Plagiarism Policy

Policy Statement

RELHUM: Journal of Religion and Humanities places academic integrity, originality, and responsible scholarly communication at the center of its editorial practices. Every manuscript submitted to the journal is expected to represent an original intellectual contribution and to comply with internationally recognized principles of research and publication ethics.

The journal does not accept plagiarism or any practice that misrepresents authorship, obscures source attribution, or compromises the reliability of scholarly records. Manuscript screening for similarity and originality is therefore incorporated into the editorial workflow as a preventive and quality assurance mechanism.

Assessment of originality is conducted through a combination of similarity evaluation, editorial examination, and academic judgment rather than reliance on automated detection results alone.

Scope of Similarity and Plagiarism Assessment

For editorial purposes, plagiarism refers to the unauthorized incorporation, reproduction, adaptation, or presentation of another individual’s intellectual contribution without appropriate acknowledgment.

Practices considered inconsistent with publication ethics include, but are not limited to:

  1. reproducing text without proper citation;
  2. excessive paraphrasing that retains the original meaning without acknowledgment;
  3. presenting ideas, interpretations, findings, or arguments originating from other works as original contributions;
  4. repeated publication or reuse of previously disseminated material without disclosure;
  5. duplicate or overlapping submission across multiple publication venues;
  6. citation manipulation or inaccurate source representation;
  7. unauthorized reuse of figures, tables, images, datasets, archival sources, interview materials, or other research outputs;
  8. translation-based plagiarism involving conversion of material into another language without adequate attribution.

Research using multilingual, historical, documentary, cultural, or cross-disciplinary sources should demonstrate clear and transparent citation practices throughout the manuscript.

Manuscripts submitted to RELHUM must not have been formally published elsewhere or simultaneously submitted to another publication venue.

Where direct wording from another source is necessary, quotations must be clearly indicated and supported with complete citation information. Use of copyrighted materials beyond fair scholarly use requires documented authorization from the rights holder.

Originality Verification and Similarity Evaluation

Originality assessment may be conducted during different stages of editorial processing, including initial submission, editorial review, revision, final acceptance, and post-publication review where ethical concerns emerge.

Similarity analysis may involve recognized academic screening platforms such as Turnitin, iThenticate, or comparable tools.

Similarity results are interpreted through editorial review and are not treated as independent grounds for acceptance or rejection. Consideration is given to the location, distribution, and academic relevance of overlapping content.

Editorial evaluation recognizes that legitimate textual similarity may appear in:

  1. reference sections;
  2. properly cited quotations;
  3. methodological explanations;
  4. institutional information;
  5. standard scholarly terminology;
  6. documentary or historical source materials.

As an editorial reference point rather than a mandatory rule:

  1. manuscripts showing more than approximately 40% similarity may indicate excessive overlap and can be declined following editorial evaluation;
  2. manuscripts showing approximately 20–40% similarity may require substantial revision and additional clarification of source use;
  3. manuscripts showing below approximately 20% similarity are generally considered manageable, although targeted revisions may still be requested.

Similarity percentages alone do not determine publication outcomes. Final decisions remain subject to editorial consideration of originality, scholarly contribution, and ethical compliance.

Editorial Response to Similarity Concerns

When concerns related to originality or source attribution arise, the Editorial Board may implement proportionate editorial measures.

Possible actions include:

  1. requesting clarification from authors;
  2. requiring citation improvements or textual revision;
  3. requesting additional documentation;
  4. conducting further editorial assessment;
  5. temporarily suspending evaluation;
  6. rejecting the submission;
  7. initiating procedures under the journal’s publication ethics framework.

Cases involving extensive unattributed overlap, concealed duplicate publication, fabricated citation practices, or misappropriation of research content may result in immediate rejection.

Concerns identified after publication may lead to editorial correction, issuance of an expression of concern, withdrawal, or article retraction where necessary to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

Responsibilities of Authors

Responsibility for maintaining originality rests with the authors.

Authors are expected to ensure that manuscripts:

  1. represent independent scholarly work;
  2. appropriately acknowledge all sources;
  3. distinguish original writing from quoted material;
  4. disclose prior dissemination of related content, including theses, conference papers,
  5. preprints, or institutional reports;
  6. secure permissions for copyrighted content where required.

Use of generative artificial intelligence systems, automated paraphrasing tools, translation software, or related technologies must not be intended to conceal overlap, obscure authorship, or reproduce another researcher’s work without attribution.

Where revision is requested due to similarity concerns, authors may be asked to submit an updated manuscript accompanied by evidence demonstrating that identified issues have been addressed.

Submission of a manuscript to RELHUM constitutes acknowledgment and acceptance of this policy.

Ethical Concerns and Communication

Questions or concerns relating to originality, duplication, or publication misconduct may be communicated to the Editorial Office together with supporting information.

Each concern will be assessed objectively, confidentially, and in accordance with established editorial and publication ethics procedures.

RELHUM supports ethical publishing practices that strengthen transparency, intellectual accountability, and the long-term credibility of scholarly communication.