Plagiarism and Originality Policy

Plagiarism, Originality, Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Policy

Wissira Press, the official academic publishing imprint of Wissira Research Lab LLC (United States), is committed to maintaining originality, academic integrity, responsible authorship, ethical scholarship, and respect for intellectual property across all books and scholarly publications.

This policy applies to authored books, edited books, research monographs, academic textbooks, reference books, professional books, conference proceedings, book chapters, edited volumes, educational publications, research-based publications, and other scholarly works submitted to or published by Wissira Press.

All authors, editors, contributors, reviewers, and other participants in the publishing process are expected to comply with this policy.

Principle of Originality

Every manuscript submitted to Wissira Press must be substantially original and must accurately acknowledge the intellectual, textual, visual, statistical, and other contributions of third parties.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the submitted work does not contain plagiarism, unauthorized reproduction, fabricated material, undisclosed duplicate publication, inappropriate text recycling, copyright infringement, or other forms of academic misconduct.

Similarity screening is an editorial tool and does not by itself determine whether plagiarism has occurred. A numerical similarity score must always be interpreted in relation to the sources, location, nature, length, purpose, and attribution of the overlapping material.

Plagiarism Screening and Similarity Thresholds

Wissira Press may use appropriate similarity-detection and originality-screening software as part of its editorial assessment.

For internal editorial screening purposes, the following indicative thresholds may be applied:

Similarity Level	Editorial Interpretation	Possible Action
0–10%	Generally low similarity	Normally acceptable subject to editorial inspection
10–15%	Moderate similarity requiring examination	Source-by-source editorial assessment and correction where necessary
Above 15%	Potentially significant overlap	Normally returned for revision, clarification, or further investigation
Substantial unattributed copying	Serious ethical concern regardless of percentage	May result in rejection, investigation, withdrawal, or other appropriate action

Important: These percentages are internal editorial screening benchmarks and are not presented as universal plagiarism limits established by Scopus, Web of Science, Wiley, Springer Nature, or any other indexing organization. No similarity percentage can by itself establish whether plagiarism has occurred.

Properly cited quotations, bibliography entries, standard terminology, commonly used technical expressions, legally permitted material, and other legitimate forms of overlap may be excluded or interpreted separately during editorial assessment where technically appropriate.

Types of Plagiarism Covered by This Policy

Wissira Press recognizes that plagiarism can occur in several forms. The following practices are considered unacceptable when performed without appropriate attribution, permission, or disclosure.

Direct or Verbatim Plagiarism

Copying sentences, paragraphs, sections, chapters, or other material word-for-word from another source without quotation marks and appropriate citation constitutes direct plagiarism.

Mosaic or Patchwork Plagiarism

Combining phrases, sentences, expressions, or passages taken from multiple sources and presenting them as original writing, even after making minor wording changes, is considered mosaic or patchwork plagiarism.

Paraphrasing Plagiarism

Changing the wording or sentence structure of another person's work while retaining the underlying ideas or expression without appropriate attribution constitutes plagiarism.

Idea Plagiarism

Using another person's original concept, argument, hypothesis, theoretical framework, methodology, interpretation, or intellectual contribution without appropriate acknowledgment is considered idea plagiarism.

Data Plagiarism

Using another researcher's datasets, tables, statistical findings, experimental observations, survey results, or other research data without appropriate attribution or permission constitutes data plagiarism or unauthorized reuse.

Image, Figure and Diagram Plagiarism

Reproducing or substantially modifying another person's photograph, figure, chart, diagram, illustration, map, infographic, artwork, or other visual material without appropriate attribution and, where required, permission is prohibited.

Self-Plagiarism and Text Recycling

Authors must not substantially reuse their previously published text, chapters, figures, tables, data, or other material as new content without appropriate disclosure, citation, and permission where required.

Reusing material from a previous edition of a book or from a previously published work must be clearly identified and must comply with the applicable copyright and licensing requirements.

Duplicate or Redundant Publication

Submitting or publishing substantially the same work in multiple publications without transparent disclosure is prohibited. Authors must disclose related publications, previous editions, conference versions, preprints, translations, or other materially related works.

Translation Plagiarism

Translating another person's publication into another language and presenting the translated material as original work without attribution or permission constitutes plagiarism.

Citation Plagiarism

Using another author's references or citation structure in a misleading manner, citing sources that have not been consulted, or deliberately omitting relevant sources may constitute an ethical violation.

Source Misrepresentation

Authors must not falsely attribute information to a source, cite a source that does not support the stated claim, or create references that do not exist.

Ghostwriting and Undisclosed Third-Party Writing

Submitting a manuscript substantially written by an undisclosed third party while representing the work as the author's own is prohibited. All individuals who make qualifying intellectual contributions must receive appropriate authorship or acknowledgment according to their contribution.

AI-Assisted Plagiarism

Using artificial intelligence to reproduce, transform, paraphrase, summarize, or adapt copyrighted or third-party material without proper attribution, permission, or disclosure is prohibited.

Fabricated or Falsified Content

Fabricating references, quotations, data, research findings, sources, citations, images, or other scholarly information is a serious breach of publication ethics, regardless of whether the material was generated manually or with the assistance of an AI system.

Quotations and Proper Attribution

Short quotations from third-party sources may be included where academically justified and legally permitted. Quotations must be clearly identified, accurately reproduced, and accompanied by an appropriate citation.

Long quotations, substantial extracts, complete tables, figures, photographs, artwork, questionnaires, instruments, or other copyrighted material may require permission from the copyright holder.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission where required and retaining evidence of such permissions.

Referencing and Citation Policy

All scholarly claims, ideas, data, quotations, theories, methods, images, tables, and other material derived from external sources must be appropriately referenced.

Authors must:

• Use a consistent recognized citation style appropriate to the discipline.
• Provide complete bibliographic information.
• Cite the original source whenever reasonably possible.
• Verify every reference before submission.
• Ensure that every in-text citation corresponds to a reference-list entry where the selected citation style requires it.
• Ensure that every reference listed has a legitimate connection to the manuscript.
• Provide DOI information where available and appropriate.
• Clearly distinguish the author's own analysis from material derived from previous scholarship.
• Reference datasets, software, websites, reports, patents, standards, books, chapters, articles, preprints, and other sources when they materially contribute to the work.

Authors must not add irrelevant references merely to increase citation counts. Citation manipulation, excessive self-citation, reciprocal citation arrangements, and fabricated references are prohibited.

Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI Policy

Wissira Press recognizes that artificial intelligence and generative AI tools may assist authors during research and manuscript preparation. However, AI tools cannot replace human scholarly responsibility, authorship, academic judgment, verification, or accountability.

AI systems, including large language models and generative AI platforms, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors of a Wissira Press publication.

Permitted Uses of AI

The following uses may generally be permitted when the author retains full intellectual control and verifies the resulting material:

• Grammar and spelling correction.
• Language polishing and copyediting.
• Improving readability of author-written text.
• Translation assistance followed by human verification.
• Formatting and structural assistance.
• Generating preliminary outlines or organizational suggestions.
• Brainstorming research questions or possible areas for investigation.
• Assistance with non-substantive editorial tasks.
• Assistance with coding or data-processing workflows where the resulting work is independently checked.
• Assistance with data visualization where the underlying data and output are verified by the author.

Use of AI must never replace the author's responsibility for the intellectual content of the publication.

AI-Generated Scholarly Content

Substantive AI-generated content that contributes to the intellectual argument, interpretation, analysis, conclusions, research findings, or scholarly contribution must not be presented as entirely human-generated without appropriate disclosure and editorial consideration.

Wissira Press does not prescribe a universal numerical percentage of AI-generated text as an acceptance threshold. AI-detection scores are not treated as definitive evidence of authorship or misconduct.

The decisive considerations are:

• Human intellectual contribution.
• Human verification and accountability.
• Accuracy of the content.
• Originality of the work.
• Proper attribution and referencing.
• Disclosure of substantive AI use.
• Compliance with copyright and intellectual property requirements.

Authors remain fully responsible for all content appearing in the final publication, regardless of whether that content was produced manually, with software assistance, or with generative AI assistance.

AI Disclosure Requirements

Where AI materially contributes to the preparation of a manuscript, authors may be required to disclose:

• Name of the AI system or tool.
• General purpose for which the tool was used.
• Nature of the assistance provided.
• Extent to which AI-generated material was incorporated.
• Human verification and editorial review performed by the authors.

For substantive AI assistance, the disclosure may be included in the acknowledgments, preface, introduction, methodology, or another appropriate section depending upon the nature of the publication.

This approach reflects current scholarly publishing practice in which human authors remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and accountability of published work. Springer Nature and Wiley similarly emphasize human oversight, disclosure, verification, and author accountability in the use of AI. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="2"}

Prohibited Uses of AI

The following uses are not permitted:

• Fabricating research data, results, references, quotations, sources, or evidence.
• Generating false citations or non-existent references.
• Presenting AI-generated research findings as genuine experimental or empirical findings.
• Using AI to deliberately reproduce copyrighted third-party material.
• Submitting AI-generated material without appropriate human verification where verification is required.
• Using AI to impersonate another researcher or author.
• Using AI to create fraudulent academic credentials or research records.
• Using AI to conceal plagiarism or evade originality screening.
• Using AI to manipulate figures or images in a manner that misrepresents evidence.
• Uploading confidential, unpublished, proprietary, or restricted third-party material to AI systems in violation of applicable confidentiality or copyright obligations.

Springer Nature specifically cautions that AI can generate false information and emphasizes verification, appropriate referencing, and human accountability. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="3"}

AI-Generated Images, Figures and Visual Materials

AI-generated visual material requires particular caution because copyright, authenticity, attribution, and scientific integrity may be affected.

Authors must not use AI-generated images to misrepresent research evidence, experimental results, people, locations, events, scientific observations, or other factual material.

Where AI-assisted visual processing is permitted, authors must be able to identify and verify the underlying source material and must disclose the relevant use where required.

Photorealistic synthetic images, manipulated scientific evidence, deepfakes, and misleading visual content are prohibited.

Copyright and Intellectual Property

Authors must own, control, or have obtained the necessary rights and permissions for all material submitted for publication.

Copyright protection may apply to original text, photographs, illustrations, diagrams, tables, maps, figures, artwork, questionnaires, instruments, software, datasets, audio, video, and other creative or intellectual material.

Authors must not submit material for which they do not possess the necessary rights to reproduce, distribute, publish, or license.

Where third-party material is incorporated, authors are responsible for determining whether permission is required and for obtaining permission from the appropriate rights holder when necessary.

Author Copyright and Publication Rights

Unless otherwise specified in the applicable publishing agreement, authors retain the copyright in their original scholarly work while granting Wissira Press the necessary publishing, reproduction, distribution, hosting, indexing, archiving, and dissemination rights specified in the publishing agreement.

The specific copyright, licensing, and publication rights applicable to a work shall be governed by the agreement executed between the author or rights holder and Wissira Press.

Authors must not grant conflicting exclusive publication rights to another publisher for the same work during the period covered by their agreement with Wissira Press.

Types of Books Accepted by Wissira Press

Subject to editorial evaluation and publication requirements, Wissira Press may consider the following categories of scholarly and professional publications:

• Research Monographs.
• Academic Books.
• Edited Research Volumes.
• Book Chapters.
• Conference Proceedings.
• Research-Based Textbooks.
• University and Higher-Education Textbooks.
• Reference Books.
• Professional and Technical Books.
• Scientific and Engineering Books.
• Medical and Healthcare Books.
• Management and Business Books.
• Law and Legal Studies Books.
• Education and Psychology Books.
• Social Sciences and Humanities Books.
• Interdisciplinary Research Books.
• Edited Conference Volumes.
• Research Reports and Scholarly Reference Works.

Acceptance is subject to editorial assessment, originality requirements, copyright compliance, academic quality, and suitability for publication.

Previously Published and Related Material

Authors must disclose any previous publication or public dissemination of substantially related material, including journal articles, conference papers, preprints, previous editions, book chapters, reports, translations, repositories, or online publications.

Material previously published may only be reused where the reuse is academically justified and permitted under the applicable copyright, licensing, and publisher policies.

Editorial Investigation of Suspected Misconduct

If plagiarism, copyright infringement, fabricated material, inappropriate AI use, duplicate publication, or another ethical concern is identified, Wissira Press may conduct an editorial investigation.

Depending upon the circumstances, the publisher may:

• Request an explanation from the author.
• Request supporting documentation.
• Request correction or rewriting.
• Request additional permissions.
• Require disclosure of previously published material.
• Return the manuscript for substantial revision.
• Reject the manuscript.
• Withdraw a publication before publication.
• Issue a correction or clarification after publication.
• Withdraw or retract a published work where serious misconduct is established.
• Notify relevant institutions or rights holders where appropriate.

Post-Publication Concerns

Concerns regarding plagiarism, copyright infringement, fabricated information, undisclosed duplicate publication, or other serious ethical problems in a published work may be reported to the Wissira Press Editorial Office.

Post-publication concerns will be assessed on the basis of the available evidence and may result in correction, clarification, expression of concern, withdrawal, or retraction where appropriate.

Author Responsibility

Submission of a manuscript to Wissira Press constitutes confirmation that the submitting author has taken reasonable steps to verify the originality, accuracy, permissions, authorship, references, and ethical compliance of the submitted work.

Authors remain responsible for the scholarly integrity and legal status of their submitted material, including material prepared with the assistance of software or artificial intelligence.

Commitment to Research Integrity

Wissira Press is committed to maintaining a publishing environment based on originality, transparency, responsible authorship, accurate referencing, intellectual property protection, human accountability, and ethical scholarly communication.

The publisher may periodically review and update this policy in response to developments in publication ethics, copyright law, artificial intelligence, research integrity, digital publishing, and internationally recognized scholarly publishing practices.