Anti-plagiarism, fraud, and paper mill policy

ANTI-PLAGIARISM, FRAUD, AND MISCONDUCT POLICY

1. Anti-plagiarism policy

Enfoque UTE does not tolerate plagiarism in any form. This policy applies both during the editorial process and after the publication of an article.

Authors are responsible for the content, language, and originality of the manuscript they submit. They must guarantee that their work is entirely original and, in cases where ideas, data, text, or images from other authors have been used, that appropriate citation and referencing have been provided.

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for manuscript writing must be explicitly disclosed in the cover letter and acknowledged in the Acknowledgments section. Authors are fully responsible for any instance of plagiarism —whether textual, visual, or conceptual— introduced by AI tools, as well as for potential errors or inaccuracies generated by such tools.

Plagiarism is considered unethical behavior and includes, but is not limited to:

  • Copying text from other sources without proper attribution.
  • Reproducing ideas, images, or data without adequate acknowledgment.
  • Reusing one's own previously published text without the editor’s permission and without citation (self-plagiarism or text recycling).
  • Rephrasing another author's idea with minimal changes in wording and without citation.

If plagiarism is detected, Enfoque UTE may apply corrective measures or retract the article, depending on the severity of the case. Decisions will be made in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Exceptions:

  • Textual similarity in methods or procedures sections is allowed when referring to well-known protocols, as long as proper attribution is given.
  • Similarity with a preprint version of the manuscript is accepted if deposited in a recognized preprint server and disclosed in the cover letter.

Enfoque UTE uses Crossref Similarity Check (iThenticate) to detect textual similarities. In general, manuscripts with more than 15% similarity are not accepted. However, each case is assessed based on the nature of the matching content. Plagiarism of ideas, data, or images may also be detected during peer review. The editor determines the severity of the infraction and may immediately reject the manuscript. If plagiarism is discovered post-publication, a correction or retraction may be issued. The journal reserves the right to notify the authors' affiliated institutions of any plagiarism detected before or after publication.

2. Data fabrication and falsification

Data fabrication refers to inventing research results or findings. Data falsification involves manipulating information with the intent to produce misleading results. This includes image manipulation, omission of outliers or inconvenient results, alteration, addition, or removal of data, among others.

Regarding images, minor adjustments (e.g., brightness, contrast, color balance) are allowed only if applied uniformly to the entire image and without altering its interpretation.

Images generated or altered by Artificial Intelligence are not accepted.

Any essential manipulation must be clearly disclosed in the cover letter and, if applicable, described in the manuscript and figure legend. Original images or data may be requested by the editor at any stage of the review process or after publication.

3. Systematic manipulation of the publication process

Enfoque UTE adheres to COPE's definition of systematic manipulation of the publication process, which occurs when one or more individuals (such as “paper mills”) repeatedly engage in fraudulent practices. Examples include:

  • Buying or selling articles: Submission of fabricated manuscripts or those based on manipulated data, often derived from theses or low-visibility research. These may include purchased authorships, ghost authors, or the use of a well-known author’s name initially to pass peer review, which is later replaced.
  • Manipulating peer review: The use of fake reviewers, forged emails, or interference by editors or reviewers to ensure acceptance. This may involve hacking submission systems or registering fraudulent reviewer accounts.
  • Manuscript substitution: A high-quality manuscript is initially submitted to pass peer review, then substituted with a lower-quality version after acceptance.

To prevent such practices, Enfoque UTE implements the following measures:

  • Submissions from generic or non-institutional email addresses are considered suspicious.
  • Manuscripts submitted by institutional authors using non-institutional emails will be questioned.
  • Any change in authorship after submission is considered suspicious and will be investigated.
  • Inconsistencies between institutional records, author expertise in ORCID profiles, and the manuscript topic will be investigated, as will empty or restricted ORCID profiles.
  • Known and trusted reviewers will be prioritized, and communication will be verified through institutional emails.
  • Guest editors will be trained and monitored to prevent quality issues and ensure that paper mills do not exploit special issues, particularly those based on conference proceedings, which often lack rigorous peer review.