Plagiarism Policy

Acca: Journal of Academic Culture, Curriculum, and Assessment is committed to maintaining originality, academic integrity, and ethical scholarly publishing.

All manuscripts submitted to Acca must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration by another journal or publisher.

Similarity Screening

Every submitted manuscript is screened using Turnitin before proceeding to the main editorial assessment and peer-review process.

The maximum acceptable similarity level is 30%.

However, the similarity percentage is not the sole basis for determining whether plagiarism has occurred. The editorial team evaluates the sources, locations, extent, distribution, pattern, and significance of matched material.

Bibliographies, properly formatted direct quotations, commonly used expressions, institutional names, article titles, methodological phrases, and minor matching text may be excluded or interpreted contextually when evaluating a similarity report.

Forms of Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct

The following practices are prohibited:

• copying words, sentences, paragraphs, ideas, arguments, data, images, tables, or other materials without appropriate acknowledgment;
• paraphrasing another person's work without proper citation;
• mosaic or patchwork plagiarism, in which copied phrases or ideas are combined with minor modifications;
• translating material from another language without acknowledging the original source;
• reusing substantial parts of the author's previously published work without appropriate citation or disclosure;
• submitting the same or substantially similar manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously;
• duplicate or redundant publication;
• using fabricated, false, inaccurate, or nonexistent references;
• reproducing copyrighted tables, figures, photographs, instruments, datasets, or other materials without permission where permission is required;
• presenting artificial intelligence-generated material as original scholarly work without appropriate disclosure; and
• manipulating text, files, citations, images, or other elements for the purpose of concealing plagiarism or reducing the similarity score.

Editorial Evaluation

When evaluating a similarity report, the editorial team considers:

• the identity and reliability of the matched sources;
• the location of matched material within the manuscript;
• the concentration and distribution of similarity;
• whether quotation marks and citations have been used correctly;
• whether paraphrasing demonstrates genuine scholarly interpretation;
• whether the matched material concerns common terminology or original ideas;
• whether the manuscript duplicates previously published work; and
• the overall effect of the similarity on the originality and contribution of the manuscript.

A manuscript with a similarity score below 30% may still be rejected if it contains substantial plagiarism, unattributed ideas, inappropriate paraphrasing, duplicate publication, or other serious academic misconduct.

A manuscript with a similarity score above 30% may be returned for correction when the similarities primarily consist of properly cited material, references, methodological expressions, or other non-substantive matches. The final determination remains an editorial decision.

Actions Before Publication

When problematic similarity or plagiarism is identified before publication, the journal may:

• return the manuscript to the authors for correction;
• request clarification, supporting evidence, or source documents;
• require substantial revision and a new similarity screening;
• reject the manuscript;
• terminate the editorial and peer-review process; or
• contact the authors' institution when serious or deliberate misconduct is suspected.

Manuscripts containing confirmed plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated references, manipulated evidence, or deliberate attempts to conceal similarity may be rejected immediately.

Actions After Publication

If plagiarism, duplicate publication, or other serious originality problems are discovered after publication, Acca may conduct an investigation and take appropriate action.

Actions may include:

• requesting an explanation from the authors;
• publishing a correction;
• publishing an expression of concern;
• retracting the article;
• notifying the authors' institution, funder, or other relevant authority; and
• restricting future submissions from authors involved in serious misconduct.

Any correction, expression of concern, or retraction notice will be clearly identified and linked to the affected article where technically possible.

Author Responsibility

Authors are fully responsible for ensuring the originality, accuracy, and ethical integrity of their manuscripts.

Before submission, authors should:

• check that all sources have been cited correctly;
• place direct quotations within quotation marks or the appropriate block format;
• paraphrase sources accurately and independently;
• cite their own previously published work where relevant;
• verify the accuracy and existence of every reference;
• obtain permission for copyrighted third-party materials where required; and
• disclose any material use of generative artificial intelligence.

Final Decision

The Editor-in-Chief or an authorized editor makes the final decision regarding similarity, plagiarism, originality, manuscript rejection, correction, or retraction.

Editorial decisions are based on the evidence available, the seriousness of the issue, the authors' explanation, applicable publication policies, and the need to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

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