1.What we mean by plagiarism

Plagiarism means copying other people’s work without proper attribution, or using content without giving appropriate references. It breaches copyright, and it misrepresents another person’s original ideas, words and unique expression as your own. REF Press applies a strict policy to plagiarism across its work.

• Copying without credit

  Using another author’s words, ideas or data without proper attribution. Copying word for word without quotation marks and a citation is the plainest example.

• Figures, tables and equations

  Plagiarism extends to figures, tables, equations, illustrations and material downloaded directly from the internet without acknowledging the source.

• Self-plagiarism

  Reusing your own copyrighted or previously published material without citing the original source. A clear reference to earlier work, or exact sentences in quotation marks, removes any ambiguity.

• Duplicate publication

  Submitted manuscripts must be unpublished work and must not be under consideration elsewhere. Duplicate publication, in whole or in part, breaches this policy.

• Salami slicing

  Extracting small amounts of data in increments from previously published articles to create new papers.

• Unintentional plagiarism

  Some authors do not realise they are plagiarising. It is still the author’s responsibility to separate paraphrasing from quoting exact words, and to cite correctly. Knowingly borrowing ideas or content is blatant plagiarism.

2.How manuscripts are screened

We use anti-plagiarism software to check the originality of every article. Each submitted manuscript is checked before the review process starts, and the result places it in one of three bands.

• Under 5%

  The manuscript is sent to the author for revision and is provided with a manuscript ID.

• 5% to 30%

  The manuscript is returned to the author and is not given a manuscript ID.

• Over 30%

  The manuscript is rejected without review. Authors are advised to revise and resubmit.

3.Reporting a concern

Readers who come across a possible case of plagiarism are asked to tell the editorial office at editorial@refpress.org. Please include as much detail as you can:

• The journal name and the manuscript title
• The volume number, issue number and year of publication
• Any other information that may help us look into the matter

For a formal complaint, the editor asks for the following documentation. Publisher guidelines are taken into account throughout.

• A description of the alleged misconduct
• The manuscript title and the list of authors
• The title of the ideas concerned, and the list of creators and date of creation
• Copies of both manuscripts
• The full name and address of the complainant

4.If a published article is suspected

When plagiarism is suspected in a published article, we follow these steps in order:

1. Report madeThe person who raised the concern is advised to follow the reporting process above.
2. Extent evaluatedWe assess how much of the published article was copied.
3. Editors consultedEditorial Board members are informed and asked for their feedback.
4. Author contactedThe author receives the supporting evidence and is asked to respond.
5. Decision takenIf the authors are found responsible, REF Press publishes an official retraction of the paper.

If a manuscript clears review and is published but is later found to contain plagiarised content, the authors’ institutions and funding agencies are contacted. Each page of the PDF is marked and, depending on the extent of the plagiarism, the article may be formally retracted.

5.How we assess a case

Plagiarism takes many forms, so every case is judged on its facts. We look at:

• Extent of copying
• Originality of the copied material
• Context
• Referencing
• Intention
• Author seniority
• Language

Our responses include educating authors, contacting authors’ institutions, issuing corrections and issuing retractions.

6.Consequences and sanctions

Where an author is found responsible for plagiarism, the outcome may include:

• Retraction. An official retraction of the paper is published.
• Institutional notice. The author’s institution and funding agencies are contacted.
• Submission ban. The author is barred from submitting to REF Press for a period of time.
• Five-year exclusion. REF Press does not consider any of the author’s publications for a period of 5 years.
• Removal from office. An author who holds an editorial office at REF Press is removed from it.
• Apology. The author is asked to write to the author of the plagiarised paper, apologise and admit the act.

7.Confidentiality

The charge of plagiarism, the supporting materials and the outcome remain confidential. They are known only to the people involved in the review process.

8.What we expect from authors

To keep your work clear of plagiarism, please follow these guidelines:

• Focus on the ideas published in earlier work, and credit them clearly.
• When copying word for word, set the text apart with quotation marks or italics and indentation, and include the citation with a link or URL where relevant.
• Attribute every source properly, even though the journal uses double-blind review.
• If ideas, text or analysis from a paper under consideration appear in later papers, cite that paper as the first source.
• Reference and cite any empirical data used from previously published work.
• When using mathematical data from earlier work, reuse the notation for consistency. Reusing variable definitions is encouraged.
• When in doubt, cite the earlier publication, or describe the situation in a cover letter to the editor.