ethical dilemma involving grad student...input requested

[TruthSeeker]

SEE UPDATE ADDED Nov 25, 2003.


and much appreciated.

I am the co-supervisor of a PhD student. He is at best an "ordinary" student and has required much guidance. This has included the co-supervisor and me writing large portions of his thesis proposal.

The other day, I was doing a lit search and came across a publication by this student which is a review of his thesis topic (which is my main area of research). Neither I nor the co-supervisor was aware of the existence of this paper. It is in a fairly obscure journal and he is the sole author.

I requested a copy of the paper and it arrived today. This student has published the introdution to his thesis (much of which I and my colleague wrote) without notifying or crediting us. We are meeting this afternoon.

I am very unsure what to do. Clearly this is plagarism and possibly "academic fraud". How would you respond?

My options (in order of increasing severity) as I see them:
1) tell student never to do this again
2) report student to the university possibly leading to his termination
3) write a letter to the journal editor asking .... I don't know...asking for the article to be re-printed with the proper authors? or ?????

Any thoughts or suggestions are most appreciated.

Thanks.

[Andonyx]

In this environment, it seems to me as a former student, and never a teacher, that you're first and primary responsibility is to make darn sure that the student A) understands what he has done wrong, and the implications of improperly credited / plagiarized work, especially in an academic journal. and B) will NEVER do it again.

In a secondary concern...I feel like you do have some responsibility to notify the journal of the improper crediting since it's in their interests for everything they print to uphold the highest standards of integrity. Actually it's the student's responsibility since he submitted it, and making him fix the error would seem just to me.

I realize some of it could seem like sour grapes and or attention seeking, but I certainly would not see it that way, the truth is the truth....so what if this time it happens to involve giving you credit.

The other option, reporting the student for plagiarism is a judgement call, and I would think to reserve that action until you have had a chance to confront him. I would certainly guess that he knew darn well what he was doing...he's a grad student for god's sake, this is not the first time he's ever been exposed to a code of academic integrity.

But if from your meeting you can determine based on the evidence that this was either a legitimate oversight, and that he will not engage in this activity in the future. I would think you don't have to place his entire doctorate in jeopardy.

[Brown]

In one case of plagiarism and cheating, I expected the students to deny any wrongdoing. So I prepared an outline that showed the wrongdoing in a straightforward matter.

The students, as it happened, denied any wrongdoing. The students were shown the outline and given the following response: "Don't lie to me. I've got you by the b*lls. I could have you expelled." (It the students were expelled, they'd also be deported.) "You can either start being honest with me or we can go talk to the Dean, right now."

This was not an empty threat. Both students decided to cooperate, and they exposed a little cheating network. Neither was expelled, although one received a failing grade and the other received a reduced grade in the course.

To sum up:
1. Make sure you've really got proof of wrongdoing.
2. Show the student that you've got the proof and tell the student what the consequences could be.
3. Give the student a way out.

[American]

A) I'm sure he knows he's a lack-luster student. Play off of that- it's his weakness, and he probably feels insecure about it.

B) I've heard many similar stories, however usually it's the PROFESSORS who use data gathered by their students (team-members or not) and don't give them an ounce of credit. I even heard of one professor who was confronted about it and defended himself, "that's just the way it works..." (His boss, a Big Guy, found out about the situation and was not at all pleased.)

A small part of me is smirking to see things reversed for once... just kidding. :)

C) My advice: secretly practice mercy. It would be an awful shame for that much investment in education to hit a brick wall and end a decent career. Basically you should scare the pants off of him, and let him think he might not survive this. Like I said, I'd let him off in the end, and encourage him to spend more time reading and developing ideas.

[TruthSeeker]

Thank you for the input.

We met with the student this afternoon. He did not try to deny what he did and was quite clear that he understands the writing and most of the ideas are not his.

I didn't break out the evidence which is my obsessive hoarding of all drafts of papers which with "track changes" even names who wrote what. I felt this would be overkill as he readily admitted to plagarism. He was unable or unwilling to answer the "why" question.

My colleague (the primary supervisor and the holder of the grant) is unwilling to continue to work with this student and is meeting with the graduate director tomorrow morning.

We have agreed to settle the "in house" issues before we decide about contacting the journal.

It has been a miserable day.

[American]

Originally posted by TruthSeeker

It has been a miserable day.


Me thinks you need to consider your chosen username, "truth seeker", and ask yourself some serious questions about how you live life.

(If you need tips on "stupid-but-happy", I am a certified counsellor.)

:) :) :)

[TruthSeeker]

Originally posted by American



Me thinks you need to consider your chosen username, "truth seeker", and ask yourself some serious questions about how you live life.

(If you need tips on "stupid-but-happy", I am a certified counsellor.)

:) :) :)


Are you saying truth will make one miserable?

I love Gloria Steinam's quote (please don't respond with an anti-feminist rant.): "the truth will set you free, but first it will p*ss you off"

[SteveW]

Sorry, but I disagree with most of you. I learned what plagarism is in elementary school. This loser is a PhD candidate and if he doesn't understand the concept, he sure shouldn't get a doctorate. That's the problem with the education system know, every Tom, Dick and Harry and get a degree.

[American]

Originally posted by SteveW
Sorry, but I disagree with most of you. I learned what plagarism is in elementary school. This loser is a PhD candidate and if he doesn't understand the concept, he sure shouldn't get a doctorate. That's the problem with the education system know, every Tom, Dick and Harry and get a degree.

I would agree except the importance of the work being done is too great, I believe. I know people who hardly deserve their degrees, but they're doing vital work that needs to be done by legally qualified people (of course they are under the direction of others who actually earned their A's).

Even with a PhD, if you don't execute fresh ideas, then the degree alone won't sustain a huge salary. Let people perform where they may, they'll get paid only what they're worth.

[TruthSeeker]

My problem with this is as follows:

I work in a highly specialized field. He published my theoretical ideas as his own. I hadn't published them previously as I assumed we would all be co-authors on the paper. So, if I publish the ideas in the future, I will either have to credit him :mad: or have colleagues think I haven't read his work :mad:

With my luck, my stolen theory will prove fruitful and will be known as HIS when really it is mine :mad:


I just heard from the university. They have arranged to meet with him and will get back to me soon.

[Physkey]

Wow TruthSeeker I don't envy your position.

It sounds like the University is about to come down hard on the student, as is the grant holder. I presume that since you are in a specialized field that you will quickly recover the credit for this work at conferences and such. Average students are unlikely to push the work forward in the field.

As for the journal, documentation from the University’s dealings with the student should be sufficient to get a correction published. I would be certain that you name appears in internet searches for this article. The journal should be able to do this for you.

It is not clear to me from your posts that he knew this was improper (Were your names going to be listed as co-authors on his eventual thesis?) Regardless of the ownership of the work, why did he publish without consulting his advisors? That's nuts! I am currently a PhD student and I would never consider publishing behind someone's back like that. You know this student personally and can best judge his intent.

No matter what happens to him, don’t feel guilty, he brought this on himself. Feel free to be angry, it is your work.

[Jeff Corey]

Originally posted by TruthSeeker
I am the co-supervisor of a PhD student. He is at best an "ordinary" student and has required much guidance. This has included the co-supervisor and me writing large portions of his thesis proposal.
This part I don't understand. I never wrote part of any of my graduate students' theses. A lot of feedback was given but not any original material.
Is this common practice at your university?

[Zep]

Maybe I'm coming in at the end here, but the basic problem has been that this guy is a PhD student, not some undergrad who might be just starting up the academic ladder. So he should know the rules for publication - and he does because he has admitted breaking them.

Sorry, fella, but you go to the back of the queue and start again. If you wanted to get heavy, you could also have the journal publicly retract his accreditation as author in the next publication, and re-accredit it to you.

TruthSeeker, if those are your ideas that may be potentially published and recognised for potential later, YOU must have your name on as author or co-author of the original paper. It is just too damn hard to play catch-up with journals later to get accreditation changed.

Will the journal allow withdrawal or re-accreditation of a published paper?

[American]

Originally posted by Zep
Maybe I'm coming in at the end here, but the basic problem has been that this guy is a PhD student, not some undergrad who might be just starting up the academic ladder. So he should know the rules for publication - and he does because he has admitted breaking them.

Sorry, fella, but you go to the back of the queue and start again. If you wanted to get heavy, you could also have the journal publicly retract his accreditation as author in the next publication, and re-accredit it to you.hard to play catch-up with journals later to get accreditation changed.


I decided I agree with this afterall. If he's lucky, they should consider allowing him to repeat the year when he made the violations, then maybe give him his masters and boot him out the door. (A lot of schools work like that; if you did OK but didn't pass key steps, they send you away with only a shameful measily M.S. degree.)

[roger]

Originally posted by TruthSeeker

With my luck, my stolen theory will prove fruitful and will be known as HIS when really it is mine :mad:

Then I would exert all the pressure I could to ensure that you get proper credit for the paper, regardless of the impact on this person's career.

It's simple - if I sideswipe your car in the parking lot, I have to fix it, even if it was an accident, and even if it means destitution for me, whereas you paying it would be a small inconvience.

I knew easily by 5th grade that it was wrong to use another person's ideas w/o attribution, so I highly doubt this person was unaware. But, based on my car accident above, this person is still liable for fixing the damage done to you.

IMHO.

[TruthSeeker]

Originally posted by Physkey
Wow TruthSeeker I don't envy your position.

It sounds like the University is about to come down hard on the student, as is the grant holder. I presume that since you are in a specialized field that you will quickly recover the credit for this work at conferences and such. Average students are unlikely to push the work forward in the field.

As for the journal, documentation from the University’s dealings with the student should be sufficient to get a correction published. I would be certain that you name appears in internet searches for this article. The journal should be able to do this for you.

It is not clear to me from your posts that he knew this was improper (Were your names going to be listed as co-authors on his eventual thesis?) Regardless of the ownership of the work, why did he publish without consulting his advisors? That's nuts! I am currently a PhD student and I would never consider publishing behind someone's back like that. You know this student personally and can best judge his intent.

No matter what happens to him, don’t feel guilty, he brought this on himself. Feel free to be angry, it is your work.

Thank you for these suggestions. They are helpful.

We had an authorship agreement worked out (it is standard practice here to agree on authorship order at the start of the project). He would have been first on the empirical paper (an RCT) and I would have been first on the theoretical paper with the grant holder last on each and other authors in between.

He was unable/unwilling to answer my "why?" questions so I can't clarify. He indicated that he realized it was plagarism both at the time he submitted the work and now.

[TruthSeeker]

Originally posted by Jeff Corey

This part I don't understand. I never wrote part of any of my graduate students' theses. A lot of feedback was given but not any original material.
Is this common practice at your university?


It happens in situations where either the student is poor or the student and supervisor would share authorship. Ordinarily, there is an explanation at the beginning of the thesis describing the exact contribution of each member of the research team.

Is this very unusual?

[TruthSeeker]

Originally posted by Zep


Will the journal allow withdrawal or re-accreditation of a published paper?

Don't know. I'm going to wait for the university decision before I approach the journal.

Thanks.

[T'ai Chi]

For one project (on sampling) that my supervising professor assigned, when it was turned in to me to grade, I enjoyed finding 4 people that came up with the identical 20 ten-digit numbers.

I let them calculate the probability of that one. :)

[TruthSeeker]

An Update:

The University's first course of action is to require the student to write a letter to
(1) the PI and me
(2) the Dean's Committee for Academic Integrity
(3) the journal

I have asked to see a copy of the letter to the journal before he sends it.

Further steps are forthcoming, possibly including reporting the student to his governing body. He is an RN and this violates their code of ethics and the Regulated Health Professionals Act (I will have to read this as I'm not an RN). Decisions in this regard are pending.

So far, I am pleased by the University's quick action.

[American]

Originally posted by TruthSeeker
He is an RN and this violates their code of ethics and the Regulated Health Professionals Act (I will have to read this as I'm not an RN). Decisions in this regard are pending.


This is exactly what I was talking about. True, he doesn't deserve the privilege to call himself an RN. Also, there could be concern, hypothetically, that a dishonest RN is more likely to cover up medical errors.

And yet, that's one crucial hand that an institution relies on. His work is needed, and the care unit's mission should come first.

I'm not saying he shouldn't be sanctioned, but where talent is in short supply and lives depend on his work, you have to be somewhat forgiving with him.

Oh well. That's my view. Maybe things are different when there are 10 eager and qualified people right behind him, ready to take his place when he screws up like this.

[TruthSeeker]

Originally posted by American



This is exactly what I was talking about. True, he doesn't deserve the privilege to call himself an RN. Also, there could be concern, hypothetically, that a dishonest RN is more likely to cover up medical errors.

And yet, that's one crucial hand that an institution relies on. His work is needed, and the care unit's mission should come first.

I'm not saying he shouldn't be sanctioned, but where talent is in short supply and lives depend on his work, you have to be somewhat forgiving with him.

Oh well. That's my view. Maybe things are different when there are 10 eager and qualified people right behind him, ready to take his place when he screws up like this.

Would you feel the same if he had stolen supplies or drugs instead of my words and ideas?

Just curious.

[American]

Originally posted by TruthSeeker

Would you feel the same if he had stolen supplies or drugs instead of my words and ideas?

Just curious.


Gimme a minute. I'm thinking.

Ok I thought about it..... RN pays really good. He had no motive to steal anything, ideas or drugs, except his ego.


But to address your example... I think plagarism is easier. Some people can do it only half-knowing just how wrong it is. Course it wasn't MY ideas that were stolen, so..... I see your side of it.

[Clancie]

I can't understand how his advisors have written so much of his thesis that they feel its plagiarism for him to use it himself. :confused:

If his journal article counts as plagiarism that requires punitive action, what is his dissertation going to be? :confused:

[TruthSeeker]

Originally posted by Clancie
I can't understand how his advisors have written so much of his thesis that they feel its plagiarism for him to use it himself. :confused:

If his journal article counts as plagiarism that requires punitive action, what is his dissertation going to be? :confused:

I'll try to explain. It's a bit complicated. He approached me to supervise his PhD back when I was a PostDoc. The university would only allow this if my Supervisor and I shared supervision. It was seen as an excellent opportunity for everyone involved.

It became evident fairly early on that he was not research material but had good clinical skills. He was unable to come up with a research idea or grasp the basics of research methods. In retrospect, we should have gotten rid of him here. Instead, we decided to "help" him. I had a theory that I wanted to test and so for his dissertation, I designed a study to do that and gave it to him.

We gave him the opportunity to read the relevant work and write the proposal but it was terrible and the University would not accept it. Another choice point where we should have gotten rid of him. Instead, I agreed to let him use the paper in which I described the theory (as yet unpublished) as the intro to his thesis. It was agreed that it would subsequently be published with the following authorship order: me, student, supervisor. Instead, he went ahead an published it as sole author.

Similarly, the study would have been published with the same authorship order. It is now on hold.


At this point it is still undecided whether he will be able to continue in the program. That decision belongs to the University and to their ability to find him a new supervisor.

Writing this makes it abundantly clear to me how many errors I made. Inexperience. I was happy to be the "brains" while he was the "data collector/clinician" and the supervisor was the "money". I have certainly learned a lesson.

[TruthSeeker]

Originally posted by bpesta22
An alternate view here:

If he published something based on his dissertation proposal-- which obviously had his name on it, as it is HIS proposal-- how can this be plagiarism?


MY RESPONSE:
The proposal which was approved by the university and the hospital has all our names on it.
END


So, if he took portions of the intro, rewrote it a bit, and sent it in for publication, I really don't think this would be plagiarism.

MY RESPONSE:
He didn't rewrite any of it. He simply printed out our work and took full credit for it.

I still think the scenario you describe is plagarism. You can't take someone else's work and call it your own, even if you rewrite it a bit. Collaboration requires trust.
END

We could question the ethics of publishing something without including other people who deserved authorship, but that doesn't seem like an offense that would merit kicking him out of the program.

MY RESPONSE:
But what about if you didn't write any of it?
END

If anything, the plagiarism was condoned by the adisor himself. After all, the advisor let the student incorporate the advisor's words into the student's dissertation. Since the adviser is not an author to the dissertation, I would think the advisor in effect waives his rights to authorship of the material.

MY RESPONSE:
There is a section at the beginning of the dissertation which outlines who all the authors are (in collaborative, multidisciplinary medical research it is very rare to have a single author) and what their contribution is. At no point does anyone waive their right to authorship. If that were the case, supervisors would hardly ever publish. He is most definitely not the sole author of his dissertation. THat is not the reality of our field.
END


Don't take this as a criticism. You were in a tough situation and opted to help out a student. Sometimes, that can come back to bite you in the butt.

I think we disagree but that's ok.

Thanks for your input.

Edited for clarity.

[Soapy Sam]

"So that was the soft spot. You liked him... so you failed to clip him in time. So he winds up with a court and the whip and a B.C.D. Sweet."
-from "Starship Troopers" by Robert A Heinlein.

It seems to me that you ought to have eased this young man out of the PhD project and into some other line when it became apparent that he was out of his depth. Instead, I suspect out of well meant kindness, you got him deeper in by cowriting his proposal and providing him with the information and the theory he required. It was your responsibility, not his, to oversee the writing and submission of any joint paper arising from the work. Perhaps you made that clear, perhaps not. I don't know.

I suspect you are aware that the failure here lies with the teachers as much as the student. I suspect this is why you asked for input from this board.

I do not want to seem unsympathetic; I feel sorry for everyone involved here, but I must lay the blame for half measures and hesitation with the supervisors and that for the plagiarism with the student. The issues are separate.

It seems to me that if he is truly not up to the course, then you must, now , get him out of this course and do your best to redirect his career in a direction he is capable of taking and from which he can benefit.

And in future, do not be over protective of your students. You owe them fairness and objectivity. In loco parentis and all that. It may be necessary to be cruel to be kind.

I hope it works out for you all and that everyone learns something positive from it.

[TruthSeeker]

UPDATE


The Dean's decision in this plagiarism situation was handed down today.

The student has been suspended from the program and his transcript will indicate this with the reason being found guilty of academic fraud.

The Dean is working with the journal editor to remedy the situation. The editor will write an editorial explaining what has happened. Medline/Pubmed will revise the citation to include myself and the co-supervisor as first and third author respectively.

As an aside, the Dean called the student's Master's supervisor and shockingly, the student did the same thing to her but she was close to retirment and didn't pursue it with the University.

I am pleased with the outcome but am still terribly saddened by the situation.

Thanks again to each of you for your input.

[Ove]

It is allways a horrible experience when someone abuses your trust. You have my deepest sympathies.:rub:

I know it is another story but the feelings are approx. the same. I once guaratee'd for a friend's loan and later I had to pay it back. I strill remember the pain when i discovered that he had no intention whatsoever of ever paying the money back. It wasn't a large sum and i could easily afford it but the feeling of being betrayed really hurt.:(

[TruthSeeker]

Ove,
Thanks.

Betrayal of trust is really hard to heal. I certainly could never trust him again. I just hope it doesn't carry over to my other students.

[ManfredVonRichthoffen]

I just read this thread start to finish. As I'm reading, I'm thinking of the scientist who got a major publication a week for like 2 years until someone realized he was faking it. Or the guy who wrote fake news for the new york times. This type of person won't stop until they get busted. Getting off easy isn't a close call to them, but a prediction of how they can expect to get off in the future. I've known people like that. They disgust me. I got angry just reading about this guy. I wouldn't feel at all bad if I were you.

edited to add: Or that guy who was the main suspect for the anthrax letters. Him and his fake phd.

edited again to add: pisses me off.

[TruthSeeker]

Originally posted by ManfredVonRichthoffen
I just read this thread start to finish. As I'm reading, I'm thinking of the scientist who got a major publication a week for like 2 years until someone realized he was faking it. Or the guy who wrote fake news for the new york times. This type of person won't stop until they get busted. Getting off easy isn't a close call to them, but a prediction of how they can expect to get off in the future. I've known people like that. They disgust me. I got angry just reading about this guy. I wouldn't feel at all bad if I were you.

edited to add: Or that guy who was the main suspect for the anthrax letters. Him and his fake phd.

edited again to add: pisses me off.


Thanks Manfred. You are a true class act. Your words are much appreciated.

[Ove]

Betrayal of trust is really hard to heal. I certainly could never trust him again. I just hope it doesn't carry over to my other students.


Yes it is really hard not to become cynical. I hope you dont.:)

[Mercutio]

Originally posted by TruthSeeker
Ove,
Thanks.

Betrayal of trust is really hard to heal. I certainly could never trust him again. I just hope it doesn't carry over to my other students. Your homework, TruthSeeker, is to think of a handful of your best experiences with students--those who saw the dawn break thanks to you, those who struggled and finally got it, those who were brilliant all along...whatever it takes. Any time you find yourself thinking of this thread's subject, bring out these others and think of them. Lots. (I should probably credit Ellis for this idea, but you know that already.) It is easy to obsess on the negative, but this guy is an anomaly. You have to have students who are antidotes to this guy.

This situation really bites, but worse would be for this to be the first student you think of when you think of your teaching.

[TruthSeeker]

Originally posted by Mercutio
Your homework, TruthSeeker, is to think of a handful of your best experiences with students

Thank you for this. I do need the shift.

There is RN...who started as a slightly dazed but always bright undergrad and is almost done with a groundbreaking, fantastic thesis. She is a joy.

There is SB who learned how to believe in herself because I believed in her. She is now a great high school teacher.

There are the undergrads in the huge lecture that you never meet but who take the time to send a thank you note ~ long after it is too late for their grades to be affected by their action.

There are the physicians and nurses who come to my workshops on palliative care and change their clinical practices to provide better symptom management and better death as a result.

Thanks again, Mercutio, my friend. You have done me a great favour.

[Mercutio]

Originally posted by TruthSeeker

Thanks again, Mercutio, my friend. You have done me a great favour. Been there, man. It's only a matter of time until you will be giving me the same advice.

Sounds like you have made a difference in the world. Well done...

[kittynh]

Teaching requires teachers to put trust in students. For many students the resposibility given by a teacher can change their life! Kitten has had so many wonderful teachers that have trusted her over the years. I remember once just saying about the financial aide she had for her high school that she had better put in 100% effort because that money could be going to another child who was willing to work that hard.

I sometimes feel like saying to some of her teachers, "How do you know she's going to be worthy of this trust?" Like one teacher wants to write her into a grant so she can be a field assistant (aka, he needs someone that likes camping and hard work). I'm thinking, "do you really know this kid well enough to trust her to work as hard as you will need?" All I can come up with is that the majority of kids out there in undergrad and grad courses are kids that really want to learn and work hard. When I meet Kitten's friends at school, I just think what an amazing group of kids.

thanks to all the teachers out there, and don't let the bad apples get you down.