Plagiarism Policy

The Journal of Sociology in East and Horn of Africa is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and publishing ethics. The journal has a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct. All submitted manuscripts must represent original work that has not been published previously and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the presentation of another person's ideas, words, data, figures, tables, images, or other intellectual work as one's own without proper acknowledgement or permission. The journal considers the following practices to constitute plagiarism:

• Copying text verbatim without appropriate quotation marks and citation.
• Paraphrasing another author's work without proper attribution.
• Using data, figures, tables, or images without permission or acknowledgement.
• Submitting another person's work as one's own.
• Self-plagiarism, including substantial reuse of previously published work without appropriate citation or disclosure.

Plagiarism Screening

All submitted manuscripts are screened for textual similarity before they are sent for peer review. The journal may use plagiarism detection software and editorial assessment to identify potential cases of plagiarism, duplicate publication, or excessive textual overlap.

A similarity report is used as a screening tool rather than as the sole basis for editorial decisions. Editors evaluate the nature, source, and context of any identified similarities to determine whether they constitute acceptable scholarly practice or potential misconduct.

Editorial Action

If plagiarism or other forms of unethical copying are identified during the editorial or peer review process, the journal may take one or more of the following actions:

• Request clarification or revision from the author(s).
• Reject the manuscript.
• Request correction of improperly cited material.
• Notify the corresponding author's institution where appropriate.
• Impose a temporary or permanent restriction on future submissions in cases of serious or repeated misconduct.

If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the journal reserves the right to publish a correction, expression of concern, or retraction in accordance with its publication ethics and corrections policy.

Author Responsibilities

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submissions are original, properly referenced, and free from plagiarism. All sources of information, including published literature, unpublished materials, datasets, and artificial intelligence-assisted content where applicable, must be appropriately acknowledged.

Authors should obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted material where required and accurately cite all referenced works in accordance with the journal's referencing guidelines.

Publication Ethics

The journal expects authors, reviewers, and editors to uphold the principles of honesty, transparency, fairness, and academic integrity throughout the publication process. Allegations of plagiarism and other forms of research misconduct are investigated fairly, confidentially, and in accordance with internationally recognized best practices in scholarly publishing.