Plagiarism Policy

Statement and Policy

Journal of Contemporary Governance and Public Policy adopts a zero-tolerance policy towards plagiarism and has established the following procedures outlining specific actions (penalties) to be taken when plagiarism is detected in a manuscript submitted for publication.

Definition: Plagiarism is defined as the use or close imitation of the language and ideas of another author and presenting them as one's own original work.

Policy: All manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Any material taken verbatim from another source must be clearly distinguished from the main text using the following methods:

• Indentation

• Quotation marks

• Full citation of the original source

Text that exceeds fair use standards—defined here as more than two or three sentences or the equivalent—or any reproduced graphic material must be accompanied by permission from the copyright holder and, where feasible, the original author(s), in addition to proper source citation (e.g., reference to prior publication).

All submitted manuscripts will be checked for similarity using Turnitin.

When plagiarism is identified, the Editor-in-Chief responsible for the manuscript will determine appropriate action in accordance with the degree of plagiarism and in line with the guidelines. 

Similarity Level

Journal of Contemporary Governance and Public Policy maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards plagiarism. Turnitin is used to evaluate the similarity index, after which the editor will review and assess potential plagiarism. The similarity report will be shared with the author. The editorial board applies the following guidelines:

1. Similarity Index above 40%:
   The article will be rejected due to poor citation and/or inadequate paraphrasing. No resubmission will be accepted.

2. Similarity Index between 10–40%:
   The article will be returned to the author for revision. Authors must provide accurate citations for all identified similarities and paraphrase appropriately, even where citations are already present.

3. Similarity Index below 10%:
   The article may be accepted, or minor citation improvements may be required. Proper citations must be provided for all referenced material.

For cases falling under points 2 and 3:
Authors are expected to revise their manuscript thoroughly, include all necessary citations, and paraphrase properly where appropriate. The revised manuscript must be resubmitted along with a new Turnitin report demonstrating a similarity index below 10% and no plagiarism.

Plagiarism, Similarity, and Paraphrasing

For example, the following illustrates the differences between plagiarism, similarity, and paraphrased sentences, with proper source citation.

Original text: The analysis reveals that socio-economic development does not uniformly diminish traditional beliefs, challenging assumptions that modernization invariably erodes pre-modern mindsets. While certain beliefs, such as the evil eye, show a decline in prevalence in more developed societies, practices like exorcism and reliance on traditional healers persist across socio-economic contexts, even in countries with higher literacy and life expectancy rates. Religious demography further complicates these patterns, as countries with larger Muslim populations often exhibit a distinct alignment of traditional practices within Islamic ethical and spiritual frameworks. Conversely, in non-Muslim-majority settings, traditional beliefs are more likely to coexist with or be reinforced by animistic and other non-Islamic traditions, demonstrating the multifaceted relationship between belief systems, socio-economic progress, and cultural identity. 

Source: Harakan, A., Kinyondo, A., Kepko, Y. M., Kuzenbayev, N., & Pelizzo, R. (2024). The Interplay Between Religion, Traditional Beliefs, and Socio-Economic Development: Insights from Four Emerging Economies. Jurnal Ilmiah Al-Syir'ah, 22(2), 186-206. 

Your text (fully plagiarism) ❌: The analysis reveals that socio-economic development does not uniformly diminish traditional beliefs, challenging assumptions that modernization invariably erodes pre-modern mindsets. While certain beliefs, such as the evil eye, show a decline in prevalence in more developed societies, practices like exorcism and reliance on traditional healers persist across socio-economic contexts, even in countries with higher literacy and life expectancy rates. Religious demography further complicates these patterns, as countries with larger Muslim populations often exhibit a distinct alignment of traditional practices within Islamic ethical and spiritual frameworks. Conversely, in non-Muslim-majority settings, traditional beliefs are more likely to coexist with or be reinforced by animistic and other non-Islamic traditions, demonstrating the multifaceted relationship between belief systems, socio-economic progress, and cultural identity. 

Your text (not plagiarism but fully similar) ❌: The analysis reveals that socio-economic development does not uniformly diminish traditional beliefs, challenging assumptions that modernization invariably erodes pre-modern mindsets. While certain beliefs, such as the evil eye, show a decline in prevalence in more developed societies, practices like exorcism and reliance on traditional healers persist across socio-economic contexts, even in countries with higher literacy and life expectancy rates. Religious demography further complicates these patterns, as countries with larger Muslim populations often exhibit a distinct alignment of traditional practices within Islamic ethical and spiritual frameworks. Conversely, in non-Muslim-majority settings, traditional beliefs are more likely to coexist with or be reinforced by animistic and other non-Islamic traditions, demonstrating the multifaceted relationship between belief systems, socio-economic progress, and cultural identity (Harakan et al., 2024). 

Your text (paraphrasing sentences by citing the source) ✅: The findings indicate that socio-economic progress does not uniformly lead to the disappearance of traditional belief systems, thereby challenging the widespread notion that modernization necessarily displaces pre-modern ways of thinking. While some beliefs—such as the concept of the evil eye—tend to decline in prevalence within more developed nations, other traditions, including exorcism rituals and the use of traditional healers, continue to be practiced across various levels of development. These practices persist even in countries with high literacy rates and long life expectancy, suggesting that development alone does not fully displace cultural traditions. Religious composition also plays a critical role in shaping these dynamics. In Muslim-majority countries, traditional beliefs are often reframed within Islamic ethical and spiritual paradigms. Meanwhile, in countries where Islam is not the dominant religion, such beliefs are more likely to coexist with, or be reinforced by, animistic or other indigenous belief systems. This complexity underscores the multidimensional relationship between cultural identity, belief structures, and socio-economic transformation (Harakan et al., 2024). 

Additional Information

It is understood that authors are fully responsible for the content of the papers they submit, as they are required to confirm the originality of their work prior to submission and acknowledge this plagiarism policy. In the event that a second case of severe plagiarism by the same author(s) is identified, the Editorial Board will determine the appropriate sanctions. The author(s) may be permanently barred from submitting future manuscripts to the journal.

This policy also applies to material reproduced from previous publications by the same author(s). If an author includes text or figures that have already been published, the reused material must be clearly identified, and the original source properly cited. It is recognised that in review or tutorial papers, some previously published content may be included; however, the original sources must still be cited, and permissions obtained where necessary.

If a manuscript submitted to the Journal of Contemporary Governance and Public Policy is found to significantly overlap with a submission to another journal—whether during the review process or after publication—the editor of the other journal will be informed, and the case will be treated as one of severe plagiarism. "Significant overlap" refers to the use of identical or nearly identical figures and identical or minimally altered text constituting half or more of the paper.

Self-plagiarism involving more than one-tenth but less than one-half of the manuscript will be treated as intermediate plagiarism. If such duplication is limited to the methods section, the case will be regarded as minor plagiarism.

If an author reuses their previously published material to clarify new findings, the reused content must be explicitly acknowledged, and the distinction between the previous and current publication must be clearly stated. In such cases, permission to republish must be obtained from the copyright holder.

For manuscripts originally published in conference proceedings and later submitted to the Journal of Contemporary Governance and Public Policy—either in identical or expanded form—the authors must disclose the name of the conference, date of the original publication, and obtain the appropriate permissions. The editor retains the right to reject such submissions.

Authors may use material from unpublished presentations, including visual content, in subsequent journal publications. If a submission was originally published in another language, the title, date, and source journal of the original publication must be disclosed, and copyright clearance must be obtained.