I know that many of us are enrolled in the Scholarly Writing course and have been spending a lot of time relearning APA as we put our papers together. I have always understood the need for citation, but as I have been constructing my first draft it is becoming clear to me how easy it can be to plagiarize, even unintentionally. As we find commonalities between concepts from different researchers and utilize those concepts in our papers it is often difficult to ascertain what are my thoughts v. what are the thoughts of the researchers. I have gone ahead and assumed at this point that none of the thoughts are mine so I better cite, cite, cite. I did read somewhere earlier this week that is always better to over-cite than under-cite. So I have chosen the former so I don't get labeled a plagiarizer. For some reason, I always thought that improper citations or the occasional lifting of language is what all of these stringent rules around citation are for. Today I read an article that shocked me and helped me realize that some people will do whatever is necessary to succeed.
Growing up with a longhaired, hippy step-father I have always been raised to believe that academics were a bit arrogant, but have thought that perhaps they have a right to be because they have taken the time to master their field. How can academics be that bad if they are just trying to advance knowledge? It quite honestly had not occurred to me that there are academics that would essentially contrive an entire study, fabricating data sets and sharing this data with colleagues all the while knowing that they are sham. A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education highlights such an instance.
A Dutch Psychologist has just been suspended from Tilburg University because he has been accused of fabricating dozens of research studies. Diedrik Stapel was reported by six young researchers who suspected him of contriving data and sharing this data with colleagues. The article does a nice job of summarizing how he got away with it for so long, but I want to know why he did it. Stapel himself cites "the pressure to score points, to publish, to always have to be better" as a reason for his deceit. Well this is fantastic answer. Well if that makes it okay, we should all cheat, lie, and steal. If it will relieve some of the pressure that we are feeling, then why not? I don't buy his reasoning.
I wonder if this has to do more with his personal identity as a research - a good researcher. I wonder if he did this so that he could feel the satisfaction of being the big man on campus, the one with all of the data sets and all the answers. Those who worked with him reported that to question him at all was a personal attack on his integrity as a researcher. They accuse him of staring down those who disagreed with him. While refusing to answer questions from colleagues about his research was a way to protect the truth that his research was fake, why were other senior professors not more inquisitive regarding his practices? If 6 young researchers can identify that there is something amiss, then how is it possible that no one else reported the issue? The article touches on this briefly as it hails the young whistle blowers as courageous. While some professors did have suspicions, they did not report those suspicions. In a world where integrity and the development of shared knowledge is paramount, why didn't these professors come forward?
Are they protecting themselves? Is plagiarism really so rampant or that easy to fall into accidentally, that they are afraid to accuse another of it? If there is anyone who should be concerned about plagiarism it is those whose work is most effected by it, researchers in the same field. I am shocked that 6 young researchers had to be the ones to end years of undeniable and appalling deceit. Aren't we just apprentices, should are professors be doing that very thing? Not only to protect their field but to develop a sense of professional responsibility among those that they mentor?
When I was in my Masters program, the Chancellor of my college was forced to take a tenured faculty position in the architecture department because he plagiarized his strategic plan for another university and passed it off as an original idea to be utilized at my school. I've wondered since then why academics make such a big deal about plagiarism and are happy to keep a person employed in a secure job despite their dishonesty. For academics, are simple mistakes allowable, or at least not reason for a complete dismissal from academia. If the integrity of our research is so important then how can we let plagiarism slide at all. ( I just typed that and envisioned myself being kicked out of the program because I cited something wrong) I wonder if this same fear entered the minds of the administrators at my prior college or the professors who let Diedrik Stapel get away with his plagiarism for so long.
What would you do if you discovered that a classmate was plagiarizing? Would you speak to them privately and suggest they don't do it, or would you report them to the professor? Would you feel nervous to do it because you are nervous that there may be an honest error in your work? What if you found out that Matt Birnbaum was plagiarizing? Would your response be different? Just wondering?
Interesting post. I knew plagiarism was common and I assumed that this was mostly from students genuine lack of knowledge on what constitutes plagiarism. Little did I know that some of the wrongdoings are due to the intentional efforts on the part of faculty.
ReplyDeleteYou asked would I report a student, or faculty who I found to be plagiarizing? To me it comes down to intent. If it was a minor oversight or honest mistake I would have a conversation with this individual. This would be a great learning opportunity for faculty and students alike. I would ask them to notify the journal and make corrections.
If the plagiarism was intentional in efforts to gain attention etc., we've got a problem. I would for sure take the necessary steps to ensure that my classmate/faculty member were held accountable for his/her actions. If they are willing to cheat then chances are they are willing to harm students and peers in other ways as well.
Brad, I think you would really like reading Don McCabe's research. He has dedicated his researching career to examining the phenomenon of academic dishonesty and academic integrity at the college and university level. I'm not surprised to see that a faculty member got away with plagiarizing and fabricating so much data.
ReplyDeleteOur students have become such masters at academic dishonesty, and to be quite honest, our faculty members stink at recognizing it. According to one set of statistics, over ¾ of students admitted cheating at some point in their University careers. According to another dataset, over 90% of high school students admit to some kind of academic integrity violation.
Another interesting piece of academic integrity is with Dr. Frank Fischer. He's a leading scholar in the field of public policy. Recently, one of his graduate student accused Dr. Fischer of stealing the students research and creating a book out of it.
Thanks for your post, I really enjoyed reading it.
This blog reminds me of Margaret’s blog of 10/27 regarding “90% Plagierism in your Publication May Lead to…” under “Really, this is Unbelievable. I agree with Aaron that it comes down to intent when considering the punishment. If a graduate students is found to be plagiarizing, or falsifying data, I would hope the conversation is much different than if a faculty member or administrator does the same thing. One of the best on going discussions we have is if it is actually possible to plagiarize yourself and if so, how bad of an error is it if the original source for the idea is YOU?
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