Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism and AI Usage Policy
Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism is strictly prohibited in the Journal of Carcinogenesis Research (JCR) as it constitutes academic dishonesty and undermines the credibility of scholarly work. As per the Concise Oxford Dictionary, plagiarism refers to "taking and using the thoughts, writings, and inventions of another person as one's own."

To uphold academic integrity, JCR utilizes plagiarism detection software (such as Turnitin) and adheres to the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan's plagiarism standards:

  • Overall similarity index must not exceed 19%
  • Single-source similarity must not exceed 5%

The editorial board of JCR enforces a zero-tolerance policy toward all forms of research misconduct, including:

  • Plagiarism: Verbatim copying, paraphrasing without attribution, or self-plagiarism.
  • Citation Manipulation: Insertion of false or irrelevant references to boost citations.
  • Data Falsification or Fabrication: Intentional manipulation or invention of research data.

If any form of academic misconduct is discovered at any stage of the review or publication process, the following actions will be taken in line with COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines:

  • Immediate rejection of the manuscript.
  • Retraction of any published article.
  • Notification to the authors' affiliated institutions.
  • Blacklisting of authors from future submissions.

AI Usage Policy

The Journal of Carcinogenesis Research acknowledges the evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI) in scientific research. However, per COPE’s Position Statement on AI, AI tools cannot be listed as authors, as they do not meet criteria for accountability or responsibility in scholarly publishing.

Permitted AI Usage (with full disclosure in the manuscript):

  • Writing enhancement (e.g., grammar, syntax, or style correction)
  • Visual/graphical content generation
  • Assistance in data collection or preliminary analysis

Not Permitted:

  • AI-generated content that constitutes fabricated data or citations
  • Using AI to write core scientific content without author review and verification
  • Submitting manuscripts without disclosing AI involvement

Author Responsibility:
Authors are solely responsible for ensuring the accuracy, integrity, and ethical compliance of any AI-assisted content. Any misuse will be treated as a violation of JCR’s ethical policies and addressed accordingly.

By submitting to JCR, authors affirm that their manuscript is original, ethically compliant, and free of plagiarism, and that any AI usage is transparently disclosed and responsibly applied.