Editing Ethics

[janaca]

Anyone have any thoughts on using a totally above-board academic editing service designed for researchers preparing their articles for publication if you can't find any faculty willing to give you feedback on a dense, 20+ page paper you wrote a couple of years ago? Just wondering....

[TakeruK]

If the editing service is indeed above-board (i.e. no copyright issues if you implement their edits etc.) then this should be okay. You should also make sure the journal you are submitting to is okay with this too. You should make sure you understand all of the implications of anything you sign for the journal when it comes to declaring what was your own work.

 

Overall, I think it's perfectly ethical for a researcher to get help with his/her spelling and grammar etc. if everything else is above board. For example, my current school provides a free proof-reading service for all PhD student theses (and in fact, your thesis must go through this process before it will be accepted by the school).