Plagiarism Policy

◆ Plagiarism Policy

Praefectura: Journal of Transformational Leadership and Educational Management considers plagiarism and other forms of inappropriate appropriation of scholarly work to be serious violations of academic and publication ethics.

All submitted manuscripts may undergo an initial similarity screening before entering the peer-review process. The editorial team may use appropriate plagiarism or similarity-detection software to identify substantial overlap with previously published or publicly available materials.

The purpose of similarity screening is to assist the editors in evaluating originality and citation practices. A similarity score alone does not automatically establish plagiarism; editorial assessment and contextual examination remain essential.

Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the presentation of another person's words, ideas, data, findings, images, figures, or other intellectual contributions as one's own without appropriate acknowledgment or citation.

Plagiarism may occur through direct copying, close imitation, inappropriate paraphrasing, unattributed use of ideas or data, fabricated or misleading citations, or other practices that obscure the original source of scholarly material.

Originality and Citation Requirements

Authors submitting manuscripts to Praefectura: Journal of Transformational Leadership and Educational Management must ensure that:

1. The manuscript represents original scholarly work and has not been published in another journal or publication in substantially the same form.
2. The manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal.
3. All words, ideas, data, theories, images, figures, tables, and other materials obtained from other sources are appropriately acknowledged.
4. Direct quotations are clearly identified and accompanied by appropriate citations.
5. Paraphrased material accurately represents the original source and is appropriately cited.
6. Previously published material is properly identified and referenced.

Similarity and Plagiarism Screening

Submitted manuscripts may undergo similarity screening using Turnitin or other appropriate similarity-detection tools before entering the peer-review process. The journal applies a maximum similarity threshold of 25% for submitted manuscripts. A similarity score, however, does not by itself determine whether plagiarism has occurred; the editorial team will evaluate the nature, extent, source, and context of any overlapping material, including quotations, references, methodological descriptions, standard terminology, and other legitimate forms of textual similarity. Manuscripts exceeding the 25% similarity threshold may be returned to the author for revision or declined before peer review, while manuscripts with a lower similarity score may still be subject to further editorial investigation when inappropriate copying, duplication, or insufficient attribution is identified. The journal's assessment of plagiarism and duplication is guided by the principles and recommendations of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).

Levels of Plagiarism and Editorial Actions

Minor plagiarism may involve limited unattributed wording, inadequate paraphrasing, or a short passage that does not involve substantial appropriation of another author's central ideas, findings, or data.

Possible editorial action: The manuscript may be returned to the author for correction, proper citation, and clarification before the editorial process continues.

Intermediate plagiarism may involve substantial unattributed text, ideas, arguments, figures, tables, or other scholarly material from another source.

Possible editorial action: The manuscript may be rejected. Depending on the circumstances, the Editorial Board may also impose an appropriate temporary restriction on future submissions.

Severe plagiarism may involve extensive copying or misappropriation of another publication's original results, data, arguments, theoretical contributions, substantial text, figures, or other significant intellectual content.

Possible editorial action: The manuscript will normally be rejected and the case may be referred to the Editorial Board for further investigation and appropriate action under the journal's publication ethics procedures.

Author Responsibility

All authors are jointly responsible for ensuring the originality, integrity, and appropriate attribution of the submitted manuscript.

Submission of a manuscript to Praefectura: Journal of Transformational Leadership and Educational Management constitutes an acknowledgment that the authors have reviewed the manuscript and complied with the journal's originality, citation, and publication-ethics requirements.

Self-Plagiarism and Redundant Publication

Authors must disclose substantial reuse of their own previously published work.

Reuse of text, data, figures, tables, research instruments, or other material from a previous publication must be properly cited and must not mislead readers about the originality of the present manuscript.

When a new manuscript substantially extends previously published research, authors should clearly identify the earlier publication and explain the contribution or substantive differences of the new work.

Where copyright or permission requirements apply, authors are responsible for obtaining the necessary permission from the relevant copyright holder.

Duplicate and Simultaneous Submission

A manuscript submitted to Praefectura: Journal of Transformational Leadership and Educational Management must not simultaneously be under consideration by another journal.

If substantial or identical content is discovered to have been submitted to another journal at the same time, the Editorial Board may investigate the matter as a serious publication-ethics concern.

Where appropriate, the editors may communicate with the other journal involved and take further action in accordance with applicable publication-ethics procedures.

Previously Published Material

If authors intend to reuse material from a previously published article, conference proceeding, book, thesis, report, or other scholarly source, the original source must be clearly identified.

Authors must obtain permission from the relevant copyright holder where required and must clearly distinguish the reused material from the original contribution of the new manuscript.

Manuscripts based on conference papers may be considered when they contain substantial new scholarly contributions and the prior conference publication is clearly disclosed.

Translated or Republished Material

A manuscript that has previously appeared in another language or publication may only be considered where the circumstances are fully disclosed, copyright and permission requirements have been satisfied, and the proposed publication is justified from a scholarly perspective.

The original publication must be identified clearly, including the original title, publication venue, and date of publication.

The Editorial Board reserves the right to decline manuscripts where republication would create copyright, originality, or publication-ethics concerns.

Plagiarism Identified After Publication

If plagiarism or another serious form of publication misconduct is discovered after an article has been published, the journal may conduct an investigation and take appropriate corrective action.

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the case, possible actions may include correction, expression of concern, or retraction of the article.

Post-publication cases will be handled according to the journal's publication-ethics procedures and applicable scholarly publishing standards.

Policy Governance

Decisions concerning suspected plagiarism are made by the Editorial Board based on the available evidence, the nature and extent of the overlap, the authors' response, and relevant publication-ethics principles.

The journal may request clarification, supporting documents, original research materials, or other information from the authors when necessary.