Plagiarism Policy

The Journal of Economic Development and Village Building (JEDVB) is committed to publishing only original scholarship and upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. Every submission must be the authors' own original work, must be properly attributed where it draws on the work of others, and must not be under consideration elsewhere. This policy sets out how JEDVB defines, screens for, and responds to plagiarism, in line with the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

What constitutes plagiarism

Plagiarism is presenting another person's work, ideas, words, data, figures, or results as one's own without proper attribution or permission. It includes, but is not limited to:

  • Verbatim (literal) copying: reproducing text word for word, in whole or in part, without quotation marks and citation.
  • Substantial copying: reproducing a meaningful portion of a work, judged by quality as well as quantity, without acknowledgment, including where the essence of a work is reused even if the excerpt is short.
  • Paraphrasing: restating another's work too closely, in altered words, without adequate attribution.
  • Reuse of figures, tables, data, or results from other sources without acknowledgment or permission.
  • Presenting others' ideas, theories, or interpretations as one's own original thought.
  • Self-plagiarism (redundant publication): reusing significant portions of one's own previously published work without citation or justification.

When authors draw on another source, whether words, data, or ideas, they must cite it. Where words are quoted directly, quotation marks and a citation are both required; a citation alone is not sufficient for quoted text.

Screening

All submitted manuscripts are screened for similarity before peer review and may be checked again before final publication. JEDVB uses Turnitin to generate a similarity report for each manuscript. Quoted material that is properly cited and the reference list are excluded from the similarity calculation.

JEDVB expects the overall similarity index of a manuscript to be below 20%, with no single source contributing a disproportionate share. A similarity score is a starting point for editorial judgment, not an automatic verdict: the editors review each report and assess whether the flagged matches represent genuine plagiarism or legitimate overlap, such as common terminology, standard methodological descriptions, or correctly cited quotations. Manuscripts whose similarity is excessive, or which show evidence of plagiarism regardless of the overall percentage, are returned to the authors for revision or rejected.

Handling suspected plagiarism

Where plagiarism is suspected, the Editor-in-Chief oversees an assessment proportionate to the concern, and the authors are given an opportunity to respond before a final decision is reached. JEDVB follows the relevant COPE flowcharts:

Before publication. If plagiarism is confirmed in a submitted manuscript, the outcome depends on its extent. Minor, unintentional overlap results in the manuscript being returned to the authors with a request to revise, cite, and quote the material correctly. Substantial or deliberate plagiarism results in rejection. In serious cases the editors may notify the authors' institutions.

After publication. If plagiarism is discovered in a published article, JEDVB investigates thoroughly and, where it is confirmed, issues a correction or retracts the article in accordance with COPE retraction guidelines, publishing a retraction notice and, where warranted, notifying the authors' institutions.

Author responsibility

Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality of their work, for correctly citing and quoting all sources, and for obtaining permission to reproduce any copyrighted material. Submitting a manuscript to JEDVB is taken as an affirmation that the work is original and free of plagiarism.

For any question about this policy or the screening process, authors may contact the editorial office through the journal's contact page.