Plagiarism and Retraction Policy

Detailed Ethics, Plagiarism, and Retraction Policy

1. Plagiarism Detection and Thresholds The Editorial Board of Electrical, Signals, and Systemic Intelligence (ESSI) recognizes that plagiarism is unacceptable. ESSI utilizes Turnitin as the primary software to detect similarities in all submitted manuscripts and final versions ready for publication.

  • Similarity Limit: A maximum of 20% similarity index is strictly enforced.

  • Initial Action: If the index exceeds 20%, the article will be returned to the author for mandatory correction and resubmission.

  • Section Integrity: Manuscripts may be rejected regardless of the total index if the similarity is heavily concentrated in the Results or Discussion sections.

2. Detailed Classification of Plagiarism and Penalties When plagiarism is identified, the Editor-in-Chief, in agreement with the Editorial Board, will impose measures based on the following levels:

  • Minor Plagiarism: Involves short sections or poor paraphrasing without significant data or idea theft.

    • Action: Formal warning; authors must revise the text and provide proper citations.

  • Intermediate Plagiarism: A significant portion of the paper is plagiarized without proper attribution, or self-plagiarism exceeds 10% of the paper.

    • Action: Immediate rejection; all authors are forbidden from submitting to ESSI for 2 years.

  • Severe Plagiarism: Reproduction of original results, ideas, unique systemic architectures, or simultaneous submission (double submission) to another journal.

    • Action: Immediate rejection; all authors are banned for 5 years. Repeated offenses will result in a permanent ban.

3. Redundant Publication and Self-Plagiarism

  • General Rule: Papers must be original and unpublished. Text taken verbatim must be identified by indentation, quotation marks, and clear sourcing.

  • Self-Plagiarism: If an author uses previously published figures or text, they must be referenced. Overlap of more than one-tenth (10%) but less than half is considered intermediate; more than half is severe.

  • Conference Papers: Manuscripts originally published in conference proceedings must contain at least 50% new content and must explicitly cite the original proceeding.

4. Retraction and Corrections (COPE Compliance) ESSI follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines for post-publication issues.

  • Retraction: Editors will consider retracting a publication if there is clear evidence of unreliable findings (fabrication/falsification), plagiarism, redundant publication, or undisclosed significant conflicts of interest. Notices of retraction will be linked to the article, identify the reason, and be freely available.

  • Expression of Concern: Issued if evidence of misconduct is inconclusive or an institutional investigation is pending.

  • Correction: Issued for minor misleading portions (e.g., honest errors in formulas) or incorrect author/contributor lists.

5. Final Responsibility and Ethics Commitment It is understood that all authors are responsible for the content of their submitted paper, as they are required to read and confirm their understanding of ESSI’s Copyright, Licensing, and Ethical Terms upon submission. If a penalty is imposed for any form of academic misconduct, all co-authors will be subject to the same penalty without exception.

ESSI remains dedicated to protecting the integrity of the public scientific record and will not hesitate to take necessary actions—including permanent bans and institutional reporting—to uphold the highest standards of the global research community. By submitting to this journal, authors acknowledge that they will engage in the editorial process with full transparency and honesty.