http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jor.22198/pdf
Plagiarism: An assault on the integrity of scientific research (pages 1867–1868)
Joseph A. Buckwalter, Tim Wright, Laurntiu Mogoanta and Benjamin Alman
Article first published online: 21 AUG 2012 | DOI: 10.1002/jor.22198
Scientists, clinical investigators, journal editors, and academic administrators are committed to developing and disseminating new knowledge, which in the medical field will improve lives. Achieving this goal requires that they preserve the integrity and uphold the credibility of scientific research. They universally regard plagiarism as one of the most serious forms of academic dishonesty and misconduct and a serious violation of moral and ethical standards. Yet, some authors, even those with extensive research experience from respected academic institutions, continue to commit plagiarism. Some individuals have been guilty of republishing significant portions of their own work without acknowledging that they have done so. An example of this practice, commonly referred to as self-plagiarism or recycling or reusing fraud, which arose in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research, was the focus of a previous editorial.1
But recently, the Journal has become involved in an episode of more traditional plagiarism, that is, copying someone else's work and presenting it as your own. This event illustrates the problems the scientific community faces in combating plagiarism. An investigator reviewing the published literature related to osteoarthritis discovered an article that had been published twice in its entirety. In May 2007, the Journal of Orthopaedic Research published a paper entitled “Chondrocyte Gene Expression in Osteoarthritis: Correlation with Disease Severity,” 24(5):1062–1068, 2006.2 The scientist reviewing the literature discovered, through a PubMed search, that an article entitled “Alterations and Expression of Cartilage Specific Genes for Aggrecan and Collagen Type II in Osteoarthritis” had been published in theRomanian Journal of Morphology and Embryology in 2011, 52(2):5791.3 With the exception of the difference in the title and a different list of authors, the articles are identical.
One of the editors of the Journal of Orthopaedic Research, Joseph Buckwalter, contacted the editor of the Romanian Journal of Morphology and Embryology, Professor Laurentiu Mogoanta, and notified him of the duplicate publication. Dr. Mogoanta responded quickly and confirmed that the article published in the Romanian Journal of Morphology and Embryology had been copied from the article published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research. Dr. Mogoanta proceeded to remove the article from the Romanian Journal of Morphology and Embryology web site and online database. He took steps to retract the PubMed entry for this article and banned the authors indefinitely from publishing in the Romanian Journal of Morphology and Embryology. He also ceased collaboration with the reviewers involved in this manuscript and notified the Dean of Medicine and the Ethics Committee at the University where the authors of the plagiarized article work.
Investigators are under increasing pressure to accumulate a large number of publications if they wish to be promoted, acquire research funding, or even continue to be employed. At the same time, the proliferation of journals as well as the expanding use of the Internet has made it easier to commit plagiarism and more difficult to detect duplicate publication. Additionally, the availability of published work in an electronic form makes it easier than ever to copy sections of text or even entire manuscripts.
Journal editors are dedicated to publishing the best scientific work and protecting the integrity of scientific research. First and foremost, editors depend on the authors of submitted manuscripts to ensure that images, tables, and text included in manuscripts have not been previously published either by individuals other than those that are listed as authors on the submitted manuscript or by the authors themselves.1 Editors also depend on reviewers who are familiar with the subject matter contained in a manuscript to identify portions or entire manuscripts that have been previously published. However, the rapid increase in the number of journals makes it difficult for reviewers to be familiar with all published work in their area of expertise. In the last several years, many journals, including the Journal of Orthopaedic Research, have started using plagiarism checking software systems that electronically compare the text in a submitted manuscript with previously published text. Unfortunately, in some cases all of these methods of detecting plagiarism fail. Despite all these checks, the numbers of publications retracted for plagiarism continues to rise,4 illustrating that plagiarism continues to be a problem, even in the era of sophisticated computer software for its detection.
Plagiarism is an assault on the integrity of scientific research. In the case of plagiarizing another's work it is theft. Plagiarizing an individual's own work is a deception. As larger numbers of publications become available electronically in an increasing number of journals, it is more difficult for editors and reviewers to be aware of what has been published. Although computer programs are helpful in identifying plagiarism, they are not perfect. Scientists, educational institutions, and scientific societies must insure that students are educated concerning the need to adhere to the highest ethical standards including avoiding copying the work of others or publishing their own previous work without citing the previous publication and reporting examples of plagiarism. Ultimately, the responsibility for preventing plagiarism lies with the authors of submitted articles. When, as in this current case, authors fail to assume this responsibility and intentionally commit plagiarism, it is essential that the scientific community hold them accountable.
REFERENCES
1
Buckwalter JA, Wright TM, Donahue HJ, et al. 2011. Publishing the results of multiple experiments using the same methods and outcomes measures. J Orthop Res 29: 155– 156.
Direct Link:
Abstract
Full Article (HTML)
PDF(40K)
Web of Science®
2
Eid K, Thornhill TS, Glowacki J. 2006. Chondrocyte gene expression in osteoarthritis: Correlation with disease severity. J Orthop Res 24: 1062– 1068.
Direct Link:
Abstract
PDF(115K)
References
Web of Science® Times Cited: 10
3
Jalba BA, Jalba CS, Vladoi AD, et al. 2011. Alternations in expression of cartilage-specific genes for aggrecan and collagen type II in osteoarthritis. Rom J Morphol Embyrol 52: 587– 591.
CAS,
Web of Science®
4
Steen RG. 2011. Retractions in the scientific literature: is the incidence of research fraud increasing? J Med Ethics 37: 249– 253.
CrossRef,
Web of Science® Times Cited: 22
Plagiarism: An assault on the integrity of scientific research (pages 1867–1868)
Joseph A. Buckwalter, Tim Wright, Laurntiu Mogoanta and Benjamin Alman
Article first published online: 21 AUG 2012 | DOI: 10.1002/jor.22198
Scientists, clinical investigators, journal editors, and academic administrators are committed to developing and disseminating new knowledge, which in the medical field will improve lives. Achieving this goal requires that they preserve the integrity and uphold the credibility of scientific research. They universally regard plagiarism as one of the most serious forms of academic dishonesty and misconduct and a serious violation of moral and ethical standards. Yet, some authors, even those with extensive research experience from respected academic institutions, continue to commit plagiarism. Some individuals have been guilty of republishing significant portions of their own work without acknowledging that they have done so. An example of this practice, commonly referred to as self-plagiarism or recycling or reusing fraud, which arose in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research, was the focus of a previous editorial.1
But recently, the Journal has become involved in an episode of more traditional plagiarism, that is, copying someone else's work and presenting it as your own. This event illustrates the problems the scientific community faces in combating plagiarism. An investigator reviewing the published literature related to osteoarthritis discovered an article that had been published twice in its entirety. In May 2007, the Journal of Orthopaedic Research published a paper entitled “Chondrocyte Gene Expression in Osteoarthritis: Correlation with Disease Severity,” 24(5):1062–1068, 2006.2 The scientist reviewing the literature discovered, through a PubMed search, that an article entitled “Alterations and Expression of Cartilage Specific Genes for Aggrecan and Collagen Type II in Osteoarthritis” had been published in theRomanian Journal of Morphology and Embryology in 2011, 52(2):5791.3 With the exception of the difference in the title and a different list of authors, the articles are identical.
One of the editors of the Journal of Orthopaedic Research, Joseph Buckwalter, contacted the editor of the Romanian Journal of Morphology and Embryology, Professor Laurentiu Mogoanta, and notified him of the duplicate publication. Dr. Mogoanta responded quickly and confirmed that the article published in the Romanian Journal of Morphology and Embryology had been copied from the article published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research. Dr. Mogoanta proceeded to remove the article from the Romanian Journal of Morphology and Embryology web site and online database. He took steps to retract the PubMed entry for this article and banned the authors indefinitely from publishing in the Romanian Journal of Morphology and Embryology. He also ceased collaboration with the reviewers involved in this manuscript and notified the Dean of Medicine and the Ethics Committee at the University where the authors of the plagiarized article work.
Investigators are under increasing pressure to accumulate a large number of publications if they wish to be promoted, acquire research funding, or even continue to be employed. At the same time, the proliferation of journals as well as the expanding use of the Internet has made it easier to commit plagiarism and more difficult to detect duplicate publication. Additionally, the availability of published work in an electronic form makes it easier than ever to copy sections of text or even entire manuscripts.
Journal editors are dedicated to publishing the best scientific work and protecting the integrity of scientific research. First and foremost, editors depend on the authors of submitted manuscripts to ensure that images, tables, and text included in manuscripts have not been previously published either by individuals other than those that are listed as authors on the submitted manuscript or by the authors themselves.1 Editors also depend on reviewers who are familiar with the subject matter contained in a manuscript to identify portions or entire manuscripts that have been previously published. However, the rapid increase in the number of journals makes it difficult for reviewers to be familiar with all published work in their area of expertise. In the last several years, many journals, including the Journal of Orthopaedic Research, have started using plagiarism checking software systems that electronically compare the text in a submitted manuscript with previously published text. Unfortunately, in some cases all of these methods of detecting plagiarism fail. Despite all these checks, the numbers of publications retracted for plagiarism continues to rise,4 illustrating that plagiarism continues to be a problem, even in the era of sophisticated computer software for its detection.
Plagiarism is an assault on the integrity of scientific research. In the case of plagiarizing another's work it is theft. Plagiarizing an individual's own work is a deception. As larger numbers of publications become available electronically in an increasing number of journals, it is more difficult for editors and reviewers to be aware of what has been published. Although computer programs are helpful in identifying plagiarism, they are not perfect. Scientists, educational institutions, and scientific societies must insure that students are educated concerning the need to adhere to the highest ethical standards including avoiding copying the work of others or publishing their own previous work without citing the previous publication and reporting examples of plagiarism. Ultimately, the responsibility for preventing plagiarism lies with the authors of submitted articles. When, as in this current case, authors fail to assume this responsibility and intentionally commit plagiarism, it is essential that the scientific community hold them accountable.
REFERENCES
1
Buckwalter JA, Wright TM, Donahue HJ, et al. 2011. Publishing the results of multiple experiments using the same methods and outcomes measures. J Orthop Res 29: 155– 156.
Direct Link:
Abstract
Full Article (HTML)
PDF(40K)
Web of Science®
2
Eid K, Thornhill TS, Glowacki J. 2006. Chondrocyte gene expression in osteoarthritis: Correlation with disease severity. J Orthop Res 24: 1062– 1068.
Direct Link:
Abstract
PDF(115K)
References
Web of Science® Times Cited: 10
3
Jalba BA, Jalba CS, Vladoi AD, et al. 2011. Alternations in expression of cartilage-specific genes for aggrecan and collagen type II in osteoarthritis. Rom J Morphol Embyrol 52: 587– 591.
CAS,
Web of Science®
4
Steen RG. 2011. Retractions in the scientific literature: is the incidence of research fraud increasing? J Med Ethics 37: 249– 253.
CrossRef,
Web of Science® Times Cited: 22
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