Plagiarism & AI Policy

Plagiarism Policy

Sampratyaya considers plagiarism—including self-plagiarism—as a serious breach of academic ethics and professional integrity. It constitutes dishonesty, fraud, and an illegal act under Sections 57, 63, and 63(a) of the Copyright Act, 1957.

Plagiarism involves the use of another’s work, ideas, figures, tables, images, or data without proper acknowledgment or permission. It may occur in several forms, including but not limited to:

  • Direct plagiarism: Copying text word-for-word without proper citation.

  • Paraphrasing plagiarism: Rewriting another’s ideas without credit.

  • Self-plagiarism: Reusing one’s own previously published material without disclosure.

  • Mosaic plagiarism: Combining text from multiple sources by “cut-and-paste” without acknowledgment.

Sampratyaya’s Plagiarism Policy

a. Screening

  1. All manuscripts undergo an originality check.

  2. Plagiarism detection tools such as Turnitin, iThenticate, or equivalent software are used.

    • If the similarity index exceeds 20% (excluding quotations, references, and methodology), the manuscript will be returned for revision or rejected.

b. Author’s Responsibility

  1. Authors must ensure their manuscript is original and unpublished.

  2. Any overlapping submissions or publications must be disclosed.

  3. Authors must provide a declaration stating:

    • The percentage of similarity detected, and

    • The extent and purpose of AI use, if applicable.

c. Nature of Misconduct and Consequences

  1. Minor Misconduct (<15%) – Authors will be asked to revise and resubmit.

  2. Major Misconduct (15–20%) –

    • If detected before publication, the article will be rejected.

    • If detected after publication, the article will be retracted, and a formal notification will be issued to the author’s institution.

d. Editor’s Responsibility

  1. Editors, copy-editors, and reviewers are responsible for verifying citations, acknowledgments, and bibliographic accuracy in accordance with Sampratyaya style.

  2. The editorial team also scrutinizes the methodology section, as it often reflects the originality of the research.

Sampratyaya adheres to the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines for identifying and addressing research and publication misconduct.

AI Policy

According to UGC Parameters (vide F. No.: 1-1/2018 (CARE/JOURNAL), dated 16 July 2025), the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in academic research is becoming increasingly prevalent. AI can enhance workflow efficiency, improve linguistic quality, and aid in the structured organization of ideas and presentations.

However, AI serves only as an assistant, not a replacement for human expertise—especially in areas requiring critical analysis, originality, and scholarly judgment. Since AI may occasionally generate inaccurate or misleading content due to limitations in contextual understanding or data access, it must not be relied upon as an authoritative source without human verification.

Recognizing this, Sampratyaya supports the responsible and transparent use of AI tools in academic writing, consistent with ethical research practices and academic integrity.

Objective

The objective of Sampratyaya’s AI Policy is to promote transparency, accountability, originality, and ethical use of AI tools in the preparation, review, and editing of research manuscripts.

Scope and Permissible Uses

AI tools may be used under author supervision and with human validation in the following areas:

Permissible Uses

  • Language editing, spelling, and grammar improvement

  • Enhancing sentence structure and readability

  • Searching citations and bibliographic information

  • Summarizing literature or conceptual overviews

  • Generating ideas and theoretical frameworks

  • Managing and organizing data with human oversight

Prohibited Uses

  • Fabrication of citations, references, or data using AI

  • Substituting AI-generated content (ideas, data, literature reviews, or analysis) in place of the author’s original research or interpretation

Disclosure

Authors must disclose the use of AI tools clearly in the Acknowledgements or Methods section of their manuscript.
The nature and purpose of the AI use—such as language editing, grammar correction, or literature assistance—should be explicitly stated.

Responsibility

AI tools cannot be credited as authors. They are instruments of assistance.
The author bears full responsibility for any ethical or factual errors, including those arising from the use of AI.

Editorial Checks

  • Editors may use AI-detection tools to verify language editing and originality.

  • Undisclosed or fraudulent use of AI may result in rejection prior to publication or retraction after publication.

Plagiarism Policy Related to AI Use

A maximum of 20% AI-assisted content is permissible, as determined by Turnitin, iThenticate, or equivalent similarity detection tools.
Manuscripts with AI-assisted content exceeding 20% will be rejected on grounds of plagiarism.