Plagiarism Policy – English Literature & Culture Journal (JCRELC)

The Journal of Creative Research in English Literature & Culture (JCRELC) maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards plagiarism. All submissions are strictly checked to ensure originality and compliance with ethical publishing standards.

Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the unethical practice of presenting another person’s work, ideas, or words as one’s own without proper acknowledgment. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Copying text, ideas, images, or data from published or unpublished sources without citation.
• Paraphrasing large sections of another work without credit.
• Self-plagiarism, where authors reuse significant portions of their previously published work without disclosure.
• Submitting manuscripts under multiple journals simultaneously.

Plagiarism Detection

• All manuscripts submitted to JCRELC are screened using plagiarism detection software before the peer review process.
• Articles with a similarity index of more than 15% (excluding references, quotations, and standard phrases) will be returned to authors for revision or rejected outright.
• In cases of suspected plagiarism during or after publication, the editorial board will conduct a thorough investigation following COPE guidelines.

Consequences of Plagiarism

If plagiarism is detected:

• Before acceptance – the manuscript is rejected immediately.
• After publication – the article may be retracted from the journal archives, and a retraction notice will be issued.
• Authors found guilty of plagiarism may be blacklisted from future submissions.

Author Responsibilities

• Ensure that the manuscript submitted is original, unpublished, and properly cited.
• Obtain permissions for the use of any third-party content (images, tables, or figures).
• Avoid duplicate submission or simultaneous submission to other journals.

Editorial & Reviewer Responsibilities

• The editorial team and reviewers are committed to identifying overlapping, copied, or unethical content.
• Any suspected cases of plagiarism are handled with strict confidentiality and fairness.

Ethical Standards

JCRELC follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines to uphold academic integrity. By submitting to the journal, authors agree to comply with these ethical standards.