Plagiarism is the presentation of another person's ideas, words, processes, results, data, images, methods or other intellectual contributions as one's own without appropriate acknowledgement, attribution or permission where permission is required.

The concept of plagiarism encompasses both deliberate and, in some circumstances, careless forms of misappropriation. Authors are responsible for ensuring that all material incorporated into a manuscript is properly cited and that the source of intellectual contributions is clearly identified.

Every manuscript submitted to JAFSA must represent original scholarly work and must not be simultaneously under consideration by another journal or publisher.

By submitting a manuscript, the corresponding author confirms that:

• The manuscript has not been published previously, in whole or in substantial part, except where prior dissemination is transparently disclosed and is consistent with accepted scholarly practice.
• The manuscript is not currently being considered by another journal or publisher.
• All sources, ideas, data, figures, tables, images, methods and other borrowed material have been appropriately acknowledged.
• Any substantially related publications, manuscripts in press, preprints, conference papers, reports or other outputs have been disclosed to the editorial office where they could affect the assessment of originality.
• The authors have disclosed any previous use of the dataset or substantially overlapping research that could reasonably be considered relevant to the submitted manuscript.

Plagiarism and related forms of publication misconduct may occur in text, ideas, data, figures, images, methods, references or other scholarly content. The following examples are illustrative and are not intended to constitute an exhaustive list.

Authors may legitimately build on their previous research. However, previous work must be appropriately acknowledged and the new manuscript must make a sufficiently clear and transparent contribution.

Prior dissemination does not automatically constitute plagiarism. However, authors must disclose relevant preprints, conference papers, dissertations, institutional reports, working papers and other publicly available versions when submitting a manuscript to JAFSA.

Authors should provide sufficient information to enable the editorial team to distinguish the submitted manuscript from previously disseminated material.

Where a manuscript contains substantial material from a previous publication or publicly available research output, the relationship must be clearly explained and the earlier work appropriately cited.

JAFSA may use a combination of technological screening, editorial assessment and expert review to identify potential plagiarism or inappropriate overlap.

1. Similarity screening: Submitted manuscripts may undergo similarity analysis using appropriate plagiarism-detection and similarity-checking tools, including services capable of comparing manuscripts against scholarly literature and other indexed sources.
2. Editorial assessment: Editors may manually examine similarity reports to determine whether identified overlaps represent legitimate quotation, standard terminology, commonly used methodology, appropriate citation or potential misconduct.
3. Reviewer identification: Peer reviewers may identify unattributed material, duplicated findings, suspicious similarities or inappropriate reuse during the peer-review process.
4. Post-publication discovery: Readers, researchers, institutions, authors, whistleblowers or other members of the scholarly community may report suspected plagiarism or duplicate publication.

JAFSA may use similarity-checking services and scholarly databases, including available Crossref-indexed content and other appropriate databases, to identify potentially overlapping text.

Similarity reports are treated as editorial tools rather than automatic evidence of misconduct. A manuscript may legitimately contain matching language because of:

• Technical or scientific terminology;
• Standard methodological descriptions;
• Names of instruments, chemicals, species or established procedures;
• References and bibliographic information;
• Properly quoted and attributed material;
• Commonly used institutional or regulatory terminology.

Editors may therefore examine the location, nature, extent and source of overlapping material before reaching an editorial decision.

Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality and integrity of their submissions. Before submission, authors should:

The use of artificial intelligence tools does not remove an author's responsibility for originality, accuracy, attribution and research integrity.

Authors must not use AI systems to reproduce, disguise or transform another person's copyrighted or scholarly work and present it as original without appropriate attribution.

Authors remain responsible for verifying AI-assisted content, references, quotations, data interpretations and factual claims. Fabricated citations, invented sources or AI-generated material that misrepresents another person's work may constitute publication misconduct.

Plagiarism is not limited to written text. Authors must properly acknowledge the source of:

• Photographs and illustrations;
• Charts and graphs;
• Maps and diagrams;
• Tables;
• Datasets and databases;
• Research instruments;
• Software, code or algorithms;
• Audio-visual materials; and
• Other third-party intellectual property.

Where material is protected by copyright or another legal restriction, authors are responsible for obtaining the necessary permission before publication.

Where potential plagiarism or substantial inappropriate overlap is identified, JAFSA will assess the matter based on the available evidence and the stage of publication.

1. Initial assessment: The editor or editorial office reviews the suspected overlap and available evidence.
2. Author clarification: Where appropriate, the corresponding author may be contacted and asked to provide an explanation, corrections, source information or supporting documentation.
3. Editorial evaluation: The editor evaluates the nature, extent, context and significance of the overlap.
4. Additional consultation: Where necessary, the editor may consult members of the editorial team, reviewers, subject experts or relevant institutions.
5. Editorial decision: Depending on the circumstances, the manuscript may be returned for correction, rejected, withdrawn from consideration, or subjected to another appropriate editorial action.

The action taken by JAFSA will depend on factors including the severity and extent of the overlap, whether the material was intentional or inadvertent, the stage of publication, the author's explanation and the effect on the integrity of the scholarly record.

If credible evidence of plagiarism or duplicate publication is received after an article has been published, JAFSA may investigate the matter even though the article has already entered the scholarly record.

Depending on the findings, JAFSA may:

• Request clarification from the authors;
• Publish a correction where the issue is limited and correctable;
• Publish an editorial notice or expression of concern where appropriate;
• Amend the article's publication record where justified;
• Retract the article where the integrity of the published work has been materially compromised;
• Notify relevant institutions or organizations where appropriate and legally permissible.

Where an article is retracted because of plagiarism, JAFSA may retain the bibliographic record and clearly identify the publication as retracted in order to preserve the integrity and transparency of the scholarly record.

JAFSA editors and reviewers are expected to contribute to the prevention and identification of publication misconduct while maintaining fairness and confidentiality.

• Editors should assess suspected plagiarism objectively and consistently.
• Editors should distinguish legitimate similarity from inappropriate copying.
• Reviewers should notify the editor when they identify substantial unattributed overlap.
• Reviewers must not use unpublished manuscripts or their contents for personal advantage.
• Suspected misconduct should be handled confidentially while an assessment is ongoing.
• Editors and reviewers should disclose relevant conflicts of interest.

JAFSA recognizes that similarity between publications can arise for legitimate reasons. Therefore, an allegation of plagiarism will not automatically be treated as proof of misconduct.

Authors will be given an appropriate opportunity to provide clarification or supporting information when the circumstances warrant such communication.

Investigations will be handled as confidentially as reasonably possible. Information will be shared only with individuals who need it for the assessment or resolution of the matter, subject to applicable legal, institutional and ethical requirements.

By submitting a manuscript to JAFSA, the authors confirm that, to the best of their knowledge:

• The manuscript is original and has been prepared with appropriate attribution.
• The manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration elsewhere.
• All sources of ideas, text, data, figures and other intellectual contributions have been appropriately acknowledged.
• Any relevant previous publication or manuscript has been disclosed.
• Any reused material has been appropriately cited and, where necessary, permission has been obtained.
• The authors have not knowingly fabricated, manipulated or misrepresented citations to conceal overlap.
• The authors accept responsibility for addressing legitimate questions concerning the originality and integrity of their submission.

Authors can reduce the risk of accidental plagiarism by adopting responsible scholarly writing practices:

• Keep accurate records of all sources consulted during research.
• Clearly distinguish personal notes from copied quotations.
• Record the source whenever an idea, statistic, method or finding is taken from another work.
• Use quotation marks for exact wording when direct quotation is appropriate.
• Paraphrase genuinely rather than simply replacing individual words with synonyms.
• Cite the original source of an idea even when the wording is completely different.
• Check every reference before submission.
• Review the manuscript for overlap with the authors' previous publications.
• Disclose related manuscripts and publications to the editor.
• Ensure that all contributors understand the manuscript's originality and publication status.

Cases involving plagiarism, text recycling, duplicate publication, redundant publication or overlapping research are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

JAFSA may consider the amount and significance of the overlapping material, its location within the manuscript, whether the source was acknowledged, the relationship between the studies, the contribution of the new manuscript, the authors' explanation and the potential effect on the integrity of the scholarly record.

The existence of common terminology or a similarity match by itself does not establish plagiarism. Conversely, a low overall similarity percentage does not necessarily exclude plagiarism where substantial intellectual material has been appropriated.