Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism Policy

1. Definition of Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presentation of language, text, ideas, or expressions from other authors as one’s own original work. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Copying text without proper citation.

  • Using others’ ideas or data without attribution.

  • Self-plagiarism, including duplicate or redundant publication, text recycling, or “salami slicing” (publishing the same data across multiple articles).

2. Ethical Standards
VTM adheres to the guidelines of:

  • COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics)

  • Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan

All manuscripts are expected to comply with these ethical standards to maintain the integrity of published research.

3. Similarity Checks

  • All submissions undergo similarity screening using TURNITIN.

  • Authors receive a similarity report and are expected to address any flagged content.

4. Acceptable Similarity Threshold

  • Overall similarity: ≤ 19%

  • Similarity from a single source: ≤ 4%

Manuscripts exceeding these thresholds may be rejected or returned for revision to meet ethical standards.

5. Author Responsibility

  • Authors must ensure all text is original or properly cited.

  • Failure to comply with plagiarism standards may result in rejection, retraction, and reporting to institutional authorities.

6. Editorial Oversight
The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board reserve the right to take appropriate action in cases of plagiarism or redundant publication, following COPE guidelines.