Plagiarism Policy

Research Integrity

Zero Tolerance Statement. Journal of Social Cognition and Communication maintains a zero-tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. All manuscripts must be original and not previously published.

Plagiarism includes verbatim copying, mosaic plagiarism, self-plagiarism (text recycling), and misappropriation of ideas or data from others without proper acknowledgement.

All submitted manuscripts are screened using iThenticate / Crossref Similarity Check. The journal applies the following benchmarks:

• Manuscripts with an overall similarity score higher than 20% may be returned to authors for revision or rejected immediately.
• Overlap with a single source must not exceed 5%, even if the total score is low.
• Editorial judgment is final. Higher scores may be accepted for Methodology sections if appropriately cited, while lower scores may still constitute plagiarism if core ideas are stolen.

If similarity levels exceed the permitted thresholds or plagiarism is confirmed:

• Pre-publication: Rejection and potential notification to the author's institution.
• Post-publication: Formal retraction of the article in accordance with COPE guidelines.

It is the author's responsibility to ensure that similarity scores are minimized and all sources are quoted and cited accurately before submission.