Plagiarism and Originality Policy

Al’Adalah: Journal of Islamic Studies is committed to maintaining originality, academic integrity, and responsible scholarly publication. All submitted manuscripts are subject to originality screening as part of the journal's editorial evaluation.

 

1. Plagiarism and Unacceptable Practices

Plagiarism includes the use of another person's words, ideas, data, findings, interpretations, or other intellectual contributions without appropriate acknowledgment. It may involve direct copying, inadequate paraphrasing, unattributed translation, or presenting another person's research as original work. Authors must also avoid redundant publication and inappropriate reuse of their previously published materials. Relevant overlap with earlier publications, preprints, conference papers, theses, dissertations, or related manuscripts must be disclosed during submission. The editorial team will assess the nature and extent of such overlap and the originality of the submitted contribution.

 

2. Similarity Screening

Al’Adalah: Journal of Islamic Studies uses Turnitin to identify textual similarities between submitted manuscripts and existing sources. The resulting similarity report supports editorial assessment but does not independently establish whether plagiarism has occurred. Editors examine matching passages in context, considering their source, location, extent, and purpose, as well as the accuracy of quotations, citations, and acknowledgments. Similarities involving properly cited quotations, references, commonly used terminology, or previously disclosed materials require appropriate contextual evaluation. The journal does not apply a fixed similarity percentage as an automatic criterion for manuscript acceptance or rejection. A low similarity score does not guarantee originality, and a high score does not necessarily indicate plagiarism.

 

3. Editorial Assessment and Decisions

When similarity screening or editorial evaluation identifies potentially inappropriate overlap, the editorial team will examine the available evidence and determine whether clarification or further investigation is necessary. Depending on the nature and seriousness of the concern, editors may request clarification, require corrections to attribution or presentation, invite revision, suspend editorial processing, or reject the manuscript. Authors will be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to substantive allegations. Confirmed serious plagiarism or redundant publication may result in rejection and further action in accordance with the journal's Publication Ethics policy.

 

4. Authors' Responsibilities

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts represent original scholarly contributions and appropriately acknowledge all sources. They must disclose relevant previous dissemination, related publications, and overlapping materials. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of their citations and for obtaining necessary permissions to reproduce copyrighted material. Rewriting matched passages without addressing the underlying problems of attribution or originality does not satisfy the journal's ethical requirements.

 

5. Post-Publication Concerns

Allegations of plagiarism or redundant publication arising after an article has been published will be assessed under the journal's Publication Ethics and Corrections and Retractions policies. Where warranted, the journal may issue a correction, an expression of concern, or a retraction to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.