Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism Policy


Policy Statement

The Dyke upholds the highest standards of academic integrity and originality. All manuscripts submitted to the journal are subject to rigorous plagiarism screening before being accepted for publication. The journal has a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and all forms of academic dishonesty.


Plagiarism Screening Process

Every manuscript submitted to The Dyke undergoes plagiarism detection using advanced similarity-checking software (Turnitin).  The screening process is conducted at two key stages:

  1. Preliminary Screening: During editorial review, before the manuscript is sent for peer review.
  2. Final Screening: After revisions and prior to final acceptance, to ensure originality has been maintained.
  3. Acceptable Similarity Index (SI) Threshold
    • The acceptable Similarity Index (SI) for submitted manuscripts is below 10%, excluding properly cited references, bibliography, and commonly used phrases.
    • Any manuscript exceeding the 10% threshold will be returned to the author(s) for revision and proper citation before it proceeds to peer review.
    • If similarity remains above acceptable limits after revision, the submission will be rejected outright on ethical grounds.

 

Types of Plagiarism Monitored

The Dyke considers the following acts as plagiarism:

  • Direct plagiarism: Copying text, figures, or ideas verbatim without attribution.
  • Mosaic plagiarism: Rephrasing others’ ideas without proper citation.
  • Self-plagiarism: Republishing significant portions of one’s own previously published work without citation.
  • Image or data plagiarism: Reusing figures, tables, or datasets without appropriate acknowledgment.

Ethical Consequences and Actions

If plagiarism is detected at any stage:

  • The author(s) will be notified and required to provide an explanation or correction.
  • Confirmed cases result in immediate rejection of the manuscript.
  • If discovered post-publication, the article will be retracted, and a formal notice of retraction will be published.
  • Repeated violations may lead to a ban on future submissions to the journal.


Author Responsibility

Authors must ensure that:

  • All submitted work is original.
  • Proper credit is given for all cited materials.
  • They retain documentation for permissions where required.

Transparency

This plagiarism policy is publicly accessible on the journal’s website and forms part of The Dyke’s ethical guidelines for publication.