NextGen Innovations in Computing and Technology (NICT) maintains a strict policy against plagiarism. All submitted manuscripts are subjected to thorough plagiarism screening to ensure originality and ethical publication standards.

1. Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

• Copying text, ideas, figures, or data from another source without proper citation.
• Submitting someone else’s work as your own.
• Using AI-generated or paraphrased content without attribution.
• Self-plagiarism: reusing your previously published work without disclosure.

2. Plagiarism Screening Procedure

• All manuscripts are checked using plagiarism detection software such as Turnitin or iThenticate before peer review.
• Similarity reports are reviewed by the editorial team to evaluate overlap and citation quality.
• Manuscripts with a similarity index of more than 25% (excluding bibliography, quotes, and commonly used phrases) will be returned to the authors for revision or outright rejection.

3. Actions in Case of Plagiarism

If plagiarism is detected during the editorial process:

• Before publication: the manuscript will be rejected and authors will be notified.
• After publication: the article will be retracted and publicly marked as retracted on the journal website.
• The authors' institutions may be informed, and the authors may be blacklisted from future submissions.

4. Author Responsibilities

Authors are responsible for the originality of their work and must ensure all sources are properly cited. Authors are advised to check their manuscripts using reliable plagiarism checkers before submission.

5. Ethical Standards

This policy aligns with the standards of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). NICT is committed to promoting academic integrity and ethical publishing practices.