stock and commas—everything, that is, except his name as the author.
Xavier Fernando is a professor at Ryerson University in Toronto. He said he was shocked to see a “carbon copy” of a research paper he wrote in 2004 for the Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer republished four years later in the Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications.
“It’s a complete copy,” said the electrical and computer engineering professor. “Except for the title and the authors’ names, the paper is identical.” He told the Toronto Star.
Two of Fernando’s students stumbled across the article while doing research last fall. The listed authors are Mehdi Dehghan and Pouya Derakhshan-Barjoei, both professors at the Islamic Azad University.
Fernando, who is originally from India, said he found the total plagiarization upsetting “because you don’t expect this kind of behavior.” Academic plagiarism is not uncommon, but usually involved lifting paragraphs and sections, not an entire article.
The Toronto Star said Dehghan and Derakhshan-Barjoei did not respond to its requests for comment.
Fernando reported the plagiarized work to the Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications. Its editorial board told the Iranian professors they were banned from submitting work for three years, and that their paper had been “withdrawn.”
The punishment doesn’t fit the crime, said Russell Viirre, a Ryerson chemistry professor. “In my field, this would be an international scandal.”
After a quick Google search, Viirre said he discovered that Dehghan and Derakhshan-Barjoei had plagiarized other articles in the past.
Unlike the professors, students would expect much more severe consequences for copying work without attribution, said Sajjadul Latif, one of Fernando’s masters students who uncovered the plagiarism. “Frankly speaking, I don’t think the punishment is enough.”
At minimum, Ryerson University students will get a mark of zero on the plagiarized assignment. Their academic records and official transcripts may also be stamped with a “disciplinary notice,” which stays until they graduate. Other penalties include failing the course and even expulsion from the university.
