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1. Purpose

The University of Malawi (UNIMA) enforces a strict anti-plagiarism policy across all its journals. Plagiarism, defined as presenting another person's ideas, words, data, or work as one's own without proper acknowledgement, is a serious breach of academic ethics. It undermines trust, diminishes the author's credibility, and harms UNIMA's institutional reputation. All work published under UNIMA's imprint must reflect genuine scholarship, properly credit its sources, and meet internationally recognised ethical standards.

This policy provides guidance to all stakeholders on how to define, detect, and address plagiarism. It outlines screening processes, consequences for confirmed plagiarism, and practical guidance for authors. The policy endorses the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and aligns with best practices promoted by the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), as applicable.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all persons who submit manuscripts to, are published in, or are involved in the editorial and review processes of UNIMA journals, including:

• Authors and co-authors of submitted manuscripts;
• Guest editors and associate editors; and
• Peer reviewers, regarding self-plagiarism in review correspondence.

The policy covers all scholarly content accepted for publication.

3. Forms of Plagiarism

The following constitute forms of plagiarism for the purposes of this policy:

1. Direct (Verbatim) Plagiarism: Copying text word-for-word from a source without using quotation marks and without citing the original author.
2. Paraphrasing Without Attribution: Restating another person's ideas in one's own words without acknowledging the original source. Even where the wording is changed, failure to credit the original author constitutes plagiarism.
3. Mosaic or Patchwork Plagiarism: Combining phrases, sentences, or ideas from multiple sources without attribution, or substituting synonyms while retaining the sentence structure of the original.
4. Self-Plagiarism (Duplicate Publication): Submitting one's own previously published work, in whole or in substantial part, without disclosing the prior publication or obtaining appropriate permissions. This includes submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously.
5. Improper Citation: Citing a source inaccurately, citing a secondary source as a primary one, or listing references that were never actually consulted.
6. Data and Image Plagiarism: Reproducing tables, figures, graphs, photographs, or datasets from another source without permission and appropriate attribution.
7. Idea Plagiarism: Presenting another scholar's intellectual framework, theory, or argument as one's own original contribution, even without copying the exact wording.

4. Plagiarism Detection Process

4.1 Screening at Submission

All manuscripts submitted to UNIMA journals shall undergo plagiarism screening as a standard part of the editorial workflow. A similarity index above 20%, excluding properly quoted and cited material, reference lists, and standard methodological phrases, will ordinarily trigger a detailed editorial review.

4.2 Editorial Assessment

A high similarity score alone does not automatically confirm plagiarism. All UNIMA journals will carefully examine the nature, extent, and context of matched content. If the journal requires additional context, the corresponding author may be contacted for clarification before a final determination is made.

4.3 Post-Publication Concerns

Allegations of plagiarism may be raised after a manuscript has been published, whether by readers, peer reviewers, other authors, or institutional bodies. All UNIMA journals will investigate credible post-publication complaints received in accordance with this policy. Complaints must be submitted in writing to the journal, accompanied by sufficient evidence to substantiate the concern.

5. Consequences of Plagiarism

Each case of plagiarism is assessed based on its severity, extent, and apparent intent. The following actions may be applied:

5.1 Pre-Publication Sanctions

1. Rejection of Manuscript: Where plagiarism is confirmed prior to acceptance, the manuscript will be rejected outright. The corresponding author will be notified in writing, stating the grounds for rejection.
2. Request for Revision: In minor cases, where a small proportion of text is unattributed but the overall work is substantially original, the author(s) may be asked to revise and resubmit with a clear explanation of what must be corrected.

5.2 Post-Publication Sanctions

1. Correction Notice: Where a published article contains a limited amount of unattributed material that does not fundamentally compromise the integrity of the work, a correction notice will be published prominently linking to the corrected version.
2. Expression of Concern: Where an investigation is ongoing and the editorial board has reasonable grounds to suspect plagiarism, but a final determination has not been reached, an expression of concern will be published alongside the article.
3. Retraction: Where plagiarism is confirmed, and the findings are found to be unreliable, or the work is substantially unoriginal, the article will be formally retracted. A retraction notice will be published stating the reason, and the original article will be clearly marked as retracted.
4. Notification of Institutions: In cases of serious or deliberate plagiarism, the relevant journal reserves the right to formally notify the employing or affiliated institution(s) of the author(s) involved.

Full procedures for issuing corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions are set out in the Errata and Retraction Policy.

6. Author Responsibilities and Guidance

Every author submitting to a UNIMA journal bears full responsibility for ensuring the originality and integrity of their submission. Authors are strongly advised to:

1. Cite All Sources: Every idea, argument, data point, or piece of text drawn from another work must be appropriately cited using the referencing style specified by the relevant journal.
2. Use Quotation Marks for Direct Text: When reproducing the exact words of another author, enclose the text in quotation marks and provide a full citation, including page number where available. Direct quotations should be used sparingly.
3. Paraphrase Carefully and Attribute: When paraphrasing another author's ideas, rephrase the content substantially and cite the original source. Paraphrasing does not remove the obligation to acknowledge the original author.
4. Disclose Prior Publications: Authors must clearly disclose in their cover letter if any part of the submitted work has been previously published or is currently under review elsewhere.
5. Obtain Permissions for Reproduced Material: Where necessary, authors wishing to reproduce figures, tables, photographs, or other copyrighted material must obtain written permission from the copyright holder before submission, acknowledge the source in the manuscript and submit a copy of the written permission to the applicable journal.
6. Conduct a Self-Check Before Submission: Authors are encouraged to use available plagiarism detection tools to screen their own manuscripts before submission.
7. Acknowledge Collaborative Contributions: In multi-authored works, each listed author must have made a genuine intellectual contribution. All authors share collective responsibility for the integrity of the submission.

7. Appeals and Dispute Resolution

Authors who believe that a finding of plagiarism has been reached in error have the right to appeal. An appeal must be submitted in writing to the journal within 30 calendar days of receiving the editorial decision. The appeal must set out the grounds on which the finding is contested and may be accompanied by supporting evidence. The Journal's Editorial Board or UNIMA Research Committee will be responsible for the review. The decision of the appeals panel shall be final.

All investigations and appeals will be handled with appropriate confidentiality, fairness, and without undue delay. Parties involved in a plagiarism investigation will be notified of the outcome and the reasons for the decision reached.

8. Roles and Responsibilities

• Editors are responsible for initiating plagiarism screening for all submissions, assessing similarity reports with care and judgment, communicating findings to authors, and applying this policy consistently and impartially.
• Peer Reviewers are expected to alert the editor if they identify potential plagiarism or undisclosed prior publication in manuscripts assigned to them for review.
• The Editorial Board is responsible for overseeing the implementation of this policy, adjudicating complex or disputed cases, and ensuring that all stakeholders are informed of its provisions.

9. Policy Review

The policy will be reviewed from time to time or as developments in publication ethics require. Any revisions will be communicated to all journal editors and made publicly available on the UNIMA website.