When Peer Reviewers Steal

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<div class="row-fluid "> <div class="span12 widget-span widget-type-custom_widget " style="" data-widget-type="custom_widget" data-x="0" data-w="12"> <div id="hs_cos_wrapper_module_1633340987539419" class="hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_widget hs_cos_wrapper_type_module widget-type-rich_text" style="" data-hs-cos-general-type="widget" data-hs-cos-type="module"><span id="hs_cos_wrapper_module_1633340987539419_" class="hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_widget hs_cos_wrapper_type_rich_text" style="" data-hs-cos-general-type="widget" data-hs-cos-type="rich_text"></span></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row-fluid-wrapper row-depth-1 row-number-4 "> <div class="row-fluid "> <div class="span3 widget-span widget-type-custom_widget " style="" data-widget-type="custom_widget" data-x="0" data-w="3"> <div id="hs_cos_wrapper_module_1633604474961260" class="hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_widget hs_cos_wrapper_type_module" style="" data-hs-cos-general-type="widget" data-hs-cos-type="module"><div class="blog-author-social"> <div id="hubspot-author_data" class="hubspot-editable" data-hubspot-form-id="author_data" data-hubspot-name="Blog Author"> Posted by <a title="Jonathan Bailey" class="author-link" href="https://www.ithenticate.com/plagiarism-detection-blog/author/jonathan-bailey">Jonathan Bailey</a> on Mar 3, 2017 3:58:47 PM </div> <div class="addthis_inline_share_toolbox"></div> </div></div> </div> <div class="span9 widget-span widget-type-global_group " style="" data-widget-type="global_group" data-x="3" data-w="9">  </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row-fluid-wrapper row-depth-1 row-number-5 "> <div class="row-fluid "> <div class="span4 widget-span widget-type-cell blog-listing-sidebar" style="" data-widget-type="cell" data-x="0" data-w="4"> <div class="row-fluid-wrapper row-depth-1 row-number-6 "> <div class="row-fluid "> <div class="span12 widget-span widget-type-custom_widget border-bottom" style="" data-widget-type="custom_widget" data-x="0" 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data-hs-cos-type="module"> <div class="section post-body"> <div class="blog-post__content"> <span id="hs_cos_wrapper_post_body" class="hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field hs_cos_wrapper_type_rich_text" style="" data-hs-cos-general-type="meta_field" data-hs-cos-type="rich_text"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img src="https://www.ithenticate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/whenpeerr.png?width=700&height=121&name=whenpeerr.png" alt="whenpeerr.png" width="700" height="121" srcset="https://www.ithenticate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/whenpeerr.png?width=350&height=61&name=whenpeerr.png 350w, https://www.ithenticate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/whenpeerr.png?width=700&height=121&name=whenpeerr.png 700w, https://www.ithenticate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/whenpeerr.png?width=1050&height=182&name=whenpeerr.png 1050w, https://www.ithenticate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/whenpeerr.png?width=1400&height=242&name=whenpeerr.png 1400w, https://www.ithenticate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/whenpeerr.png?width=1750&height=303&name=whenpeerr.png 1750w, https://www.ithenticate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/whenpeerr.png?width=2100&height=363&name=whenpeerr.png 2100w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px"></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Back in December, </span><a href="http://retractionwatch.com/2016/12/12/dear-peer-reviewer-stole-paper-authors-worst-nightmare/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Retraction Watch told the story of Michael Dansiger</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a researcher at the Tufts Medical Center in Boston.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dansiger submitted a paper to the </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Annals of Internal Medicine, </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">which rejected it for publication. While even good research can be rejected, the story took an unexpected twist when the paper was republished in </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">EXCLI Journal </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">with different authors, and one of the peer reviewers who originally rejected was listed as an author.<br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The plagiarism resulted in the published article quickly being retracted at the request of the corresponding author. </span><a href="http://annals.org/aim/article/2592773/dear-plagiarist-letter-peer-reviewer-who-stole-published-our-manuscript"><span style="font-weight: 400;">It also prompted a deeply personal response from Dansiger himself</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which was published in the </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Annals of Internal Medicine</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and an editorial note entitled “</span><a href="http://annals.org/aim/article/2592772/scientific-misconduct-hurts"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scientific Misconduct Hurts</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">” from the editor-in-chief of the journal. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Without a doubt, this is the one of the most egregious breaches of trust that’s possible in scientific research. Peer reviewers are meant to be the guardians against research misconduct but, in this case, the reviewer abused their position to perpetrate it and in the most heinous way.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As Dansiger pointed out in his response, the reviewer didn’t just steal his paper, but a project that took five years to complete and required the work of multiple researchers. As explained in the editor’s note, the plagiarism was complete with data, charts, graphs and near-verbatim text being used. It also required fabrication of data since Dansiger’s research used patients from the United States but the plagiarized paper claimed they were from South Italy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fortunately, this type of plagiarism is exceedingly rare. </span><a href="http://retractionwatch.com/2016/03/14/i-am-really-sorry-peer-reviewer-stole-text-for-own-paper/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">While it has happened before</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, it’s far from a common occurrence. In terms of frequency, it’s far less common </span><a href="http://retractionwatch.com/2016/03/14/i-am-really-sorry-peer-reviewer-stole-text-for-own-paper/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">than predatory journals</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> or duplicative publication. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Still, the fact it happens at all is disconcerting. This is made worse by the fact that the </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Annals of Internal Medicine </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">has declined to name the peer reviewer involved. However, </span><a href="https://www.statnews.com/2016/12/12/plagiarist-study-science/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dansiger and Stat News has identified the researcher as Carmine Finelli</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, who was both lead author and corresponding author on the plagiarized paper.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Regardless of what is known now, the reluctance to name the reviewer involved can only embolden others who may attempt a similar scheme. Though Dansiger’s desire to not “tattle” on the perpetrator may be coming from a noble intent, it not only risks the other authors taking the blame but allows the reviewer to continue working for other publications, and possibly committing other ethical violations, with editors and and researchers unaware.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When egregious crimes against research ethics are committed, there is an ethical and practical imperative for them to be pointed out. As long as the worst violators are unknown, they can continue working and that opens up the possibility of further infractions and further challenges for research.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the end, scientific research is built as much upon the trust the public has in the process as it is the hard work of the researchers that carry out the studies. Stories such as this one greatly erode that public trust and undermine the entire process through which research is carried out and verified.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While we can’t stop unethical people from participating in academic research, the system should be designed to spot them and weed them out as quickly as possible. Hopefully this case will serve as a reminder of that importance and, in the long run, help journals and academic institutions draft policies that can deal with the most egregious offenders.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Because, while they may be rare, the damage such egregious offenders can do to trust in the process is beyond measure. Something that Finelli likely didn’t consider before submitting the paper.</span></p> <p><em>The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, Jonathan Bailey of Plagiarism Today, and do not reflect the opinions of iThenticate.</em></p></span> </div> <div class="blog-post__related"> <p class="related-title">Related</p> <div class="blog-related-posts__list"> <article class="blog-related-posts__post" aria-label="Blog post summary: Is Digital Content Self-Correcting Through Crowdsourced Peer Review?"> <div class="blog-related-posts__content"> <p class="blog-related-posts__title"> <a title="Is Digital Content Self-Correcting Through Crowdsourced Peer Review?" class="blog-related-posts__title-link" href="https://www.ithenticate.com/plagiarism-detection-blog/bid/68532/Is-Digital-Content-Self-Correcting-Through-Crowdsourced-Peer-Review">Is Digital Content Self-Correcting Through Crowdsourced Peer Review?</a> </p> </div> </article> <article class="blog-related-posts__post" aria-label="Blog post summary: The Evolving Peer Review Process"> <div class="blog-related-posts__content"> <p class="blog-related-posts__title"> <a title="The Evolving Peer Review Process" class="blog-related-posts__title-link" href="https://www.ithenticate.com/plagiarism-detection-blog/bid/52963/The-Evolving-Peer-Review-Process">The Evolving Peer Review Process</a> </p> </div> </article> <article class="blog-related-posts__post" aria-label="Blog post summary: Film Critic Plagiarism"> <div class="blog-related-posts__content"> <p class="blog-related-posts__title"> <a title="Film Critic Plagiarism" class="blog-related-posts__title-link" href="https://www.ithenticate.com/plagiarism-detection-blog/bid/52977/Film-Critic-Plagiarism">Film Critic Plagiarism</a> </p> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="footer-container-wrapper"> <div class="footer-container container-fluid"> <div class="row-fluid-wrapper row-depth-1 row-number-1 "> <div class="row-fluid "> <div class="span12 widget-span widget-type-custom_widget " style="" data-widget-type="custom_widget" data-x="0" data-w="12"> <div id="hs_cos_wrapper_module_16316319805761604" class="hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_widget hs_cos_wrapper_type_module" style="" data-hs-cos-general-type="widget" data-hs-cos-type="module"><div class="ithenticate-footer"> <div class="ithenticate-row ithenticate-footer-top"> <div class="col-lg col-md col-sm col-xs ithenticate-footer-cta"> <a title="Buy Credits" class="ithenticate-button" href="https://app.ithenticate.com/signup/individual" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> <div id="hs_cos_wrapper_module_16316319805761604_" class="hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_widget hs_cos_wrapper_type_inline_text" style="" data-hs-cos-general-type="widget" data-hs-cos-type="inline_text" data-hs-cos-field="cta_label">Buy Credits</div> </a> <a title="Talk to an Expert" class="ithenticate-button" href="https://www.turnitin.com/products/ithenticate/contact-sales/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> <div id="hs_cos_wrapper_module_16316319805761604_" class="hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_widget hs_cos_wrapper_type_inline_text" style="" data-hs-cos-general-type="widget" data-hs-cos-type="inline_text" data-hs-cos-field="cta_label">Talk to an Expert</div> </a> </div> </div> <div class="ithenticate-row ithenticate-footer-bottom"> <div class="col-lg-6 col-md-5 col-sm-5 col-xs-12 ithenticate-footer-logo"> <img src="https://www.ithenticate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ithenticate-new/iThenticate_petrol_cropped.png?width=275&height=39&name=iThenticate_petrol_cropped.png" alt="iThenticate_petrol_cropped" loading="lazy" width="275" height="39" srcset="https://www.ithenticate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ithenticate-new/iThenticate_petrol_cropped.png?width=138&height=20&name=iThenticate_petrol_cropped.png 138w, https://www.ithenticate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ithenticate-new/iThenticate_petrol_cropped.png?width=275&height=39&name=iThenticate_petrol_cropped.png 275w, https://www.ithenticate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ithenticate-new/iThenticate_petrol_cropped.png?width=413&height=59&name=iThenticate_petrol_cropped.png 413w, https://www.ithenticate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ithenticate-new/iThenticate_petrol_cropped.png?width=550&height=78&name=iThenticate_petrol_cropped.png 550w, https://www.ithenticate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ithenticate-new/iThenticate_petrol_cropped.png?width=688&height=98&name=iThenticate_petrol_cropped.png 688w, https://www.ithenticate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ithenticate-new/iThenticate_petrol_cropped.png?width=825&height=117&name=iThenticate_petrol_cropped.png 825w" sizes="(max-width: 275px) 100vw, 275px"> <div id="hs_cos_wrapper_module_16316319805761604_" class="hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_widget hs_cos_wrapper_type_inline_rich_text" style="" data-hs-cos-general-type="widget" data-hs-cos-type="inline_rich_text" data-hs-cos-field="footer_left.copyright_text"><p>© 2024 <a href="http://www.turnitin.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Turnitin, LLC</a>. 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When Peer Reviewers Steal