Purpose and Scope
This policy establishes what originality requires of content submitted to LMI journals, and how overlap with other work — by the same or different authors — is characterised and handled. It applies to text, data, figures, code and supplementary material in any language.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presentation of another's words, ideas, data, images or other work as one's own without appropriate attribution and, where required, permission. It includes verbatim copying without quotation and citation, close paraphrase presented as original expression, reuse of figures, tables or data without attribution, appropriation of ideas encountered in confidential contexts such as peer review or grant assessment (A5, B2), and translation of another's work without attribution. Plagiarism is assessed by reference to what was taken and how it was represented, not by word count alone.
Text Recycling and Self-Plagiarism
Authors reusing their own previously published text shall do so transparently and lawfully: the earlier work shall be cited, and reuse shall be limited to what is reasonable. Reuse of methods descriptions is often legitimate where a method is genuinely identical and cannot usefully be reworded, provided the source is cited; extensive recycling of introduction, discussion or results narrative is not. Copyright position must also be respected (F1): reuse of previously published text may require permission even where authorship is common.
Duplicate, Redundant and Salami Publication
Duplicate publication is publication of substantially the same work in more than one venue without disclosure and justification. Redundant publication is publication that substantially overlaps previously published work without adding sufficient new content or acknowledging the overlap. Salami publication is the artificial division of a single coherent study into multiple submissions to increase publication count, where the parts do not independently justify separate publication. Each is prohibited. Authors shall disclose at submission any related, overlapping, submitted or in-press work, providing copies on request.
Legitimate Prior and Secondary Dissemination
The following do not constitute duplicate publication when disclosed at submission and handled as stated: preprints deposited in recognised servers, which shall be disclosed and cited, and later linked to the published version; conference abstracts and posters, provided the full work substantially exceeds them; theses and dissertations, from which derived articles may be published with disclosure; and secondary publication in another language or for a different audience, which is legitimate where both journals consent, the primary source is cited prominently, and the secondary version faithfully reflects the primary. Journals may state their own positions on these matters consistently with this policy.
Screening and the Limits of Similarity Scores
Journals shall screen submissions for textual and, where appropriate, image originality using suitable tools, and may set operational thresholds and procedures consistent with applicable regulatory requirements. LMI does not prescribe a similarity percentage.
A similarity score is decision support, never a determination. A high score may reflect correctly quoted and cited material, standard methods language, reference lists or common terminology; a low score does not exclude plagiarism of ideas, data or translated text. An editor shall examine flagged material substantively — what was reused, whether it is attributed, and whether the reuse is legitimate — before drawing any conclusion, and shall not treat a score as evidence of intent. No editorial action adverse to an author shall rest on a numerical score alone.
Response
Where screening or a concern suggests plagiarism or undisclosed redundancy, the editor shall seek the authors' explanation and assess it. Minor attribution failures may be resolved by correction before publication. Where the matter appears deliberate or substantial, it proceeds under C5, and record actions — correction, Expression of Concern, retraction — are determined under G2.
Standards and Guidance
Informed by COPE flowcharts and guidance on plagiarism, text recycling and redundant publication, and the ICMJE Recommendations on overlapping publication.