Policy Statement

The Ethiopian Journal of Health and Biomedical Sciences (EJHBS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and publication ethics. The journal does not tolerate plagiarism in any form. All submitted manuscripts are screened for similarity and evaluated for potential plagiarism before acceptance and publication.

EJHBS follows the ethical standards and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and adheres to internationally accepted guidelines for scholarly publishing.

Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined as the use of another person’s words, ideas, data, or intellectual property without proper acknowledgment or citation. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Direct copying of text without citation
• Paraphrasing without appropriate attribution
• Use of ideas, data, or results without acknowledgment
• Self-plagiarism (reuse of previously published work without proper citation or justification)
• Duplicate or redundant publication

Plagiarism is considered a serious breach of publication ethics.

Similarity Screening

All manuscripts submitted to EJHBS are subject to similarity screening using a plagiarism detection tool (Turnitin) and editorial review. Similarity screening is conducted:

• At initial submission (before peer review)
• During revision, if necessary
• Before final acceptance

Similarity reports are carefully reviewed by the editorial team to distinguish between acceptable similarity and potential plagiarism.

Similarity Threshold

EJHBS follows institutional research integrity guidelines and international best practices. As a general guide:

• An overall similarity index of not more than 20% is considered acceptable.
• Similarity from a single source should generally not exceed 5%, excluding references and standard methodological descriptions.

However, editorial decisions are not based solely on similarity percentage. The context, location, and nature of the similarity are carefully evaluated. Properly cited material, references, and commonly used methodological descriptions may be acceptable.

Editorial Assessment and Decision

The editorial team evaluates all similarity reports to determine whether overlap constitutes acceptable similarity or plagiarism. Depending on the severity, the following actions may be taken:

• Minor Similarity (acceptable overlap): Manuscript proceeds to peer review, and authors may be asked to revise wording and improve citation
• Moderate Similarity: Authors will be requested to revise the manuscript and address similarity concerns before further review
• Major Similarity or Confirmed Plagiarism: Manuscript will be rejected, authors may be required to explain, and authors’ institutions may be notified in cases of serious ethical misconduct

Post-publication Detection

If plagiarism is identified after publication, EJHBS will follow COPE guidelines, which may include:

• Publication of a correction
• Retraction of the article
• Notification of authors’ institutions
• Temporary or permanent restriction on future submissions

Authors’ Responsibilities

Authors submitting to EJHBS must ensure that their work is original, all sources are properly cited, quoted text is clearly indicated and referenced, the manuscript has not been published elsewhere or submitted simultaneously to another journal, and any reuse of their own previously published work is properly cited. Authors must confirm originality during submission.

Editors’ Responsibilities

Editors are responsible for ensuring all submissions undergo similarity screening, evaluating similarity reports, making fair decisions, maintaining confidentiality, and following COPE guidelines when handling suspected plagiarism.

Future Implementation of Dedicated Software

EJHBS is committed to strengthening its editorial processes and is in the process of implementing internationally recognized plagiarism detection software (Turnitin) to ensure systematic and transparent similarity screening of all submissions.

Ethical Framework

This policy is based on the principles and recommendations of:

• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
• Institutional Research Integrity Guidelines

Policy Review

This policy is subject to periodic review and updates to ensure alignment with international best practices in scholarly publishing.