PLAGIARISM POLICY

Plagiarism and AI Usage Policy 

Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism is strictly prohibited in the Pakistan Journal of Clinical Research (PJCR) as it constitutes academic dishonesty and undermines the integrity of scientific research. According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, plagiarism is defined as "taking and using the thoughts, writings, and inventions of another person as one's own."

To maintain academic integrity, PJCR employs Turnitin for plagiarism detection and follows the Higher Education Commission (HEC) plagiarism policy, allowing:

  • An overall similarity index of up to 19%

  • A single-source similarity of no more than 5%

The Editorial Board of PJCR enforces a zero-tolerance policy toward all forms of academic misconduct, including:

  • Plagiarism: Verbatim copying, self-plagiarism, or paraphrasing without proper citation.

  • Citation Manipulation: Using fabricated or misleading references.

  • Data Falsification & Fabrication: Altering or manipulating research findings.

If plagiarism or misconduct is identified at any stage—before or after publication—the PJCR editorial team will take action per Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines, including:

  • Immediate rejection of the manuscript.

  • Retraction of a published article.

  • Blacklisting of authors from future submissions.

  • Informing authors’ affiliated institutions about the misconduct.

Use of AI Tools

In accordance with COPE's Position Statement on AI, AI-generated content cannot be credited with authorship, as AI tools cannot assume responsibility for submitted work.

Authors using AI tools in any part of their research must transparently disclose their usage. AI tools may be utilized for:

  • Writing assistance (e.g., language refinement, grammar correction).

  • Image or graphical element generation.

  • Data collection and preliminary analysis.

However, the final responsibility for accuracy, integrity, and ethical compliance rests solely with the authors. Any AI-generated content that leads to ethical breaches, such as data fabrication, false citations, or misleading conclusions, will be subject to PJCR's editorial policies and COPE guidelines for research integrity violations.

By submitting a manuscript to PJCR, authors confirm that their work is original, ethically sound, and fully compliant with PJCR’s plagiarism and AI usage policies.