Plagiarism Policy

1. Purpose

The Irsa Journal of Sports Studies and Physical Education (IJSSPE) is committed to maintaining academic integrity, originality, and ethical research and publication practices. Plagiarism and other forms of inappropriate use of published or unpublished work are not acceptable.

2. Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism includes presenting another person's words, ideas, data, findings, figures, or other intellectual contributions as one's own without appropriate acknowledgment. It also includes inadequate citation, unauthorized use of material, and substantial overlap with previously published work without proper disclosure.

3. Similarity Requirements

All submitted manuscripts may be screened for textual similarity as part of the editorial assessment. In accordance with the journal's Author Guidelines:

The overall similarity index must not exceed 20%.
Similarity from any single source must not exceed 5%.

Similarity scores are considered indicators for editorial assessment and do not, by themselves, establish whether plagiarism has occurred. Editors may consider the nature, context, attribution, and extent of the overlapping material.

4. Originality and Duplicate Publication

Submitted manuscripts must represent original work and must not be published previously or be under consideration by another journal at the same time. Any use of previously published material must be properly cited and disclosed where applicable.

5. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality of their submissions, accurately citing all sources, acknowledging the contributions of others, and obtaining permission to use copyrighted material when required.

Authors must not fabricate or falsify sources, data, or research findings, or misrepresent another person's work as their own.

6. Editorial Assessment

When potential plagiarism, excessive similarity, or duplicate publication is identified, the editorial team will assess the available evidence in accordance with the journal's editorial and publication ethics policies.

The journal may request clarification or additional information from the authors. Any editorial decision will depend on the nature and seriousness of the concern and the available evidence.

7. Published Articles

If concerns about plagiarism or inappropriate textual overlap arise after publication, the journal will assess the matter in accordance with its Publication Ethics Policy and Corrections and Retraction Policy. Appropriate action may be taken to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

8. Use of Artificial Intelligence

The use of artificial intelligence tools must comply with the journal's AI Use Policy. Authors remain fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, proper attribution, and integrity of their manuscripts. AI tools must not be used to conceal plagiarism or misrepresent the authorship of intellectual work.

9. Final Statement

IJSSPE expects all authors to uphold the highest standards of academic honesty and publication ethics. Manuscripts must comply with this policy and the journal's Author Guidelines before they can be considered for publication.