Plagiarism Screening

Pakungwati Law Review

Plagiarism Screening

Protecting originality, proper attribution, and the integrity of the scholarly record.

Policy Statement

Pakungwati Law Review (PLR) is committed to publishing original scholarship and maintaining high standards of academic integrity. Every submitted manuscript may be screened for textual similarity before peer review, during revision, and/or before final publication.

PLR uses iThenticate, Turnitin, or another reliable plagiarism-detection system to identify potentially overlapping text and sources that require editorial examination.

Similarity Threshold
≤ 20%

Maximum Overall Similarity

A manuscript should normally have an overall similarity index of no more than 20%, after appropriate exclusions and editorial examination.

Screening Tools

iThenticate, Turnitin, or Equivalent

The editorial team may use any reputable similarity-detection platform capable of comparing submissions against scholarly publications, internet sources, and relevant document databases.

Similarity Is Not Automatically Plagiarism

The similarity percentage is a screening indicator rather than a final determination of misconduct. Editors examine the nature, location, source, concentration, and context of matching text. A manuscript below 20% may still contain unacceptable copying, while a manuscript with a higher score may include legitimate quotations, legal texts, standard terminology, references, or properly attributed material.

Screening Procedure

PLR applies the following process when evaluating textual similarity:

1

Initial Similarity Check

The submitted manuscript is checked using iThenticate, Turnitin, or another approved similarity-detection tool, normally before it proceeds to external peer review.

2

Editorial Examination

An editor reviews the full similarity report, not merely the overall score. The editor considers whether matches are properly quoted and cited, whether they concern methods or standard legal language, and whether substantial text has been copied from one or more sources.

3

Editorial Action

Depending on the report, the manuscript may proceed to review, be returned for correction and resubmission, be rejected, or be referred for further investigation under the journal's publication ethics procedures.

4

Re-screening

A revised or accepted manuscript may be screened again to verify that problematic overlap has been corrected and that no new unattributed material has been introduced.

Possible Exclusions

Where appropriate, the editorial team may exclude:

  • Bibliography and reference list
  • Properly marked direct quotations
  • Minor matches or common phrases
  • Official titles of laws, cases, institutions, or legal instruments

Patterns Requiring Attention

  • Unattributed verbatim copying
  • Close paraphrasing without citation
  • A large match from a single source
  • Recycling substantial parts of the author's previous work
  • Copied structure, argument, data, figures, or tables without attribution

Editorial Response

Finding Possible Editorial Action
Acceptable similarity The manuscript proceeds to the next stage of editorial assessment or peer review.
Minor citation or quotation problems The manuscript is returned to the author for correction and may be screened again.
Similarity above 20% The manuscript is examined substantively and may be returned for major revision or rejected, depending on the nature of the overlap.
Evidence of plagiarism or serious redundancy The manuscript may be rejected and handled under PLR's publication ethics and misconduct procedures.

Authors' Responsibilities

  • Submit original work and properly acknowledge all ideas, words, data, images, tables, and other material obtained from external sources.
  • Use quotation marks or block quotations for verbatim text and provide accurate citations.
  • Disclose and cite any earlier version, preprint, conference paper, thesis, report, or related publication derived from the same research.
  • Avoid duplicate publication, text recycling, citation manipulation, and inappropriate paraphrasing.
  • Cooperate promptly and transparently if the editorial team requests clarification, source documents, or revision.

Post-Publication Cases

If plagiarism or serious unattributed overlap is discovered after publication, PLR will investigate the matter in accordance with its publication ethics policy. Depending on the evidence and seriousness of the case, the journal may publish a correction, expression of concern, retraction, or other appropriate notice and may contact the author's institution or relevant authority.