Plagiarism policy

Plagiarism Policy

Al-Osala Journal is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and strongly condemns all forms of scientific plagiarism, whether partial or full, intentional or unintentional. Plagiarism is defined as the use of others’ work, ideas, or text without explicit acknowledgment of the source.

All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial screening using plagiarism detection software. If the similarity index exceeds the acceptable threshold (typically less than 25% for humanities disciplines), the manuscript is either rejected outright or returned to the author for revision and rephrasing.

Article Retraction Policy

In the event that plagiarism is detected after publication, the journal takes corrective actions, which may include:

  • Issuing a correction notice or retraction, made publicly available to all readers.

  • Notifying the author’s affiliated institution.

  • Banning the author from future submissions to the journal.

A manuscript may be retracted for the following reasons:

  • Detection of unethical research practices, compromised peer review processes (e.g., pre-arranged reviews without editorial knowledge), use of paper mills, citation manipulation, or undisclosed conflicts of interest that may affect interpretation or reviewer recommendations.

  • Clear evidence of major errors or misconduct in images, data, or analytical methods, or any form of research misrepresentation (including fraud, identity theft, ghost authorship, or full or undisclosed use of artificial intelligence) that undermines the reliability of the findings.

  • Evidence of duplicate publication without proper attribution, disclosure, justification, or permission.

  • Violations of copyright law or other serious legal issues such as defamation or privacy breaches.

  • Use of retracted data or references in the published work.

Retraction requests may be initiated by authors, institutions, readers, or editors. Regardless of the source of the request, the final decision is made by the journal’s Editorial Board. Published articles may be retracted (or an Expression of Concern issued) even without the consent of some or all authors.

This policy follows COPE guidance on Expressions of Concern:
Committee on Publication Ethics Council. COPE Guidelines: Expressions of Concern.
https://doi.org/10.24318/mw2J3661

Types of Retraction

1. Retraction with Replacement
The article is not permanently withdrawn but replaced with a corrected version. This applies when the study design and research foundation are valid, but post-publication issues are identified in the conclusions that are not related to ethical breaches. In such cases, the original article remains accessible with clearly marked corrections and supplementary notes.

When defects are not severe, a corrected version may be published with editorial and author agreement, ensuring transparency. Both versions are clearly linked and distinguished in the journal record.

2. Retraction with Removal
In this case, the article is completely removed from the journal and its archives, and standard retraction procedures are applied.

The purpose of retraction is to correct the scholarly record and ensure its integrity, not to punish authors.

Authorship Dispute Policy

In cases of authorship disputes after publication, retraction is not carried out if there is no evidence questioning the validity of the results, data reliability, or author accountability. Supporting documentation must be provided by the involved parties. After editorial review, authors may be notified that a correction to the authorship list will be published if justified.

Disclaimer

Each author of a published article bears full responsibility for its content. Al-Osala Journal, its editors, publisher, and any party involved in the creation, production, or distribution of the journal shall not be held responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the published information. They are not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from the use of the journal’s content.

This policy is based on COPE guidelines, and the journal is committed to handling all cases with transparency and fairness.

Committee on Publication Ethics Council. (2019). Retraction Guidelines.
https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.1.4