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Dr. Toth -
Pierre Divenyi, in an earlier post in reply to your enquiry, said that the
manuscript in question was covered by confidentiality rules and that hence there
was nothing that you could do. Now, I'm not a lawyer, but I've followed ethics
issues closely since my graduate years, and Dr. Divenyi is dead wrong. If the
manuscript is indeed substantially a copy, then any expectation of
confidentiality would have evaporated the instant that the very first version of
the paper reached public exposure, either through journal publication or posting
on a website. To say that confidentiality applies is hilarious.
As such, there are a variety of options open to you. Let me respectfully
point out (as others have) that your major responsibility is to inform your
editor. The editor can (and should) then inform the editors of all the journals
in which earlier copies appeared. There is already a tradition of this. The
editor should also inform the Deja Vu online register of duplications; indeed,
the paper(s) may already be listed there. If your editor refuses to do all these
things, ask why not. If the editor still refuses, then do these things yourself.
And tell your friends. There are too many charlatans out there who are
flourishing in the world's most over-competitive job market because no one has
the courage to speak up. By asking the opinions of Auditory List, you've already
taken the first step to doing the right thing. On behalf of honest scientists
everywhere, please continue. - Lance Nizami PhD, Decatur, GA 30030
In a message dated 7/7/2009 10:06:00 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
tothl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Dear List, |