Combatting Plagiarism in Academic Publishing: Dr. Maiendra Moodley Discusses Reviewing Journals

Dr. Moodley: Plagiarism undermines the intellectual and innovation quilt which links academia to achieving actionable and recognizable outcomes, as it leads to questions over the integrity of not only the study, but the researchers involved as well. Addressing plagiarism is not the sole responsibility of the publishers of journals as they facilitate the dissemination of knowledge. The responsibility remains with the editors, reviewers, and the authors. Authors need to be trained explicitly on what constitutes plagiarism beyond the minimalist approach of requiring their acknowledgement on a disclaimer. However, this training will not assist unless authors accept that everything they publish is a representation of their own sense of integrity and that if they engage in plagiarism, that this also has a reputational impact which affects both the author and their institution. Editors and Reviewers need to expertly know their field of study to the extent that they are able to go beyond the use of plagiarism software to detect articles which have been published before. While this may appear to be difficult, expert editors and reviewers are generally au fait with the literature in their field and can often tell if an article has been published before. The use of the software to detect plagiarism, while essential, should be used in a supporting way, as opposed to being the sole means of ensuring that plagiarism has not occurred.

Dr. Moodley: The biggest challenge for reviewers is that their ability to contribute positive inputs on the work that they are reviewing is often based on an apprenticeship of observation in respect of how their own writing and publishing process has occurred. The result is that reviewers who have been subjected to stringent standards will enforce the same. Likewise, those reviewers who have had less exhausting standards to comply with, would be willing to allow articles to pass accordingly. An effective reviewer is able to find a way to coherently, cogently and meaningfully provide inputs which address possible shortcomings that the author needs to address without effectively undermining the independence of the author or the study. To achieve this, IGI Global also assists new reviewers by providing standards of how to conduct a good review as well as the necessary guidance from the editors. Reviewers are also able to reach out when they need advice which allows them to address specific challenges which they may be having. This consultative approach ultimately improves both the skills of the reviewer but also the editors involved who are able to coach and guide reviewers. This feedback loop means that the quality of work which reviewers produce and/ or supervise at their respective institutions improves as a result of being familiar with what the standards are beyond their own experiences or the standards of their institutions.