The IN4OBE offers professional summits, networking opportunities, and research support in the various fields of outcomes-based education research and technologies. IN4OBE subscribes to the highest standards of ethical conduct, as detailed in the IN4OBE website.

In the scholarly publication, plagiarism occurs when an author copies the words, illustrations, and ideas without identifying the sources. Plagiarism is unethical because it represents the theft of the intellectual work of others and the subsequent misrepresentation of that work as the author’s own. An act of plagiarism not only violates intellectual property rights but is anathema to the principle of academic integrity, which is fundamental for scholarly research, writing, and publication. Accidental publication of plagiarized material can undermine the quality of a journal or proceedings.

When authors copy not from others but themselves by publishing the same article in multiple journals, the practice is called redundant or duplicate publication. Compared with plagiarism, the duplicate publication is generally considered less severe, but it is still unethical. (The only exception is when reprinting has been appropriately approved and permission obtained from the original copyright holder; e.g., a keynote speech that has also been published.) Duplicate publication of the same article wastes space in journals and reviewers’ time. Duplicate publication misrepresents the author’s record of scholarly contributions, and it corrupts meta-analyses of multiple studies on the same subject.

This policy outlines the steps that IN4OBE will take in response to allegations of plagiarism and duplicate publication involving articles published in or submitted to IN4OBE summit proceedings.

• The original paper is the paper or source from which the words and ideas were copied. The second paper is the paper in which the copied text later appears. This policy applies both when the second paper is a submitted manuscript and when the second paper has appeared in print.
• In this policy, the author is the author of the second paper. The policy applies with equal force to all coauthors of the second paper.
• Plagiarism occurs when the second paper copies a significant amount of text from the original paper without proper citation of the source (e.g., beyond “fair use” in copyright law). For this policy, plagiarism requires that the copying be verbatim or nearly verbatim (with minor insignificant changes) without citing the source. Whereas other definitions of plagiarism include close paraphrasing from an unattributed source, the strict definition in this policy enables editors to focus on the most straightforward cases without expending effort to evaluate whether an instance of paraphrasing constitutes plagiarism. Note that citations are not required for ideas that are well known within the field of the paper.
• Duplicate publication occurs when at least one author is in common between the original and second papers.
• For this policy, to qualify as a case of duplicate publication, the original paper must be an article in a peer-reviewed journal or peer-reviewed summit proceedings. When the original paper is on an unreviewed website or in unreviewed summit proceedings, the submission or publication of the second paper is not considered duplicate publication; however, the author must notify the journal editor at the time of submission as to where and when the paper was originally published. When the author republishes an original IN4OBE summit paper in a journal, the author or the journal first must secure a copyright release from IN4OBE, and the second paper must identify the source.
• The Editor-in-Chief of an IN4OBE publication is the editor who has ultimate responsibility for that publication.

• The initiator must make an allegation of plagiarism or duplicate publication—who might be either a reviewer or reader—in writing. The allegation must include all relevant evidence, such as the sources, and must be addressed to the Track Editor of the appropriate IN4OBE publication.
• Within 14 calendar days, the Track Editor will review the allegation. Suppose the Track Editor concurs that the allegation represents a potential instance of plagiarism or serious duplicate publication. In that case, the Track Editor will refer the allegation to an ad hoc investigation committee. If the Track Editor of IN4OBE agrees that the allegation represents the duplicate publication of substantially less than 50% of the original or second paper, the Track editor will request a correction from the author; if the author does not respond in writing within 30 calendar days, this process will continue as per the given deadlines.
• The ad hoc investigation committee will be appointed by the Track Editor of IN4OBE. That committee will include an associate editor from an IN4OBE publication who is not involved with the allegation and two other appropriate members whose expertise consists of the subject matter of the papers named in the allegation.
• The investigation committee will evaluate the written evidence and report its findings to the Editor-in-Chief within 30 days. The report will recommend an appropriate sanction if the committee finds clear and convincing evidence that plagiarism or duplicate publication has occurred (see below).
• If the allegation is not dismissed, the Track Editor will immediately forward the investigation committee’s report to each author of the second paper, inviting each to respond in writing within 30 days. The Track Editor may ask each author to describe the various roles of each coauthor concerning the incident.
• Within 14 days of receiving all of the authors’ responses, or after the 30 day response period has elapsed, the Track Editor will decide to either accept the recommended sanction or modify it as appropriate. The Track Editor will deliver the decision to the author, coauthors, and the investigation committee in writing.
• If the second paper has multiple authors, the Track Editor may choose different sanctions for different authors, depending on their roles in preparing the second paper.
• For each author at an academic institution, the Track Editor will send copies of the evidence, the investigation committee’s report, and the sanction notification to the research integrity officer (RIO) of the author’s institution. If the institution has no RIO, the Track Editor will notify the institution’s academic vice president or equivalent administrator.
• The author may appeal the decision of the Track Editor to the Editor-in-Chief of IN4OBE, in writing, within 30 days. Upon reviewing the evidence, the Editor-in-Chief may reduce the severity of the sanction but may not increase the sanction. The Editor-in-Chief will then convey the decision on the appeal to the author and the institution’s RIO. The Editor-in-Chief’s decision is final.

• Extensive cases. A plagiarism case is considered extensive if more than 50% of the original paper is plagiarized or more than 50% of the second paper represents plagiarized material. In this case, all of the author’s manuscripts currently under review by the IN4OBE Summit will be immediately rejected. In addition, the author will be prohibited from publication in IN4OBE publications for three to five years. If the second paper appeared in an IN4OBE summit, a notice of plagiarism would be printed where appropriate.
• Serious cases. A plagiarism case is considered serious if a substantial amount of either the original paper or the second paper is plagiarized. A duplicate publication case is serious if more than 50% of the original or second paper represents duplicated material. In this case, all of the author’s manuscripts currently under review by the IN4OBE Summit will be immediately rejected. In addition, the author will be prohibited from publication in IN4OBE publications for one to three years. If the second paper appeared in an IN4OBE Summit, a notice of plagiarism or duplicate publication would be printed where appropriate.
• Significant cases. A case of plagiarism is considered significant if 300 or more consecutive words are copied verbatim or nearly verbatim. A duplicate publication case is significant if a substantial amount of the original or second paper represents duplicated material. In this case, the author’s manuscripts currently under review by the IN4OBE summit may be rejected. In addition, the author may be prohibited from publication in IN4OBE publications for at most one year.

• Confidentiality. The Track Editor and others involved in carrying out this policy will maintain the confidentiality of the identities of the initiator and the author and the confidentiality of all correspondence regarding the case and its disposition.
• Conflict of interest. All editors who conflict with the author or the author’s institution will recuse themselves from this process.
• Diversity. The Track Editor and others who carry out this policy will respect cultural differences in citation practices by different scholarly communities and academic disciplines.
• Non-retaliation. If the initiator has brought the allegation in good faith, then there should be no retaliation against the initiator.
• Records. After a finding of plagiarism or duplicate publication, if the second paper has appeared in IN4OBE summit proceedings, then the electronic version of the paper will be permanently marked as plagiarized or duplicated, and a reference to the source will be included.
• Modifications. Minor modifications in this policy may be made at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief of IN4OBE. For example, the Editor-in-Chief may extend a period for good reasons or appoint a substitute for the Track Editor in a case of conflict of interest.