Together let’s fight against theft, counterfeiting, plundering and plagiarism of intellectual works & scientific productions

Akofena publishes original contributions in the fields of Language Sciences, Literature, Languages and Communication. In accordance with the CAMES Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, all contributions are binding on the author.

The contributor is responsible, at the scientific and ethical level, for the research he/she designs and conducts. He may not take refuge in any authority to conduct research that would contravene the principles and provisions of this code. In cases where research is likely to go beyond the usual framework of practice of the contributor, the latter must obtain the positive opinion of his peers and, where appropriate, of recognised bodies including representatives of civil society outside the scientific community. In all cases where compliance with the present provisions is proven, the researcher is, if necessary, defended by the institution in which he/she practices and by his/her peers.

In the case of « situated » research, i.e. research that responds to a request (social, industrial, etc.) outside science itself, the contributor retains full control and scientific and ethical responsibility. They cannot hide behind any physical or moral person. He cannot be forced to practice in contradiction with his conscience or the present code by any physical or moral person. His refusal, justified by a conscience clause or reference to this code, may not cause him any professional or personal harm.

Contributors shall operate within the framework of the laws and regulations in force. However, if these laws and regulations either authorise work that is contrary to the ethical principles recognised by the profession or by the researcher himself or herself, or hinder the research for reasons that are not proven to be ethical, researchers have a duty to inform the legislator and to take action with him or her, as well as with any competent authorities, so that appropriate measures are taken to make the work compatible with ethical requirements and the duty to know.

Each contributor engaging in research, including students, is personally responsible for their fieldwork, the data they accumulate and the publications they produce. 

The author must reserve the exclusive right to publish his or her article until the results of the review are received. In the event of an unfavourable review, the author is released from any contract with the journal unless he/she decides to improve the article and resubmit it for possible publication. Authors who plagiarize 20% or more of the content of their article will be notified of the plagiarized sources and banned from publication with a reasoned opinion. If less than 20% of the content is plagiarised, the author will be required to reformulate the targeted passages in order to have his or her article re-examined.

The plagiarism referred to here does not involve quotations in inverted commas which are necessarily referenced. The author remains solely responsible for the content of his or her article even after publication in the journal. The author must ultimately approve the version of the article to be published. The contributor must validate, in the last instance, the version of the article to be published by signing the declaration of originality and transfer of reproduction rights.

Plagiarism and its consequences

Plagiarism is committed when one author uses another work (typically the work of another author) without permission, credit, or acknowledgment. Plagiarism takes different forms, from literal copying to paraphrasing the work of another.

Literal copying: literal copying is reproducing a work word for word, in whole or in part, without permission and acknowledgment of the original source. Literal copying is obvious plagiarism and is easy to detect by comparing the papers in question.

Substantial copying: substantial copying is reproducing a substantial part of a work, without permission and acknowledgment of the original source. In determining what is “substantial,” both the quantity and the quality of the copied content are relevant. Quality refers to the relative value of the copied text in proportion to the work as a whole. Where the essence of a work has been reproduced, even if only a small part of the original work, plagiarism may have occurred. For example, a relatively short extract from a piece of article, text, book may be instantly recognizable and may constitute a substantial part.

Paraphrasing: copying may take place without reproducing the exact words used in the original work, i.e. without literal or substantial copying. This type of copying is known as paraphrasing, and it can be the most difficult type of plagiarism to detect. To determine whether unacceptable paraphrasing has occurred, Akofena journal applies a test similar to that for substantial copying: Look at the quantity and quality of what has been taken and also at whether the second author has benefited from the skill and judgment of the first author. If it seems clear, on a balance of probabilities, that the second author has taken without permission or acknowledgment all or a substantial part of the original work and used it to create a second work, albeit expressed in different words, then such use amounts to plagiarism.

PLAGIARISM ALERT

Plagiarism is also the reproduction of a text, part of a text, any literary or graphic production, or the paraphrasing of a text without indicating its author. It violates the rules of academic ethics and constitutes fraud in graded work. Plagiarism also constitutes an infringement of copyright and intellectual property rights, which may be considered as an offence of counterfeiting. When the author of an academic work feels the need to rely on another text, he/she must do so in accordance with the following rules:

When an extract, even a short one, is quoted exactly, it must be placed between inverted commas (or indented and in slightly smaller characters if the text is longer than a few lines) and the reference (name of the author and source) must be indicated; the quoted extract must be short;

When the text or a passage of the text is paraphrased or summarised, the reference (author’s name and source) must be given.

Akofena journal does not accept in any way the publication of plagiarized articles. Therefore, in case of proven plagiarism, the plagiarizing author is informed by confidential mail with irrefutable evidence. However, if an article containing numerous similarities to another existing text is published on our site, the article in question remains blacklisted, i.e. it cannot be read or downloaded. 

HOW TO PREVENT PLAGIARISM !

All documents used in the context of writing a scientific article must be clearly identified and the name of the author and the source of the extract must be mentioned. In-text citations, including in a personal translation, must be properly cited according to editorial standards [https://www.revue-akofena.com/normes_editoriales/]. Non-textual quotations (tables, graphs, photos, scientific formulae, etc.) must also be accompanied by a bibliographic reference after them. All references to quoted, borrowed or adapted documents must be included in the bibliographic references.