Editorial: Avoidance of plagiarism

Abstract

von und zu Guttenberg, had to renounce his doctorate after credible allegations of plagiarism surfaced. Twelve months later, the President of Hungary, Dr. Pál Schmitt, was stripped of his doctorate by the Semmelweis University for plagiarism. Both politicians also lost their jobs. The issue of plagiarism has risen during the last decade in the arena of technoscientific research. Stories on widespread plagiarism in Chinese academic institutions have made head-lines in the news worldwide. 1,2 The science minister of Iran has been known to plagiarize in at least two papers published in technical journals, 3 and the science advisor to the prime minister of India has recently apologized for a similar act of plagiarism. 4 Several egregious acts of plagiar-ism committed by US researchers are detailed in an excellent book devoted to many kinds of research misconduct. 5 Although dictionary definitions of plagiarism are supposedly very clear, the widespread inci-dence of plagiarism—perhaps a consequence of the global spread in technoscientific research activities 6 —suggests that confusion abounds in the minds of many researchers. 7 No wonder, the US National Science Foundation now requires every university desirous of research funding to certify that it will train its students on " responsible conduct of research. " 8 While journal editors are probably becoming adept at sniffing submissions for plagiarism, 9 authors too have an obligation to learn what can be considered as plagiarism and then act accord-ingly. But I have found that helpful guides provided on university websites 10 are largely targeted towards the humanities. These guides are very pertinent to those technoscientific disciplines in which most research publications are highly descriptive, but not to those that rely significantly on the manipulation of mathematical formulas and numerical data (which should not be confused with anecdotal data). Conversations with graduate students in my department have led me to formulate a simple guide for them to avoid plagiarism when drafting a manuscript for possible publication in a research journal or conference proceedings. First, the description of a basic phenomenon, a standard experimental technique, a fundamen-tal analysis, or a commonly used numerical method should never be copied from any source—be it a book, a journal article, a website, or even someone else's presentation at a seminar or a conference. Instead, you must write a description in your own words. Although common phrases need not be enclosed within quotation marks, copying someone else's description—even with cosmetic changes—amounts to plagiarism. The citation of informative sources for such material depends on its antiquity, context, and readership. There is no need to cite a historical work such as Principia for Newton's laws of motion, unless a historical issue is being discussed. 11 Citation of a widely used textbook is advisable if most readers are expected to be novice researchers, but it is essential in a journal that usually caters to a different discipline. Recently published review papers may also be cited to assist readers. Descriptions of new phenomenons, analyses, and techniques must also be paraphrased rather than reproduced from other sources. Care must be taken to cite primary references, even if that involves consulting several journals and monographs. The convenient practice of citing second-ary references to the exclusion of the primary reference is not recommended. Definitely cite the primary reference, and also cite secondary references if they provide additional illumination. Cite only those papers that you have read. Read a lot. Next, a wholesale change of notation—just to avoid future allegations of plagiarism—is ill advised. Standard terminology and standard symbols for basic quantities must be used. The form of an equation must not be distorted, unless a significant new relationship is being discussed.