Plagiarism Policy and Preprints

The Proceedings of the Faculty of Security Studies maintain a strict commitment to academic integrity and adhere to the highest ethical standards in scholarly publishing. All submissions are subject to originality screening prior to peer review using reliable plagiarism-detection tools.

What Constitutes Plagiarism
Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

  • Copying or reproducing text, figures, tables, images, datasets, or ideas from other sources without proper attribution

  • Reusing substantial parts of one’s own previously published work without appropriate citation (self-plagiarism)

  • Paraphrasing or summarizing another author’s work without adequate referencing

  • Submitting a manuscript that substantially overlaps with another publication without disclosure

Editorial Handling of Suspected Plagiarism
If plagiarism is identified before publication, the editorial board may:

  • request clarification and revision, or

  • reject the manuscript, depending on the extent and severity of overlap.

If plagiarism is detected after publication, the Proceedings may:

  • publish a correction, expression of concern, or

  • formally retract the contribution, as appropriate.

All actions are taken in line with recognized publication-ethics guidance and best practices (e.g., COPE principles).

Detection System
Submissions may be assessed using professional similarity-checking services (e.g., iThenticate or equivalent tools) and/or additional editorial checks. Authors are strongly encouraged to verify originality and ensure complete and accurate citation of all sources prior to submission.

PREPRINTS AND PRIOR DISSEMINATION

The Proceedings of the Faculty of Security Studies support the early sharing of research and allow the submission of manuscripts that have previously appeared as preprints (publicly available versions posted prior to formal peer review).

Acceptable Preprint Platforms may include:

  • recognized preprint repositories (e.g., SSRN, arXiv, Research Square)

  • institutional repositories and archives

  • authors’ personal or departmental webpages

  • academic networking platforms (e.g., ResearchGate, Academia.edu)

Posting a preprint does not constitute prior publication and does not, by itself, affect editorial decisions, provided that:

  • the preprint is transparently disclosed and cited in the submitted manuscript, including a working link to the original version;

  • authorship and core content are consistent, or any significant differences are clearly explained.

After formal publication, authors are encouraged to update the preprint record with the DOI and a link to the final published version, while keeping the original preprint accessible for scholarly transparency.