Plagiarism Screening Policy

Dharmaputra Medical Law Journal (DMLJ)

Jurnal Dharmaputra Hukum Kesehatan

P-ISSN: 3124-1964 | E-ISSN: 3124-1840

The Dharmaputra Medical Law Journal (DMLJ) is committed to publishing only original scholarly work. Plagiarism — in all its forms — undermines the integrity of the scientific record and is a serious violation of publication ethics. DMLJ employs systematic plagiarism screening on all submitted manuscripts using industry-standard software and applies clear, evidence-based thresholds to guide editorial decisions.

This policy is aligned with the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and reflects best practice standards for scholarly journals in health sciences and law. Authors are expected to familiarize themselves with this policy before submitting a manuscript.

All manuscripts submitted to DMLJ undergo plagiarism screening using Turnitin, one of the most widely used and trusted academic integrity platforms in scholarly publishing. Turnitin compares submitted manuscripts against its comprehensive database, which includes:

• Billions of web pages (current and archived).
• Millions of academic publications, including journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters.
• Student assignment databases and institutional repositories.
• Previously submitted manuscripts from other Turnitin-enabled journals and institutions.

When is screening performed?

• At initial submission: Every new manuscript is screened prior to editorial assessment. Manuscripts that exceed the rejection threshold will be returned to the authors without peer review.
• After major revision: Revised manuscripts submitted in response to major revision decisions are re-screened to ensure that changes made during revision have not introduced new similarity concerns.
• At any point if concerns arise: If a reviewer, editor, or reader raises a concern about the originality of a published or submitted article, the editorial team may conduct an additional Turnitin check at any time.

The Turnitin similarity score represents the percentage of text in the submitted manuscript that matches text found in Turnitin's databases. A high score does not automatically constitute plagiarism, and a low score does not guarantee originality. The editorial team evaluates each Turnitin report in full context.

Similarity that is typically excluded from plagiarism concern:

• Properly quoted and cited text within standard quotation limits.
• Standard methodological language and formulaic phrases common to the discipline.
• Correctly formatted references and bibliography entries.
• Journal and institutional names, titles of cited works, and other necessary proper nouns.

Similarity that raises serious concern regardless of overall score:

• Unattributed copying of continuous passages from another work, regardless of length.
• Paraphrasing without citation that closely follows the original wording or structure.
• Copying from the author's own previously published work without proper attribution (self-plagiarism).
• Manipulated or mosaic plagiarism in which text from multiple sources is combined to disguise copying.

Self-plagiarism occurs when an author reuses substantial portions of their own previously published work without appropriate citation and disclosure. Although the text is the author's own, readers are entitled to know that the content has been published before. Undisclosed text recycling is misleading and constitutes a breach of publication ethics.

DMLJ recognizes the distinction between problematic self-plagiarism and acceptable text recycling:

Authors who are submitting work that builds substantially on their prior publications are encouraged to contact the editorial office in advance to discuss appropriate disclosure.

Duplicate submission — submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time — is a distinct but related issue to plagiarism. It wastes the resources of editors and reviewers and is a violation of scholarly norms.

Turnitin screening may detect duplicate submissions when a manuscript has been submitted to another Turnitin-enabled journal. However, DMLJ also relies on authors' declarations: at the time of submission, all corresponding authors must certify that:

• The manuscript has not been published before (in whole or in substantial part) in any language.
• The manuscript is not currently under review at any other journal or publication.
• The manuscript will not be submitted elsewhere while it is under review at DMLJ.

False certification is a serious breach of research integrity. Duplicate submissions discovered at any stage will result in immediate rejection. If discovered post-publication, the case will be handled in accordance with COPE guidelines and may result in retraction and institutional notification.

DMLJ follows the COPE Guidelines on Handling Suspected Plagiarism and the associated COPE flowcharts for editors. Key principles from COPE guidance include:

• Editors should consider not only the extent of plagiarism but also its type and the apparent intent of the author.
• Where plagiarism is suspected in a submitted manuscript, editors should contact the authors before making a final decision, unless the plagiarism is so extensive as to make this unnecessary.
• Where plagiarism is confirmed in a published article, the editor should seek to issue a retraction that clearly describes the nature and extent of the plagiarism.
• In cases of serious misconduct, editors may contact the authors' institution, their funding body, or relevant professional regulatory bodies.

Full COPE guidance is available at publicationethics.org.

Authors bear primary responsibility for ensuring that their submitted manuscripts comply with this policy. DMLJ strongly encourages authors to conduct their own plagiarism check before submission. Authors are advised to:

• Run the manuscript through an institutional or commercial plagiarism detection tool prior to submission and address any flagged similarities.
• Ensure that all quotations are properly enclosed in quotation marks and attributed with Vancouver-style citations.
• Paraphrase in their own words rather than copying phrases or sentences from other works, even with citation. Paraphrasing that merely substitutes synonyms without restructuring the sentence is not acceptable.
• Cite all sources of data, methods, ideas, and text, including the authors' own prior publications where relevant.
• Be prepared to supply raw data, original source documents, or other evidence to the editorial team upon request if similarity concerns arise.

Ignorance of plagiarism norms is not accepted as justification for a breach of this policy. Authors who are uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism are encouraged to consult COPE's resources on publication ethics or contact the editorial office for guidance prior to submission.

If plagiarism is discovered after a manuscript has been published, DMLJ will investigate the allegation promptly and in accordance with COPE guidelines. Any person — including authors, reviewers, editors, or readers — may raise a concern about a published article by contacting the editorial office and providing supporting evidence.

Depending on the outcome of the investigation, DMLJ may:

• Issue a correction (corrigendum): If the plagiarism is minor and does not affect the conclusions of the paper, and the authors cooperate fully, a corrigendum with proper attribution may be sufficient.
• Issue a retraction: If the plagiarism is extensive, affects the reliability of the paper's findings, or if authors do not cooperate, the paper will be retracted. Retracted papers remain visible on the DMLJ website with a prominent retraction notice, in accordance with COPE guidelines.
• Notify the authors' institution: In cases of serious or deliberate plagiarism, the editorial team will contact the authors' institution and, where relevant, their professional regulatory body.

Persons raising concerns about published articles are assured that their concerns will be treated confidentially and investigated impartially, regardless of the identity or seniority of the authors involved.

Principal Contact: Gede Krisna Udiana, S.K.M., M.H.Kes.  |  +62 812-3898-787  |  udiana.krisna@gmail.com

https://dmedlaw.org