A concern about plagiarism

The Biomedical Imaging and Intervention Journal (biij), like all other scientific journals, is concerned with the serious issue of plagiarism. The Publications Committee of the International Organization of Medical Physics (IOMP) has prepared an editorial on plagiarism, which is reproduced here with some modifications, with permission from the IOMP. In addition, this editorial is also consistent with the Policy on Plagiarism of World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) [1]. Plagiarism – from the Latin " plagiare, " meaning " to kidnap " – is defined as " the appropriation or imitation of the language, ideas and thoughts of another author and representation of them as one's original work " [2]. Plagiarism is a serious breach of research ethics that, if committed intentionally, is considered research misconduct. Plagiarism may result in serious sanctions including public disclosure, loss of research funding, loss of professional stature, and termination of employment. Plagiarism undermines the authenticity of research manuscripts and the journals in which they are published. It also compromises the integrity of the scientific process and public regard for science. Plagiarism violates the literary rights of individuals whose work has been plagiarised and the property rights of copyright holders. Violation of literary or property rights may result in legal action against the individual(s) committing plagiarism. Although plagiarism has existed since the beginning of science, it seems to be increasing because the World Wide Web facilitates finding and copying the work of others. It is possible not only to plagiarise the work of others, but also one's own work through reuse of identical or nearly identical portions of manuscripts without acknowledgment or citation. Simultaneous or subsequent submission of similar manuscripts with only minor differences and without citation between the manuscripts is, unfortunately, a rather common practice among authors hoping to acquire multiple publications from a research project. Scientific journals discourage this practice and usually will not permit it if exposed before publication. Occasionally, the same – or a very similar – article may be published in two journals because the journals reach different audiences and the article is of interest to both. This practice must be approved by the editors of both journals and the duplication must be acknowledged in each article. When there is a possibility of plagiarism – often through an allegation of plagiarism by the original author, a reviewer or an interested third party – the journal's editor should act quickly. The …