Plagiarism Policy

The Journal of Cultural Narratives in Digital Society (JCNDS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and publication ethics. All manuscripts submitted to the journal must be original works and must not contain plagiarism, duplicate publication, or unethical reuse of previously published materials.

All submitted manuscripts are screened using plagiarism detection software (e.g., Turnitin, iThenticate, or equivalent) before entering the peer-review process. Similarity reports are used as an editorial screening tool rather than as the sole basis for editorial decisions. While JCNDS generally expects manuscripts to have an overall similarity index of less than 20%, editorial evaluation focuses primarily on the nature, source, and extent of text similarity rather than the numerical score alone.

Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

Copying text, figures, tables, or other materials from published or unpublished works without proper acknowledgment.
Presenting another person's ideas, theories, methods, analyses, interpretations, results, or intellectual contributions as one's own.
Using substantial portions of previously published work without appropriate citation or permission.
Self-plagiarism (text recycling), duplicate publication, or redundant publication without adequate disclosure and citation.
Inappropriate use of content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) without proper disclosure when such use violates the journal's authorship or originality requirements.

Editorial Assessment

Each manuscript is evaluated individually. Editorial decisions consider:

Overall similarity index;
Sources of similarity;
Distribution and context of overlapping text;
Originality and scholarly contribution of the manuscript;
Compliance with international publication ethics.

Minor similarities occurring in references, quotations with proper citation, standard methodological descriptions, institutional names, or commonly accepted academic terminology are not normally considered plagiarism.

Editorial Actions

If plagiarism or publication misconduct is suspected, the Editorial Office will investigate the case in accordance with the principles and flowcharts provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Depending on the severity of the case, one or more of the following actions may be taken:

Request manuscript revision before peer review;
Require proper citation or rewriting of overlapping text;
Reject the manuscript;
Inform the authors' affiliated institution when appropriate;
Prohibit future submissions for a period determined by the Editorial Board in cases of serious ethical misconduct;
Retract or correct published articles if plagiarism is discovered after publication.

Self-Plagiarism and Duplicate Publication

Authors must not submit manuscripts that substantially overlap with works already published or simultaneously under consideration by another journal.

The reuse of previously published text, figures, tables, datasets, or supplementary materials is permitted only when:

the original source is appropriately cited;
necessary copyright permissions have been obtained, where applicable;
the reused material is academically justified; and
the manuscript presents substantial new scholarly contributions.

Conference papers may be considered for publication only if the submitted manuscript is a substantially expanded version of the conference paper, appropriate disclosure is provided, and any applicable copyright requirements have been fulfilled.

Authors' Responsibility

By submitting a manuscript to JCNDS, all authors confirm that:

the manuscript is original;
the work has not been published elsewhere, except where explicitly disclosed;
the manuscript is not under consideration by another journal;
all sources have been properly cited;
all listed authors have approved the submitted version and accept responsibility for its content;
any use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the preparation of the manuscript has been transparently disclosed in accordance with the journal's AI policy, where applicable.

Ethical Standards

JCNDS follows internationally recognized publication ethics and editorial best practices established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Cases of suspected plagiarism or publication misconduct are handled fairly, transparently, and confidentially. Editorial decisions are made solely on the basis of the available evidence, the journal's ethical standards, and the principles of research integrity.