TY - JOUR
T1 - Plagiarism in Non-Anglophone Countries
T2 - a Cross-sectional Survey of Researchers and Journal Editors
AU - Gupta, Latika
AU - Tariq, Javeria
AU - Yessirkepov, Marlen
AU - Zimba, Olena
AU - Misra, Durga Prasanna
AU - Agarwal, Vikas
AU - Gasparyan, Armen Yuri
N1 - © 2021 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.
PY - 2021/10/11
Y1 - 2021/10/11
N2 - BACKGROUND: Plagiarism is one of the most common violation of publication ethics, and it still remains an area with several misconceptions and uncertainties.METHODS: This online cross-sectional survey was conducted to analyze plagiarism perceptions among researchers and journal editors, particularly from non-Anglophone countries.RESULTS: Among 211 respondents (mean age 40 years; M:F, 0.85:1), 26 were scholarly journal editors and 70 were reviewers with a large representation from India (50, 24%), Turkey (28, 13%), Kazakhstan (25, 12%) and Ukraine (24, 11%). Rigid and outdated pre- and post-graduate education was considered as the origin of plagiarism by 63% of respondents. Paraphragiarism was the most commonly encountered type of plagiarism (145, 69%). Students (150, 71%), non-Anglophone researchers with poor English writing skills (117, 55%), and agents of commercial editing agencies (126, 60%) were thought to be prone to plagiarize. There was a significant disagreement on the legitimacy of text copying in scholarly articles, permitted plagiarism limit, and plagiarized text in methods section. More than half (165, 78%) recommended specifically designed courses for plagiarism detection and prevention, and 94.7% (200) thought that social media platforms may be deployed to educate and notify about plagiarism.CONCLUSION: Great variation exists in the understanding of plagiarism, potentially contributing to unethical publications and even retractions. Bridging the knowledge gap by arranging topical education and widely employing advanced anti-plagiarism software address this unmet need.
AB - BACKGROUND: Plagiarism is one of the most common violation of publication ethics, and it still remains an area with several misconceptions and uncertainties.METHODS: This online cross-sectional survey was conducted to analyze plagiarism perceptions among researchers and journal editors, particularly from non-Anglophone countries.RESULTS: Among 211 respondents (mean age 40 years; M:F, 0.85:1), 26 were scholarly journal editors and 70 were reviewers with a large representation from India (50, 24%), Turkey (28, 13%), Kazakhstan (25, 12%) and Ukraine (24, 11%). Rigid and outdated pre- and post-graduate education was considered as the origin of plagiarism by 63% of respondents. Paraphragiarism was the most commonly encountered type of plagiarism (145, 69%). Students (150, 71%), non-Anglophone researchers with poor English writing skills (117, 55%), and agents of commercial editing agencies (126, 60%) were thought to be prone to plagiarize. There was a significant disagreement on the legitimacy of text copying in scholarly articles, permitted plagiarism limit, and plagiarized text in methods section. More than half (165, 78%) recommended specifically designed courses for plagiarism detection and prevention, and 94.7% (200) thought that social media platforms may be deployed to educate and notify about plagiarism.CONCLUSION: Great variation exists in the understanding of plagiarism, potentially contributing to unethical publications and even retractions. Bridging the knowledge gap by arranging topical education and widely employing advanced anti-plagiarism software address this unmet need.
KW - Adult
KW - Cross-Sectional Studies
KW - Editorial Policies
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Plagiarism
KW - Publishing/ethics
KW - Research Personnel/psychology
KW - Scientific Misconduct/ethics
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
U2 - 10.3346/jkms.2021.36.e247
DO - 10.3346/jkms.2021.36.e247
M3 - Article
C2 - 34636502
SN - 1011-8934
VL - 36
SP - e247
JO - Journal of Korean Medical Science
JF - Journal of Korean Medical Science
IS - 39
ER -
