Discussion question responses and analysis

Probing Question (Q1)

The author of this response would ask a question to the plagiarism discussion by asking if the respondent in the question really thinks taking sentences with no citation is the same thing as taking them WITHOUT citation. The response seems to call both plagiarism and they really shouldn't bear the same name because they are not the same offense. It is true that quoting without quotes, intentionally or not, is bad but if the citation is there and it's proper, there was clearly no intent to "steal" the material even if the methodology was sloppy and/or ignorant. It is akin to treating dovetailing (the actual author of a report submitting the paper twice) the same as plagiarism. They are both wrong but they are not the same thing.

Share an Insight (Scenario II)

The words about the fabrication of data in the second scenario seem to dance over one major reason why actions like that are undertaken. In many instances, fabrications like the ones described in the scenario are done to procure funding and convince people to move in certain ways politically. Even worse, data is often used to support political ideas under the premise the science is "settled" and that "consensus" has been reached in the relevant community. However, this belies the fact that no such "settling" or "consensus" has even occurred in the grand scheme of things and acting without truly informed consent or urging that others do the same is not ethical.

Offer & Support an Opinion (Scenario II)

Any person who plagiarizes, with or without intent, has committed some level of research misconduct and perhaps the APA is being a bit too lenient in that regard. This would especially be true at the doctoral level because anyone that has been through an undergraduate and master's program should know the rules regarding the misuse of other people's material and there should either be assumed guilt or at least the concept that regardless or intent being or not being present, any person that would to that (especially beyond the undergrad level) has no place being any sort of researcher because they clearly either cannot do it right or do not want to.

Validate an Idea With your Own Experience (2nd response to Scenario II)

The writer of this response certainly recognizes that people's beliefs can point them in directions that the research does not support but any good researcher can and should avoid that. For example, the writer of this response had held for a long time that marijuana use was never right and never acceptable. However, given that marijuana quite often hurts no one and actually helps those with certain pain and other medical maladies, there is some good that can come from the use of the drug even if the writer of this response would never touch it.

Make A Suggestion (Response to Sara Justice on last page)

It is not all that hard to avoid bias in research if one is just diligent and careful. The person undertaking the research and that has bias simply needs to tell themselves that even with what he/she thinks and why, the proverbial chips will be allowed to fall where they may as the research goes along and the researcher will use the results, not any preconceived notions to determine what directly to take and why. Also, any conclusions drawn should be based on the evidence and should be tested as much as is possible.