Recently, Annals of Internal Medicine experienced an egregious case of scientific misconduct. In this commentary, a researcher whose work was plagiarized outlines the harm that intellectual theft causes both the plagiarist and those whose work has been stolen. Plagiarism and other forms of intellectual theft are far more common in science than one would like to think.
Use these papers to:
- Consider how plagiarism like the example here might harm the scientific community.
- Consider why someone might plagiarize another person's work. Although not excusable, what pressures might contribute to the occurrence of such behavior? What, if anything, can be done about it?
- Do you think that all authors of the paper plagiarized from others' work are equally responsible for the act? How should those who plagiarize others' work be punished?
Annals of Internal Medicine is the premier internal medicine academic journal published by the American College of Physicians (ACP). It is one of the most widely cited and influential specialty medical journals in the world.