Publishing Integrity

Link to Decision flow chart on plagiarism

• Plagiarism may occurs when a manuscript duplicates published content, but not all text overlap is plagiarism. The editor needs to make an informed decision based on disciplinary practices what constitutes acceptable levels of duplication and text overlap versus plagiarism. 

• Process to check for text overlap vs plagiarism

  • Step 1: know ICB's policies on acceptable prior publications: ICB encourages submissions to pre-print repositories and allows publication of thesis work

  • Step 2: check for overlap. If you find strong overlap:

    • • is the overlap with a preprint, protocol, or a thesis authored by a co-author on the manuscript?

      • are the values (study results) still the same? If values have changed, does the manuscript provide a justification for the change?

  • Step 3: check the nature of the overlap

    • Some text overlap is unavoidable. When using text comparison tools,

      • High overlap with published documents in the Methods and Results sections may result from descriptions of established protocols or adherence to reporting standards.

      • High overlap with published documents in the title, Abstract, and Introduction might indicate self-plagiarism or plagiarism of prior publications.

      • High overlap can be caused by extensive verbatim quotes.

    • Some text overlap indicates (self)plagiarism and redundant publication. 

      • If you suspect (self)plagiarism, follow the COPE decision flow chart on plagiarism.

      • Check if the authors have tried to obscure their plagiarism by paraphrasing and using synonyms. 

      • See also GenAI tools.

• Resources

  • what is acceptable duplication versus plagiarism

  • how should editors respond to plagiarism

  • webinar on plagiarism (from COPE Publication Integrity Week 2024)

Recommended action

• Immediately contact the editor in chief and the managing editor about your concern.

• What will happen next:

  • The editor will ask the reviewer for full documentary evidence and investigate the concerns.

  • The editor will contact the authors in cases of clear plagiarism or copying, explaining the journal’s process and next steps.

  • The editor will inform the author's institution, where necessary.

  • If the author has copied from their own work, the editor will refer the author to the flowchart on redundant (duplicate) publication in a submitted manuscript.

What is citation fabrication?

Citation fabrication can occur when authors use GenAI tools such as ChatGPT to generate or edit their references. Fabricated citations can occur in the main text of the manuscript and the Reference list.

Recommended action

• Immediately contact the editor in chief and the managing editor about your concern.

• What will happen next:

  • Initial steps, the journal will ask the reviewer for evidence and investigating the concerns.

  • The editor will invite a report by one of ICB's publication integrity reviewers.

  • The editor will then contact the authors to discuss concerns about citation fabrication, allowing them an opportunity to respond or clarify before proceeding with any formal actions or decisions.

  • Potential actions based on the journal’s findings include notifying relevant parties, rejecting the manuscript, or reporting to the authors’ institutions, depending on the severity of the misconduct identified.