Plagiarism Policy

SEED – Sustainable and Equitable Earth Development maintains a strict policy against plagiarism and academic misconduct. The journal upholds the ethical standards outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and actively screens all submissions for originality using advanced plagiarism detection software, such as Turnitin or iThenticate.

Plagiarism Screening

All submitted manuscripts undergo mandatory similarity checks. Manuscripts exhibiting a similarity index exceeding 25% will be automatically rejected or returned to the author for revision. This threshold includes both self-plagiarism and unattributed replication of others' work.

Forms of Unacceptable Plagiarism

• Direct plagiarism: Copying text from a source without quotation or proper citation.
• Self-plagiarism: Republishing one's own previous work or data without acknowledgment or citation.
• Mosaic plagiarism: Borrowing phrases or ideas without proper citation or rearranging words from a source while maintaining its core meaning.
• Data fabrication or falsification: Manipulating data, figures, or results to mislead or misrepresent findings.
• AI-generated content without disclosure: Submitting content generated by artificial intelligence tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini) without clear acknowledgment or critical author review.

Editorial Action on Misconduct

If plagiarism or ethical breaches are detected during submission, review, or post-publication, SEED will take one or more of the following actions:

• Reject the manuscript immediately.
• Request explanation or clarification from the author.
• Retract the article if already published.
• Notify affiliated institutions or funders (when applicable).

Responsibilities of Authors

• Ensure all sources are properly cited using APA 7th style.
• Quote or paraphrase correctly and include references for all borrowed ideas or text.
• Submit only original manuscripts that have not been published or submitted elsewhere.
• Clearly declare the use of AI tools and disclose their role in manuscript preparation.

Reporting Suspected Plagiarism

Concerns regarding plagiarism or unethical content in SEED publications can be reported confidentially via email at: contact@azuralwp.com.

We are committed to maintaining academic integrity and protecting the credibility of scholarly publishing. Authors, reviewers, and editors share responsibility in upholding these standards.