Plagiarism Policy

Publications are the end-products of the scientific work and their quality reflects the research work. A published paper becomes a source for references, post-publication review, and critique. To contribute to the bulk of knowledge, the paper should be credible.
• JSMDC follows the ICMJE and HEC criteria for all types of plagiarism. The criteria can be accessed at www.icmje.org and www.hec.gov.pk.
• All the submitted manuscripts will be checked for potential plagiarism by "TURNITIN" software. Articles with a similarity index of more than 19% and any single source similarity index of ≥5% will not be published. The manuscript will be sent back to the author for revision to bring the similarity index down to the permissible limit. After revision, it will again be checked through the "TURNITIN" for plagiarism. If the similarity report is <19%, it will be processed further. The article will be sent back to the author again for corrections if the similarity index is still more than 19%. If the author fails to rectify after the second revision, then the manuscript is rejected.
• If the submitted article is found to have been totally or substantially plagiarized then the article is rejected outright and the corresponding author will be informed regarding this misconduct. The author will be asked to give a written explanation.
• For published articles, the allegedly plagiarized article will be temporarily retracted from the issue and a notice to the effect will be published in the JSMDC. The author will be asked for an explanation. In case of unsatisfactory explanation or non-response, the article will be permanently retracted and the author will be blacklisted.