Self-Plagiarism and Textual Recycling: Legitimate Forms of Research Misconduct

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-4-2014

Department

Philosophy and Religion

Abstract

The concept of self-plagiarism frequently elicits skepticism and generates confusion in the research ethics literature, and the ethical status of what is often called textual recycling is particularly controversial. I argue that, in general, self-plagiarism is unethical because it is deceptive and dishonest. I then distinguish several forms of it and argue against various common rationalizations for textual recycling. I conclude with a discussion of two instances of textual recycling, distinguishing them in terms of their ethical seriousness but concluding that both are ethically problematic.

Publication Title

Accountability in Research

Volume

21

Issue

3

First Page

176

Last Page

197

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