Screening for Plagiarism

SEMESTA: Journal of Community Empowerment is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and ethical publishing. All submitted manuscripts are screened for plagiarism using Turnitin before entering the peer-review process.

The journal applies a maximum overall similarity index of 20%, excluding references, bibliography, and properly quoted material. Manuscripts exceeding this threshold, or those containing evidence of plagiarism, duplicate publication, or inappropriate citation practices, may be rejected without further review or returned to the authors for revision at the discretion of the Editorial Board.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

  • Copying text, ideas, data, figures, tables, or other intellectual content from another source without proper acknowledgment.

  • Paraphrasing another author's work without appropriate citation.

  • Submitting another person's work as one's own.

  • Self-plagiarism, including the substantial reuse of previously published work without proper citation or editorial disclosure.

  • Duplicate or simultaneous submission of substantially similar manuscripts to multiple journals.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all information, ideas, data, and direct quotations obtained from other sources are appropriately cited in accordance with accepted scholarly standards. Direct quotations must be clearly indicated using quotation marks or block quotations, accompanied by complete citations. Proper attribution is required regardless of whether the original material is reproduced verbatim or paraphrased.

If plagiarism or other forms of publication misconduct are identified at any stage of the editorial process—including after publication—the Editorial Board reserves the right to reject, retract, or remove the manuscript from publication and to take appropriate actions in accordance with the journal's editorial policies and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines.

For further information regarding the journal's plagiarism screening policy, authors may contact the Editorial Office at journalsemesta@gmail.com.