Plagiarism is on the Rise, and GRSS is Taking Steps to Counter It
Plagiarism is a matter that GRSS takes very seriously. While it is a growing problem for many professional organizations, plagiarism has not historically been a major issue for our Society – most likely because the GRSS Publications Committee takes proactive measures to combat it in the assessment of conference papers and official journals.
“Our Society has an excellent reputation of being strict with those, and other, bad practices,” said Prof. Alejandro C. Frery, Vice President of Publications for IEEE-GRSS. “Our readership knows about this.”
Prof. Frery, who was recently featured in a GRSS news article about AI creeping into the writing of journal articles, knows the academic publishing process backwards and forwards. He started reviewing IEEE GRSS journal submissions in the 1990s and has held numerous publication positions since then. By day, he is a professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, with a PhD in applied computing.
Prof. Frery, Editors-in-Chief, and Conference Chairs currently work closely with Prof. Peng Ren, the dedicated GRSS Plagiarism Chair who is on the Publications Board overseeing all Society journals and conferences.
The IEEE PSPB Operations Manual describes the problem as follows: IEEE defines plagiarism as the use of someone else’s work (for example, use of text, prior ideas, processes, results, or algorithms) without explicitly acknowledging the original author and/or source. Plagiarism in any form is unacceptable and is considered a serious breach of professional conduct with potentially severe ethical and legal consequences.
All GRSS editors and content reviewers are on the lookout for plagiarized work. Their primary assessment tool during the review of submitted manuscripts is a commercially available product called iThenticate. Utilized through an IEEE subscription, iThenticate searches multiple professional and academic databases to find overlap between the submitted document and published works.
If the tool flags overlap in content, a GRSS editor checks the text personally. Generally, overlapping content of 30 percent or more requires investigation.
“If the overlap constitutes plagiarism, the submission is rejected, and the authors are notified and added to a database,” explained Prof. Frery. “If they persist in this practice, they will be reported to IEEE Ethics and Member Conduct Committee for further actions.”
Unfortunately, violations are sometimes not recognized until the document has found its way into print. In this case, the article may be retracted after a thorough evaluation of the situation has been made to determine if the duplicated work was purposeful or accidental.
The IEEE procedure for retraction is spelled out in the PSPB Operating Manual:
IEEE considers retraction a mechanism for correcting the literature and alerting readers to publications that contain such seriously flawed analysis or erroneous data that their findings and conclusions cannot be relied upon. Unreliable data may result from honest error or from research misconduct. Retractions are also used to alert readers to cases of redundant publication, plagiarism, and failure to disclose a major competing interest likely to influence interpretations or recommendations. Retracted articles should not be removed from printed copies of the publication nor from electronic archives, but their retracted status should be indicated as clearly as possible.
Unfortunately, Prof. Frery pointed out, identifying plagiarized material is becoming more challenging in the age of AI. There are AI tools available that don’t just steal content from other sources, but they are clever enough to rephrase the wording and cover up the malfeasance. This could even trip up an unsuspecting researcher using AI as a shortcut in writing a paper.
To avoid the accidental borrowing of another researcher’s work, Prof. Frery offers some advice, “Do not focus on the publication, but on your research project. Publications are the output of a good research project that has been adequately executed.”
He summarized his feelings on this issue, thusly: “Use LLMs to revise your text. [Note the words in Bold]. Avoid “fast science” because it is not “science.” Practice “slow science” instead. Always start with your own text, then revise and improve it. Read and understand the literature. Do not rely on what an LLM tells you about it. Train your natural neural network with good literature, and its outputs will be as close to perfection as possible.”
To drive home his point (and have a bit of fun), Prof. Frery took his notes in preparation for this article and submitted them to an LLM with instructions to “Improve this text. I want it clear and friendly, but firm. I want to target young professionals.”
Here is the AI output:
Plagiarism and Academic Integrity
Let’s be clear: plagiarism is serious. Whether it’s done intentionally or by mistake,
it undermines your credibility and can damage your future.
What counts as plagiarism?
- Copying someone else’s work without credit.
- Rephrasing ideas without acknowledging the source.
- Using AI tools to write your work without proper oversight.
Why does it matter?
Your work reflects your thinking, your effort, and your growth. Passing off
someone else’s work – human or AI – as your own cheats that process. Employers and institutions take integrity seriously, and so do we.
Using AI the right way
AI can be a helpful tool for brainstorming, outlining, and reviewing your writing.
But it’s not a shortcut for original thought. If you use it, you must:
- Disclose how you used it.
- Make sure the final work is yours, your ideas, your words, your responsibility.
Which article do you think is better?
