How do I convince a colleague that plagiarism in a grant proposal is bad? I frequently find myself editing the grant proposals of a colleague of mine for English grammar. Each time, I find that he has copied sections of other peoples' writing wholesale, usually in introductory sections. This plagiarism is very easy to spot, as the writing style and diction often change dramatically for a few sentences.
I have tried multiple times to convince him that this is plagiarism, and that it's wrong. Despite this, I keep finding new instances of copied material. He claims that it's fine because it's not copying ideas, just introductory information, but I disagree.
How can I convince him that this is wrong and that he should stop?
If it matters, both of us are Chinese, but I grew up in the US and he grew up in China. He claims that this is just a &quot;cultural difference,&quot; but I think that this is still misconduct, however minor it may be.
It seems that you have already tried to convince him, and it has been unsuccessful. I don't know what else you can do to convince him.
I would say that if I found plagiarism in any part of the work, the entire work, as well as the authors become suspect. It would very likely be automatically rejected.
My advice to you, is to stop working with him or, if you continue, to make sure your name is not affiliated at all with those proposals.