Sage takes issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.
The author should disclose any prior distribution and/or publication of any portion of the material to the Editor for the Editor’s consideration and ensure that appropriate attribution to the prior distribution and/or publication of the material is included.
In addition, SAGE does not tolerate fraudulent activities, including attempts to manipulate the peer review process and the use of submission or review farms (not legitimate third-party submission agencies). Where SAGE has strong suspicions or evidence of such activities, unpublished contributions will be automatically disqualified from further consideration in the journal. In the event that there is evidence of such activity on a published article, SAGE will undertake an investigation in accordance with guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). For further information please read Sage corrections and retractions policy.
