The Editorial Team of JITSE (Journal of Information Technology and Systems Engineering) acknowledges that plagiarism is unacceptable and is committed to maintaining the integrity of the academic publication process. Therefore, the journal has established the following plagiarism policy, including the actions and penalties that may be taken when plagiarism is identified in a manuscript submitted for publication.

Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined as the intentional or unintentional act of using ideas, words, data, or other intellectual materials from another source, in whole or in part, without proper acknowledgment, and presenting them as one’s own work.

General Policy

All submitted articles must be original, must not have been previously published, and must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere. Any material obtained from other sources, including unpublished or oral sources, must be properly cited and clearly distinguished from the author’s original contribution.

JITSE uses industry-standard plagiarism detection software, such as Turnitin, to screen all submitted manuscripts. If plagiarism is identified during the peer review process, the manuscript may be rejected. If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the editorial team will conduct an investigation and take appropriate action in accordance with the journal’s policies.

If plagiarism is revealed, the Editor-in-Chief is responsible for reviewing the case and determining the appropriate course of action based on the severity of the plagiarism.

Levels of Plagiarism

• Minor Plagiarism: If an author copies a few short sentences from another source without proper citation, the author will receive a warning and be required to revise the text and provide correct quotations and references.
• Major Plagiarism: If a manuscript substantially reproduces content from other works without proper citation or acknowledgment, the manuscript will be rejected. The author(s) may also be sanctioned, including being prohibited from submitting future manuscripts to JITSE for a specified period or permanently, depending on the seriousness of the case.

All authors are responsible for the content of the manuscript they submit. If a manuscript is found to contain plagiarized material, all listed authors will be subject to the same corrective actions or sanctions.

If it is confirmed that an author has submitted the same manuscript simultaneously to JITSE and another journal, and this overlap is discovered during the review process or after publication, the editorial team will take action in accordance with the policy on major plagiarism as stated above.

In cases of plagiarism or publication misconduct that fall outside the categories described above, the editorial board of JITSE reserves the right to determine and impose appropriate sanctions in accordance with the journal’s ethical standards and editorial policies.

Handling of Misconduct and Retraction Policy

The Editor-in-Chief may consider retracting a published article if one or more of the following conditions are met:

• There is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of major error, such as miscalculation or experimental error, or as a result of fabrication or falsification, including data fabrication or image manipulation.
• The article contains plagiarism.
• The findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper attribution, permission, disclosure to the editor, or valid justification, constituting redundant or duplicate publication.
• The article contains material or data used without proper authorization.
• The publication infringes copyright or involves serious legal issues, such as defamation or violations of privacy.
• The article reports unethical research.
• The article has been accepted or published on the basis of a compromised or manipulated peer review process.
• The author(s) failed to disclose a major conflict of interest that, in the editor’s judgment, may have significantly influenced the interpretation of the findings or the recommendations of editors and reviewers.

Retraction Notice

A retraction notice should:

• Be linked to the retracted article whenever possible, including in all online versions.
• Clearly identify the retracted article, for example by stating the title and author(s).
• Be clearly labeled as a retraction and distinguished from other types of editorial notices.
• Be published promptly to minimize harmful effects.
• Be freely accessible to all readers.
• Identify the person or authority issuing the retraction.
• State the reason or reasons for the retraction clearly.
• Be written objectively and factually, without inflammatory or defamatory language.

When Retraction May Not Be Appropriate

Retraction is generally not appropriate in the following circumstances:

• The authorship is disputed, but there is no reason to doubt the validity of the findings.
• The main findings remain reliable, and a correction is sufficient to address the error or concern.
• The editor has inconclusive evidence and is awaiting further information, such as the results of an institutional investigation.
• A conflict of interest is reported after publication, but in the editor’s judgment, it is unlikely to have influenced the interpretation, recommendations, or conclusions of the article.