Self-plagiarism in Academic Writing: Concepts, Cases, Regulations, and Best Practices

Abstract

In recent years, academic ethics has garnered increased attention in Taiwan. However, due to limited understanding and discussion of self-plagiarism, no clear consensus exists on principles and standards for recognizing and handling the issue. The purpose of this study is to clarify key concepts, regulations, and best practices regarding self-plagiarism so that local scholars can approach this new ethical issue from an informed perspective. Using the method of document analysis, published articles are analyzed to illustrate current norms related to self-plagiarism. This article examines the concept of self-plagiarism in terms of the emergence of concern for this ethical issue, relevant definitions, methods for recognizing its occurrence, common types and exclusions, and the importance of avoiding the pitfalls of self-plagiarism. The analysis also cites an actual case of self-plagiarism that took place in the Netherlands to illustrate the controversies surrounding self-plagiarism. In addition, the article summarizes the historical evolution of relevant norms of self-plagiarism in Taiwan and proposes methods to guide best practices regarding ethical scholarly writing and publishing. (Article content in Chinese with English extended abstract)

Keywords

• self-plagiarism
• duplicate publication
• academic ethics
• academic writing
• publication ethics