Plagiarism Policy
Statement and policy
Modern Economic Science strictly enforces a zero-tolerance policy on plagiarism, outlining specific actions and sanctions for detected violations in submitted articles.
Definition: Plagiarism is the act of using or closely imitating another author's language and ideas while presenting them as one's original work.
Policy: Submitted papers must be entirely original, unpublished, and not under review elsewhere. Any verbatim content from another source must be clearly distinguished from the manuscript’s original text through (1) indentation, (2) quotation marks, and (3) proper source attribution.
For content exceeding fair use standards defined as more than two to three sentences or their equivalent or graphic material taken from other sources, explicit permission from the copyright holder and, when applicable, the original author is required. Additionally, proper identification of the source, such as prior publication details, must be provided.
If plagiarism is found, the principal editor who reviewed the work will decide on appropriate actions based on the degree of plagiarism found in the work, following these guidelines:
Similarity level
Modern Economic Science enforces a strict zero-tolerance policy on plagiarism. To assess potential cases, iThenticate is used to generate a similarity index, and the editor reviews the results. Authors receive a similarity report outlining any detected concerns.
Editorial Actions Based on Similarity Index:
- Above 25%: Immediate rejection due to inadequate citation or poor paraphrasing; no resubmissions are allowed.
- Between 15-25%: The manuscript is returned for revision. Authors must properly cite all sources and improve paraphrasing, even if citations are included.
- Below 15%: The manuscript is accepted or may require minor citation adjustments to ensure proper attribution of outsourced content.
For manuscripts falling under cases 2 and 3, authors must carefully revise their work, add necessary citations, and improve paraphrasing.
The revised article must be resubmitted with an updated iThenticate report confirming no plagiarism and a similarity index of 15% or lower.
Additional information
Authors bear full responsibility for the content of their submitted papers, as they must confirm the paper's originality statement before submission and acknowledge the plagiarism policy. If a second instance of severe plagiarism by the same author(s) is detected, the Editorial Board will determine appropriate actions, which may include a permanent ban on future submissions.
This policy also extends to material reproduced from previous publications by the same author(s). If an author includes text or figures that have been previously published, the respective sections must be identified, and the original publication must be properly cited. In the case of review papers or tutorial articles, it is recognized that a significant portion of the content may be previously published.
Authors must indicate the source of any reused content and obtain permission from both the original author and the publisher. If a manuscript is submitted to Modern Economic Science significantly overlaps with another manuscript under review at a different journal, and this overlap is discovered during the review process or post-publication, the editor of the other journal will be informed, and the case will be classified as severe plagiarism. Significant overlap refers to identical or nearly identical figures and text covering half or more of the manuscript. If self-plagiarism affects between one-tenth and half of the paper, it is considered intermediate plagiarism. If limited to the methods section, it is treated as minor plagiarism.
When previously published material is used to support new findings, it must be properly cited and the differences from the current work must be clearly stated. Permission to republish must also be obtained from the copyright holder. If a manuscript originally published in conference proceedings is submitted for publication in Modern Economic Science, whether identical or expanded, the authors must provide details of the conference and secure republication rights from the copyright holder. The editor reserves the right to reject such submissions.
However, authors may incorporate materials from unpublished presentations, including visual displays, into a later journal publication. If a submission was initially published in another language, the title, date, and journal of the original publication must be disclosed, along with proof of copyright clearance.
