Anti-plagiarism policy

II. Anti-Plagiarism Policy

Revista Biomédica’s anti-plagiarism policy ensures scientific rigor, originality, and compliance with the international ethical standards set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Revista Biomédica is committed to academic integrity, transparency, and the originality of scientific research. No form of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or unethical conduct will be tolerated.

By submitting a manuscript, authors formally guarantee that:

  • The work is completely original and unpublished.
  • It has not been previously published in any other medium.
  • It is not under simultaneous review by another journal.
  • The data presented are real, verifiable, and authentic.

Revista Biomédica defines and penalizes the following practices:

  • Direct plagiarism: Copying text, ideas, images, or data from other authors without giving them proper credit.
  • Inadequate paraphrasing: Slightly altering the words of someone else's text, maintaining the structure and idea, without citing the source.
  • Self-plagiarism or duplication: Reusing significant portions of one's own previously published work without proper justification or citation.
  • Fragmentation: Dividing an extensive study into multiple short articles to artificially inflate the number of publications.

Similarity detection is performed systematically using the following protocol:

  • Software tool: All received manuscripts undergo a textual similarity analysis using the specialized tool iThenticate, which is validated by the UADY publishing system.
  • Application phase: The analysis is conducted during the initial review stage, before the manuscript is sent to peer reviewers.
  • Tolerance threshold: Manuscripts found to contain plagiarism or self-plagiarism with a similarity greater than 10% will be rejected immediately. Similarities in standardized methodology sections or in properly cited references are not considered plagiarism.

If an unjustified similarity index or indications of plagiarism are detected, the journal will act according to COPE guidelines:

  1. Notification: The evaluation process will be suspended, and a formal notification will be sent to the corresponding author requesting clarification within 10 business days.
  2. Evaluation of Responses: The Editorial Team will analyze the author's response.
  3. Minor Offense: If the similarities stem from minor citation errors, the author will be asked to correct the text and add the missing citations.
  4. Major Offense: If deliberate plagiarism is proven or if the response is unsatisfactory, the manuscript will be definitively rejected.

The commission of major plagiarism or scientific fraud will entail the following actions:

  • Immediate rejection of the manuscript under evaluation.
  • Temporary or permanent ban on the authors’ publishing in Revista Biomédica.
  • Formal notification to the affiliated or funding institutions of the authors involved.
  • Public retraction: If plagiarism is detected after publication, the article will be formally retracted in accordance with international protocols, and the retraction notice will be displayed to preserve the historical record.