Peer review, acceptance & rejection guides › Self-Plagiarism and Types of Plagiarism
Types of plagiarism journals look for
| Type | What it is | How journals see it |
|---|---|---|
| Direct (verbatim) | Copying text word for word without quotation marks and citation | Serious misconduct |
| Mosaic (patchwork) | Mixing copied phrases with your own words | Usually detected by similarity software |
| Paraphrasing without citation | Rewording someone’s ideas without crediting them | Plagiarism even though the words differ |
| Self-plagiarism (text recycling) | Reusing your own published text without citing it | Often flagged; acceptable limits depend on the journal |
| Duplicate publication | Publishing the same study in two journals | Serious misconduct; leads to retraction |
| Salami slicing | Splitting one study into several thin papers | Questioned by editors and reviewers |
| Image and data reuse | Reusing figures or data from earlier papers without saying so | Increasingly checked with image tools |
What journals said in decisions shared on ScholarsColab
Similarity or plagiarism came up in 4 of the 661 reviewer comments and decisions shared anonymously by researchers (updated 18 October 2026), including 2 rejection letters.
“Submission Returned to Author because paper was found similar to an already published article during the Crossref Similarity Check (plagiarism issue).”
“The main deficiency in the paper is as follows: Overall Similarity Index Percentage:39% which is much higher than the journal standard, 20% for the 1st screen.”
“In reviewing your manuscript, I discovered that there are sections which seem to be unoriginal, having appeared in previously published work(s).”
“The manuscript still contains some plagiarised content.”
How to avoid self-plagiarism
- Cite your earlier papers whenever you reuse methods, data or ideas from them.
- Rephrase reused method descriptions and cite the original, or check whether the journal allows standard method text to be reused.
- Disclose related submissions or preprints in the cover letter.
- Ask for permission before reusing published figures, even your own.
- Check similarity before submitting. A pre-submission audit with a similarity report shows overlaps while they are easy to fix.
Received reviewer comments yourself? Share them anonymously to make this data more useful for everyone.
Frequently asked questions
What is self-plagiarism?
Self-plagiarism is reusing your own published text, data or figures without citing the earlier publication, or publishing the same work twice. Journals treat it as a breach of publication ethics.
How much similarity is acceptable in a journal submission?
There is no universal threshold. Editors read the similarity report rather than only the percentage: overlap in references or standard method phrases is usually fine, while copied results, discussion or text from your own earlier papers is not.
Is reusing my own methods section plagiarism?
Some journals accept limited reuse of standard method descriptions if the earlier paper is cited; others expect it to be rephrased. Check the journal’s policy and always cite the source.
Can a paper be rejected for self-plagiarism?
Yes. High overlap with the authors’ earlier publications is a common reason for desk rejection, and duplicate publication can lead to retraction after publication.