IBFD Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism occurs when you use work from another person, from your own previously published material in your work and do not acknowledge this. This applies to all sorts of information, including e.g. words, phrasing, ideas, assertions, figures, graphs, charts, data and numerical information. Even if the original author consented, if the reused work was unpublished or if it was done unintentionally: plagiarism is considered a serious intellectual offense.

The risk of (accidental) plagiarism has substantially increased in recent times, not only due to the infinite amount of material that is available on the internet and the ease with which it can be shared, but also as a result of the increasingly common use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. As an author you use a vast number of information sources for evidence gathering, building on your previous work and the work and research of others in your field: a mistake can easily be made.

As plagiarism is widely regarded as unethical behaviour, it is important that authors understand what it entails and guard themselves against it. Plagiarism can have serious consequences, not only for the author who commits it, but also for the institute the author is affiliated with and the publisher of the author’s work. To avoid the risk of reputational damage and copyright infringement claims, research institutions and publishers – including IBFD – have implemented plagiarism policies and precautionary measures to detect plagiarism at an early stage.

Plagiarism can take on many forms: below you will find the most common types.

Complete plagiarism

An entire manuscript or research study is copied word for word and submitted under someone else’s name without citation or attribution. Also known as global plagiarism or cloning. This is considered the most severe form of plagiarism.

Verbatim plagiarism

The text of another author is copied word for word, without the use of quotation marks, and passed off as one’s own work without citation or attribution. This type is similar to complete plagiarism but refers to sections rather than the entire manuscript. Also known as direct plagiarism or, in the case of verbatim reuse of short bits of text (sentences of less than 100 words), micro-plagiarism.

Mosaic plagiarism

Text or ideas are copied from different sources, without the use of quotation marks, and combined to create a new text. Some passages may be rephrased, but the general structure and meaning of the original texts remain the same. Also known as incremental plagiarism, patchwork plagiarism or patchwriting.

Self-plagiarism

The author reuses his own, previously published text and passes it off as new material. Also known as auto-plagiarism or text-recycling. Duplication and replication are common forms of self-plagiarism: duplication refers to the reuse of significant portions of previously published text; replication is the practice of submitting a work to multiple publications, hoping it will be published more than once.

Paraphrasing plagiarism

Another author’s text is rephrased by making minor changes, e.g. changing the grammatical structure, deleting or adding a few words, changing the order of words in a sentence and/or using synonyms, and then passed off as one’s own work without citation or attribution. Exact wording copied from the original text is not enclosed in quotation marks.  This is the most common type of intentional plagiarism.

Aggregator plagiarism

Sources are properly cited, but the author has used so many words and/or ideas from other sources that the work contains almost no original material.

Source-based plagiarism

The author references a source that does not exist or uses a secondary source but only references the primary source (misleading citation) or references a source that is incorrect (incorrect citation). Misleading citation may be done intentionally to increase the citation number of references. Incorrect citation is the most common form of accidental plagiarism.

Misleading attribution (incl. use of AI)

The author provides an inaccurate or insufficient list of authors (e.g. not crediting a person who contributed to the work or crediting a person who did not contribute). Also known as inaccurate authorship, although it can also concern persons who are not authors but contributed significantly in another way (see IBFD’s Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement). Not citing the collaboration and participants when using text or ideas that resulted from a collaborative study is also considered a form of misleading attribution. Furthermore, while AI tools cannot be considered authors (see IBFD’s Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Content Creation), failing to reference an AI tool’s contribution may also be considered plagiarism.
 

Plagiarism often happens by accident: follow these steps to make sure you avoid this pitfall.

Step 1: Keep track of the sources you use

From the very first moment you start doing research and writing, keep a record of all the information sources you consult, including whether you used any AI tools. Compile a list of references, so you can easily retrieve the source of every piece of information you ultimately decide to use in your work. Using bibliographic software such as Juris-M, EndNote, Zotero or Mendeley can be very helpful to keep track of your references.

If you use generative AI to aid in your research, please avoid tools that do not provide citations. Such tools typically use previously published content to generate their output, which increases the chance of plagiarism. You should also check all sources from tools that do provide citations or source links, as answers provided by AI tools are not necessarily accurate. It is paramount to use AI as an auxiliary tool, not as auto content generator or fact checker.

Step 2: Quote, paraphrase and summarize

Use (a combination of) the following accepted methods to incorporate someone else’s work or ideas in your work:

Quoting
If you copy a passage from someone else’s work word for word, encase it in quotation marks. The total amount of quoted material should be kept to a minimum (max. 10% of your work).

Paraphrasing
Rewrite someone else’s work or ideas in your own words. Make sure you grasp the full meaning of the original source and use quotation marks for specific terms or phrases that you cannot paraphrase. Paraphrases are usually condensed versions of the original text.

Summarizing
Summarize the main ideas of someone else’s work in your own words. You can include a small portion of the original work in your summary in the form of a short quote (see above). Summaries are typically shorter than paraphrases.

Step 3: Include the proper attribution and citation

Attribute every quote, paraphrase and summary to the original author by citing the source in the required citation style, both in the text and in a reference list. If you use material from your own previously published work, cite yourself.

Failure to reference any non-original work that is externally sourced can be considered plagiarism. This may also cover content created by, or with the help of, generative AI. IBFD only permits the use of AI tools to supplement the author’s efforts in the writing process, not to create new content (see IBFD’s Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence on Content Creation).

Step 4: Use a plagiarism checker

If you want to be sure, use a plagiarism checker before you submit your work. There are various types of plagiarism detection tools available via the internet, both free and paid. You can also ask your IBFD editor to perform a plagiarism check for you.
 

IBFD has guidelines and procedures in place to identify (potential) plagiarism at an early stage, to protect itself and its authors from the harmful effects of intellectual property infringements.

Plagiarism check

Any material submitted for publication will undergo a review by IBFD’s editorial staff, which includes a general plagiarism check. If the editorial staff find grounds for concern, they can perform a more thorough check using a plagiarism detection tool.

IBFD uses plagiarism and AI detection software that compares documents against previously published works in billions of webpages and publications from a vast number of resources. New publications will always be subjected to such a thorough check.

Procedure in case of (potential) plagiarism

In case (potential) plagiarism has been identified in a submitted work, the IBFD editor will contact the author to try and find a mutually agreeable solution. The publication process will be put on hold until the matter has been resolved. In cases of substantial or intentional plagiarism, the editor will have the right to reject the submission.

In case plagiarism has been identified in a work that was already published by IBFD, the editor will determine the appropriate course of action based on the severity of the plagiarism. Consequences can vary from a correction in the publication, retraction of the published work, or legal action in case of third-party copyright infringement claims.

Severe plagiarism may also have consequences for an author’s future submissions or for the cooperation between the author and IBFD, and may be considered grounds for termination of any existing agreements between the author and IBFD.