Similarity Screening and Plagiarism Policy

Originality Assessment

JMS screens submissions for unattributed borrowing, inappropriate reuse of text or figures, and potentially redundant reporting of previously published community activities. Text-similarity software, when available, helps identify passages requiring editorial examination; its numerical percentage is not in itself proof of plagiarism or scientific misconduct.

Assessment Principles

• Editors review the source, amount, context, and nature of overlapping material rather than applying a similarity threshold without judgment.
• Legitimately quoted material, reference lists, standard descriptions of equipment, and repeated legal or institutional terminology are assessed in context.
• Previously reported components of a community program must be disclosed and cited, particularly when the same activity, participants, or evaluation data are reused.
• An original implementation at a new location may be publishable when its contribution and new evidence are clearly distinguished from prior reports.
• Altered figures, fabricated photographs, translated plagiarism, and unattributed reuse of another team's training resources may constitute serious misconduct.

Handling Concerns

The journal may request source material, correct attribution, substantial rewriting, an explanation of overlap, or rejection depending on severity. Serious concerns may be handled under the Publication Ethics and Corrections Policy. The particular screening tool in current use must be disclosed accurately; a software logo alone does not establish an active subscription or use on every article.