Plagiarism Policy

The European Research and Development Association for Science and Technology (ERDAST) maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism and is committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity. All submitted manuscripts are rigorously checked to ensure originality and proper citation of sources.

Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

Copying text, figures, or data from another source without proper citation
Using someone else’s ideas, structure, or code without acknowledgment
Paraphrasing significant portions of text from other works without citation
Self-plagiarism (republishing the author's own previously published work without disclosure)

Detection and Screening

All manuscripts submitted to ERDAST journals are checked using advanced plagiarism detection software(e.g., Turnitin, iThenticate, or equivalent) before being sent for peer review.
Manuscripts with a similarity index exceeding 15-20%, excluding references and standard phrases, may be returned for revision or rejected outright depending on the extent and nature of the overlap.

Consequences of Plagiarism

If plagiarism is detected:

Before publication: The manuscript will be rejected immediately and the authors may be blacklisted from future submissions.
After publication: The article will be retracted, and a notice of retraction will be published. The authors’ institutions may be notified.

Author Responsibilities

Authors must ensure that submitted work is entirely original, and properly cite all sources.
If third-party content (text, figures, images) is used, appropriate permissions and acknowledgments must be provided.
All co-authors must confirm that the manuscript is free from plagiarism.

Editorial Responsibilities

Editors are responsible for ensuring that all submitted manuscripts undergo plagiarism screening.
In case of suspected ethical misconduct, editors will follow the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics)guidelines for handling allegations of plagiarism.

ERDAST is committed to fostering a culture of responsible research and publication by safeguarding academic credibility and discouraging any form of misconduct.