Plagiarism Screening and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

1. Introduction

The African Journal for Empirical Research (AJERNET) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, originality, authenticity, transparency, and ethical scholarly publishing.

The journal requires all submitted manuscripts to represent the authors' original intellectual contributions and to comply with established standards of research ethics, academic writing, methodological integrity, and proper scholarly attribution.

AJERNET recognises that credible empirical research depends on authentic research data, appropriate methodological procedures, accurate interpretation of findings, and responsible reporting of scholarly evidence.

To safeguard the integrity of published research, AJERNET subjects submitted manuscripts to originality and plagiarism screening using Turnitin and other appropriate editorial assessment procedures.

The journal maintains strict requirements concerning plagiarism, fabricated references, inappropriate paraphrasing, and the use of artificial intelligence in scholarly writing.

2. Plagiarism Screening

All manuscripts submitted to AJERNET undergo plagiarism screening using Turnitin, which compares submitted content against databases of academic publications, internet sources, previously submitted documents, and other available materials.

The journal applies the following screening requirements:

  1. Similarity Index: The acceptable overall similarity score is below 25%.

  2. AI-Generated Content: The journal requires 0% prohibited AI-generated scholarly content and does not permit generative AI tools to produce substantive manuscript sections.

  3. Originality: All manuscripts must demonstrate originality in their research contributions, methodology, analysis, interpretation, discussion, conclusions, and recommendations.

  4. Proper Attribution: All borrowed ideas, quotations, research findings, datasets, and other scholarly materials must be appropriately acknowledged and referenced.

  5. Authenticity of Research Evidence: Research data, survey responses, interview statements, statistical analyses, and reported findings must accurately represent the research conducted.

A similarity score below 25% does not automatically guarantee manuscript acceptance. The editorial team examines the nature and sources of similarity to determine whether plagiarism, inappropriate paraphrasing, redundant publication, or other forms of academic misconduct have occurred.

Similarly, a similarity score of 25% or above does not automatically establish plagiarism. Manuscripts exceeding the prescribed threshold are subjected to further editorial assessment and may be returned to the authors for revision or rejected, depending on the nature and seriousness of the identified concerns.

3. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Generated Content

AJERNET maintains a strict policy against the submission of manuscripts containing substantive scholarly content generated by artificial intelligence platforms, including ChatGPT and other generative AI writing applications.

Authors must independently develop and present their research using their own intellectual contributions, scholarly reasoning, methodological understanding, analysis, interpretation, and academic writing.

The journal prohibits the use of generative AI tools to:

  1. Generate complete research manuscripts or substantial sections of scholarly articles.

  2. Produce introductions, literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, empirical reviews, methodologies, findings, discussions, conclusions, or recommendations on behalf of authors.

  3. Fabricate research data, survey responses, interview statements, statistical results, observations, or other empirical evidence.

  4. Generate fictitious references, citations, publication details, or Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs).

  5. Produce research interpretations, theoretical arguments, or scholarly conclusions presented as the authors' original intellectual contributions.

  6. Manipulate or misrepresent research findings to support predetermined conclusions.

  7. Rewrite AI-generated scholarly content merely to conceal its artificial origin.

AJERNET's acceptable threshold for prohibited AI-generated scholarly content is 0%.

Manuscripts identified as containing prohibited AI-generated scholarly content may be returned for revision or declined following editorial assessment.

AI-detection results are treated as screening indicators rather than conclusive proof of misconduct. Automated detection tools may produce inaccurate results, and no numerical AI-detection score is regarded as definitive evidence of authorship or misconduct.

Editorial decisions are based on the available evidence, including manuscript assessment, authors' explanations, research documentation, and other relevant information.

4. Permitted Use of Language-Editing Tools

AJERNET recognises that digital writing assistance tools may support authors in improving the clarity, readability, and presentation of their manuscripts.

The journal permits limited use of language-editing applications, such as Grammarly and QuillBot, strictly for:

  1. Grammar and spelling corrections.

  2. Punctuation and sentence structure improvements.

  3. Language clarity and readability.

  4. Minor editorial refinements that preserve the authors' original meaning and intellectual contributions.

  5. Correction of typographical errors and inconsistencies in academic expression.

Such tools must not be used to generate substantive research content, fabricate information, produce references, or replace the authors' independent scholarly analysis.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, authenticity, and integrity of their manuscripts, regardless of the editing tools used.

5. Author Responsibilities

Authors submitting manuscripts to AJERNET must:

  1. Ensure that their manuscripts are original and free from plagiarism.

  2. Properly acknowledge all sources using the journal's prescribed referencing style.

  3. Verify the authenticity and accuracy of all citations, references, and DOIs.

  4. Ensure that all research data, analytical procedures, and reported findings are genuine and accurately presented.

  5. Avoid submitting AI-generated scholarly content as their original work.

  6. Disclose any use of artificial intelligence or automated writing assistance tools where required.

  7. Respond appropriately to editorial concerns regarding plagiarism, originality, or AI-generated content.

  8. Provide clarifications, research records, or supporting documentation when reasonably requested by the editorial office.

  9. Correct identified originality or attribution concerns before final manuscript acceptance.

  10. Promptly notify the editorial office of any significant errors or integrity concerns discovered after submission or publication.

6. Editorial Decisions and Sanctions

Where plagiarism, prohibited AI-generated content, fabricated references, or other originality concerns are identified, AJERNET may take appropriate editorial action, including:

  1. Returning the manuscript to the authors for clarification or revision.

  2. Requesting substantial rewriting of affected sections using the authors' own scholarly contributions.

  3. Requiring correction or replacement of inaccurate, incomplete, or fabricated references.

  4. Requesting supporting evidence to verify research data, methods, or reported findings.

  5. Rejecting manuscripts containing serious or repeated violations.

  6. Suspending editorial consideration where credible evidence of research misconduct requires further investigation.

  7. Referring serious concerns to the relevant institutional authorities where appropriate.

  8. Initiating post-publication correction, expression of concern, or retraction procedures where serious violations are discovered after publication.

The severity of editorial action depends on the nature, extent, and credibility of the identified concerns.

Authors are provided with an appropriate opportunity to respond to substantive allegations before final misconduct-related decisions are reached.

7. Policy Enforcement

The Chief Editor, Managing Editors, and Editorial Board are responsible for implementing this policy consistently, fairly, and independently throughout manuscript assessment, peer review, and publication.

AJERNET reserves the right to request additional originality checks, explanations, research documentation, or supporting evidence at any stage of editorial assessment.

Plagiarism screening and AI-related assessments are conducted in accordance with the journal's broader Publication Ethics, Research Misconduct and Malpractice Policy.

All authors are expected to submit authentic, original, independently developed scholarly manuscripts that comply with AJERNET's plagiarism screening and artificial intelligence requirements.

African Journal for Empirical Research (AJERNET)
Publisher: AJER Publishing