Plagiarism Policy

SJESE - STEAM Journal for Elementary School Education is committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity, originality, and publication ethics. All manuscripts submitted to the journal must be original works and must not contain plagiarism, duplicate publication, text recycling, or unethical reuse of previously published materials.

All submitted manuscripts undergo mandatory screening using similarity detection software (Turnitin or iThenticate) prior to the peer-review process. Similarity reports serve as an editorial tool to assist in evaluating originality, rather than as the sole basis for editorial decisions.

Similarity Index Thresholds

While SJESE strictly evaluates the context and nature of overlapping text, the journal applies the following general similarity benchmarks:

  • Overall Similarity Index: Must be below 20%.

  • Single-Source Similarity: Text similarity from a single published source must not exceed 3% to 5%.

  • Methodology & References: Standardized educational survey instruments, pedagogical methodologies, institutional names, and reference lists are evaluated contextually, but authors are still expected to paraphrase appropriately.

Definition of Plagiarism & Misconduct

In elementary education and STEAM research, plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

  • Direct Plagiarism: Copying text, instructional frameworks, data, tables, or figures from other works without proper acknowledgment and citation.

  • Ideas & Methodology Misappropriation: Presenting another author's educational interventions, theoretical frameworks, or research tools as one's own.

  • Self-Plagiarism & Text Recycling: Reusing substantial portions of the author's own previously published papers without disclosure or appropriate citation.

  • Duplicate or Concurrent Submission: Submitting the same manuscript (or substantially overlapping manuscripts) to more than one journal simultaneously.

  • Undisclosed AI-Generated Text: Submitting content generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools without transparent disclosure, passing it off as original authorial synthesis.

Editorial Assessment Process

Each similarity report is individually reviewed by the Handling Editor. Editorial evaluation focuses on:

  • The primary sources of overlapping text;

  • The distribution and location of the overlap (e.g., Literature Review vs. Results/Discussion);

  • The scientific and pedagogical novelty of the submitted manuscript;

  • Full compliance with international ethical publishing standards.

Editorial Actions & Misconduct Management

If plagiarism, duplicate submission, or ethical misconduct is detected at any stage of the editorial process, the Editorial Office will investigate the case following the protocols and flowcharts established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Depending on the severity of the violation, the journal may take the following actions:

  1. Request Revision: Require the author(s) to properly cite, paraphrase, or rewrite overlapping sections prior to peer review (for minor/accidental overlaps).

  2. Immediate Rejection (Desk Reject): Reject the manuscript immediately without sending it for peer review (for severe or unacknowledged plagiarism).

  3. Institutional Notification: Inform the authors' affiliated institution, department head, or funding body in cases of serious scientific misconduct.

  4. Submission Ban: Temporarily or permanently ban the authors from submitting future manuscripts to SJESE.

  5. Post-Publication Retraction: Publish a formal Retraction Notice or Correction if plagiarism is discovered after the article has been published online.

Reuse of Previously Published Work & Conference Papers

  • The reuse of previously published datasets, figures, or learning instruments is permitted only if the original source is explicitly cited, necessary copyright permissions have been secured, and the current study offers substantial new theoretical or empirical insights.

  • Manuscripts based on Conference Proceedings will be considered only if the paper is substantially expanded (by at least 30% to 50% new content/data), contains deeper analysis, explicitly cites the original conference paper, and adheres to copyright permissions.

Authors' Affirmation

By submitting a manuscript to SJESE, all authors formally confirm that:

  • The manuscript represents original scholarly work;

  • The work has not been published previously, in whole or in part, in any language;

  • The manuscript is not currently under consideration by any other journal;

  • All literature, data, and intellectual contributions of others have been properly cited and acknowledged;

  • All co-authors have reviewed and approved the final submitted version.