Grad school question: getting scooped?

In our new thread soliciting questions from new and returning grad students, a reader writes:

I've written a paper for a conference that's due in the next few days. But then someone posts a forthcoming paper to PhilPapers on the exact same topic making the exact same points as my paper. And it is far better than my paper. What do I do? Not enough time to change my paper substantially. Do I submit my paper anyway? Or just scrap it? I'm a PhD student and have not attended a conference before.

This is an excellent question, and a bunch of other readers submitted replies. NH writes:

Having had and overcome the experience of being "scooped" several times, I think that if you appreciate the finer details of both your account and theirs, you'll find differences that are productive to discuss. Being first to a point is important but you can still make a major contribution. Just don't let the feeling that you've been scooped be a mental block that prevents you from working further on the topic.

Prof has similar advice:

Make sure it really is the same. Subtle differences matter. If not, try to tweak it to make it more clear (at least to yourself) how it is different (keeping in mind you can almost always make some changes before presenting). If you really aren't adding anything new, scrap it. This happens.

S-U adds:

If your paper presents a different argument, then send it in to the conference (adding a note in the paper that a different argument has been put forward by someone else). IF it is the same argument, then, move on.

Tammo writes:

I'm aware of one recent case where one author (call them A) made an interesting technical point, and not much later another author -- B -- published a paper that made the same point. B's paper had a footnote saying something like "After finishing work on this paper, it was brought to my attention that A makes the same point in a recent paper." B's paper explored a few ramifications of that point that A's paper didn't, but the "heart" of the paper was the same. I don't think that B's behavior there was unethical, but I did hear a few negative comments about B's paper. (There wasn't any insinuation of plagiarism, but B was rendered as being a bit to keen to publish in some of those comments.) So I guess pursuing publication of that exact point is probably not a good idea -- although I'm less certain about whether to present at the conference or not. That said, I would probably consider (a) thinking about whether you still have some interesting and new thoughts about what to make of that point and (b) getting in touch with the author of the forthcoming paper and have a discussion, given that you have overlapping interests and positions. One other thought: the fact that the forthcoming paper seems "better" than your paper probably has a lot to do with the fact that it's at the end of a process of presenting at a conference and getting feedback, submitting to a journal, and (most likely) being revised after peer review. When you submit to a conference, it is normal that your paper would be in a much more "raw" state -- so I wouldn't take the apparent differences in quality at heart.

And Michel writes: 

Just send it in and see what happens. (This other paper won't be held against you, especially since it's just forthcoming; nobody has read it yet!) To publish it you'll want to acknowledge this new paper and try to make a distinct contribution. But for the conference, don't sweat it.

Thanks to everyone above for their tips and advice! I'm curious to hear what other readers think, but here are a few quick thoughts of my own.

Getting 'scooped' happens. It has happened to me on many occasions. The first time was during my second or third year of grad school at Arizona. I had a revise-and-resubmit at Analysis on Newcomb's paradox and indicative conditionals, but it was rejected...and then someone published basically the same idea in another good journal. When this happens in graduate school, my experience is that it can be pretty difficult to handle--as you are, obviously, under pressure to publish. and learning how to publish can be difficult enough without other people publishing the same idea before you.

Fortunately, as a few of the commenters above note, sometimes there are still ways to publish your paper in cases like these. Maybe the arguments aren't exactly the same, and there's enough non-overlap to still publish some version of what you have. On several occasions in my career, I panicked a bit when I saw a new paper come out on a topic that I had been working on, only to see when my emotions had cooled that the other author and I weren't doing exactly the same thing. So, I'd encourage the OP to look at their paper, make sure the arguments really aren't substantially different, and if they are pretty much doing the same thing, to look for ways to revise their paper to differentiate it from the other one.

On the other hand, it is also an unfortunate fact of life that sometimes, you really do get completely scooped, and there is nothing to really do than to move on. I remember when it happened to me in grad school, someone told me, 'You'll have more publishable ideas.' It seemed to me to be pretty cold consolation at the time, as I was having difficulty developing publishable ideas. But honestly, I found over the course of my career that they are right. Publishing gets easier the more experience you have with it, and chances are you'll have a wide variety of publishable ideas as your career proceeds. Again, I realize that if this is the OP's situation, this will probably seem like a cold consolation--but I hope it at least provides some reassurance that whatever happens with this paper, it won't be the end of the world, so to speak.

Finally, regardless of whether the paper is publishable, I guess I'd suggest to the OP that they present it at the conference anyway. First, given that they say that they have never attended let alone presented at a conference before, I think it would be good experience for them: not only in giving a conference paper, but also in terms of getting to know people, attend other talks, and so on. Second, who knows? Maybe the OP will get helpful feedback during their session or in conversation that will help them revise the paper into something that doesn't overlap with the other paper as much! 

Anyway, these are just my thoughts. What are yours?

Comments

[here is the scoop on scooping]

"getting scoped" implies some devious behavior on the part of the person publishing - check your urban dictionary. It is not just that someone beat you to it. The term is being misused here.

[Marcus Arvan]

Huh, I see that now, but it’s worth noting that the term is sometimes used in multiple ways, one of them being simply publishing first. That’s how it is used, for instance, in this news article in the top science journal Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03648-4

[Marcus Arvan]

It’s also used the way I’m using it here: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2016/04/19/so-youve-been-scooped/

[Bram]

I agree with all that is said about the high chances that you idea is, or can be developed, in a sufficiently distinct way. I've felt scooped several times during my PhD, and almost never was it actually a full-on paper-destroying scoop. (I'm using scoop in the benign, Marcus Arvan way here. That was also how I knew the term, fwiw)

I'd say definitely present it and probably remark that you recently learned about this very similar paper and you have some worries about just how similar they are.

It would surprise me if doing so had bad consequences, and it is quite likely to have good consequences.

[amia]

I have always used the term 'scooped' and heard it used in the benign, *aw shucks* sense.

[Greg Stoutenburg]

I'd recommend finding relevant differences between one's position and the scooper's, highlighting them, and providing reasons to favor one's own version of the very-similar view.