Choosing Our Words Carefully: Plagiarism in the Internet Age

Abstract

words, no more and no less, makes writing “vigorous.” 1 This editorial’s theme might be summarized by a spin-off admonition: omit heedless words. Specifically, we wish to highlight the problem of plagiarism for our readers and to advise authors to heed contemporary expectations for their published work. Plagiarism,accordingtoHexham,is,“thedeliberate attempt to deceive the reader through the appropriation and representation as one’s own, the work and word of others.” 2 When discovered, it can lead to adverse consequences for the author and damage to a journal’s reputation, whose influence and usefulness depend on trust: “the trust of readers, authors, researchers, editors, patients, research subjects, funding agencies and administrators of public health policy.” 3 In this electronic age, the precise definition, limits, and significance of plagiarism have been in the spotlight. We believe that plagiarism is serious professional misconduct. To understand the contrasting and changing attitudes about plagiarism, a review of its history is helpful. Society’s stance toward plagiarism reflects its views and values of individuality, originality, and intellectual property. For most of the 5000 years written language has been in use, plagiarism as a concept has not existed. In the “golden age” of Greece, repetition without attributiondwhat we would now consider plagiarismdwas encouraged and valued. The views of Hippocrates and Galen were repeated or paraphrased unchallenged for 15 centuries, as were the teachings of Aristotle. 4 When a rival poet stole his verses in the first