A cup of coffee and a slice of chocolate flapjack have mellowed my mood. I have just read a series of correspondence on Nature Network concerning publication, plagiarism and impact of author’s reputation on the peer review process. There are temptations out there. Bibliometics such as the H-factor, have made the manipulation of ones track record something any job applicant may feel obliged to do. Here are the seven deadly sins:
Use as many co-authors as possible. Everyone self-cites so make sure you get a slice of their action.
Choose your discipline – Life Science publications normally have a longer bibliography than those in the physical sciences. Work in a physical science faculty but try and get your papers part of the Life Science corpus.
Publish early, publish often, constantly up-date your work.
Salami slice your work. Why publish an article when 3 letters will do.
Know your referees and make sure you reference their work copiously. It is always good when the editor asks for referee suggestions and you have ex-students on faculty elsewhere.
Duplicate with a difference. Someone has synthesised a gold nanoparticle? Do it in silver then copper etc.
Write reviews, Or better still get your students to write the review, edit it and publish.
And with all these hints, who needs to do anything as obvious as plagiarise.
Ha ha, very funny. And you clearly read your Nature Network very closely, having picked out that silver/gold hint (my favourite)!
Two more:
Joint first authorship. Maximize the mileage for that big paper.
Publish something that is obviously wrong. You have to get past the reviewers, but the reward are lots of citations that help improve your Hirsch number.