Types of plagiarism and how to avoid misconduct: Pros and cons of plagiarism detection tools in research writing and publication

Abstract

The ultimate journey of research and writing is publication. To see one’s name listed in the author's byline is an exciting feeling. This exciting feeling of authorship credit is linked with responsibility. The impact of the published work will depend on the dissemination of evidence-based scientific findings to help the health care workers, scientists, and policymakers for the benefit of society. This requires ethical research, to begin with, and publication without misconduct to maintain the integrity and trust in science. Among various misconducts in research writing and publication, plagiarism is serious scientific misconduct. The issue of plagiarism is a global concern that requires a collective effort from all stakeholders to prevent it and take prompt action if this issue does arise. Adequate teaching and training are necessary to increase awareness right from the early phases of learning; and to develop a culture of ethical research, writing, and publication. Types of plagiarism and its characteristics vary and should be dealt with accordingly, from a warning to definitive punishment for the offense committed. The software available to detect and avoid plagiarism is plenty and should be used taking into consideration their accuracy, usability, and cost.

Exploring plagiarism

“…2,3 Researchers at the International Center for Academic Integrity 4 in March of 2020 reported that 29.3% of students cheated on an exam; 2% submitted work done by someone else on their behalf; 23% utilized unauthorized resources; 26% worked in groups on assignments that were meant to be completed individually; and 13.8% copied sentences without proper citations or Self-plagiarism, also known as text recycling, refers to the act of using one' s previous work without proper citation. 6 This is often overlooked by authors.…”

“…Plagiarism may be committed when submitting someone else' s work as your own, duplicating words or ideas from another source without attribution or citation, failing to put a quotation in quotation marks, giving false information about the source of a quotation, altering words but duplicating the sentence structure of a source without citing it, and copying numerous words or ideas from a source as the majority of your work, whether the credit is cited or not cited (see Types of plagiarism). 6 Plagiarism is a struggle in academia across the globe. It impacts innovation, intellectual ownership, and creativity.…”

“…Plagiarism may be classified as copyright infringement, and if so, legal penalties can range from paying royalties to civil fines. 1,6 Plagiarism is research misconduct. 9 For example, a cancer researcher who is the subject of an ongoing investigation for falsifying research results and plagiarism has had to retract and revise their published research.…”

“…Self-plagiarism, also known as text recycling, refers to the act of using one's previous work without proper citation 6. This is often overlooked by authors.…”

Paper Mills for research writing and publication: A threat to the integrity of science

“…1,11,12 Investigation for the increasing incidence of scientific misconducts is a difficult task for journals, and plagiarism (copy-pasting others' work), salami-slicing (publish multiple papers from same data source instead of incorporating into a single paper) are some 'tip of the iceberg' of scientific misconducts by authors, and of PMs. 13…”