Back to Star’s mistake links wrong Iranian professors to academic plagiarism
Kathy English
For academics — and journalists too — plagiarism is the cardinal sin.
In universities and news organizations throughout the world, there is no greater wrong than stealing someone else’s work and presenting it as your own. Such deliberate dishonesty, in both the academy and the newsroom, is often grounds for dismissal.
Given the seriousness of this “crime” it follows that to be unjustly accused of plagiarism, or to have one’s name mistakenly linked to plagiarism, is, understandably, cause for distress.
This week, the Star reported the story of a Ryerson University professor whose work was plagiarized by two academics based in Iran. This academic plagiarism was confirmed by the editorial board of the Journal of Electronic Waves and Applications, which published the plagiarized work.
Unfortunately, an error in the Star’s reporting of the name of the Iranian university of one of the confirmed plagiarists caused considerable distress for not one — but two — other Iranian professors at the university the Star mistakenly named. These two professors have the same name as one of the Iranian academics who submitted an exact copy of a paper written by Ryerson computer engineering professor Xavier Fernando in 2004
As soon as we verified this mistake, the Star corrected its online story and published an apology to these other two Iranian professors who were inadvertently linked to this plagiarism scandal as a result of the Star’s error.
This was a mistake that could only happen in this Google era. As such, it is a cautionary lesson for journalists in making assumptions about anyone’s identity based on what comes up in a Google search.
In the universe of Google, many people have the same names. Google yourself and see the alter egos named you. You’ll likely also find uncanny coincidences — maybe even someone with your name who works in your field.
The Star’s story reported correctly that an academic named Mehdi Dehghan plagiarized Fernando’s paper. But it erred in reporting he is a professor at Amirkabir University. In fact, the academic who plagiarized is affiliated with the department of electrical engineering at another Iranian University, the Islamic Azad University, Science and Research branch, in Tehran.
As the Star’s apology made clear, there are in fact two professors named Mehdi Dehghan at Amirkabir University and neither of them had any involvement in this proven case of plagiarism.
“Mehdi Dehghan is a common name in Iran,” one of the academics named Mehdi Dehghan, an associate professor of computer engineering and information technology, told me in an email sent when he realized the Star’s mistake wrongly linked him and his same-named colleague, the head of Amirkabir University’s math and computer science department, to this plagiarism story.
Here’s how Google comes in. The Star’s reporter, Anita Li, was assigned to this story, which was first reported by the Ryerson School of Journalism’s student-run Ryersonian newspaper. (It also reported the same incorrect university of Mehdi Dehghan.)
The Ryerson prof whose work was plagiarized bears no responsibility for this error. After Li contacted him, he sent her a copy of the journal’s official confirmation naming “Dr. Mehdi Dehghan” and another Iranian academic as the plagiarists. That document did not state their university affiliation.
“To fact-check, I googled the professors’ names. When googling “Mehdi Dehghan,” the first entry was Mehdi Dehghan of the Amirkabir University of Technology,” Li said.
Li made the incorrect assumption that this Iranian academic was the same Mehdi Dehghan who had plagiarized Fernando’s article. She thus wrote that Mehdi Dehghan was based at Amirkabir University, exposing both of that institution’s same-named profs to questions from academics around the world about whether one of them had plagiarized.
While Li may have made a logical assumption based on her Google search, an assumption is never verification for a journalist. And had she more carefully checked the copy of the plagiarized paper that Fernando had also sent her, she would have seen that it clearly stated the plagiarist named Mehdi Dehghan was with the Islamic Azad University, not Amirkabir University. Li read that document but did not notice that critical fact.
Before filing, Li also sent an email to the Mehdi Dehghan at Amirkabir University, whom she had found through Google to seek comment about the plagiarism. Unfortunately, due to time differences between Canada and Iran, he did not see that until after the Star’s story had been published.
“I fully understand the seriousness of this error and vow to be more vigilant in the future” Li, one of the Star’s interns, told me.
This is a tough lesson for any reporter, let alone an intern. I don’t think Li bears sole responsibility here. She received little oversight from her editors, no questioning at all about how she knew the identities and universities of the two academics who had plagiarized.
When reporting on such a serious matter as academic plagiarism, all of the journalists involved in this story — whom I expect well understand the serious implications of plagiarism — needed to ask more questions to be totally sure of the facts.
publiced@thestar.ca
Star’s mistake links wrong Iranian professors to academic plagiarism
February 17, 2012Kathy English
Xavier Fernando, an engineering professor at Ryerson University, was the victim of academic plagiarism.
For academics — and journalists too — plagiarism is the cardinal sin.
In universities and news organizations throughout the world, there is no greater wrong than stealing someone else’s work and presenting it as your own. Such deliberate dishonesty, in both the academy and the newsroom, is often grounds for dismissal.
Given the seriousness of this “crime” it follows that to be unjustly accused of plagiarism, or to have one’s name mistakenly linked to plagiarism, is, understandably, cause for distress.
This week, the Star reported the story of a Ryerson University professor whose work was plagiarized by two academics based in Iran. This academic plagiarism was confirmed by the editorial board of the Journal of Electronic Waves and Applications, which published the plagiarized work.
Unfortunately, an error in the Star’s reporting of the name of the Iranian university of one of the confirmed plagiarists caused considerable distress for not one — but two — other Iranian professors at the university the Star mistakenly named. These two professors have the same name as one of the Iranian academics who submitted an exact copy of a paper written by Ryerson computer engineering professor Xavier Fernando in 2004
As soon as we verified this mistake, the Star corrected its online story and published an apology to these other two Iranian professors who were inadvertently linked to this plagiarism scandal as a result of the Star’s error.
This was a mistake that could only happen in this Google era. As such, it is a cautionary lesson for journalists in making assumptions about anyone’s identity based on what comes up in a Google search.
In the universe of Google, many people have the same names. Google yourself and see the alter egos named you. You’ll likely also find uncanny coincidences — maybe even someone with your name who works in your field.
The Star’s story reported correctly that an academic named Mehdi Dehghan plagiarized Fernando’s paper. But it erred in reporting he is a professor at Amirkabir University. In fact, the academic who plagiarized is affiliated with the department of electrical engineering at another Iranian University, the Islamic Azad University, Science and Research branch, in Tehran.
As the Star’s apology made clear, there are in fact two professors named Mehdi Dehghan at Amirkabir University and neither of them had any involvement in this proven case of plagiarism.
“Mehdi Dehghan is a common name in Iran,” one of the academics named Mehdi Dehghan, an associate professor of computer engineering and information technology, told me in an email sent when he realized the Star’s mistake wrongly linked him and his same-named colleague, the head of Amirkabir University’s math and computer science department, to this plagiarism story.
Here’s how Google comes in. The Star’s reporter, Anita Li, was assigned to this story, which was first reported by the Ryerson School of Journalism’s student-run Ryersonian newspaper. (It also reported the same incorrect university of Mehdi Dehghan.)
The Ryerson prof whose work was plagiarized bears no responsibility for this error. After Li contacted him, he sent her a copy of the journal’s official confirmation naming “Dr. Mehdi Dehghan” and another Iranian academic as the plagiarists. That document did not state their university affiliation.
“To fact-check, I googled the professors’ names. When googling “Mehdi Dehghan,” the first entry was Mehdi Dehghan of the Amirkabir University of Technology,” Li said.
Li made the incorrect assumption that this Iranian academic was the same Mehdi Dehghan who had plagiarized Fernando’s article. She thus wrote that Mehdi Dehghan was based at Amirkabir University, exposing both of that institution’s same-named profs to questions from academics around the world about whether one of them had plagiarized.
While Li may have made a logical assumption based on her Google search, an assumption is never verification for a journalist. And had she more carefully checked the copy of the plagiarized paper that Fernando had also sent her, she would have seen that it clearly stated the plagiarist named Mehdi Dehghan was with the Islamic Azad University, not Amirkabir University. Li read that document but did not notice that critical fact.
Before filing, Li also sent an email to the Mehdi Dehghan at Amirkabir University, whom she had found through Google to seek comment about the plagiarism. Unfortunately, due to time differences between Canada and Iran, he did not see that until after the Star’s story had been published.
“I fully understand the seriousness of this error and vow to be more vigilant in the future” Li, one of the Star’s interns, told me.
This is a tough lesson for any reporter, let alone an intern. I don’t think Li bears sole responsibility here. She received little oversight from her editors, no questioning at all about how she knew the identities and universities of the two academics who had plagiarized.
When reporting on such a serious matter as academic plagiarism, all of the journalists involved in this story — whom I expect well understand the serious implications of plagiarism — needed to ask more questions to be totally sure of the facts.
publiced@thestar.ca
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