A 2006 article published in the Elsevier journal Geoderma has been plagiarized at least three times, a co-author reports.
Clik here to view.
The original article
The article, Mechanistic soil–landscape modelling as an approach to developing pedogenetic classifications, was originally written by University of Sydney researchers Budiman Minasny and Alex McBratney. Portions of the article are copied without attribution in the following three articles published in predatory journals:
Alaeibakhsh, S., Esfandiari, M., Pazira, E. & Yasori, E. (2011). A rudimentary mechanistic model for soil production and landscape development in Qazvin area, northwest of Iran. World Applied Sciences Journal 15, 199-204.
Rad, N., Esfandiari, M., Pirestani, M. & Yasori, E.M. (2012). Simulation of mechanistic model for soil development in Masuleh west of Alborz-Iran. World Applied Sciences Journal 18, 479-485.
Meyari, A., Esfandiari, M., Babazadeh, H., Pirestani, M. & Yasori, E. (2012). Application of mechanistic model for soil production and landscape development in Jajrood area, North-east Iran. African Journal of Agricultural Research 7, 3320-3328.
The World Applied Sciences Journal is published by IDOSI, the so-called International Digital Organization for Scientific Information, based in Dubai. The African Journal of Agricultural Research is published by Academic Journals, one of the first publishers to appear on my list in 2010.
The authors of the plagiarized papers are from Islamic Azad University, a world center of plagiarism. News and blog reports documenting plagiarism by Islamic Azad University faculty can be found here, here, here, here, and here.
In plagiarizing the original paper, the later authors not only lifted the wording, they also lifted the actual data. And because the data were supposed to correspond to a specific geographical area, they are completely meaningless in the context of the plagiarized works.
The original co-author, Dr. Minasny, has prepared three tables documenting the plagiarism for each of the three articles here, and here, and here.
In many cases, predatory journals are mere vanity presses that cater to complicit authors seeking an easy way to earn academic credit they use towards tenure and promotion.
If your work appears alongside such counterfeit articles, it will be stigmatized and devalued because of its association or juxtaposition with the plagiarized work. To avoid this risk, submit your work to only the highest quality journals.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
