Plagiarism, management, journal retraction and response by author's institute.

Sir,

The recent editorial by Shamim is noteworthy.[1] The described problem on neglecting the retraction of plagiarism publication seems to be serious. There are many concerns on this work. First, the reported case is not the only one case in scientific communities. There are many plagiarisms that have already been confirmed, but there is no complete retraction from the databases in biomedicine. There are many explanations for this. First, the journal might not obtain the complete data and decide not to retract the work. However, the journal might sometimes obtain the complete data, such as plagiarism within the same journal, but still do not retract the paper (for example, J Med Assoc Thai 2004; 87: S185-9 and J Med Assoc Thai 2002; 85: S180-185). In some more serious cases, the journal editor supports the plagiarism work (for example, Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2005 Mar; 271:[3] 259-61 and Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2006 Sep; 37(5):1021-4; with the quotation in Déjà vu database on editor's opinion). This reflects the problem in standards of medical journals in the management of cases of plagiarisms. Indeed, retraction, accompanied by the publication of a retraction note, must be done. Sanction of the authors should also further be considered. Nevertheless, the serious concern on the response by the author's institute should also be mentioned. In many cases, plagiarisms are reported to the authors’ institutes, but there is no response and also no management on the plagiarist. Sometimes, the plagiarists repeatedly perform plagiarisms and attempted plagiarisms. In addition, those plagiarists receive more senior academic positions based on the use of those plagiarisms. An interesting reason for many developing countries with poor scientific background is usually the rooted patronage system. The plagiarists who are the senior, administrators, or their relatives might receive no punishment or action.

Developing the international standards and further, successfully implementing them require further thought.