Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism is presenting another person’s words, ideas, data, or images as one’s own without adequate attribution — whether from a published source, an unpublished manuscript, a thesis, or any other origin. This includes verbatim copying, close paraphrasing without citation, and reuse of figures or data without permission and attribution.

Submitted manuscripts are checked for textual originality as part of the editorial screening stage, ahead of peer review. The specific similarity-checking service has not yet been finalized; until that integration is in place, manuscripts are screened by editorial judgment and, where needed, manual comparison against likely sources.

Reusing substantial portions of one’s own previously published text without citation or disclosure is treated the same as plagiarizing another author’s work. Limited reuse of standard methodological language is normal and is not treated as misconduct.

A manuscript found to contain plagiarized material during review is rejected. If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the journal follows its Corrections & Retractions process, which can include a correction, an expression of concern, or retraction depending on severity.

Readers who believe a published MPJ article contains plagiarized material should contact the editorial office (see Contact) with specific details and, where possible, the source believed to have been copied.