IntroductionThe relevance of the chosen topic is evidenced by such a dangerous phenomenon in science as imitation of scientific creativity, which means reproducing the external features of dissertations in order to create the appearance of scientific research. Currently, the imitation of scientific research is becoming a disaster that can completely de-educate dissertations of any level.The purpose of this study is to identify the signs of imitation that take place in dissertation research.The methodological basis of the research is a dialectical approach combined with instrumental methods of cognition and methods of legislative textual criticism of criminal law.Research results: signs of imitation in dissertations are, firstly, the inability to fully substantiate the relevance of the research topic; secondly, disruption of the connection between the objectives of the research and conclusions; thirdly, the presence of numerous illegal borrowings in the provisions submitted for defense, as well as in the main text of the dissertation; fourthly, the lack of novelty in the provisions submitted for defense; fifth, a voluminous retelling of regulatory acts that are not related to the topic of the research, the presence of vague terms and repetitions that have no semantic load; sixth, the predominantly compiled nature of dissertation texts; seventh, the absence of the results of scientific research in the conclusion; and finally, dissertation texts that claim to be highly scientific have a low speech culture and contain many semantic inconsistencies and linguistic errors that are characteristic of imitation works.Conclusion: imperfect organization of dissertation research on law and an unprincipled attitude to dissertations that are of an imitation nature inevitably leads to discrediting scientific activity as a whole and indicates a deep crisis in the ethical component of legal science.
