There are two Reddit posts in r/AskAcademia and a more detailed and updated vroniplag page (this specific page contains solely segments from Andreas THeodorou’s thesis) about a case of academ…
(I’m not a researcher but did some in undergrad) This is it, if you can’t understand the material well enough to synthesize something novel or interesting of your own to research you’re just reporting on other research and it becomes very obvious if your PhD is just one big set of quotes from work everyone else did so you plagiarize even the basic stuff.
It’s my suspicion he’s not just being lazy or cutting corners even if that’s what he tells himself, it’s that he’s not capable of the patience or abstract thought necessary to understand the existing literature and where to push the boundaries for new results. It’s like the difference between someone who can’t write their own songs but is in a very convincing cover band. Most people can learn the rhythm, chords, etc with a little practice but would be lost trying to come up with an original composition.
(I’m not a researcher but did some in undergrad) This is it, if you can’t understand the material well enough to synthesize something novel or interesting of your own to research you’re just reporting on other research and it becomes very obvious if your PhD is just one big set of quotes from work everyone else did so you plagiarize even the basic stuff.
It’s my suspicion he’s not just being lazy or cutting corners even if that’s what he tells himself, it’s that he’s not capable of the patience or abstract thought necessary to understand the existing literature and where to push the boundaries for new results. It’s like the difference between someone who can’t write their own songs but is in a very convincing cover band. Most people can learn the rhythm, chords, etc with a little practice but would be lost trying to come up with an original composition.