PHI 735 – Spring 2012

Short Writing Assignment #2 - Plagiarism

This assignment is due Tues., 1/31 in class. Suggested length is 2-3 pages typed.  Find a recent instance of plagiarism from a scientific journal or federal grant proposal. Make sure the perpetrators were from an American university. (This is not because Americans are inherently more interesting or virtuous, but we do tend to have a more developed research ethics culture than some places.) There are various ways one might go about this, e.g., by looking at recently settled cases at ORI (Office of Research Integrity) or by finding retractions and admissions of guilt published in a journal. Answer the following questions in writing, and please come to class with the documentation needed to show others what you found. (Please try to find your own case. I would like for us to be able to put several examples out on the table to think about and discuss.)

a. Do you consider this to be plagiarism, and why?

b. How was it detected?

c. Did the authors give any explanation of how this happened? If so, is their explanation credible?

d. Did the journal or other relevant organization handle the issue adequately, in your view? (With respect to due process, publicity, the appropriateness of punishment, etc.) What more (or less) should be done?