Plagiarism Policy

AgroSciTech: Journal of Sustainable Agriculture maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy regarding plagiarism, data fabrication, and redundant publication. Academic dishonesty undermines the integrity of scientific exchange. Therefore, all manuscripts submitted to the journal must represent entirely original research, and any thoughts or data borrowed from external works must be explicitly cited and credited.

1 Mandatory Plagiarism Screening

Every manuscript submitted to AgroSciTech will undergo mandatory screening for originality before it is assigned to any section editors or external reviewers. The journal utilizes Turnitin as its official similarity screening tool to detect textual overlapping, uncredited paraphrasing, and cross-source structural matches.

2 Similarity Index Thresholds

To qualify for the formal double-blind peer-review process, the submitted manuscript must adhere to the following strict quantitative screening criteria:

  • Maximum Overall Index: The maximum acceptable overall similarity index from the Turnitin report is 20%.
  • Single Source Limit: The similarity match from any single external primary source must not exceed 3%.
  • Exclusions: The similarity check configuration excludes the bibliography/references section and standard mathematical or chemical formulas.

3 Policy on Violations and Sanctions

If a manuscript is found to exceed the similarity index thresholds or contains clear evidence of active plagiarism, the Editorial Board will issue the following sanctions based on severity:

  • Minor Issues (21% - 30%): The manuscript is returned to the author with a strict request for technical rewriting, rephrasing, and proper citation adjustments before any reassessment.
  • Severe Plagiarism (>30% or Data Fabrication): The manuscript will face immediate Desk Rejection. The author's account may be flagged, and the institution may be formally notified if severe academic misconduct is detected.