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More on Plagiarism in the Social Sciences1
Gary A Hoover and Brandli Stitzel
Department of Economics
University of Oklahoma
308 Cate Center Drive
Norman, OK 73019
Ph: 405-325-5857
Email: ghoover@ou.edu
Abstract: This paper presents the results of a follow up survey to journal editors a decade after
Enders and Hoover (2004) original survey asked editors about their attitudes and known
instances of plagiarism. This work investigates what, if anything, has changed in regards to how
journal editors react to suspected plagiarism and if the definition of plagiarism has changed. In
addition to surveying editors of economics journals we have surveyed the editors of political
science and sociology journals to contrast differences that might exist. We find….
Keywords:
JEL codes:
1 The authors wish to thank Zachary Guerra for invaluable research assistance.The usual caveats apply regarding
errors
Introduction
Enders and Hoover (2004) was the first known survey of how journal editors in the economics
profession classified plagiarism. In addition, over 29% of the editors reported that they
encountered one or more cases of plagiarism in a given year. Nearly two-thirds of these editors
reported that the fear of potential litigation had no impact on their behaviors regarding
plagiarism.
Our paper presents the results of a follow up survey to journal editors over a decade after
that original survey. The intent of this work is to investigate what, if anything, has changed in
regards to how journal editors react to suspected plagiarism and if they define as plagiarism has
changed. However, in addition to surveying editors of economics journals we have surveyed the
editors of political science and sociology journals to contrast differences that might exist
between the disciplines in regards to defining or countering plagiarism among academics.
At the time of the Enders and Hoover (2004) piece, the instances of reported cases of
academic plagiarism were few and the amount of academic research being done in economics
and other social sciences was scant. However, in the years that proceeded, there have been
several high profile cases of plagiarism that have even reached the popular press and a great deal
more time and attention has been paid to the area by researchers. Table 1 partially lists the
academic work done by scholars regarding academic plagiarism in economics and business. The
works listed in Table 1 are but a fraction of the work that has been done in the last decade and
most have come after 2004. What should be clear from this list is that people now are taking this
much more seriously than before.
The research efforts regarding academic plagiarism have varied. Most of these efforts
begin with some formal definition of what is plagiarism and copyright infringement. For an
excellent overview of these definitional issues see Enders and Hoover (2004) or Karabag and
Berggren (2012).
It should also be noted that in 2004 there were no websites dedicated to plagiarism or
unethical behaviors by academics in economics. There are now committees and websites that
seek to expose such people such as Retraction Watch, RePEc plagiarism page and Association
for Integrity and Responsible Leadership in Economics and Associated Professions
(AIRLEAP).2
The actual survey instrument can be found in the appendix to this paper. We gathered the
names of journal editors that were publically available from sources such as the websites of the
American Economic Association, the American Sociological Association, the American Political
Science Association, and various other outlets. In total we sent out over 1,400 email requests to
participate in the survey and received ### useable results for a response rate of ###. We do note
that this does not represent a statistically accurate representative sample of editors but does
provide useful insights into the present day thinking of editors concerning this issue.
2 The respective web addresses are: www.retractionwatch.com, https://plagiarism.repec.org/index.html, and
www.airleap.org.
REFERNCES
Arce, D. G., W. Enders, and G. A. Hoover. 2008. “Plagiarism and Its Impact on the Economics
Profession,” 60 Bulletin of Economic Research 231–43
Collins, A., G. Judge, and N. Rickman. 2007. “On the Economics of Plagiarism,” European
Journal of Law and Economics,” 24 pp. 93 -107.
DeMartino, G. BA Professional Ethics Code for Economists,” Challenge, 48, 4, 2005, pp.
88Y104.
Enders, W.; Hoover, G. A. Whose Line is it?: Plagiarism in Economics,^ Journal of Economic
Literature, 42, 3, 2004, pp. 487Y493.
Honig, B., Bedi, A. 2012. The Fox in the Hen House: A Critical Examination of Plagiarism
among Members of the Academy of Management. Academy of Management Learning &
Education 11:1, 101–123.
Journal of Economic Perspectives. 2011. Letter to Professor Bruno Frey. 25(3). Pp 239 – 240.
KYKLOS. 1999. “A Case of Plagiarism,” 52:3, pp. 311.
Lacetera, N., Zirulia, L. 2011. The Economics of Scientific Misconduct. Journal of Law,
Economics, & Organization 27:3, 568-603.
List, J.; Bailey, C. B.; Euzent, P.; Martin, T. BAcademic Economists Behaving Badly? A Survey
on Three Areas of Unethical Behavior,” Economic Inquiry, 39, 1, 2001, pp. 162Y170.
Necker, S., 2014, “Scienfitic Misbehavior in Economics,” Research Policy 43, pp 1747 – 1759.
Quart. J. Econ. 1984. “Notice to Our Readers,” 99:2, pp. 383–84.
Martin, B. 2013, “Whither Research Intergity? Plagiarism, Self-Plagiarism and Coercive Citation
in an Age of Research Assessment,” Research Policy, 42, pp. 1005 – 1014.
Wilhite, A.W., Fong, E.A., 2012. Coercive citation in academic publishing. Science 335(6068),
542–543.
Table 1
General Ethics
Specific Instances
Quarterly Journal of Economics (1984)
Kyklos (1999)
Research Policy (2007)
Journal of Economic Perspectives (2011)
Surveys
List et al. (2001)
Enders and Hoover (2004)
Enders and Hoover (2006)
Wilhite and Fong (2012)
Necker (2014)
Experimental
Empirical
DeMartino (2005)
Honig and Bedi (2012)
Theoretical
Hoover (2006)
Collins et al. (2007)
Arce et al. (2008)
Lacetera and Zirulia (2011)
plagiarism research paper

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plagiarism research paper

  • 1. More on Plagiarism in the Social Sciences1 Gary A Hoover and Brandli Stitzel Department of Economics University of Oklahoma 308 Cate Center Drive Norman, OK 73019 Ph: 405-325-5857 Email: ghoover@ou.edu Abstract: This paper presents the results of a follow up survey to journal editors a decade after Enders and Hoover (2004) original survey asked editors about their attitudes and known instances of plagiarism. This work investigates what, if anything, has changed in regards to how journal editors react to suspected plagiarism and if the definition of plagiarism has changed. In addition to surveying editors of economics journals we have surveyed the editors of political science and sociology journals to contrast differences that might exist. We find…. Keywords: JEL codes: 1 The authors wish to thank Zachary Guerra for invaluable research assistance.The usual caveats apply regarding errors
  • 2. Introduction Enders and Hoover (2004) was the first known survey of how journal editors in the economics profession classified plagiarism. In addition, over 29% of the editors reported that they encountered one or more cases of plagiarism in a given year. Nearly two-thirds of these editors reported that the fear of potential litigation had no impact on their behaviors regarding plagiarism. Our paper presents the results of a follow up survey to journal editors over a decade after that original survey. The intent of this work is to investigate what, if anything, has changed in regards to how journal editors react to suspected plagiarism and if they define as plagiarism has changed. However, in addition to surveying editors of economics journals we have surveyed the editors of political science and sociology journals to contrast differences that might exist between the disciplines in regards to defining or countering plagiarism among academics. At the time of the Enders and Hoover (2004) piece, the instances of reported cases of academic plagiarism were few and the amount of academic research being done in economics and other social sciences was scant. However, in the years that proceeded, there have been several high profile cases of plagiarism that have even reached the popular press and a great deal more time and attention has been paid to the area by researchers. Table 1 partially lists the academic work done by scholars regarding academic plagiarism in economics and business. The works listed in Table 1 are but a fraction of the work that has been done in the last decade and most have come after 2004. What should be clear from this list is that people now are taking this much more seriously than before. The research efforts regarding academic plagiarism have varied. Most of these efforts begin with some formal definition of what is plagiarism and copyright infringement. For an excellent overview of these definitional issues see Enders and Hoover (2004) or Karabag and Berggren (2012). It should also be noted that in 2004 there were no websites dedicated to plagiarism or unethical behaviors by academics in economics. There are now committees and websites that seek to expose such people such as Retraction Watch, RePEc plagiarism page and Association for Integrity and Responsible Leadership in Economics and Associated Professions (AIRLEAP).2 The actual survey instrument can be found in the appendix to this paper. We gathered the names of journal editors that were publically available from sources such as the websites of the American Economic Association, the American Sociological Association, the American Political Science Association, and various other outlets. In total we sent out over 1,400 email requests to participate in the survey and received ### useable results for a response rate of ###. We do note that this does not represent a statistically accurate representative sample of editors but does provide useful insights into the present day thinking of editors concerning this issue. 2 The respective web addresses are: www.retractionwatch.com, https://plagiarism.repec.org/index.html, and www.airleap.org.
  • 3. REFERNCES Arce, D. G., W. Enders, and G. A. Hoover. 2008. “Plagiarism and Its Impact on the Economics Profession,” 60 Bulletin of Economic Research 231–43 Collins, A., G. Judge, and N. Rickman. 2007. “On the Economics of Plagiarism,” European Journal of Law and Economics,” 24 pp. 93 -107. DeMartino, G. BA Professional Ethics Code for Economists,” Challenge, 48, 4, 2005, pp. 88Y104. Enders, W.; Hoover, G. A. Whose Line is it?: Plagiarism in Economics,^ Journal of Economic Literature, 42, 3, 2004, pp. 487Y493. Honig, B., Bedi, A. 2012. The Fox in the Hen House: A Critical Examination of Plagiarism among Members of the Academy of Management. Academy of Management Learning & Education 11:1, 101–123. Journal of Economic Perspectives. 2011. Letter to Professor Bruno Frey. 25(3). Pp 239 – 240. KYKLOS. 1999. “A Case of Plagiarism,” 52:3, pp. 311. Lacetera, N., Zirulia, L. 2011. The Economics of Scientific Misconduct. Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization 27:3, 568-603. List, J.; Bailey, C. B.; Euzent, P.; Martin, T. BAcademic Economists Behaving Badly? A Survey on Three Areas of Unethical Behavior,” Economic Inquiry, 39, 1, 2001, pp. 162Y170. Necker, S., 2014, “Scienfitic Misbehavior in Economics,” Research Policy 43, pp 1747 – 1759. Quart. J. Econ. 1984. “Notice to Our Readers,” 99:2, pp. 383–84. Martin, B. 2013, “Whither Research Intergity? Plagiarism, Self-Plagiarism and Coercive Citation in an Age of Research Assessment,” Research Policy, 42, pp. 1005 – 1014. Wilhite, A.W., Fong, E.A., 2012. Coercive citation in academic publishing. Science 335(6068), 542–543.
  • 4. Table 1 General Ethics Specific Instances Quarterly Journal of Economics (1984) Kyklos (1999) Research Policy (2007) Journal of Economic Perspectives (2011) Surveys List et al. (2001) Enders and Hoover (2004) Enders and Hoover (2006) Wilhite and Fong (2012) Necker (2014) Experimental Empirical DeMartino (2005) Honig and Bedi (2012) Theoretical Hoover (2006) Collins et al. (2007) Arce et al. (2008) Lacetera and Zirulia (2011)