Plagiarism Policy

The Editorial Board of HDC: Journal of Human Development and Community Empowerment is committed to maintaining and upholding the highest standards of integrity in scholarly publication. Plagiarism in any form is regarded as a serious breach of academic ethics and is strictly prohibited.

Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined as the use or close imitation of the language, ideas, data, or scholarly work of other authors, either partially or entirely, presented as one’s own original work. Plagiarism includes acts committed intentionally or unintentionally.

Plagiarism Detection Tool

All manuscripts submitted to HDC: Journal of Human Development and Community Empowerment will be screened for similarity and potential plagiarism using Turnitin. The maximum acceptable similarity index is 20%. Manuscripts exceeding this threshold will be returned to the authors for revision before further processing.

Plagiarism Policy

1. Originality Requirement

All submitted manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under review by any other journal. Any material reproduced verbatim from other sources must be clearly indicated in accordance with proper citation rules, and all direct quotations must be accompanied by appropriate references in footnotes.

2. Citation Requirement

When authors borrow ideas from other authors, even if such ideas are further developed, proper citation must still be provided. Direct quotations of fewer than four lines must be enclosed in quotation marks and cited in the footnotes. Direct quotations of more than four lines must be presented as block quotations and accompanied by proper references in the footnotes.

3. Levels and Consequences of Plagiarism

If plagiarism is detected, the Editorial Board will take actions in accordance with the severity of the violation, as outlined below:

a. Minor Plagiarism
Plagiarism involving a small portion of the manuscript, such as sentences or short paragraphs taken without proper citation. The author will receive a warning and be required to revise the manuscript by correcting citations and ensuring appropriate paraphrasing.

b. Moderate Plagiarism
Plagiarism involving substantial parts of the article, such as entire paragraphs or significant data copied without proper citation. The manuscript will be rejected, the author will receive a warning, and the manuscript may not be resubmitted to this journal.

c. Severe Plagiarism
Plagiarism involving the majority of the manuscript, including data, formulations, or core ideas copied without proper citation. The manuscript will be rejected, and the author will be prohibited from submitting future manuscripts to HDC: Journal of Human Development and Community Empowerment.

Final Note

HDC: Journal of Human Development and Community Empowerment highly upholds academic integrity. The Editorial Board reserves the right to retract any article found to violate this policy. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submitted manuscripts fully comply with these ethical standards.

For further information, authors may contact the Editorial Board at:
hdc.ejournal@gmail.com