1. Types of plagiarism recognized by the journal

This section aims to outline the types of plagiarism that will be taken into consideration by the journal. Depending on their nature, we define:

1.1 Plagiarism of others' work: This occurs when the proper authorship is not attributed to a section of the document that originates verbatim from another pre-existing document with a different authorship.

1.2 Substantial and unjustified self-plagiarism: This happens when the appropriate authorship is not attributed to a section of the document, or to irregular paraphrasing, that originates verbatim from another pre-existing document with the same authorship.

2. Action protocol

The journal is equipped with strategies to prevent, detect, and respond to situations where plagiarism has been detected. Action protocols are available at various stages of the publication process: I) prior to manuscript submission, II) prior to peer review, III) during peer review, and IV) after publication.

2.1 Stage before manuscript submission

On the journal's website, under the "Instructions for Authors" section, it is clearly stated that only original articles will be accepted. Additionally, when submitting the manuscript, authors are required to include a declaration of the text's originality.

2.2 Stage before Peer review

Before an article undergoes peer review, the editorial team utilizes a professional plagiarism detection service (Urkund/Turnitin). If plagiarism is detected at this stage, the manuscript will be rejected, and measures will be taken to restrict possible revisions proposed by the same author(s).

2.3 Peer review stage

In the event that plagiarism is not detected in the previous stage, the peer review process will proceed, during which other potential types of plagiarism that may not have been detected by the software can be identified. If no plagiarism is found, the peer review process will continue.

If plagiarism is identified, it will be communicated to the corresponding author with the intention of obtaining an explanation. If a satisfactory explanation is not provided, the manuscript will be rejected, and measures will be taken to restrict future submissions for evaluation under the same authorship.

2.4 Post-publication stage

If the manuscript is proposed for acceptance and becomes public, it will be read and evaluated by the academic community. During this phase of the academic work's life cycle, it may take years for plagiarized portions of a document to be discovered by readers. In such cases, with the intention of obtaining an explanation, the corresponding author will be notified that plagiarism has been detected. A maximum of 14 natural days will be allowed for a response. The process related to rectifying published manuscripts under investigation for suspected plagiarism will never exceed 28 natural days.

The editorial team is dedicated to streamlining this process and ensuring that responses to author inquiries are consistently provided within two working days, irrespective of the communication method employed.

If a satisfactory explanation is not provided, it will be noted in the issue to which the publication belongs that the publication has been retracted, with the reasons and justifications provided by the author(s) exposed. Confirmation of the author(s)' agreement regarding this part of the statement will be sought.

Should the authors disagree with the publication of the justifications presented to the editorial committee, a retraction of the article will be published, citing the reasons provided by the editorial committee for the retraction and indicating that the author(s) did not allow their justification to be made public.