Approved by a decision of the Academic Council of the Medical University
“Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov” – Varna – Protocol No. 22 of 07.05.2025.
Article 1. Similarity checks with internet sources at the Medical University “Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov” – Varna are conducted using the anti-plagiarism systems iThenticate / Turnitin and StrikePlagiarism.
SIMILARITY CHECKS FOR SCIENTIFIC THESES, TEXTBOOKS, TEACHING AIDS, ETC. USING ITHENTICATE / TURNITIN SOFTWARE
Article 2. Authors submit their final manuscript according to its type, as follows:
- Articles intended for the scientific journals of MU–Varna shall be submitted via the Medical University of Varna Scientific Online Resource System (SORS), following the creation of a registered profile. Authors must complete an online declaration of agreement with the journal’s terms and ethical principles, provide full metadata, and upload all necessary files, including the article text and any accompanying visual materials.
- Dissertations and monographic works shall be submitted by the authors to the Publishing Department in electronic format—either by email to antiplagiat@mu-varna.bg or in person.
- Educational literature intended for inclusion in the Annual Publishing Plan, in accordance with the Regulations for the Publishing Activity of the Medical University “Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov” – Varna, shall be submitted by the authors in electronic format to the Publishing Department simultaneously with the submission of the proposal for inclusion in the publishing plan.
- Scientific, educational, and other literature submitted for publication to Varna Medical University Press, but not intended for inclusion in the Annual Publishing Plan, shall be submitted by the authors to the Publishing Department in electronic format—by email to antiplagiat@mu-varna.bg or in person.
- Articles intended for publication in external scientific journals shall be submitted to the Publishing Department in electronic format—by email to antiplagiat@mu-varna.bg or in person.
- Articles and scientific papers related to participation in a competition for the acquisition of scientific degrees and academic positions shall be submitted by the candidate simultaneously with the request for a similarity check—by email to antiplagiat@mu-varna.bg or in person.
Article 3. Performing a similarity check with internet sources
(1) The manuscript file shall be prepared by the designated technical staff member from the Publishing Department and uploaded to the similarity-checking platform.
(2) Upon receiving the result, the report shall be reviewed by the technical staff member, who shall exclude from the total similarity percentage any matches found in the bibliography, names of institutions, or terminology that cannot be modified but is flagged by the software, as well as any similarities with sources published after the manuscript under review.
(3) The deadline for performing the similarity check under Article 2, paragraphs 1 to 5, is five working days from the date of submission of the final manuscript file.
(4) The deadline for performing the similarity check under Article 2, paragraph 6, is ten working days from the date of submission of the correct files for review.
Article 4. Performing a direct similarity check between two manuscripts
(1) Both manuscript files shall be uploaded to the similarity-checking platform.
(2) The resulting similarity report shall be provided for reference. If the check is conducted under Article 2, paragraph 6, and the similarity percentage does not exceed the acceptable threshold, this result shall be officially recorded in the similarity report.
Article 5. Results of the similarity check
(1) Articles for the scientific journals of MU-Varna
- If the similarity percentage does not exceed the acceptable threshold, the report is sent to the author for reference.
- If the similarity percentage exceeds the acceptable threshold, the final report is forwarded to an editor for review.
- After editorial review, the report and the editor’s recommendations for revision are sent to the author until the similarity percentage is brought within the acceptable threshold.
- If the manuscript fails to meet the acceptable similarity threshold, it is rejected.
(2) Dissertations and monographic works
- If the similarity percentage does not exceed the acceptable threshold, the report is sent to the author for reference, and the work is approved for publication.
- If the similarity percentage exceeds the acceptable threshold, the report is sent to the author with a recommendation for revision until the threshold is met.
- If the manuscript fails to meet the acceptable similarity threshold, it is rejected.
(3) Educational literature intended for inclusion in the Annual Publishing Plan
- If the similarity percentage does not exceed the acceptable threshold, the report is sent to the author for reference, and the work is submitted to the Publishing Council for approval for inclusion in the Annual Publishing Plan.
- If the similarity percentage exceeds the acceptable threshold, the report is sent to the author with a recommendation for revision until the threshold is met.
- If the manuscript fails to meet the acceptable similarity threshold, it is rejected.
(4) Scientific, educational, and other literature submitted for publication to the publishing house of the Medical University of Varna, but not intended for inclusion in the Annual Publishing Plan
- If the similarity percentage does not exceed the acceptable threshold, the similarity report is sent to the author for reference, and the work proceeds to the next stage of preparation for publication.
- If the similarity percentage exceeds the acceptable threshold, the report is sent to the author with a recommendation for revision until the threshold is met.
- If the manuscript fails to meet the acceptable similarity threshold, it is rejected.
(5) Articles intended for publication in external scientific journals
- The similarity report is sent to the author who submitted the manuscript, for reference.
(6) Articles and scientific papers related to participation in a competition for the acquisition of scientific degrees and academic positions
- If the similarity percentage does not exceed the acceptable threshold, the scientific work is included in the official similarity report.
- If the similarity percentage exceeds the acceptable threshold, the scientific work is not included in the official similarity report.
SIMILARITY CHECKS USING THE STRIKEPLAGIARISM SOFTWARE AND INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
Article 6. General Information
(1) The StrikePlagiarism system is focused on educational activities and is particularly effective for checking student coursework and thesis papers, as it allows assigning different user rights.
(2) All academic staff members, as well as students, are entitled to register.
(3) Lecturer registrations are created by the Publishing Department upon request.
(4) Requests from lecturers should be sent to the email: antiplagiat@mu-varna.bg
(5) Administrators are appointed for each organizational unit (departments, units, divisions).
(6) Organizational unit administrators are usually the administrative assistants of the respective department, and their role is to add new staff members and deactivate those who have left.
(7) Blackboard staff are responsible for registering students.
(8) Each user is assigned a role (lecturer, student, organizational unit administrator), which is associated with specific access rights.
(9) Each user is assigned to the relevant department or faculty.
(10) Authors themselves upload their own files for similarity checking in the system.
(11) Each lecturer can monitor the results of the similarity checks for the coursework, thesis papers, or other materials uploaded to the system.
Article 7. Similarity checks
(1) The manuscript text file is prepared by the author and uploaded to the similarity checking platform.
(2) After checking, the system provides two results: percentage similarity up to 5 consecutive words and percentage similarity up to 15 consecutive words.
(3) The examination file is reviewed by the lecturer who is the administrator of the relevant group of students.
Article 8. Results of the inspection
(1) In case the percentage of similarity does not exceed the similarity threshold, the course/thesis is accepted for evaluation.
(2) In case the percentage of similarity exceeds the similarity threshold, the course/thesis is revised or rejected.