This process helps identify submissions that might contain material that was copied verbatim from other sources. Thousands of journals use software such as iThenticate® to screen new submissions for potentially plagiarized material. Together, they are also available as a downloadable white paper, “ In Your Own Words: Best Practices for Avoiding Plagiarism.” We also define self-plagiarism and why it should be avoided elsewhere on the Author Resource Center. We also define self-plagiarism and why it should be avoided elsewhere on the Author Resource Center. The second, “ Avoid Plagiarism,” provides helpful suggestions for preventing any plagiarism (even if accidental), particularly by keeping good track of your sources to give them proper credit. The first, “ Defining Plagiarism,” deals with providing explanations and examples for several types of plagiarism that are most likely to affect scientists.
To help take the confusion out of plagiarism, Michaela Panter, a Senior Academic Editor at AJE and PhD in Immunobiology, wrote a series of articles on the topic available for free here on the Author Resource Center. Unfortunately, while plagiarism is universally considered a breach of publishing ethics, it is not always defined clearly.
While all this writing does mean more effort, it ensures the integrity of the scientific record and of all written scholarship. Of course, despite the volume of text already written, each new paper should be the intellectual work of the study’s authors.
With the increase in publications each year (well over two million papers were published last year), there is a huge amount of text available as part of the scholarly record. Regardless of your research field, writing is a critical component of sharing your findings with colleagues and the world.