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Author Topic: Busted in a book review  (Read 11023 times)
hiddendragon
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« Reply #30 on: January 02, 2012, 01:20:07 PM »

Photocopy the grad. student's paper--you seem to be in possession of it.  Send it via snail mail to said reviewer with a little note, but without a return address.  Don't fax.  He can trace you that way.

I know this is an ugly case. I was upset when I first found out about it a few years ago and hoped that she would not go as far as publishing it in a book. She probably did it out of desperation, since her dissertation from a decade ago was terrible and she needed a quick substitute to get a tenure. Hence, she grabbed other people's work(s) and got it into print. If I inform this to the critical reviewer, I am sure he can do something, given that he is an outspoken (almost combative) person and doesn't mind fighting people in public. I have seen him on occasion shaming fellow senior scholars for bad scholarship, though not necessarily for plagiarism. I do not have any personal ties to this reviewer and I am not sure how catastrophic the situation will become (at least, for me as a job seeker) once he decides to pursue the case.
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mleok
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Posts: 1,031


« Reply #31 on: January 02, 2012, 04:58:06 PM »

Photocopy the grad. student's paper--you seem to be in possession of it.  Send it via snail mail to said reviewer with a little note, but without a return address.  Don't fax.  He can trace you that way.

Yes, better yet, drop this in the mail while you're at your field's annual professional conference, so there's no hope of even tracing back the postmark.
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hiddendragon
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Posts: 981


« Reply #32 on: January 03, 2012, 04:49:00 PM »

Yes, better yet, drop this in the mail while you're at your field's annual professional conference, so there's no hope of even tracing back the postmark.

If we're going to be really paranoid, I'd worry about fingerprints, too.  But I doubt the reviewer who already tore this book to pieces is going to send the paper you sent him to the FBI to have you ID.  But if you really want to be cautious, it wouldn't hurt to wear gloves, too.
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burnie
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Posts: 538


« Reply #33 on: January 04, 2012, 02:08:04 AM »

And make sure to use cash when purchasing the stamps, so they can't trace the purchase.  Wear dark glasses and a hat when you go to the post office to make sure the cameras can't see you, either.
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Corporate America wants people who seem like bold risk takers, but never actually do anything.  - Barney Stinson
sprout
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« Reply #34 on: January 12, 2012, 10:48:38 PM »

I'd be really curious to hear the outcome of this, if/when OP decides to do something!
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tee_bee
I've really made it in academe, now that I am a
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« Reply #35 on: January 21, 2012, 11:26:55 AM »

Ohh, I love plagiarism comeuppance stories, especially when they involve a great deal of retributive justice at the end (shaming, firing, etc.).

I found out, a few years ago, that a senior scholar in my field stone cold plagiarized (copied, word for word) the appendix to an earlier edition of my textbook. What was most comical about it was that the appendix was laughably outdated (it was a "how to use the web" thing written when people thought "Mosaic" was an art form), and then, wouldn't you know it, the (quite senior) author said something like "sorry, my bad, my grad student did it." Uh...no.

An accommodation was made, although not the public announcement of malfeasance that I wanted. Although the book was taken out of print. Because it didn't sell well, mostly. Shame, because the book was pretty good.

Anyway, enough about me. I am here awaiting more juicy details.
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