Is there plagiarism in the most influential publications in the field of andrology?

My Personal Viewpoint on Plagiarism in Andrology Articles

Dr. Bahadır Şahin responds to the questions by Ashok Agarwal



1. How do you deal with the issue of plagiarism in your own scientific writing and publications?

To prevent plagiarism in my scientific writing, I prioritize comprehensive citation of all references, employ plagiarism detection software, and uphold a strong commitment to originality in presenting research. Comprehending and valuing the rights of intellectual property are crucial, as is developing a practice of conscientiously recognizing the contributions of others.

2. What are the three main reasons for an increase in plagiarism these days?

Accessibility of Information: The internet offers convenient access to extensive amounts of information, which may lead some individuals to plagiarize without giving proper credit.

• a. The imperative to publish: The prevailing "publish or perish" culture within academia exerts significant pressure on researchers to generate a greater number of papers, occasionally resulting in compromised ethical standards.
• b. Inadequate awareness or comprehension: Occasionally, particularly among novice researchers, there exists a deficiency in comprehending the definition of plagiarism and the methods to prevent it.

3. What is your advice on the three things that GAF researchers can do to avoid falling victims of plagiarism?

• a. Education and Training: Consistent instruction on research ethics and accurate citation practices can effectively minimize inadvertent plagiarism.
• b. Utilizing plagiarism detection tools can aid in the early detection and resolution of potential issues during the research and publication process.
• c. Encouraging a Culture of Integrity: Cultivating a setting that prioritizes innovation and ethical behavior in academic investigations will inherently deter plagiarism.

4. What will you consider an egregious case of plagiarism?

An egregious instance would involve the exact replication of significant sections of someone else's work, particularly crucial findings or data, without providing proper citation or recognition. This not only breaches ethical norms but also erodes the trust and integrity of the scientific community.

5. What actions would you advise against the authors or groups (in your institution or outside) who deliberately engage in plagiarism in the original research articles?

• a. Institutional Review and Sanctions: The institution should undertake a comprehensive evaluation. If plagiarism is verified, it is necessary to consider suitable measures, such as retracting the papers, suspending the individual, or terminating their employment.
• b. Inform professional or academic organizations to ensure wider knowledge and response.
• c. Educational Remediation: In situations where there is a deficiency in comprehension, it is necessary to implement educational interventions to mitigate the likelihood of future instances.
  

Bahadır Şahin, MD: Short Biography

Bahadır Şahin, MD

Assistant Professor in Urology

Marmara University School of Medine

Urology Department, Andrology Division

İstanbul, Turkey

Email: drbahadirsahin@gmail.com

ORCID id: 0000-0002-4874-4178

My Personal Viewpoint on Plagiarism in Andrology Articles

Prof. Taymour Mostafa responds to the questions by Ashok Agarwal

1. How do you deal with the issue of plagiarism in your scientific writing and publications?

Deep understanding of the subject background through several scientific resources before starting to write.

2. What are the three main reasons for an increase in plagiarism these days?

• a. Lack of article writing skills, English writing skills, skills to search in scientific databases, and skills to use reference software.
• b. Increased search data day by day due to the numerous publications.
• c. Increased writing on a special subject numerously on a special item such as COVID-19 pandemic, artificial intelligence, antioxidants etc.

3. What is your advice on the three things that GAF researchers can do to avoid falling victims of plagiarism?

• a. Attending the different comprehensive webinars held by GSF.
• b. Deep understanding of the subject background through several scientific resources, before starting writing.

4. What will you consider an egregious case of plagiarism?

If complete paragraph(s) are copied from few papers.

5. What actions would you advise against the authors or groups (in your institution or outside) who deliberately engage in plagiarism in the original research articles?

In our institution, there is an obligation to submit each research article to the iThenticate plagiarism tool (with a report and stamp from official organizations) before submission to the promotion committee, grants, or awards. Otherwise, it is rejected.

Taymour Mostafa, MD MBBCh, MSC, DS: Short Biography

Introducing a NEW item: Expert Opinion

Expert Speaks on the “Plagiarism in Andrology Research”

Dr. Nicolás Garrido Puchalt (Spain) responds to the questions by Ashok Agarwal

1. What is your perspective on plagiarism in scientific research?

Scientific communication is the pillar that sustains the advancement of knowledge, allowing researchers to build on the basis generated by others, and therefore, any situation that jeopardizes the integrity of the information communicated must be prevented, discovered, and the perpetrator punished. The scientific community must have quality information that is certain and reliable, to enable progress.

Plagiarism, on the other hand, is a big word, encompassing a wide range of scenarios, from the indiscriminate copying of entire articles to moderate self-plagiarism by using own phrases and expressions, or even information from one's previous work, and whose consequences or sanctions must be proportionate to the problem generated. Plagiarism, per se, does not generate a problem of integrity of the information, but of who is attributed the merit of a work, result, or interpretation.

2. Have you encountered any incidents of plagiarism in your academic career?

Yes, of course, in the academic field, it is not unusual to find this type of circumstances, and in very different proportions, i.e. from small texts copied literally, which do not constitute a violation of the acceptable limits (both journals and universities are increasingly implementing plagiarism detection systems, which even measure the percentage of copied text, and identify the original source). Interestingly, acceptability thresholds may differ between institutions.

In my experience, it is much more frequent in student papers than in researchers and their submissions to scientific journals, where it is a much more controlled aspect. Moreover, I see ato decrease over the years, even though it is becoming increasingly difficult to write without resembling existing text, given the large amount of new information on each topic that is available every day.

3. How do you address plagiarism in your role as a journal editor?

There are available tools provided by the Editorials for each journal to filter out those papers with a significant percentage of copied text, that may vary among them. Then, if suspected plagiarism with already existing sources is found, there are nice guidelines from the COPE on how to act in this sense, that are internationally followed. See more information here. https://publicationethics.org/sites/default/files/plagiarism-submitted-manuscript-cope-flowchart.pdf

4. What are your three recommendations for GAF researchers to avoid plagiarism?

Plagiarism can be conscious, but it can also be unconscious. Obviously, the conscious is not acceptable, and in general, when referring to another work, even if a similar message is sent, the wording must be distinct enough to be considered original. Refrain from literally copying. To avoid the unconscious, which can originate from something as simple as using one's own texts, or writing sentences that contain expressions or comments that are very common in a field ("Infertility is a disease that affects 15% of the population of reproductive age..."), the recommendation is to identify it by using the multiple tools available online before submitting it to the corresponding journal. This might be a risk when writing reviews. Be original. Use your own words.

5. Could you share examples of egregious plagiarism cases you've come across?

Sure, cases where the whole paper tables and figures were already published by the same author on a previous paper about a different topic (this means not only plagiarism, but also data fabrication), cases where the University Final Master’s Thesis were done with ChatGPT from already existing sources, presenting more than 75% of plagiarized text, and also a paper where the references were provided as an image, copied from an existing book chapter, from which the text was also fully copied. Among others, I think these were the most extreme cases I’ve come across.

6. What is your advice on handling authors or groups engaged in deliberate plagiarism?

As described above, if deliberate plagiarism can be demonstrated, depending on what position I hold regarding them, the way I will respond would be different. If collaborating in a research/writing project, I would stop this collaboration. As a Journal Editor, seems obvious that the paper would not go through the revision process if detected beforehand, and the paper could be retracted if detected later. As a teacher, not accepting the student’s work and suspending the student.

7. What is your opinion on the use of AI Bots like ChatGPT in scientific research?

There are some nice papers out there on this topic. See RBM online, Altmae et al., 2023 “Artificial intelligence in scientific writing, a friend or a foe?”. Although I have no experience on this, I trust the authors concluding that can be a help in several aspects of scientific writing as organizing materials, creating some draft pieces, proofreading, etc. like in all creative writing, as it could be the case of screenwriters, book writers, etc.

We can also expect in the near future newer improved AI tools, in comparison with those nowadays available, since currently there are some significant limitations on their use.

8. What is your advice for GAF members who may be using the AI Bots in scientific writing?

The manuscript by Altmae et al. provides a thorough explanation of various limitations that authors employing AI bots for scientific writing must carefully consider. These limits include critical aspects that warrant attention during the preparation of any manuscript using such tools. Plagiarism stands out as a primary concern, given that the bot draws information from numerous pre-existing sources. Additionally, it is imperative to assess whether the bot aligns with the author's interpretation, scrutinize the completeness and relevance of the information chosen by the bot for analysis, and ensure that it resonates with the author's experience and knowledge.

9. What is your view on whether ChatGPT and similar Bots are a " Friend or Foe" of GAF researchers?

The Chat Bots if used cautiously can be of nice assistance for scientific writing, but so far, they cannot replace author’s knowledge, experience, and assess the need for major revision in a written article/ scientific report, as one may do with the work of a junior researcher in your team.

Nicolas Garrido, PhD: Short Biography

Christine Wyns, MD, PhD: Short Biography

Expert Speaks on the “Plagiarism in Andrology Research”

Prof. Ralf Henkel (United Kingdom) responds to the questions by Ashok Agarwal

1. What is your perspective on plagiarism in scientific research?

With increasing pressure on researchers to publish, plagiarism is a problem that must not be ignored. This problem is exacerbated by the pressure researchers experience in getting a job.

2. Have you encountered any incidents of plagiarism in your academic career?

Yes, as Editor-in-Chief for Andrologia, I have encountered plagiarism several times.

3. How do you address plagiarism in your role as a journal editor?

When a manuscript is submitted for publication, we automatically check for plagiarism and similarity with relevant software. Then, the report is checked to see where the similarity is. If whole paragraphs or sections are copied, the manuscript will be rejected outright. On the other hand, if there are only a few sentences plagiarized, the manuscript will be returned to the authors with relevant advice for significant revision. If we detect plagiarism after publication, the paper will be retracted.

4. What are your three recommendations for GAF researchers to avoid plagiarism?

• a. Do not only take information from where you have seen it, verify it.
• b. Paraphrase information and ALWAYS cite the relevant verified reference.
• c. Be aware of self-plagiarism!

5. Could you share examples of egregious plagiarism cases you've come across?

I do not have relevant examples readily available.

6. What is your advice on handling authors or groups engaged in deliberate plagiarism?

If I find authors or groups who continue plagiarizing, they will be earmarked and blocked from publication. Relevant articles will then be retracted, and possible legal action will be considered.

7. What is your opinion on the use of AI Bots like ChatGPT in scientific research?

In my opinion, this is a huge problem as it makes plagiarism much easier. Therefore, plagiarism software such as Turnitin have implemented a feature that can identify AI generated text sequences. Authors will be informed accordingly and have to revise the

relevant sections with relevant references. 

8. What is your advice for GAF members who may be using the AI Bots in scientific writing?

I would advise not to use AI bots at all. Science and scientific articles should reflect the intellectual ability of the writer/scientist and not of some AI bot. Not using these bots will also reduce the risk of plagiarizing other papers.

9. What is your view on whether ChatGPT and similar Bots are a "Friend or Foe" of GAF researchers?

As I said, I do not advise using these bots as science should reflect human ingenuity and creativity, not that of a machine.

Ralf Henkel, PhD: Short Biography

Acknowledgement: Bahadir Sahin, Taymour Mostafa, Nicolas Garrido, Christine Wyns and Ralf Henkel contributed to this week’s Management Special. We are grateful for their generous support as senior members of the GAF.