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Recently, after the acceptance of a paper, the journal said some sentences were exactly copied in my manuscript. I was shocked as I was the first author. Later, we found that during the preparation of the revised manuscript, one of the co-authors exactly copied two sentences from a reference. This brought fear in my mind if I had ever been a co-author in an unintentionally plagiarized paper. I got access to the Turnitin from a friend at a different institute and checked all my previous papers.

I realized that 8-10 years ago, a visiting student in my lab had significant portions of the published papers plagiarized. The data and analysis were correctly done in my supervision, but significant parts of introduction, methods and some places discussion were plagiarized. I had read and edited the drafts of the papers, but I didn't realize that he had copied text from other papers. Generally, most sources are cited. The student already earned a PhD based on the work.

At that time, no-one in our country had access to the plagiarism detection software from institutions.

What should I do now?

Melanie Shebel
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DR A Ali
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    How bad is it? What are some sentences? – Buffy Jan 25 '20 at 22:18
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    Overall 25-30 %, but literature review is 50-80 % copied words. One source is 10 %, second 4 % and third 4 %, in overall paper. – DR A Ali Jan 25 '20 at 23:00
  • What did the first journal request that you must do because of the plagiarism? – Jeffrey J Weimer Jan 26 '20 at 00:20
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    The problem in the first paper happened before publishing. The editor mentioned that the referees have accepted the paper in the current form and we found exactly copied text which should be updated before acceptance. We updated the two sentences and the paper is published now.

    The issue is in the past papers.

     – DR A Ali Jan 26 '20 at 06:03
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    Sorry if this is stating the obvious, but given this issue is in a paper from a number of years ago, have you checked that the "plagiarised" papers were indeed written before yours? Or whether the material was "plagiarised" from the student's own thesis, which is often acceptable? – user2390246 Jan 27 '20 at 10:57
  • I don't have much experience with Turnitin, but how good is it at differentiating actual, intentional plagiarism from something like quotes (direct or otherwise?) or faithfully recounted results from literature? "80% copied words" sounds fairly unimpressive to me for a literature review section. Hell, I'd be more worried if it was "too original". Plus this comment probably plagiarises 80% of "words" in your question... Secondly, "two sentences" of a technical nature is hardly "plagiarism" in my view, unless they contain a novel claim which should have been attributed to another author. – Tasos Papastylianou Jan 28 '20 at 16:43
  • Likely not a problem, unless you or this student runs in some election e.g. Putin's case . Then again, he basically got away with the "I cited my sources" excuse. From what you said, the student was just a lazy writer, he's now claiming other's people works, discoveries and achievements as his, maybe just other people's wording, which frankly, over time, every original writing is more likely to look like a copy from somewhere else. – Mefitico Jan 28 '20 at 21:21
  • This is evidence for the hypothesis that "Plagiarism does not matter." – emory Jan 29 '20 at 14:27

6 Answers6

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Move on. In the abstract, of course, we should care about these things but, in reality, a paper that has been out there for 8-10 years has passed the statute of limitations. It is exceedingly unlikely that anyone will go back and check papers that old -- indeed, even if someone finds textual overlap with other sources, it will require quite a lot of work and human intervention to determine who copied from whom.

The point for you to take away is this: You learned a lesson to be more careful in the future. That's a good thing from your perspective, and it will make sure that you won't get into a potentially embarrassing situation again in the future. In the meantime, relax.

Wolfgang Bangerth
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    Wasn't there a German minister where they identified plagiarism offences in a thesis from 30-40 years ago? I think many felonies have a shorter statue of limitations. OP is right in being concerned. – Captain Emacs Jan 26 '20 at 22:51
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    I think you overstate the difficulty of determining who copied from whom. With the amount of plagiarized material quoted by the OP, the plagiarism victim will be able to produce convincing and overwhelming proof in short order. This advice all hinges on the unlikely-to-ever-check argument. – President James K. Polk Jan 27 '20 at 02:01
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    @CaptainEmacs: I think there's a difference between a thesis and some random publication -- one among many the OP's likely has. For a thesis, there is no doubt about authorship, and the result of a thesis is also a title ("Dr"). Finding plagiarism in a thesis leads to revokation of the title, and that leads to a downfall in a public servant's career. The (unlikely) retraction of a single, decades-old paper is unlikely to have the same effect. The case you cite is that of Guttenberg, who had received his PhD in 2007, with plagiarism found in 2011. – Wolfgang Bangerth Jan 27 '20 at 02:34
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    The other case you are thinking of is probably that of German minister Schavan, who lost her 1980 PhD in 2013. Her case was particular because she was, at the time, minister for Science and Culture, i.e., she was responsible for exactly the sort of integrity she was found to have violated herself. That certainly made her position untenable. – Wolfgang Bangerth Jan 27 '20 at 02:46
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    This answer is wrong. Ethics do not have a "statute of limitations." The chances of getting caught are also irrelevant. – Anonymous Physicist Jan 27 '20 at 03:49
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    @AnonymousPhysicist: I don't disagree, but ethical transgressions also have a "severity" associated with it, and the severity often has consequences for the punishment you might expect. I'm not trying to excuse the issue, I'm simply saying that for all practical purposes, the consequences will likely not be too grave. – Wolfgang Bangerth Jan 27 '20 at 03:59
  • I totally agree with the answer message. There is no way to compare a plagiarised thesis to some random sentences in a "some" paper. – Alchimista Jan 27 '20 at 08:46
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    @WolfgangBangerth I am not saying that people should be unduly punished for something that happened long ago - I am saying, however, that memories are long. In fact, there seems to be a propensity to punish people for things that happened long ago because it is politically expedient, it's fashionable, or the danger that relevant others might be compromised has passed. The Schavan example (which I had in mind) is unappetising, but 40 years should be a long enough time to sort things out. It wasn't. Bottom line: If OP expects a significant academic career, they should play safe. – Captain Emacs Jan 27 '20 at 08:52
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    -1, for the precise reason @CaptainEmacs gives. All it needs is someone who wants to hurt OP, even if this is five or fifteen years down the road. Yes, this is only one publication - but how many other collaborators have done similar things? Old cases like these will be easier and easier to dig up programmatically, and if OP attains lofty heights in their career, something like this can be very problematic. Picture this: someone anonymously points out to a grant/tenure/job search committee a couple of heavily plagiarized publications with your name on them. Not good at all. – Stephan Kolassa Jan 28 '20 at 10:57
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    @StephanKolassa Can the OP be hurt? They only co-authored a paper that plagiarised, or so they claim. Of course, they could attract some flak, but can they be blamed? – user2768 Jan 28 '20 at 11:07
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    As time goes on plagiarization detection software will get better then it's currently. Even if it's today unlikely that someone else runs the software, as time goes on software like that will improve to make it easier and less time intensive to detect those cases. – Christian Jan 28 '20 at 11:28
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    @user2768 All authors a co-responsible for a paper. Our times have also a tendency to back-project our ethical codes (and abilities, such as the ability to plagiarism-check) into the past, so the fact that the author - at that time - was not able to check for their colleague's plagiarism will not likely factor as an excuse today. I am not sure that it is appropriate to demand that all authors have to check all their past collaborations via plagiarism checkers (after all academia relies on trust or it would be unworkable), but since OP already discovered an issue, they better repair it. – Captain Emacs Jan 28 '20 at 12:02
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    @CaptainEmacs All authors are indeed co-responsible for a paper, but surely no author can be reasonably expected to detect plagiarism. That isn't to say plagiarism cannot be detected by co-authors, just that it is unlikely. Of course, we could all start analysing (with software) our co-authors' work for plagiarism, but is that a desirable modus operandi? – user2768 Jan 28 '20 at 14:00
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    @user2768 As I said, "academia relies on trust, but since OP already discovered an issue, they better repair it." I do think that this is a reasonable approach. I am not a proponent of the "let's dig far into the past and find all dirt possible" approach, but others are, and this is why I think the present response is underestimating the risk for OP on not doing anything, especially if they can hope to have a distinguished career. – Captain Emacs Jan 28 '20 at 14:31
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    @CaptainEmacs I think I understand your position: Co-authors should rely on trust, but upon discovery, plagiarists must be reported. – user2768 Jan 28 '20 at 15:08
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    @user2768 Exactly. – Captain Emacs Jan 28 '20 at 15:13
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    @CaptainEmacs Yes. Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp "Wilhelm" Franz Joseph Sylvester Buhl-Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg. – Yonatan N Jan 28 '20 at 20:30
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    @YonatanN No, I had Schavan in mind, whose thesis was almost buried in the dark past and I am not sure it was as blatant. Guttenberg's PhD was far more recent; and he could have been far more aware of the potential of being found out. Plus, his plagiarism was not even the main offence. If I remember correctly, his was a case of having the thesis ghostwritten (partially, at least, by the research service of the Bundestag; in blatant abuse of taxpayers' resources, of original work - the ensuing plagiarism was just the icing on the cake). A perfect anti-example. – Captain Emacs Jan 28 '20 at 21:06
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You should contact the official at the visiting student's PhD institution who is responsible for academic integrity. They should investigate the student's thesis for plagiarism, potentially leading to the revocation of the PhD degree.

For the visiting student's publication, you should contact the journal and let them decide what to do. I would guess they would decide to issue a correction.

Anonymous Physicist
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    My reading is that the OP is also a co-author on those papers, so yes they can contact the journal, but it might make sense for the OP to be write the "correction." – Kimball Jan 27 '20 at 21:42
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    This is a terrible suggestion. At no point did the OP state any evidence that the student's PhD contained any plagiarism. Before making such serious allegations against someone, for their (former) institution to pursue, at the very least one should have some evidence to justify it. This approach would seem like enacting retrospective and disproportionate vengeance upon the then-student for their apparent (and quite possibly completely unrelated) plagiarism on the paper. – Michael MacAskill Jan 28 '20 at 21:27
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    @MichaelMacAskill The question says "The student already earned a PhD based on the work." The question clearly implies the plagiarism is in the thesis. I advocate for accountability, not vengeance. Even if the plagiarism were not also in the thesis, notification would be appropriate. – Anonymous Physicist Jan 28 '20 at 21:58
  • "Even if the plagiarism were not also in the thesis, notification would be appropriate". Why? If there was no plagiarism in the thesis, then there is no requirement to notify the university at all. If any notification is required, it should only be with the editors of the journal concerned, surely. – Michael MacAskill Jan 29 '20 at 00:36
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    "Before making such serious allegations against someone" @Michael MacAskill neither half of this is an allegation. That the PhD recipient plagiarized is fact not allegation. And telling the issuing institution of that is notification not allegation.

     – Swiss Frank Jan 29 '20 at 06:11
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    @MichaelMacAskill They're going to hear about it from the journal or the press, so it's polite to give them a chance to handle it appropriately before it's in the news. – Anonymous Physicist Jan 29 '20 at 06:50
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    This answer is horrible. There is only a suspicion and one should make an official accusation? That could have criminal or civil liability consequences against the accuser. These were the methods of denouncers to Gestapo. – Vladimir F Героям слава Jan 29 '20 at 09:48
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    @VladimirF Your comment completely misrepresents the situation and this answer, and your comparison to gestapo methods is deplorable. – Konrad Rudolph Jan 29 '20 at 15:08
  • @KonradRudolph Not methods of Gestapo, methods of people who without any need denounced other people to them from their own will. If you can't digest the G word, take Stasi or StB instead. – Vladimir F Героям слава Jan 29 '20 at 18:38
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    @VladimirF Slight inaccuracy in my comment then. This doesn’t make your comment better. Upholding academic standards, which rely largely on self- and community-policing, by following established procedures for reporting of wrongdoing, is not the same as denouncing innocents to a fascist police organ. – Konrad Rudolph Jan 29 '20 at 18:40
  • @VladimirF The answer assumes that the question is correct; there is evidence of misconduct. Misconduct must be called out and investigated (informing authorities of evidence so they should investigate is not the same as accusing). When there is evidence, it is not libel or slander. A totalitarian police state does not investigate or care about evidence. That is totally different from my answer. Also, libel/slander laws vary greatly from place to place. Things that are illegal in some places are just fine in others. – Anonymous Physicist Jan 30 '20 at 10:12
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I strongly recommend to contact the editor of the journal involved and explain the situation. Yes, this may lead to a retraction or expression of concern, but that is still better than to sit on this information, and ( more likely than not ) someone else finding out. For guidance you can check the retraction policy of the publisher. Certainly the larger publishers ( Wiley, Springer, Elsevier, etc ) have this information online. Full disclosure - I work for a publisher.

Rolf Kwakkelaar
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  • Seems fairly unlikely anyone else would find out. Especially since the OP (an author) who read the paper more thoroughly than most will didn't know for years. – Michael Mior Jan 28 '20 at 00:35
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    @MichaelMior OP used a software to check their publications for plagiarism. Anyone could check a large number of publications that way. The further OP progresses in their career, the more likely it becomes that someone will check. –  Jan 28 '20 at 06:51
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    Precisely correct. All it needs is someone who wants to hurt the OP and has access to Turnitin or similar. – Stephan Kolassa Jan 28 '20 at 10:49
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    I should add that I think from an ethical perspective, it doesn't matter if someone else is likely to ever discover that it happened or not. – Michael Mior Jan 28 '20 at 14:46
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No, there's no "statute of limitation" on plagiarism. It's a lot like murder in that way. I've had people complain to me that they had their work plagiarized by papers that were published 10 years earlier - it happens and the likelihood increases with time as the papers are there forever. You report it to the journal where your work was published; that's it, no other options. If in doubt, check out this web site: https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Guidelines The editor will evaluate the level of plagiarism and if it exists, will determine the appropriate course of action. It can range from publishing an erratum to a full-on retraction of the paper. In the future, before submitting a paper, always run it through plagiarism detection software or at least do a literature search on your abstract to see what else is out there. You'd be surprised how much plagiarism gets caught by very simple means.

Hakim Meskine
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Check if your institution have guidelines on plagiarism and follow them. If not, maybe discuss with some of your colleagues how you've been duped and recomend them to check their coauthored work. After all, your primary concern is about not falling victim of a plagiarism accusation in the future, so the best insurance for that should be some moral grandstanding.

mgr
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The fact that you ask the question at all after all this time is impressive and speaks for itself. I would go with the advice given by @Wolfgang Bangerth although, of course, strictly speaking it would be the right way to report the issue and accept the consequences.

Let's say you would have commited some sort of offence in the 'real world', like shoplifting something small 10 years back without having been caught. Let's further assume you know it has been filmed by a camera, so there definitely is evidence and you were only not caught because for some reason nobody looked at the video. Would you report it? You maybe should, but many people would say it would not be wise given that the consequences of what you have done are small. Additionally, as far as I know, such as 'minor' issue falls under the Statute of Limitations after five years in Germany (where I live). So you could talk about what you have done without fearing any (legal) consequences. I am not sure if such a concept exists at all in academia, but this concept makes sense so me. Nobody was hurt, and the damage is also rather small. Staying in this picture, something more severe like murder would be a totally different story.

So the answer to your question is given by answering another question: Where would you put your case? Do you think it is so severe that after such a long time it is still necessary to report it yourself, without anybody else even taking notice? Does it press so hard on your conscience? If so, go ahead and report it. However, my advice is different. We are all humans, and we all make mistakes.

Snijderfrey
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