Title: Robbing the Grave: Investigator Takes Ownership of Deceased Scholar’s Work
Author: Anji Wall
Description: A new faculty member replaces the deceased mentor of a graduate student and takes credit for a manuscript prepared by the deceased.
Keyword(s): authorship, mentor-trainee relationship, research misconduct, plagiarism
Based On: (Shamoo & Resnik, 2003, p. 65)
Case: Melissa is a graduate student who has discovered a major environmental airborne toxin with her mentor. The finding is very important, and has been covered extensively by popular media. Unfortunately, Melissa’s mentor unexpectedly dies of a heart attack. Melissa and her mentor had been working on a paper before her mentor died, and it was ready for submission. Melissa switched labs after the death of her mentor, and began working with a new mentor on a project in the same area. Melissa’s new mentor took the manuscript and put his name as the senior author and eliminated the name of Melissa’s old mentor from the paper.
- What should Melissa do in this situation?
- What should the other faculty members in the department do in this situation?
Source: Shamoo, A., Resnik, D. (2003). Responsible Conduct of Research. New York: Oxford University Press.