Perceptions and effectiveness of plagiarism detection mechanisms in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Social Sciences journals

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30827/relieve.v29i2.29097

Keywords:

editorial boards, ethics, academic integrity, plagiarism
Agencies: Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Universidade (Xunta de Galicia, Galicia, Spain). project reference number 18/2022.

Abstract

One of the greatest challenges faced by the editorial boards of scientific journals is related to the detection of plagiarism in the manuscripts received. This study addresses this issue based on the perception of the members of editorial committees of 166 journals in the field of Social Sciences in the Ibero-American context indexed in Scopus. The responses were collected through a digital questionnaire, and a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the information provided was conducted. The results show that most of the journals consulted have plagiarism detection software, with numerous reasons for and against its use. Most of the articles discarded in the reception processes include self-plagiarism and covert plagiarism through paraphrasing. In cases of plagiarism, most journals reject manuscripts in the reception process, although it is noteworthy that more than 15% give authors the opportunity to correct the error and resubmit the paper. This study concludes that, despite taking preventive measures, these do not guarantee the eradication of such a problem.

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Author Biographies

Eva María Espiñeira Bellón, University of A Coruña, Spain

Associate Professor in the area of Research Methods and Diagnosis in Education at the Faculty of Education Sciences of the University of A Coruña. At this institution, she coordinates the Research Group on Educational Evaluation and Quality (GIACE) and is part of the Group for Methodological Innovation through Tutoring and ICT (IMETTIC). Its lines of work are focused on educational evaluation and quality, attention to diversity and academic honesty (integridadacademia.com). She has held several management positions such as senior quality technician, vice-dean of quality and coordinator of the Master's Degree (email: eva.espineira@udc.es).

Jesús Miguel Muñoz Cantero, University of A Coruña, Spain

University Professor in the area of Research Methods and Diagnosis in Education at the University of A Coruña (Galicia-Spain). His lines of research are focused on attention to diversity, educational quality, and academic honesty and integrity. In this last line, he has coordinated five research contracts with the Xunta de Galicia that analyze plagiarism, the academic integrity of teachers and students, the resources of higher education institutions and the integrity of scientific journals. He is president of the Interuniversity Association for Pedagogical Research (AIDIPE) and evaluator of various quality agencies of the university system (email: jesus.miguel.munoz@udc.es) 

Ana María Porto Castro, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Associate Professor of the MIDE area at the University of Santiago de Compostela.  Coordinator of the IDEA research group (Research, Educational Diagnosis and Evaluation) and Director of the Institute of Education Sciences (ICE) of the University of Santiago de Compostela. Member of the "Ibero-American Network for Research in Academic Integrity" (Red-IA). The main lines of research in which she works are honesty and academic integrity and attention to diversity and inclusive education, from which she has derived research projects, doctoral theses and publications in high-impact scientific journals (email: anamaria.porto@usc.es). 

María Josefa Mosteiro García, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Associate professor in the MIDE area at the University of Santiago de Compostela. Secretary of the Interuniversity Association for Pedagogical Research (AIDIPE). Member of the IDEA research group (Research, Educational Diagnosis and Evaluation) and of the "Ibero-American Network for Research in Academic Integrity" (Red-IA). Her main lines of research are academic honesty and integrity and attention to diversity and inclusive education, from which she has derived projects and publications in high-impact scientific journals (email: pepa.mosteiro@usc.es). 

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Published

2023-12-11

How to Cite

Espiñeira Bellón, E. M., Muñoz Cantero, J. M., Porto Castro, A. M., & Mosteiro García, M. J. (2023). Perceptions and effectiveness of plagiarism detection mechanisms in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Social Sciences journals. RELIEVE – Electronic Journal of Educational Research and Evaluation, 29(2). https://doi.org/10.30827/relieve.v29i2.29097

Issue

Vol. 29 No. 2 (2023): Academic integrity in the era of generative artificial intelligence (GAI)

Section

Special Section

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