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How to avoid plagiarism in a manuscript

 

Most researchers are hard-pressed for time, and ESL (English as Second Language) or EFL (English as Foreign Language) researchers may have a difficult time expressing their views in English. These researchers may unintentionally be caught in plagiarism issues, which violate publication ethics of international English journals.

A plagiarized paper is always rejected by the peer-reviewed journal’s editor. This not only damages the reputation of the author but also raises a question mark on the credibility of the research carried out by scientists in academia.  This situation is particularly grim among researchers in Korea, China, and Japan.

What is the definition of plagiarism?

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, plagiarism is defined as “an act of using another person’s words or ideas without giving credit to that person.” Most Chinese, Korean, and Japanese researchers have a problem paraphrasing the findings of related studies in their manuscript. They often use the research findings of published authors in their paper but fail to acknowledge the sources. This is what causes plagiarism in their document.

In this article, we restrain ourselves to discussing academic plagiarism and we also suggest ways of avoiding it. In the “introduction” and “discussion” sections of a manuscript, it is very important to present information from previously published studies. However, this information should be cited from credible sources. Authors who fail to acknowledge the work of other researchers are accused of plagiarism by journal editors.

Types of plagiarism in academia

Intentional plagiarism

Some authors intentionally plagiarize in academia. There have been instances where authors have entirely copied the findings of a related study and claimed authorship of the plagiarized work. Authors are found guilty of plagiarism when they copy the text of another related study without citing the source in the reference list. In a systematic review, authors have to gather data from various related studies and then work on this data and present them as their own. This is a tricky and cumbersome task that often leads to “mosaic plagiarism.”

Accidental Plagiarism

Most students pursuing master’s and doctorate degree are caught in plagiarism issues. Most ESL and EFL researchers have issues paraphrasing the content of related studies. More often, they may use quotation marks inappropriately in their paper. They may also fail to cite papers correctly. While paraphrasing the content, ESL and EFL authors often retain the sentence structure and this leads to plagiarism. While authors may cite the content correctly, the authors must paraphrase in their words.

Self-plagiarism

Some authors include information from their previously published papers, but they do not cite these papers in their manuscript. This is known as self-plagiarism. All journals look out for novelty of content, so it is very important to maintain originality of a manuscript. Authors should always cite their previously published papers in their manuscript.

How to avoid plagiarism in an academic manuscript?

All researchers including Issac Newton and Albert Einstein have referred to the work of previously published papers and come up with innovative concepts. Therefore, an author must always be careful to acknowledge the work of previously published authors in their manuscript. The following tips would be useful in avoiding plagiarism issues:

1. Authors may use quotation marks in their manuscript

In some fields of study, authors may quote the work of previous authors in “verbatim” style. In such situations, the authors must use “quotation marks” to highlight the “verbatim” text in the document. The source from which the quoted text was obtained must also be cited in the document.

2. Authors must paraphrase the content in their words

To paraphrase the content of previously published studies, authors should have a grasp of academic writing skills and English language proficiency. Although the paraphrased content may be included in a new manuscript, it should clearly relate with an original concept in the study.

While paraphrasing the content, the authors should change the sentence structure and wordings but strive to retain the original meaning. The sources used for obtaining the content must be cited in the reference list of the document. Footnotes may also be used for citations.

3. All the components of a sentence may have references

Very often, sentences may include ideas from related studies. Therefore, each idea presented in the sentence must be appropriately cited with the matching source. For example, authors may be using different protocols for testing different animals in a study. These protocols may be mentioned in a single sentence.

Authors should ensure that these protocols are cited with their appropriate references. For example, an author may construct a sentence as follows: Protocol X has been used previously in bovine and murine cells. In this case, the author should cite the study that used bovine cells and the study that used murine cells separately in the reference list.

4. Authors must maintain the accuracy of all references

While writing an academic manuscript, the authors must ensure that all the cited references are accurate. Famous authors have many published papers, so authors should make sure that they have cited the correct paper. An author may be caught in plagiarism issues if they have cited papers inaccurately in the manuscript.

5. Authors should use reference management software and plagiarism checker software

Endnote is the most widely used reference management software that enables authors to create a reference list easily. There are many online companies providing plagiarism checker software. Some companies offer it for free and some offer paid versions. Among them, iThenticate and PlagScan are most commonly used by academics. Authors may check the originality of their work with any of these software programs.

Harrisco is an academic editing company that offers complete publication support to authors in Korea, China, and Japan. Harrisco offers plagiarism check and extensive editing services to ESL and EFL authors, thereby bridging the gap between academia and publishing. Harrisco has been in operations since 1997 and successfully established its brand in Korea. Welcome to Global Harrisco, let us take care of your publication needs!
 

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Why Researchers should use Credible Citations in their Manuscript

A scientist has to cite the findings of previous studies while writing a manuscript. These sources should be checked thoroughly for their authenticity. However, there are instances where the sources have been incorrectly cited and not brought to the notice of the reviewer and editor. In this article, I present all the reasons for citing credible sources in a manuscript.

In the year 1675, Isaac Newton was a famous scientist who conceded to the fact that his work was a development of previously related studies in classical physics. Thus, even reputed scientists referred to the findings of previously published studies. However, Sir Issac Newton did not mention the names of other illustrious scientists in his field of work.

A well-written manuscript will always include citations from credible sources. This ensures academic honesty and prevents authors from getting caught in plagiarism issues. The in-text references have to be presented in the form of a list at the end of the article. Although these are some of the valid reasons for citations, there are other less-known reasons for citing references in a manuscript.

A scientist has to be meticulous enough for citing the findings of previous studies in their manuscript. A well-cited manuscript is enough to gain respect in the scientific community. The other compelling reasons for citing references from credible sources are as follows:

1. Citations from credible sources are used for fact-checking purposes

Scientists have to be accurate enough while writing their research study. A cited reference is used to verify the accuracy of the content. For example, the findings of a related study must be cited with a credible reference. It can also be used to establish the authenticity of the content in a passage.

2. Citations are used to improve the quality of a research paper

A good research study contains detail-oriented work; the researcher should comprehend patterns and establish connections between different results of the study. A researcher who provides a good number of citations is able to achieve this feat.

To properly attribute the content to its related sources, a researcher has to pay attention to many terms. This includes page numbers, the names of authors, and the accuracy with which the author is presenting facts in the document.

A detail-oriented approach is really required to write a good research paper. A well-written bibliography is required for scientific analysis. By compiling a bibliography, an author can condense immense amount of information. Thus, the author gains the ability to foresee patterns and identify trends in a research field. 

3. An author can become a better writer by following good practices of citations

Journal editors really look forward to a paper in which the content and language are of high standards. To achieve this goal, authors should have the good habit of attributing the content to credible sources. Phrases such as “everyone knows” should be clearly replaced with credible sources. This ensures clarity of thought and eliminates the possibility of an intellectual goof-up. Remember, there is no room for false claims in an academic document.

A reader does not have any questions about the facts presented in a manuscript when they are properly cited from specific sources. Moreover, active voice can be easily used while citing facts from previous studies. Journal editors often give authors a red flag for using passive voice in an article. Phrases like “it has been reported” should be clearly eliminated from an academic manuscript.

4. An excellent bibliography proves the scientific expertise of an author

In a manuscript, a well-read author will present a comprehensive bibliography of citations. In this case, a bibliography is simply the reference list that is presented at the end of the article. It enlists all the citations that have been included in the manuscript. Compared to the content in the article, an impressive bibliography usually receives more compliments from peer reviewers.

In case of a double-blinded peer review, the authors are often reprimanded when they do not provide adequate citations in their manuscript.  In such cases, the peer reviewers would consider the authors to be amateurs in their field because they failed to cite a prestigious research study that was related to their piece of work.

5. Authors gain credibility as scholars when they follow good citation practices

To gain credibility in the eyes of the scientific community, authors should provide a good bibliography. An article that is well-cited attracts the attention of peers. Moreover, it also proves that the authors of that manuscript are indeed scholars in their field of study. A well-documented research work always attracts more credibility from colleagues in the academic community.

6. A research work can be easily verified from citations

In academia, a research paper is reviewed by several people before being published in the print media or on a journal’s website. The peer review process of science citation index (SCI) journals is very strict and rigorous. The editorial process is also very exhaustive.

The peer reviewers and journal editors accurately peruse through the bibliography and ensure that the citations are genuine. In other words, a paper is more likely to be considered for publication when the authors have taken the efforts to include all attributions to previous studies correctly.

There are different styles of referencing citations in a manuscript. The most prominent among them are the Harvard style and the Vancouver style of referencing. These reference styles shall be explained in detail in the next article.