Plagiarism Policy

PIETAS: Jurnal Studi Agama dan Lintas Budaya (Journal of Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies) is committed to maintaining academic integrity, originality, transparency, and ethical standards in scholarly publishing.

All manuscripts submitted to PIETAS must represent original scholarly work, must not have been previously published, and must not be simultaneously under consideration by another journal.

Similarity Screening

All submitted manuscripts undergo similarity screening as part of the editorial evaluation process before entering peer review. PIETAS uses Turnitin or other reliable similarity-detection tools to assist the Editorial Team in evaluating manuscript originality.

As a general guideline, manuscripts are expected to demonstrate an acceptable similarity level, generally below 20%, excluding references, bibliography, properly quoted materials, common academic expressions, and other legitimate similarities.

The similarity percentage is not used as the sole basis for editorial decisions. The Editorial Team evaluates the nature, source, context, and distribution of identified similarities to determine whether they represent acceptable academic practice or potential misconduct.

A manuscript with a low similarity index may still be rejected if plagiarism, inappropriate text recycling, duplicate publication, misappropriation of ideas, or other forms of publication misconduct are identified.

Similarity screening may also be conducted during the revision process or after acceptance when necessary to ensure continued compliance with academic integrity standards.

Forms of Plagiarism and Publication Misconduct

PIETAS does not tolerate plagiarism or any form of inappropriate use, misrepresentation, or unauthorized appropriation of scholarly work, including but not limited to:

  • Unattributed copying of another author's words, arguments, ideas, interpretations, or conclusions;
  • Inappropriate paraphrasing without proper citation and acknowledgement;
  • Unauthorized use of figures, tables, images, translations, archival materials, data, or copyrighted content;
  • Self-plagiarism or inappropriate text recycling;
  • Duplicate or redundant publication;
  • Misappropriation of another person's ideas, data, research findings, or intellectual contributions;
  • Fabrication or falsification of data or evidence;
  • Deliberate misrepresentation of religious, cultural, historical, or ethnographic information;
  • Misuse of artificial intelligence tools to generate, manipulate, or present scholarly content without appropriate disclosure; and
  • Other practices that compromise originality, research integrity, or the reliability of the scholarly record.

Levels of Plagiarism and Editorial Actions

Minor Plagiarism

Minor plagiarism refers to limited textual overlap, inadequate citation, inappropriate paraphrasing, or isolated reuse of previously published wording that does not substantially compromise the originality or integrity of the manuscript.

Editorial Action:

  • Authors will be informed of the identified concerns.
  • The manuscript may be returned for correction or revision.
  • Authors must revise the affected sections, improve paraphrasing, and provide appropriate citations before further editorial consideration.

Moderate Plagiarism

Moderate plagiarism involves substantial unattributed use of text, arguments, interpretations, figures, tables, images, translations, or other intellectual materials that raise significant concerns regarding manuscript originality.

Editorial Action:

  • The manuscript may be rejected.
  • The Editorial Team may request clarification or explanation from authors when necessary.
  • Future submissions from the authors remain subject to standard editorial evaluation and publication ethics requirements.

Severe Plagiarism

Severe plagiarism includes extensive or deliberate copying, theft or misappropriation of ideas, data, images, translations, interpretations, research findings, duplicate publication, fabrication, falsification, or other serious violations of publication ethics.

Editorial Action:

  • The manuscript will be rejected.
  • The Editorial Board may take further action according to PIETAS Publication Ethics policies.
  • When appropriate, confirmed serious misconduct may be reported to relevant institutions, funding organizations, or other responsible authorities.
  • Additional measures may be taken to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Plagiarism Identified After Publication

If plagiarism or other serious publication misconduct is identified after publication, PIETAS will conduct an appropriate editorial investigation.

Depending on the severity of the case, editorial actions may include:

  • Publication of a correction;
  • Publication of an expression of concern;
  • Retraction of the article; or
  • Other appropriate actions required to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

Post-publication actions will be conducted according to PIETAS Publication Ethics and internationally recognized principles of responsible scholarly publishing.

Authors' Responsibility

All authors share responsibility for ensuring the originality, accuracy, and integrity of submitted manuscripts. Authors must properly acknowledge all sources, verify citations and references, disclose the use of AI-assisted technologies where required, and obtain appropriate permissions for copyrighted or culturally restricted materials.

By submitting a manuscript to PIETAS: Jurnal Studi Agama dan Lintas Budaya (Journal of Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies), authors confirm that the submitted work is original, has not been published elsewhere, is not under simultaneous consideration by another journal, and complies with PIETAS Publication Ethics, Plagiarism Policy, and Copyright & License Policy.