AFIYATUN – Journal of Health Sciences is committed to upholding academic integrity and strictly prohibits all forms of plagiarism. All manuscripts submitted to the journal are screened for plagiarism to ensure the originality of the content and to maintain the scientific credibility of the publication.

1. Plagiarism Detection

• All submitted manuscripts are checked using plagiarism detection software (such as Turnitin or iThenticate) before entering the peer review process.

• The similarity index threshold is 20% maximum (excluding references, quotes, and commonly used phrases).

• Manuscripts with a similarity score exceeding the acceptable limit or containing evidence of direct copying will be returned to the author for revision or rejected outright, depending on the severity.

2. Types of Plagiarism

The journal considers the following actions as plagiarism:

• Direct plagiarism: Copying another author’s work word-for-word without quotation marks or citation.

• Self-plagiarism: Republishing one's own previously published work without proper citation or justification.

• Mosaic plagiarism: Paraphrasing content from multiple sources without proper attribution.

• Improper citation: Failing to cite sources or presenting others’ ideas as one’s own.

3. Action Against Plagiarism

If plagiarism is detected at any stage of the publication process:

• Before publication: The manuscript will be returned to the author for revision or rejected.

• After publication: The article may be retracted, and a notice of retraction will be issued on the journal website.

• The authors' institution may be notified in cases of serious misconduct.

4. Author Responsibility

Authors are fully responsible for the content of their work. By submitting to AFIYATUN, authors affirm that their manuscript is free from plagiarism and has not been published or submitted elsewhere.