Plagiarism and Similarity Policy

Editorial Policies

JRTN is committed to publishing only original work. All manuscripts submitted to the journal undergo similarity screening as part of the editorial review process. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their work is free of plagiarism and that all sources are properly cited.

Similarity Screening

Manuscripts are screened using Turnitin before or during the editorial review stage.

JRTN uses Turnitin to generate similarity reports for all submitted manuscripts. The report is reviewed by the editorial team alongside the full manuscript — the similarity index alone does not determine acceptance or rejection.

Similarity to the author's own previously published work (self-plagiarism), excessive quotation without attribution, and unattributed paraphrasing are treated with the same seriousness as plagiarism of other authors' work.

Similarity Thresholds

Editorial evaluation considers context, not only the numeric index.

Below 20% Generally Acceptable

Manuscripts with an overall similarity index below 20% are generally acceptable, provided no single source accounts for a disproportionate share of the similarity and all matches correspond to properly cited material.

20% – 30% Requires Editorial Review

Manuscripts in this range are reviewed in detail by the editor. The source and nature of matched content are assessed individually. Authors may be asked to revise and resubmit with reduced similarity.

Above 30% High Risk — Likely Desk Rejection

Manuscripts exceeding 30% overall similarity are at high risk of desk rejection. Authors may be invited to substantially revise the manuscript before a new submission is considered.

Thresholds are guidelines, not automatic rules

A low similarity index does not guarantee acceptance, and a high index does not automatically result in rejection. A manuscript with 15% similarity concentrated in a single uncited source raises greater concern than one with 28% similarity distributed across properly cited references and standard methodological language.

Forms of Plagiarism and Text Misuse

Plagiarism of Others' Work

  • Copying text verbatim without quotation marks or citation
  • Paraphrasing another author's ideas without attribution
  • Reproducing figures, tables, or data without permission and citation
  • Translating content from another language without attribution

Self-Plagiarism

  • Reusing substantial text from the author's own prior publications
  • Submitting work that duplicates a paper already under review elsewhere
  • Republishing the same data set with only cosmetic changes
  • Salami slicing: artificially splitting one study into multiple papers

Consequences of Plagiarism

Pre-publication detection
Manuscripts in which plagiarism is identified prior to publication will be rejected without further review. Authors may be barred from submitting to JRTN for a defined period.
Post-publication detection
Published articles found to contain plagiarism will be retracted in accordance with JRTN's Corrections and Retractions policy. A retraction notice will be published and linked to the original article.
Institutional notification
In cases of confirmed plagiarism, JRTN reserves the right to notify the authors' affiliated institutions in accordance with COPE guidelines.

How to Avoid Plagiarism

Authors are encouraged to review their manuscript for similarity before submission.

Run your manuscript through a similarity checker before submission and review matched passages carefully.

Cite all sources in-text, including paraphrased ideas, figures, tables, and data from prior publications.

Use quotation marks for verbatim text and limit direct quotation to essential passages.

Declare prior related work by the same authors in the cover letter or acknowledgements and explain how the new submission adds original value.

Review the Author Guidelines before submitting

Detailed manuscript preparation requirements, including citation format and reporting standards, are described in the Author Guidelines.

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