Abstract

OTERO IGLESIAS, Jacinta  and  BARRIOS OSUNA, Irene. Copying, cutting and pasting in the development of scientific research. Rev Cubana Salud Pública [online]. 2007, vol.33, n.3, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-3127.

Available scientific information on digital media increases geometrically. The incorrect selection of this information negatively contributes to the development of research and the credibility of the new acquired knowledge. The present paper was aimed at showing the possible negative impact of the options called copy, cut and paste on the process of scientific research when they are misused. The contents of the first draft of the section Introduction to 50 research projects included in Master´s courses at national and international levels were reviewed. Essential issues were taken into consideration like the adequate statement of the research problem; its antecedents, theoretical substantiation and needs for research. The use of copying, cutting and pasting in the documentation was evaluated in each of these aspects. It was concluded that the analysis, synthesis, abstraction and generalization of the scientific thinking are often replaced by the process of copying, cutting and pasting and that ethical problems exist when information sources are omitted. The article recommended the search for methodological alternatives that will allow properly teaching the use of copy, cut and paste options in the research context, and at the same time fighting the misuse of these options in the reports submitted by students in the course of their formation

Keywords : Research methodology; research project; scientific publication; postgraduate education.

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