Plagiarism Policy

CREATE: Contemporary Research in Education and Teaching recognizes plagiarism and other forms of inappropriate appropriation of scholarly work as serious violations of academic and publication ethics. The journal is committed to maintaining originality, academic integrity, transparency, and responsible scholarly communication in all manuscripts submitted and published.

All submitted manuscripts must represent original scholarly work and must not contain plagiarism, substantial unattributed copying, fabrication, falsification, or other forms of academic misconduct. Authors are responsible for ensuring that all ideas, words, data, figures, tables, methods, and other intellectual contributions originating from other sources are appropriately acknowledged and cited.

CREATE: Contemporary Research in Education and Teaching uses plagiarism and similarity-checking software, including Turnitin or other appropriate originality-checking tools, to assist the editorial team in identifying textual similarities in submitted manuscripts and, where necessary, in the final version prepared for publication.

A similarity index of a maximum of 25% is generally permitted for submitted manuscripts. However, the similarity percentage is used only as an initial screening indicator and does not by itself determine whether plagiarism has occurred. The Editor may examine the similarity report, the sources identified, the nature of the matched text, quotations, references, technical terminology, and other relevant factors before making an editorial decision.

If the similarity index exceeds 25%, or if substantial unattributed similarities are identified regardless of the overall percentage, the manuscript may be returned to the authors for clarification, revision, proper citation, and resubmission. Depending on the nature and extent of the problem, the manuscript may also be rejected.

Plagiarism is the use, reproduction, close imitation, or appropriation of another person's language, ideas, arguments, data, findings, methods, or other intellectual contributions and presenting them as one's own without appropriate acknowledgment.

Plagiarism may occur intentionally or unintentionally. Authors are therefore expected to exercise particular care when quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, translating, adapting, or otherwise using material from other sources.

Manuscripts submitted to CREATE: Contemporary Research in Education and Teaching must be original and must not have been published previously in substantially the same form. Manuscripts must not be simultaneously under consideration by another journal while they are being evaluated by CREATE.

Authors must disclose relevant prior publications, conference papers, preprints, theses, dissertations, datasets, or other publicly available versions of the work where such disclosure is necessary to allow the Editor to assess originality and potential overlap.

Any material reproduced verbatim from another source must be clearly identified as a quotation and appropriately attributed to the original source. Depending on the journal's formatting requirements, direct quotations should be distinguished through quotation marks, indentation, or other appropriate formatting.

Authors must provide an accurate citation whenever they use another person's ideas, arguments, concepts, findings, data, words, figures, tables, or other intellectual contributions. Paraphrasing does not eliminate the requirement to cite the original source.

Authors should avoid excessive reproduction of material from previously published works. Where the reproduction of substantial text, figures, tables, images, instruments, or other copyrighted material requires permission, the authors are responsible for obtaining the necessary permission before publication.

Authors must not substantially reuse their own previously published text, data, results, or other material without appropriate citation and disclosure. Reusing substantial portions of an author's own previous work without adequate acknowledgment may constitute self-plagiarism or redundant publication.

Duplicate or substantially overlapping submissions, including manuscripts that reproduce previously published findings without sufficient justification or disclosure, may be rejected. Where concerns are identified after publication, the journal may take appropriate post-publication action in accordance with its publication ethics procedures.

The editorial team assesses suspected plagiarism based on the nature, extent, significance, and context of the similarities identified. The following levels provide general guidance for editorial action.

Minor plagiarism may involve a short sentence, phrase, or brief passage that has been reproduced or closely paraphrased from another source without adequate citation, particularly where the copied material does not involve significant data, findings, arguments, methods, or original ideas.

Editorial Action: The authors may receive a formal warning and be required to revise the manuscript by appropriately paraphrasing, quoting, and citing the original source. The manuscript may be returned for correction before further consideration.

Intermediate plagiarism may involve substantial copying or unattributed use of significant paragraphs, arguments, data, findings, analytical content, or other important parts of another work without appropriate acknowledgment.

Editorial Action: The manuscript may be rejected. Depending on the circumstances, the Editor may request an explanation from the authors and may take additional action in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policy.

Severe plagiarism involves extensive appropriation of another work, including substantial reproduction of original results, datasets, formulations, equations, theories, methods, arguments, interpretations, or other significant intellectual contributions without appropriate attribution. Severe plagiarism may also include systematic or deliberate attempts to present another person's substantial scholarly contribution as the authors' own.

Editorial Action: The manuscript will normally be rejected. Where serious academic misconduct is established, the journal may impose further sanctions, including restrictions on future submissions by the individuals concerned, notification of relevant institutions or authorities where appropriate, and other measures consistent with applicable publication ethics standards.

The editorial response to suspected plagiarism is determined according to the seriousness of the case. Possible actions include, but are not limited to:

• requesting clarification or explanation from the authors;

• returning the manuscript for correction and proper citation;

• requiring substantial revision before further consideration;

• rejecting the submitted manuscript;

• issuing a correction or other post-publication notice where plagiarism is identified after publication;

• retracting a published article in serious cases where the integrity of the scholarly record has been compromised;

• notifying the relevant institution or other appropriate body when serious misconduct is established; and

• restricting future submissions where serious or repeated publication misconduct warrants such action.

When plagiarism or substantial unattributed similarity is suspected, the Editor may examine the manuscript, similarity report, cited sources, and relevant publication records. The authors may be asked to provide an explanation or supporting information before an editorial decision is finalized.

The journal seeks to handle allegations fairly and confidentially. Editorial action will take into consideration the evidence available, the extent and nature of the suspected misconduct, whether the issue appears intentional or inadvertent, and whether the integrity of the scholarly record has been affected.

If plagiarism is identified after an article has been published, CREATE: Contemporary Research in Education and Teaching may conduct an editorial investigation and take appropriate action to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Depending on the severity and circumstances, post-publication action may include publication of a correction, expression of concern, or retraction. The journal may also contact the authors' institutions or other relevant parties when appropriate.

Authors submitting manuscripts to CREATE: Contemporary Research in Education and Teaching are responsible for ensuring that their submissions are original and appropriately acknowledge all sources used in the preparation of the manuscript.

Before submission, authors should carefully check their manuscripts for plagiarism, inappropriate paraphrasing, duplicate publication, self-plagiarism, missing citations, and unauthorized use of third-party materials.

Authors must cooperate with the editorial team if questions concerning originality or attribution arise during the review or publication process.

The similarity percentage generated by plagiarism-detection software should not be interpreted as a definitive determination of plagiarism. Similarities may legitimately arise from references, standard terminology, commonly used methodological expressions, quotations, titles, institutional names, or other appropriately attributed material.

Accordingly, the Editor retains responsibility for interpreting similarity reports and determining whether the identified overlap constitutes a legitimate similarity, an attribution problem, redundant publication, or plagiarism. Editorial decisions will be based on the substance and context of the evidence rather than on the numerical similarity score alone.

CREATE: Contemporary Research in Education and Teaching is committed to protecting the integrity of the scholarly record and maintaining high standards of originality and responsible academic practice. All authors, editors, reviewers, and other participants in the publication process are expected to respect intellectual property rights and uphold accepted standards of academic integrity.

Any case of suspected plagiarism will be assessed carefully and handled in accordance with the journal's publication ethics procedures and applicable standards of responsible scholarly publishing.