Plagiarism and AI Content Policy

 
ORIGINALITY  •  TRANSPARENCY  •  RESPONSIBILITY  •  RESEARCH INTEGRITY

Plagiarism and AI Content Policy

 

The Research Dialogue

An Online Quarterly Multidisciplinary Peer-Reviewed and Refereed Research Journal

Original Scholarship Similarity Screening Responsible AI Use Human Accountability Academic Integrity
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POLICY STATEMENT

Protecting Originality and Responsible Scholarship

The Research Dialogue is committed to maintaining high standards of originality, academic integrity, transparency and responsible scholarly communication. The journal considers plagiarism, fabricated or falsified research, duplicate publication, inappropriate text recycling, manipulated evidence, fabricated references and irresponsible or undisclosed use of artificial-intelligence technologies incompatible with ethical academic publishing.

This policy applies to all manuscripts submitted to the journal irrespective of academic discipline, research methodology, geographical origin, institutional affiliation or professional background of the authors. As a multidisciplinary journal, The Research Dialogue expects the same fundamental standards of originality and research integrity from scholarly work across humanities, social sciences, education, sciences, mathematics, commerce, management, technology, law, agriculture, health sciences and other fields.

Authors remain fully responsible for every component of a submitted manuscript, including its originality, accuracy, data, arguments, analysis, references, quotations, tables, figures, images, conclusions, ethical declarations and any content created or modified with technological assistance.

CORE REQUIREMENTS

Standards Expected from Every Submission

1
Original The submitted work must represent genuine scholarship.
2
Properly Attributed All borrowed intellectual material must be acknowledged.
3
Authentic Data, evidence and references must be genuine and verifiable.
4
Transparent Material use of AI must be responsibly disclosed.
01   PLAGIARISM POLICY

What Constitutes Plagiarism?

Plagiarism occurs when an author presents another person's words, ideas, theories, interpretations, arguments, research findings, data, images, figures, tables or other intellectual material without appropriate acknowledgement and thereby creates a misleading impression concerning authorship or originality.

✓ Direct Plagiarism: Copying words, sentences, paragraphs or other material from another source without proper quotation, acknowledgement or citation.

✓ Mosaic Plagiarism: Combining phrases, sentence structures or ideas from one or more sources while making only superficial modifications and without sufficient attribution.

✓ Inappropriate Paraphrasing: Rewriting another author's material in slightly altered language while retaining the original intellectual content without appropriate citation.

✓ Translation Plagiarism: Translating material from another language and presenting the translated version without acknowledging the original source.

✓ Idea Plagiarism: Presenting another scholar's distinctive argument, theory, methodology, interpretation or intellectual contribution without proper acknowledgement.

✓ Data Plagiarism: Using another researcher's data, findings, datasets, observations or results without legitimate permission or scholarly attribution.

✓ Visual Plagiarism: Reproducing or adapting figures, photographs, diagrams, illustrations, charts or other visual material without appropriate acknowledgement and permission where required.

02   SELF-PLAGIARISM AND TEXT RECYCLING

Reuse of Previously Published Work

Authors must not substantially reproduce their own previously published material and present it as a new scholarly contribution without appropriate disclosure and citation. Previously published text, tables, figures, data, analyses or results should be acknowledged whenever they are legitimately reused.

Limited repetition of standard methodological wording may occasionally be unavoidable, particularly where recognised procedures must be described accurately. Nevertheless, unnecessary textual duplication should be avoided and the earlier source should be cited where appropriate.

Substantial duplication of an author's earlier work, whether published in the same language or translated into another language, may constitute self-plagiarism or redundant publication when the previous publication is not properly disclosed.

03

Duplicate and Redundant Publication

A manuscript submitted to The Research Dialogue must not ordinarily have been published previously and must not be simultaneously under active consideration by another journal or publisher.

Publication of substantially the same research, dataset, analysis, findings or conclusions in more than one journal without transparent disclosure or legitimate scholarly justification may constitute duplicate or redundant publication.

Where a submitted manuscript is based upon or substantially related to a dissertation, thesis, conference paper, working paper, institutional report or preprint, the relationship should be disclosed where appropriate and all relevant copyright and publication requirements should be observed.

04   SIMILARITY SCREENING

Similarity Detection and Editorial Assessment

Submitted manuscripts may be screened through recognised similarity-detection software and may also undergo manual editorial examination. Similarity screening is intended to help identify potentially inappropriate textual overlap, unattributed material or substantial duplication.

A similarity percentage is not interpreted as automatic proof of plagiarism. Bibliographic references, correctly quoted passages, standard terminology, commonly used methodological expressions and other legitimate similarities may contribute to a numerical similarity score.

Editorial assessment therefore considers the nature, source, location, extent and scholarly significance of matched material. A manuscript with a low overall similarity percentage may still contain serious plagiarism, whereas certain legitimate scholarly elements may increase the numerical score without constituting misconduct.

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION

Similarity Is Not Identical to Plagiarism

The Research Dialogue does not determine plagiarism solely by reference to a software-generated percentage. Authors should focus on genuine originality, responsible paraphrasing, accurate citation and proper acknowledgement rather than merely attempting to reduce a similarity score.

05   ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTOMATED TOOLS

Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence

The Research Dialogue recognises that artificial-intelligence and automated digital technologies may support certain stages of scholarly work. Their use, however, must remain responsible, transparent and subject to meaningful human oversight.

Artificial intelligence must not replace the intellectual contribution, original reasoning, independent analysis, critical interpretation, methodological responsibility or professional judgement expected from human researchers and authors.

Authors remain fully responsible for all AI-assisted material appearing in a manuscript and must verify its accuracy, originality, relevance, references, interpretation and compliance with research and publication ethics before submission.

06

Permitted Supportive Uses of AI

AI and automated tools may be used in a supportive capacity where their use does not undermine originality, confidentiality, academic integrity or author responsibility. Depending on the nature of the work, appropriate supportive uses may include the following:

✓ Language Assistance: Supporting grammar, spelling, readability or linguistic clarity while preserving the author's own scholarly meaning and intellectual contribution.

✓ Formatting Assistance: Supporting non-substantive formatting, organisation or presentation of manuscript material.

✓ Coding Assistance: Supporting programming or computational tasks where all generated code, assumptions and outputs are independently examined and validated.

✓ Data Organisation: Supporting legitimate organisation or processing of research information where the integrity of the original data is preserved and the process is appropriately verified.

✓ Accessibility Assistance: Supporting translation, accessibility or other legitimate communication requirements, subject to appropriate human review and verification.

07   UNACCEPTABLE OR IRRESPONSIBLE AI USE

Practices That Are Not Acceptable

✕ Fabricated Research: AI must not be used to invent experiments, respondents, interviews, survey responses, observations, research participants or findings and present them as genuine research.

✕ Fabricated References: Authors must not include AI-generated citations, quotations, DOI information or bibliographic references that do not correspond to genuine and verifiable sources.

✕ False Data: AI-generated or manipulated data must not be represented as genuine empirical data obtained through the reported research methodology.

✕ Misrepresentation: AI-generated interpretations, statements or conclusions must not be presented as independently established scholarly findings without appropriate human verification.

✕ Concealed Substantial AI Use: Authors must not deliberately conceal substantial generative-AI involvement where disclosure is required by this policy.

✕ Replacement of Scholarly Judgement: AI systems must not substitute for the author's responsibility to analyse evidence, interpret findings, assess limitations and make scholarly conclusions.

✕ Confidential Data Exposure: Sensitive, confidential, private, identifiable or legally restricted research information must not be entered into external AI platforms without appropriate ethical, institutional and legal safeguards.

08   AI AUTHORSHIP

Artificial Intelligence Cannot Be an Author

Artificial-intelligence systems, language models, chatbots and automated software cannot be listed as authors or co-authors of manuscripts submitted to The Research Dialogue.

Authorship requires intellectual accountability, approval of the final manuscript, responsibility for research integrity, ability to respond to questions concerning the work and responsibility for corrections or ethical concerns. Artificial-intelligence systems cannot independently fulfil these obligations.

All persons listed as authors must therefore satisfy the journal's authorship requirements irrespective of any technological assistance used during preparation of the manuscript.

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Disclosure of AI Use

Where generative artificial intelligence has been used substantially to create or materially revise text, analysis, code, images, figures, translation, data presentation or interpretation, authors should transparently disclose the nature and purpose of that use.

Routine spelling, grammar or minor language correction that does not materially alter the intellectual content may not require detailed disclosure. When the significance of AI assistance is uncertain, authors are encouraged to favour transparency.

Suggested AI Disclosure Statement

“The authors used [name of AI tool] for [specific purpose]. All AI-assisted material was independently reviewed, verified and revised by the authors. The authors accept full responsibility for the accuracy, originality and integrity of the final manuscript.”

10   AI-GENERATED REFERENCES AND CITATIONS

Verification of Scholarly Sources

Authors are responsible for independently verifying every reference, citation and quotation included in their manuscripts. Generative AI systems may produce incomplete, inaccurate or entirely fabricated bibliographic information.

A reference should be included only when the authors have confirmed that the source genuinely exists, that its bibliographic information is accurate and that it genuinely supports the scholarly statement for which it has been cited.

Fabricated references, false DOI numbers, invented quotations, nonexistent journal articles or deliberately misleading citations may be treated as serious breaches of research integrity.

11   AI, DATA AND RESEARCH RESULTS

Authenticity of Evidence

Research data, participant responses, survey observations, experimental measurements, field records, statistical results and other evidence presented as genuine research findings must arise from legitimate research procedures described in the manuscript.

Artificial intelligence must not be used to create missing participants, invent responses, generate fictitious experiments or fabricate results and then present such information as empirical evidence.

Where synthetic data are legitimately used as part of a recognised research methodology, their synthetic nature, method of generation, purpose and limitations must be clearly described and academically justified.

12

AI-Generated Images and Visual Content

Figures, graphs, diagrams, photographs, illustrations and other visual materials must represent the research accurately and must not be manipulated in a manner that creates a false or misleading impression.

Where AI-generated or AI-assisted visual content is academically appropriate, its use should be transparently identified where necessary, and authors must ensure that the material does not violate copyright, confidentiality, privacy, participant consent or other applicable rights.

AI-generated visual material must never be presented as genuine experimental, observational, clinical, documentary or photographic evidence when it does not represent an actual event, object, participant or research observation.

13   HUMAN VERIFICATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Responsibility Always Remains with the Authors

Authors must independently examine and verify all content created, modified or assisted by artificial-intelligence systems before submitting a manuscript.

Responsibility cannot be transferred to an AI system or software provider. Statements that inaccurate information was generated by an automated tool do not remove author responsibility for false claims, fabricated citations, misleading analyses, copyright infringement or ethical violations.

The corresponding author and all co-authors remain responsible for the integrity, accuracy and ethical compliance of the final manuscript submitted to the journal.

14   CONFIDENTIAL AND SENSITIVE INFORMATION

Protection of Research Data and Privacy

Authors must exercise particular caution when using external AI services with confidential, unpublished, proprietary, personally identifiable or otherwise sensitive research information.

Participant information, confidential institutional records, unpublished datasets or other protected material should not be entered into external AI platforms unless such processing is legally, ethically and institutionally permissible and appropriate safeguards exist.

Authors remain responsible for compliance with applicable confidentiality obligations, informed-consent requirements, institutional policies and data-protection standards.

15

AI Use by Reviewers and Editors

Submitted manuscripts and associated editorial materials are confidential scholarly documents. Reviewers and editors should not upload complete manuscripts, unpublished research data or identifiable manuscript content into publicly accessible generative-AI systems where confidentiality, security and data-retention conditions cannot be adequately assured.

Artificial intelligence must not replace the independent intellectual judgement required in peer review or editorial decision-making.

Responsibility for reviewer comments, editorial assessments and publication decisions remains with the human reviewer or responsible editor.

16   COPYRIGHT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

AI Use Does Not Remove Copyright Responsibility

Authors must ensure that AI-assisted content does not unlawfully reproduce copyrighted text, illustrations, images, datasets, software or other protected intellectual property.

The use of an AI system does not provide authors with automatic permission to reproduce third-party material and does not transfer responsibility for copyright compliance to the journal or technology provider.

Where permission is required for third-party material, authors remain responsible for obtaining appropriate authorisation before publication.

17   EDITORIAL ACTION IN CASE OF VIOLATION

Possible Editorial Responses

Where plagiarism, fabricated material, serious AI misuse or another breach of research integrity is suspected, the journal may take action proportionate to the nature and seriousness of the concern.

1 Clarification: Request an explanation or supporting information from the author.
2 Correction: Return the manuscript for correction where the identified issue is reasonably remediable.
3 Suspension: Pause editorial consideration while a serious integrity concern is examined.
4 Rejection: Reject a manuscript where substantial plagiarism, fabricated content or serious misconduct is established.
5 Post-Publication Action: Take appropriate action where a serious issue is identified after publication.
18

Post-Publication Concerns

Publication does not prevent the journal from investigating credible concerns regarding plagiarism, fabricated research, misleading AI-generated material, duplicate publication, false references or other serious breaches of research integrity.

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the issue, the journal may publish a correction, editorial notice or expression of concern, or may retract an article where the reliability or integrity of the publication is substantially compromised.

Where appropriate, authors may be asked to provide explanations, original research records or supporting documentation. Post-publication action should be proportionate to the available evidence and directed primarily toward protecting the accuracy and reliability of the scholarly record.

POSSIBLE POST-PUBLICATION ACTIONS

Maintaining the Integrity of the Scholarly Record

Correction
Editorial Notice
Expression of Concern
Retraction
BEFORE SUBMISSION

Originality and AI Compliance Checklist

✓ The manuscript represents original scholarly work.

✓ All borrowed ideas, quotations, data, tables, figures and visual material are appropriately acknowledged.

✓ All references, DOI information and quotations have been independently verified.

✓ The manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal.

✓ Research data, participants, observations and findings have not been fabricated or falsified.

✓ Material AI use has been disclosed where required.

✓ AI-assisted content has been independently reviewed, verified and revised by the authors.

✓ No confidential or sensitive information has been processed through external AI systems inappropriately.

✓ All authors accept responsibility for the accuracy, originality and integrity of the submitted manuscript.

✓

Author Responsibility and Declaration

By submitting a manuscript to The Research Dialogue, the authors declare that the submitted work is original, accurately referenced, ethically prepared and free from deliberate plagiarism, fabricated content, falsified evidence and other forms of academic misconduct.

Where artificial-intelligence or automated technologies have been materially used, the authors confirm that such use complies with this policy and has been transparently disclosed where required.

The authors accept full responsibility for the authenticity of their research, accuracy of their data and references, originality of their scholarly contribution and integrity of the final manuscript.

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE

AI May Assist Scholarship — It Cannot Replace Scholarship

The Research Dialogue supports responsible technological innovation where it strengthens legitimate scholarly work. Nevertheless, intellectual contribution, critical reasoning, factual verification, ethical judgement and accountability must remain with human researchers and authors.

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Original Research. Responsible Technology. Human Accountability.

 

The Research Dialogue seeks to encourage innovative and responsible scholarly communication while protecting originality, academic integrity and the reliability of published research. Technology may support the research and writing process, but responsibility for the scholarly record must always remain with human authors.

 
The Research Dialogue
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