Slide deck: 4 Common types of plagiarism in academic publishing

What is plagiarism?

When referring to carefully detailed data or perfectly worded text from existing articles, you may be tempted to use it as-is to enhance your own writing. However, attempting to use the ideas, words, images, or work of another person without giving them due credit is termed as plagiarism and is considered extremely unethical. So does that mean you can never refer to articles published by other researchers? Not at all! Research is incremental, built on existing knowledge and on the work of other researchers in your field. Just be sure to acknowledge and cite all your sources clearly and completely to avoid the most common types of plagiarism.

What are some of the most common types of plagiarism?

The four commonly observed types of plagiarism are: deliberate plagiarism, accidental plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and mosaic plagiarism. You can read more about what each of these are in the slide deck above. You will also learn how you can minimize duplication and tackle the different types of plagiarism, what journals look for to identify plagiarism in research papers, and the possible consequences of plagiarism for authors.

What leads to plagiarism?

Many researchers fall prey to the plagiarism trap; some do this deliberately when faced with the intense pressure to publish, while others stumble into this unintentionally. In fact, one of the most common types of plagiarism is using parts of your own previously published work without citing it properly. If your research paper has any of these types of plagiarism, the journal editor may likely end up rejecting it, regardless of its significance. This makes it critical for authors to know and understand the different types of plagiarism so that they can avoid this pitfall. Check out the slide deck above to know ways to ensure your work is devoid of plagiarism. 

Editor's note: This content in this article was refreshed in April 2024.