PhiliPPine Journal of otolaryngology-head and neck Surgery Vol. 25 no. 2 July – december 2010 The recent dismissal of charges of plagiarism made against no less than a Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of the Philippines2 and subsequent retaliatory threats against protesting faculty of the College of Law of the University of the Philippines3 are matters of grave concern in a country where even the capital crime of plunder can be so blatantly disregarded. Not surprisingly, these misdemeanors share a similar etymology. Plagiarism comes from the “Latin plagiarius ‘kidnapper, seducer, plunderer,’ used in the sense of ‘literary thief ’ by Martial, from plagium ‘kidnapping,’ from plaga ‘snare, net.’”4 According to the World Association of Medical Editors, “plagiarism is the use of others’ published and unpublished ideas or words (or other intellectual property) without attribution or permission, and presenting them as new and original rather than derived from an existing source.”5 Just as ignorance of the law is not an excuse to violate it, the misconduct of plagiarism is not contingent on whether it was committed intentionally or unintentionally. Technical Plagiarism “occurs when one inadvertently fails to properly cite, credit, and/or integrate a source, be it text, computer code, graphic, audio, or video information into one’s work … (and) can range in severity from an errant footnote, to incomplete citation information to “forgetting” to cite altogether.”6 Five general types of plagiarism have been identified by Barnbaum:7 “cut and paste,” “word-switch,” “style,” “metaphor,” and “idea.” The first two are easy to understand, the first referring to literally lifting and applying words, phrases, sentences or paragraphs while the second involves substituting words or paraphrasing without attribution. But even following the flow of thought or reasoning style of another, substituting your own words sentence after sentence or paragraph after paragraph is “style plagiarism” and the same holds true when the metaphors or ideas of another are used without proper acknowledgement.7 The bottom line is that plagiarism gives the false impression that the words, ideas, composition or creation are those of the plagiarizer and not someone else’s, or misleads the recipient about the nature of the plagiarized material.5 EDITORIAL 4 PhiliPPine Journal of otolaryngology-head and neck Surgery Correspondence: Jose Florencio F. Lapeña, Jr. MA, MD Department of Otorhinolaryngology Ward 10, Philippine General Hospital University of the Philippines Manila Taft Ave., Ermita, Manila 1000 Philippines Phone (632) 526 4360 Fax (632) 567 9508 Email lapenajf@upm.edu.ph Reprints will not be available from the author. The author declared that this represents original material that is not being considered for publication or has not been published or accepted for publication elsewhere, in full or in part, in print or electronic media; that the manuscript has been read and approved by the author, that the requirements for authorship have been met by the author, and that the author believes that the manuscript represents honest work. Disclosures: Professor Lapeña is Secretary-General of the Asia Pacific Association of Medical Journal Editors (APAME), and a member of the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), which have policy positions against plagiarism that he echoes. He has no other relevant conflicts of interest to declare. Jose Florencio F. Lapeña, Jr. MA, MD1,2 1Department of Otorhinolaryngology College of Medicine - Philippine General Hospital University of the Philippines Manila 2Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery East Avenue Medical Center Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines Plagiarism and Plunder: Fabrication and Falsification “You, who are on the road Must have a code that you can live by And so, become yourself Because the past is just a good bye”1 PhiliPPine Journal of otolaryngology-head and neck Surgery Vol. 25 no. 2 July – december 2010 EDITORIAL PhiliPPine Journal of otolaryngology-head and neck Surgery 5 There is even “self-plagiarism,” which “refers to the practice of an author using portions of their previous writings on the same topic in another of their publications, without specifically citing it formally in quotes,”5 and may give the impression that the present work is new and original, when in fact it is not. According to Scanlon,8 while the whole issue of self-plagiarism “raises knotty conceptual, legal, ethical, and theoretical questions … we do and should give writers legal and ethical latitude for limited self-copying, although certainly not for egregious duplication.” Barring situational concessions for limited self- and technical plagiarism in exceptional contexts, plagiarism generally involves fabrication and falsification, which in science (as in law) are misconducts of the highest degree, regardless of the presence or absence of “malicious intent.” The Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors of The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) outlines the duties of editors in pursuing such misconduct: 9 Pursuing misconduct Editors have a duty to act if they suspect misconduct. This duty extends to both published and unpublished papers. Editors should not simply reject papers that raise concerns about possible misconduct. They are ethically obliged to pursue alleged cases. Editors should first seek a response from those accused. If they are not satisfied with the response, they should ask the relevant employers or some appropriate body (perhaps a regulatory body) to investigate. Editors should follow the COPE flowcharts where applicable (link to flowcharts). Editors should make all reasonable efforts to ensure that a proper investigation is conducted; if this does not happen, Editors should make all reasonable attempts to persist in obtaining a resolution to the problem. This is an onerous but important duty. If this “onerous but important duty” applies to scientific misconduct, how much more to an institution whose very foundations are based on ethics and morality and whose raison d’etre is their upholding? Where resides this institution’s moral authority, if it cannot set the example it ought to? It is not right to take what is not yours without permission; that is thievery at best. It is even worse to shamelessly appropriate for yourself, that which belongs to others; that is looting and piracy. But the large-scale wanton stripping of intellectual (and other) properties and subsequent justification with legalese that violate the very roots of academic (and other) freedoms for present and future generations are tantamount to no less than pillage and plunder. REFERENCES 1 Nash G. “Teach your children.” Crosby D, Stills S, Nash G, Young N, (Producers) [Sound recording] from the album Déjà vu. LP. Atlantic Records, 1970 May. 2 Supreme Court, Republic of the Philippines, Manila. (En Banc). A.M. No. 10-7-17-SC October 15, 2010. IN THE MATTER OF THE CHARGES OF PLAGIARISM, ETC., AGAINST ASSOCIATE JUSTICE MARIANO C. DEL CASTILLO. [cited 2010 November 08]. Available from http://www.lawphil.net/ judjuris/juri2010/oct2010/am_10-7-17-sc_2010.html 3 Dedace SM. “Supreme Court threatens to sanction law faculty critics.” GMANews.TV [homepage on the Internet]. GMA Network, Inc. 2010 October 20 [cited 2010 November 08]. Available from: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/203873/supreme-court-threatens-to-sanction-law-faculty- critics 4 ”Plagiarism,” in Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. [cited 2010 November 06]. Available from http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=plagiarism 5 “Publication Ethics Policies for Medical Journals” Prepared by the World Association of Medical Editors Publication Ethics Committee. [cited 2010 November 06]. Available from http://www. wame.org/resources/publication-ethics-policies-for-medical-journals#plagiarism 6 Marlboro College Graduate School [homepage on the Internet]. Vermont, USA: Marlboro College Graduate School; [cited 2010 November 07]. Available from:http://gradschool. marlboro.edu/resources/legal 7 Barnbaum C. “Plagiarism: A Student’s Guide to Recognizing It and Avoiding It” [monograph on the Internet]. Georgia: Valdosta State University Department of Physics and Astronomy. [cited 2010 November 06]. Available from: http://www.valdosta.edu/~cbarnbau/personal/teaching_ MISC/plagiarism.htm 8 Scanlon PM. “Song From Myself: An Anatomy of Self-Plagiarism.” Plagiary: Cross-Disciplinary Studies in Plagiarism, Fabrication, and Falsification. [serial on the Internet] 2007; [cited 2010 November 08] 2 (1): 1-11. Available from: http://www.plagiary.org/papers_and_ perspectives2007.htmhttp://www.plagiary.org/papers_and_perspectives2007.htm 9 Committee on Publication Ethics [homepage on the Internet]. “Code of Conduct” and “Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors” UK: Committee on Publication Ethics. [cited 2010 November 08] Available from: http://publicationethics.org/guidelines