Plagiarism and AI Policy

Plagiarism Screening & Originality Policy

Commitment to Academic Integrity and Responsible Scholarly Publishing

1. Commitment to Academic Integrity

The Bank and Policy Journal (BPJ) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, originality, transparency, and ethical publishing. All submitted manuscripts must represent original scholarly work and comply with internationally recognised publication ethics, including the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.

Plagiarism, duplicate publication, data falsification, image manipulation, and all forms of research misconduct are considered serious ethical violations and may result in editorial action, including rejection, correction, or retraction.

2. Similarity Screening

All manuscripts undergo originality screening before peer review using professional similarity-detection software such as iThenticate or equivalent industry-standard tools. Additional screening may be performed after revision or prior to publication where necessary.

Editorial assessment considers both qualitative and quantitative aspects of similarity, including:

Source of overlapping content
Location of similarities
Proper citation and quotation
Scientific context
Overall originality of the manuscript

References, bibliographies, standard methodological descriptions, legally required statements, and properly quoted material are generally excluded from editorial evaluation.

3. Similarity Thresholds

Up to 15%

Normally acceptable following editorial evaluation.

15–25%

Additional editorial assessment or revision may be required.

Above 25%

May be rejected because of excessive textual overlap.

High similarity detected within the Abstract, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, or original analytical sections may result in rejection regardless of the overall similarity percentage.

Similarity percentages serve only as editorial indicators and never replace independent editorial judgement.

4. Forms of Plagiarism

Direct plagiarism
Self-plagiarism
Mosaic plagiarism
Improper paraphrasing
Duplicate publication
Simultaneous submission
Data plagiarism
Image and figure plagiarism
Citation manipulation
Undisclosed reuse of published material
Manipulation of similarity reports

5. Author Responsibilities

Authors submitting manuscripts to the journal are expected to:

Submit only original scholarly work.
Acknowledge all sources accurately.
Cite previously published material appropriately.
Disclose overlapping or related publications.
Avoid simultaneous submission to other journals.
Comply fully with the journal's ethical policies.

Editorial Note

Authors retain full responsibility for the originality, integrity, accuracy, ethical compliance, and scientific validity of every manuscript submitted to the Bank and Policy Journal.

Plagiarism Screening & Originality Policy

Commitment to Academic Integrity and Responsible Scholarly Publishing

1. Commitment to Academic Integrity

2. Similarity Screening

Editorial assessment considers both qualitative and quantitative aspects of similarity, including:

Source of overlapping content
Location of similarities
Proper citation and quotation
Scientific context
Overall originality of the manuscript

References, bibliographies, standard methodological descriptions, legally required statements, and properly quoted material are generally excluded from editorial evaluation.

3. Similarity Thresholds

Up to 15%

Normally acceptable following editorial evaluation.

15–25%

Additional editorial assessment or revision may be required.

Above 25%

May be rejected because of excessive textual overlap.

High similarity detected within the Abstract, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, or original analytical sections may result in rejection regardless of the overall similarity percentage.

Similarity percentages serve only as editorial indicators and never replace independent editorial judgement.

4. Forms of Plagiarism

Direct plagiarism
Self-plagiarism
Mosaic plagiarism
Improper paraphrasing
Duplicate publication
Simultaneous submission
Data plagiarism
Image and figure plagiarism
Citation manipulation
Undisclosed reuse of published material
Manipulation of similarity reports

5. Author Responsibilities

Authors submitting manuscripts to the journal are expected to:

Submit only original scholarly work.
Acknowledge all sources accurately.
Cite previously published material appropriately.
Disclose overlapping or related publications.
Avoid simultaneous submission to other journals.
Comply fully with the journal's ethical policies.

Editorial Note

Authors retain full responsibility for the originality, integrity, accuracy, ethical compliance, and scientific validity of every manuscript submitted to the Bank and Policy Journal.

Bu dizayn niyə daha müasir görünür? Cədvəl əvəzinə rəngli kartlar istifadə olunur. Similarity faizləri yaşıl–sarı–qırmızı kartlarla təqdim edilir və oxucu üçün daha intuitivdir. Hər bölmə ayrıca "card" kimi ayrıldığı üçün uzun mətn vizual olaraq yorucu görünmür. "Editorial Note" bloku vacib mesajı vurğulayır. DLE və digər CMS-lərdə responsiv işləyir və mobil cihazlarda da səliqəli görünür.

6. Editorial Action

When potential plagiarism or unethical overlap is identified, the Editorial Office may:

request clarification from the authors;
require manuscript revision;
reject the submission;
suspend editorial processing;
initiate further investigation following COPE recommendations.

If misconduct is identified after publication, the journal may publish:

a correction;
an expression of concern;
a retraction;

and, where appropriate, notify the authors' institutions or research funders.

7. Appeals

Authors may appeal editorial decisions related to plagiarism by submitting a written explanation together with supporting evidence. Appeals are reviewed independently by the Editor-in-Chief and, where appropriate, additional editorial advisors.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

8. Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence

The journal recognises that Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies may assist authors during manuscript preparation. AI tools may be used only to support language editing, grammar correction, spelling improvement, reference formatting, translation, programming assistance, or similar technical tasks.

AI must not replace human intellectual contribution, scientific reasoning, interpretation of results, methodological design, or scholarly judgement.

9. AI Systems Cannot Be Authors

Artificial Intelligence systems, including large language models, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors, as they cannot accept responsibility for the integrity, originality, or accuracy of scholarly work.

Only human authors who meet internationally accepted authorship criteria may be credited as authors.

10. Prohibited Uses of AI

The following practices are prohibited:

generating manuscripts substantially or entirely using AI without appropriate human contribution;
fabricating or manipulating data, images, results, references, or citations;
producing false peer-review reports;
concealing plagiarism;
generating scientific conclusions without appropriate human verification;
submitting AI-generated content as original scholarly work.

11. Disclosure of AI Use

Authors must disclose any use of AI technologies in an appropriate section of the manuscript (for example, Author Contributions, Methods, or Acknowledgements).

The disclosure should identify:

the AI system used;
the purpose of its use;
the extent of AI assistance.

Failure to disclose significant AI use may constitute publication misconduct.

12. Editorial Assessment

The Editorial Office may evaluate manuscripts using editorial expertise together with appropriate analytical tools to identify potential plagiarism, fabricated content, image manipulation, or undisclosed AI-generated material.

Where unethical AI use is identified, the journal may request revision, reject the manuscript, publish corrections, retract the article, or take other editorial actions consistent with COPE recommendations.

13. Author Accountability

Regardless of any AI technologies used during manuscript preparation, authors remain fully responsible for:

the originality of the manuscript;
the accuracy of all data and analyses;
ethical compliance;
all interpretations and conclusions;
compliance with the journal's publication policies.

Human authors bear sole responsibility for every aspect of the published work.

14. Policy Review

The Bank and Policy Journal periodically reviews and updates this policy to reflect developments in publication ethics, scholarly communication, and international best practices.

--------------------davam ele Bəli. Mən bunu da əvvəlki hissə ilə eyni dizayn xəttində, kart (card) üslubunda və müasir publisher görünüşündə hazırlayardım. Bu kod əvvəl göndərdiyim hissənin davamıdır.

6. Editorial Action

When plagiarism, duplicate publication, unethical overlap, or other forms of publication misconduct are suspected, the Editorial Office may take one or more of the following actions:

Request clarification or supporting documentation from the authors.
Require manuscript revision before editorial processing continues.
Reject the manuscript.
Suspend editorial evaluation pending investigation.
Conduct further investigation in accordance with COPE recommendations.

After Publication

Where publication misconduct is identified after publication, the journal may issue a correction, publish an Expression of Concern, retract the article, or notify the relevant institution(s) or funding body where appropriate.

7. Appeals

Authors may appeal editorial decisions by submitting a written explanation together with supporting evidence. Appeals are evaluated independently by the Editor-in-Chief and, where appropriate, additional editorial advisers. All appeal decisions are considered final.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

Responsible and Transparent Use of Artificial Intelligence in Scholarly Publishing

8. Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies may be used only as supportive tools during manuscript preparation, including language editing, grammar correction, spelling improvement, translation, reference formatting, or programming assistance.

AI technologies must never replace human intellectual contribution, scientific reasoning, methodological design, interpretation of findings, or scholarly judgement.

9. AI Systems Cannot Be Authors

Important Policy

Artificial Intelligence systems, including large language models (LLMs), cannot be listed as authors or co-authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the integrity, originality, ethical compliance, or accuracy of scholarly work.

Only human authors who satisfy internationally recognised authorship criteria may be credited as authors.

10. Prohibited Uses of AI

Generating manuscripts with minimal human contribution
Fabricating data or research findings
Creating false references or citations
Producing fake peer-review reports
Concealing plagiarism
Manipulating similarity reports
Generating unsupported scientific conclusions
Submitting AI-generated work as original research

11. Disclosure of AI Use

Authors must disclose any significant use of Artificial Intelligence technologies within the manuscript.

Disclosure should specify:

The AI tool or system used.
The purpose of its use.
The extent of AI assistance.

Disclosure may be provided within the Methods, Author Contributions, or Acknowledgements section, as appropriate.

12. Editorial Assessment

The Editorial Office may use editorial expertise together with appropriate analytical tools to evaluate manuscripts for plagiarism, fabricated content, manipulated images, or undisclosed AI-generated material.

Where unethical AI use or publication misconduct is identified, the journal may request revision, reject the manuscript, publish corrections, issue retractions, or take other editorial actions consistent with COPE recommendations.

13. Author Accountability

Regardless of any AI technologies used during manuscript preparation, authors remain solely responsible for:

Originality of the manuscript.
Accuracy of data and analyses.
Ethical compliance.
Interpretation of findings.
Scientific conclusions.
Compliance with the journal's editorial policies.

Editorial Principle

Human authors bear full responsibility for every aspect of the published work, irrespective of any AI technologies used during manuscript preparation.

14. Policy Review

The Bank and Policy Journal periodically reviews and updates this policy to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, publication ethics, artificial intelligence technologies, and internationally recognised best practices.