The Plague of Plagiarism: Prevention and Cure!!!

Abstract

Plagiarism is a serious form of scientific misconduct. Literal meaning of the Latin word “to Plagiare” is “to steal or to kidnap”. The act of taking the writings of another person and passing them off as one’s own is plagiarism. It implies intellectual theft in the world of medical writing. The “copy and paste” culture is becoming rampant all over the world after the advent of electronic publications, and Indian medical literature is no exception. This editorial will enlighten aspiring authors and readers about various forms of plagiarism and reasons for engaging in plagiarism. More so, it will also elaborate on how to prevent and cure this plague. Possible consequences that authors may face on detection of the plagiarism are also discussed. I am concluding my editorial series on medical writing with this last editorial of the year. I sincerely hope that these editorials helped authors and readers and this journal continues to receive high-quality papers written with the greatest honesty and integrity.