Search Results for: plagiarism

The one that got away: Plagiarism cuts line on fish stock paper

A pair of researchers in India has lost a paper in Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries for lifting chunks of text from other sources. The article, “Advancements in morphometric differentiation: a review on stock identification among fish populations,” appeared in last March from scientists at the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources in Lucknow. … Continue reading The one that got away: Plagiarism cuts line on fish stock paper

Ask Retraction Watch: Is publishing my thesis verbatim self-plagiarism?

Last week, we launched a new feature, “Ask Retraction Watch.” We invited readers to send in their questions. Here’s one we got right away:

A new plagiarism euphemism: “language from already published sources without using proper citation methods”

A recent issue of Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology (CREST) adds a new euphemism for plagiarism to our rapidly growing list. There are two retractions in the issue of the Taylor & Francis journal. One is for “Remediation of Heavy Metal Contaminated Soils: An Overview of Site Remediation Techniques,” by a group from … Continue reading A new plagiarism euphemism: “language from already published sources without using proper citation methods”

Ask Retraction Watch: Is this plagiarism?

With this post, we’re going to try a new feature: Ask Retraction Watch. What we really mean by that is ask Retraction Watch’s readers, who time and time again have shared their expertise and made us smarter. So if you have questions you’d like posed in this space, find our contact info here. Here goes. … Continue reading Ask Retraction Watch: Is this plagiarism?

Irony alert: Authors lose paper in loss prevention journal for plagiarism

If it seems that we write “irony alert” often, well, can you blame us? The Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries (we’ll call it JLPPI for short) has retracted a paper it published earlier this year for plagiarism from multiple sources. The article, “FTA vs. Tripod-Beta, which seems better for the analysis of … Continue reading Irony alert: Authors lose paper in loss prevention journal for plagiarism

Journal retracts a 24-year-old sociology paper for plagiarism–of a 1975 article

The South African Review of Sociology has retracted a 1989 paper by an author who must have figured the source — a 1975 article — was sufficiently well removed from institutional memory to catch anyone’s eye. Evidently that was a safe bet for a generation. But we’re guessing the Internet permitted the detective work that … Continue reading Journal retracts a 24-year-old sociology paper for plagiarism–of a 1975 article

That’s not plagiarism, it’s an “administrative error”

Our list of ways that authors and editors find to dance around writing the word “plagiarism” seems to grow longer by the week. Today, we can add “administrative error” to that collection of euphemisms, thanks to authors from South Africa and the editors of an education journal. Here’s the notice for “Development studies students as … Continue reading That’s not plagiarism, it’s an “administrative error”

What’s the difference between plagiarism and “unintended and unknowing breach of copyright?”

In our work here at Retraction Watch, we’ve seen a number of euphemisms for plagiarism. (See slides 18-22 of this presentation for a selection.) Today, in following up on a case we covered last month, we’ve learned of a new way to avoid saying the dreaded p-word. We reported in June that sex researcher Willibrord … Continue reading What’s the difference between plagiarism and “unintended and unknowing breach of copyright?”

Computer science paper retracted for plagiarism

Note to computer scientists: a publication is not a reconfigurable logic device. The Journal of Circuits, Systems and Computers has retracted a 2010 article by a pair of Iranian researchers who put the paper together using previously published work that, simply put, they reconfigured for their own purposes. The article, “Autonomous Group Testing Based Fault … Continue reading Computer science paper retracted for plagiarism

“Clear case of plagiarism” forces retraction of chemistry paper

The Journal of Chemical Sciences,  the journal of the Indian Academy of Sciences, has retracted a 2012 paper by a group of researchers in India and South Korea who stole material (and a lot of it) from a 2009 article for their reactant. The retraction notice (it’s a pdf) speaks quite well for itself: