A word about self-plagiarism and why it should be avoided

Jan 6
02:59

2020

Sebastian Szydlowski

Sebastian Szydlowski

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

Writers often maintain that because they are the authors, they can reuse their work as they please. So they also claim, that reusing own content couldn't be defined as "plagiarism", simply because they are not taking any words or ideas from someone else. However, while the debate on whether self-plagiarism is possible continues, the ethics of self-plagiarism is significant. The main reason for it is that self-plagiarism can infringe upon a publisher’s copyright.

mediaimage

Traditional definitions of plagiarism do not account for self-plagiarism. Writers are usually unaware of the ethics involved in reusing or re-purposing texts. It is also a form of cheating as well,A word about self-plagiarism and why it should be avoided Articles so not using the same chunks of texts in different papers is a good practice. And when citing own work, you must let the reader know and include relevant references. There is nothing wrong with bringing up past material, but it is essential to be upfront about it and not try to pass it off as new content.

There are very serious consequences to not submitting original work. Plagiarism and recycling of any kind can have an impact on your grades and your academic record or even can damage your reputation. Academic world knows a lot of stories about self-plagiarized authors, such as this one about well-known chemist Ronald Breslow.

Why Do Some Researchers Self-Plagiarize?

Self-plagiarism might not be the worst form of plagiarism, but it is certainly not widely accepted. So why do some researchers self-plagiarize? Academic world is very competetive, so one answer might be found in the fact, that researcher has to publish an article on a regular basis. Many researchers face a lot of pressure to publish if they wish to advance their career or attract funding. This in turn leads to "cutting corners” by re-using their own work. 

How to Avoid Self-Plagiarism?

If you plan to use some of your previous work, simply use appropriate citation to avoid the issue. Including small bits of information without actually citing the whole thing is ok too, if the content is relevant. Also try not to go overboard with it. For bigger chunks of text use paraphrasing and summarizing and include these as original sentences in your paper or dissertation. But make sure you know the difference between summary and paraphrasing. 

Reusing your own work will most likely not go unnoticed. Therefore you should be prepared to defend your choice. Even if you have thought about all the points above, you could still run into problems. A journal might choose to reject your work on the grounds of self-plagiarism, even if you think your choice is ok.

If you would like to know, how to safely reuse your own work, just click on this link to visit our website. You will find a wealth of information about academic and professional writing as well as some tips on publishing scientific papers. 

 

 

Article "tagged" as:

Categories: