Plagiarism Policy
The Journal of Architecture and Urban Design (JAUD) is committed to upholding the highest standards of scholarly integrity. Plagiarism in any form is a serious violation of academic ethics and is strictly prohibited. This policy applies to all manuscript types submitted to JAUD, including research articles, literature reviews, and book reviews.
JAUD employs duplicate checking of all submissions, including detection of generative content obtained through AI means. An academic misconduct review, encompassing plagiarism and improper citation, is conducted both before and after publication.
Definition of Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit. The following forms of plagiarism are recognized:
- Verbatim Copying: Reproducing text from another source without quotation marks and proper citation.
- Paraphrasing Without Attribution: Rewriting another author’s ideas in different words without citing the original source.
- Idea Appropriation: Using another person’s original concepts, theories, or interpretations without acknowledgment.
- Self-Plagiarism: Reusing one’s own previously published work without proper attribution or disclosure, thereby misleading readers about the originality of the contribution.
- Image and Data Plagiarism: Using figures, tables, or datasets from another source without permission and proper attribution.
- AI-Generated Content Without Disclosure: Presenting AI-generated text, data, or analysis as original work without proper disclosure of AI tool usage.
Detection
All manuscripts submitted to JAUD are screened for plagiarism using industry-standard plagiarism detection software prior to peer review. The journal also screens for undisclosed AI-generated content. Manuscripts found to contain significant textual overlap with previously published work or undisclosed AI-generated content will be flagged for further investigation.
Thresholds and Evaluation
While no fixed similarity percentage automatically constitutes plagiarism, the editorial team evaluates all flagged content on a case-by-case basis, considering the nature, extent, and context of the overlap. Properly cited direct quotations and standard disciplinary terminology are excluded from evaluation. However, substantial unattributed overlap with any published source—regardless of authorship—is considered a violation.
Consequences
If plagiarism is identified at any stage of the editorial process or after publication, the following actions may be taken:
- Pre-review stage: The manuscript will be immediately rejected without peer review.
- During peer review: The review process will be halted and the manuscript rejected.
- After acceptance/publication: The article will be retracted in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Retraction Guidelines, and a retraction notice will be published.
- Author sanctions: Authors found to have committed plagiarism may be barred from submitting to JAUD for a specified period. The authors’ institutions and funding agencies may be notified.
Post-Publication Monitoring
JAUD maintains checks and spot checks for academic misconduct after the publication of articles. For papers found to involve academic misconduct after publication, the journal will take measures to retract the manuscript and issue a public statement to maintain academic reputation and uphold its responsibility to the academic community.
Author Responsibilities
Authors are expected to:
- Properly cite all sources of information, including books, articles, websites, personal communications, and informal sources.
- Use quotation marks for all direct quotes and provide accurate citations.
- Paraphrase thoroughly in their own words, with credit given to the original author.
- Disclose any reuse of their own previously published material.
- Disclose the use of any AI tools in the preparation of the manuscript.
- Obtain copyright permission for any reproduced figures, tables, or extended quotations.
Appeals
Authors who believe a plagiarism finding has been made in error may submit a written appeal to the Editor-in-Chief at jaud@michelangelo-scholar.com. The appeal will be reviewed by the editorial board, and the decision will be communicated to the author in writing.
JAUD follows the guidelines and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in all matters related to plagiarism and research misconduct. For further information, please visit: https://publicationethics.org
