The Barind Medical College Journal (BMCJ) upholds the highest academic integrity standards and strictly prohibits plagiarism. BMCJ is committed to ensuring that all published research is original and properly attributed in line with global best practices. Plagiarism, including misrepresenting another's work as one's own or failing to properly acknowledge sources, is considered a serious violation of ethical publishing standards. To maintain these high standards, BMCJ uses Turnitin, a leading plagiarism detection software, to rigorously screen all submitted manuscripts for originality.

 

What Constitutes Plagiarism?

Plagiarism refers to using someone else's words, ideas, or data without proper attribution. At BMCJ, the following types of plagiarism are strictly prohibited:

• Direct Plagiarism: Copying another's work word-for-word without providing citation.
• Self-Plagiarism: Submitting or reusing significant portions of one's previously published work without proper citation or content transformation.
• Paraphrasing Plagiarism: Rewriting another person's ideas or findings without sufficient transformation and failing to cite the original source properly.
• Mosaic Plagiarism: Incorporating phrases or ideas from different sources into one's work without proper acknowledgment.

 

These forms of plagiarism violate academic ethics and are subject to immediate action, including manuscript rejection or retraction if discovered after publication.

 

Plagiarism Detection and Similarity Index

BMCJ uses Turnitin to detect potential instances of plagiarism. Turnitin compares the submitted manuscript against a vast database of academic content, published papers, and other sources, generating a similarity index. This index highlights how much of the text in the manuscript matches content from other works. BMCJ considers a similarity index of less than 15% acceptable for publication. This threshold allows for minimal overlaps due to common terminology, properly cited sources, or standard technical phrases. However, even with a low similarity index, the editorial team carefully reviews all flagged sections to ensure that any matching text is properly attributed.

 

Plagiarism Screening and Evaluation Process

• Initial Screening: Upon submission, all manuscripts are screened using Turnitin. The software generates a detailed similarity report, which identifies all instances of overlapping text with existing literature and provides a percentage of the manuscript's similarity to other works.
• Review of Similarity Index: Manuscripts with a similarity index below 15% generally proceed to the next review stage. However, the editorial team thoroughly examines the Turnitin report to assess whether the matches are due to properly cited references or if there are issues of unacknowledged copying. Manuscripts with a similarity index exceeding 15% are flagged for further scrutiny.
• Action on High Similarity Index: If a manuscript's similarity index exceeds 15% or contains significant uncredited sections, the manuscript is returned to the authors for revision. In major plagiarism cases where large portions of the text are copied without proper citation, the manuscript is rejected immediately. Authors may also be asked to provide explanations or revisions depending on the nature of the overlap.

 

Consequences of Plagiarism

BMCJ enforces strict consequences for plagiarism at any stage of the publication process:

• Rejection of the Manuscript: Manuscripts that contain substantial plagiarism are rejected immediately.
• Retraction of Published Articles: If plagiarism is detected after an article has been published, BMCJ will retract the article and issue a formal retraction notice on its website and in subsequent journal issues.
• Notification of Institutions: In severe cases, the journal may notify the author's affiliated institution, funding bodies, or relevant authorities, particularly if there is evidence of deliberate misconduct.

 

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their work is original and properly cited. To avoid issues of plagiarism, authors should:

• Use Proper Citations: Acknowledge all sources of data, ideas, and text, whether paraphrased or quoted directly.
• Check for Self-Plagiarism: Refrain from submitting previously published content as new work unless substantial revisions have been made and proper citation is provided.
• Use Plagiarism Detection Tools: Authors are encouraged to pre-screen their work for potential plagiarism using available tools before submission to BMCJ to ensure compliance with the journal's ethical standards.

 

BMCJ is committed to preserving the credibility and integrity of academic publishing. By implementing Turnitin as a plagiarism detection tool and enforcing a similarity index threshold of less than 15%, the journal ensures that all published content is original and ethically sound. This policy protects the intellectual property of authors while maintaining the trust and respect of the global research community.