Plagiarism Screening

Gerasi in Mathematics Education (GIME) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and publication ethics. The journal recognizes plagiarism, duplicate publication, redundant publication, and inappropriate reuse of previously published material as serious violations of scholarly integrity.

All manuscripts submitted to GIME undergo plagiarism and similarity screening as part of the editorial assessment process before being considered for peer review.

Similarity Threshold

GIME applies a maximum similarity index of 20% for submitted manuscripts.

The following criteria are applied:

• Similarity index ≤ 20%: The manuscript may proceed to the editorial screening and peer-review process, subject to fulfillment of other journal requirements.
• Similarity index > 20%: The manuscript will normally be returned to the authors for revision and clarification before further consideration.
• Substantial or clear plagiarism: The manuscript may be rejected immediately, regardless of the overall similarity percentage.

The similarity percentage is not considered the sole indicator of plagiarism. The editorial team evaluates the source, context, location, and nature of the similarity identified by the plagiarism detection system.

Legitimate similarities, such as properly cited quotations, references, standardized terminology, mathematical expressions, methodological descriptions, and commonly used academic phrases, may be considered acceptable when appropriately attributed.

Screening Procedure

Plagiarism screening may be conducted at several stages:

1. Initial Submission
   All manuscripts are screened before being sent to external reviewers.
2. Revision Stage
   Revised manuscripts may be screened again to verify that problematic similarities have been appropriately addressed.
3. Pre-Publication Stage
   A final similarity check may be conducted before an accepted manuscript is published.

The editorial team reserves the right to conduct additional screening whenever concerns regarding originality or inappropriate text reuse arise.

Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct

GIME considers the following practices unacceptable:

• direct copying of text without appropriate attribution;
• presenting another person's ideas, arguments, data, or findings as one's own;
• inappropriate paraphrasing without citation;
• substantial unauthorized reuse of previously published material;
• duplicate publication;
• redundant publication;
• inappropriate self-plagiarism or text recycling;
• fabrication or falsification of data;
• manipulation of research results; and
• other forms of academic misconduct.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all material derived from other sources is properly cited and acknowledged.

Self-Plagiarism and Text Recycling

Authors must disclose substantial overlap between the submitted manuscript and their previously published or publicly available work.

Limited reuse of methodological descriptions or other unavoidable standardized content may be acceptable when scientifically justified and appropriately cited.

However, authors must not present previously published findings, arguments, data, or substantial textual content as entirely new work.

Where substantial undisclosed overlap is identified, the editorial team may request clarification, revision, or additional documentation.

Duplicate and Redundant Publication

A manuscript submitted to GIME must not be simultaneously under consideration by another journal.

Authors must not submit substantially identical manuscripts to multiple journals.

If duplicate or redundant publication is identified before publication, the manuscript may be rejected.

If such misconduct is discovered after publication, GIME may issue an appropriate editorial action, including a correction, Expression of Concern, or retraction.

Editorial Assessment

Similarity reports are reviewed by the editorial team rather than being evaluated solely according to an automated percentage.

The editorial assessment considers:

• the percentage of similarity;
• the number and nature of matching sources;
• whether similarities occur in the main scholarly content;
• whether the material has been properly cited;
• whether the similarity represents legitimate academic language;
• whether the overlap involves the authors' previous publications; and
• whether there is evidence of intentional plagiarism or other misconduct.

The final decision regarding suspected plagiarism rests with the editorial team.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for:

• submitting original work;
• appropriately citing all sources;
• clearly identifying direct quotations;
• properly paraphrasing and attributing ideas;
• disclosing relevant previous publications;
• avoiding duplicate or simultaneous submission;
• obtaining permission for copyrighted third-party materials where necessary; and
• responding honestly to editorial inquiries concerning originality.

Authors remain responsible for the originality and integrity of their manuscripts regardless of whether plagiarism detection software has been used.

Plagiarism Identified During Peer Review

If a reviewer identifies suspected plagiarism or substantial text overlap, the concern should be reported confidentially to the editor.

Reviewers should not directly contact or accuse authors of plagiarism.

The editorial team will evaluate the concern and may request clarification or supporting documentation from the authors.

Plagiarism Identified After Publication

If credible evidence of plagiarism is identified after an article has been published, GIME will conduct an appropriate investigation.

Depending on the severity of the case, the journal may:

• request an explanation from the authors;
• publish a correction;
• issue an Expression of Concern;
• retract the article; or
• take other appropriate action to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

A retracted article will remain part of the journal's archival record but will be clearly identified as retracted.

Artificial Intelligence and Originality

The use of artificial intelligence tools does not exempt authors from responsibility for originality.

Authors must ensure that AI-assisted content does not:

• reproduce copyrighted material without appropriate attribution;
• contain fabricated references or sources;
• misrepresent another person's work;
• introduce unverified claims; or
• constitute plagiarism or inappropriate text reuse.

AI tools must not be used to fabricate research data, results, participants, references, or other scholarly evidence.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of all submitted content.

Academic Integrity Statement

GIME considers plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct serious violations of scholarly standards.

The 20% maximum similarity threshold is an editorial screening criterion and does not constitute a definition of plagiarism. A manuscript with a similarity index below 20% may still be rejected if substantial plagiarism or inappropriate text reuse is identified.

Likewise, legitimate and properly attributed similarities may be acceptable even when they contribute to the overall similarity score.

The primary objective of this policy is to ensure that all articles published by GIME are original, properly attributed, ethically conducted, transparent, and academically trustworthy.