authors' explanations, and any relevant evidence. The use of Turnitin or iThenticate supports, but does not replace, editorial judgment. This approach reflects COPE's emphasis on clearly defined publication ethics policies and transparent processes for addressing allegations of misconduct in its Core Practices.

9. Policy Statement

Sentralisasi expects all authors to uphold the principles of originality, proper attribution, research integrity, and responsible scholarly communication. The journal applies a maximum similarity index of 20% as an internal screening criterion and uses Turnitin or iThenticate, subject to availability, to assist the editorial assessment. All similarity results will be interpreted contextually, and suspected plagiarism will be handled in accordance with the journal's editorial procedures and relevant COPE guidance.