What is plagiarism? (And why you should care!

Definition:
Plagiarism is the act of presenting the words, ideas, images, sounds, or the creative expression of others as your own.

How serious is the problem?

A study of almost 4,500 students at 25 schools, suggests cheating is . . . a significant problem in high school - 74% of the respondents admitted to one or more instances of serious test cheating and 72% admitted to serious cheating on written assignments. Over half of the students admitted they have engaged in some level of plagiarism on written assignments using the Internet.
Based on the research of Donald L. McCabe, Rutgers University
Source: CIA Research. Center for Academic Integrity, Duke University, 2003 <http://academicintegrity.org/cai_research.asp>.

Students. If:

you have included the words and ideas of others in your work that you neglected to cite, you have had help you wouldnt want your teacher to know about,

Two types of plagiarism:

Intentional

Copying a friends work Buying or borrowing papers Cutting and pasting blocks of text from electronic sources without documenting Media borrowingwithout documentation Web publishing without permissions of creators

Unintentional

Careless paraphrasing Poor documentation Quoting excessively Failure to use your own voice

Rationale for academic integrity (as if it were necessary!)

When you copy you cheat Is your academic yourself. You limit your own reputation valuable learning. to you? The consequences are not worth the risks! It is only right to give credit to authors whose ideas you use Citing gives authority to the information you present Citing makes it possible for your readers to locate your source Education is not an us vs. them game! Its about learning to learn! Cheating is unethical behavior

Real life consequences:

Damaged the reputation of two prominent historians, Stephen Ambrose and Doris Kearns Goodwin, Kearns left television position and stepped down as Pulitzer Prize judge for lifting 50 passages for her 1987 book The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys (Lewis) Senator Joseph Biden dropped his 1987 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. (Sabato) Copied in law school and borrowed from campaign speeches of Robert Kennedy Probe of plagiarism at UVA--45 students dismissed, 3 graduate degrees revoked

Consequences (contd)

New York Times senior reporter Jayson Blair forced to resign after being accused of plagiarism and fraud. The newspaper said at least 36 of the 73 articles he had written had problems with accuracy, calling the deception a "low point" in the newspaper's history.

New York Times Exposes Fraud of Own Reporter. ABC News Online. 12 May, 2003. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/newshour_index.html

Possible school consequences:

0 on the assignment Parent notification Referral to administrators Suspension or dismissal from school activities-sports and extracurricular Note on student record

Is this important?

What if:

Your architect cheated his way through math class. Will your new home be safe? Your lawyer paid for a copy of the bar exam to study. Will the contract she wrote for you stand up in court? The accountant who does your taxes hired someone to write his papers and paid a standin to take his major tests? Does he know enough to complete your tax forms properly?
(Lathrop and Foss 87)

Is this important?

What if:

Your doctor cheated his way through surgical techniques class. Would he remove your appendix or spleen? How much would it matter? Your lawyer paid for a copy of the bar exam to study. Will the contract she wrote for you stand up in court? The accountant who does your taxes hired someone to write his papers and paid a standin to take his major tests? Does he know enough to complete your tax forms properly?

(Lathrop and Foss 87)

Do I have to cite everything?

Examples of common knowledge

John Adams was our second president The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 If you see a fact in three or more sources, and you are fairly certain your readers already know this information, it is likely to be common knowledge. But when in doubt, cite!

No need to document when:

You are discussing your own experiences, observations, or reactions Compiling the results of original research, from science experiments, etc. You are using common knowledge

What You Need to Know About Plagiarism

What exactly is plagiarism?

From Webster's Third New International Dictionary: Plagiarize - \'pla-je-,riz also j - -\ vb -rized; rizing vt [plagiary] : to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (a created production) without crediting the source vi: to commit literary theft: present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

In the real world, this means..

Using another person's words without giving them credit. Using another persons ideas without giving them credit. Using another persons research, results, diagrams, or images without giving them credit.

Research and Writing Assignment

Time limit Five to ten sources required

Bibliography

Actions that might be seen as plagiarism

Deliberate Plagiarism

Maybe Accidental Plagiarism

Buying, stealing, or borrowing a paper Copying from another source without citing Building on someone elses ideas without citation Using the source too closely when paraphrasing

Identifying Plagiarism
Is this plagiarism?

Original Source:
If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal behaviorists (Davis 26).

Students Paper:
The existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, and was also startling news for animal behaviorists.

Verdict: Plagiarism
The student should have used quotation marks around the words that he copied directly from the original source. Also, there is no parenthetical reference with the page number of the source statement.

Identifying plagiarism
Is this plagiarism?

Original Source:
If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal behaviorists (Davis 26).

Students Paper:
The existence of a signing ape unsettled linguists and startled animal behaviorists (Davis, 26).

Verdict: Plagiarism
Even though the writer has cited the source, the writers words are not his own. Look at how closely the phrase "unsettled linguists and startled animal behaviorists" resembles the wording of the source.

Identifying Plagiarism
Is this plagiarism?

Original Source:
If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal behaviorists (Davis 26).

Students Paper:
If the presence of a sign-language-using chimp was disturbing for scientists studying language, it was also surprising to scientists studying animal behavior (Davis, 26).

Verdict: Still Plagiarism

Even though the writer has substituted synonyms and cited the source, the writer is plagiarizing because the source's sentence structure is unchanged. It is obvious that the writer could not have written his sentence without a copy of the source directly in front of him.

Identifying plagiarism
Is this plagiarism?

Original Source:
If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal behaviorists (Davis 26).

Students Paper:
According to Flora Davis, linguists and animal behaviorists were unprepared for the news that a chimp could communicate with its trainers through sign language (Davis, 26).

Verdict: Not Plagiarism

The student has cited the source, and appropriately paraphrased the original source into his own words.

Strategies to avoid plagiarism

Practice good research methods Know how to quote

Know how to cite

Know when something is common knowledge Know how to paraphrase

Practice good research methods

Be careful about paraphrasing while taking notes Be sure to keep track of each source you use Indicate in your notes which ideas are taken from sources (S) and which are your own insights (ME) Record all of the relevant documentation information in your notes

Know how to quote

Mention the name of the quoted person in your text Put quotation marks around the text you are quoting Use brackets ([ ]) and ellipses ( ) Use block quotes when necessary Quote sparingly

Cite your sources

Why should you cite your sources?

Citations show you have done research As a courtesy to your reader Your arguments become stronger when you can back them up Ensures others receive fair credit for their work

Know how to cite

In-text: A substance can usually be converted to a different state by adding or removing energy from a system (Voet 1990).

Bibliography: Voet D. 1990. Biochemistry. New York: J Wiley. 1223p.

Citing Internet Sources

Material on the Internet is not free. It still needs to be cited. Dont avoid citing Internet sources and articles from electronic databases just because you dont know how.

Know when to cite

Always give a citation for quoted words or phrases.

Always give a citation after paraphrased sentences. Always give a citation for specific statistics, percentages, and numbers given in your text. You dont need to cite facts or ideas that are common knowledge.

Is it common knowledge?
Facts that can be found in numerous places and are likely to be known by a lot of people do not need to be cited.
Consider your audience when deciding whether a fact is common knowledge. Example of common knowledge: John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States in 1960.

Know how to paraphrase

Paraphrasing means putting an idea into your own words. Dont just rearrange the sentences or replace a few words. Be able to summarize the original source without having it in front of you.

Effective paraphrasing

Introduce your source at the point you begin paraphrasing the ideas of the other writer. Cite your source in parentheses where you finish paraphrasing the source and resume presenting your own ideas.

Effective paraphrasing
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Read the original passage until you understand its meaning Set the book aside. Write your paraphrase on note cards or a sheet of paper. Compare your paraphrase with the original to make sure that the essential information is preserved. Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phrase you have borrowed exactly from the source Document your sources (include page numbers) on your note cards so you can easily cite later.

Why should you care about plagiarism?

CBUs Plagiarism Policy: A faculty member will take disciplinary action when plagiarism is discerned. Disciplinary action may take the form of a warning or the assigning of a failing grade for the assignment, examination, or entire course. The faculty member may recommend to the Vice President for Academic Affairs that the student be expelled from class.

Why should you care about plagiarism?

Plagiarism ruins reputations, and could harm your career.

Legal aspects of plagiarism

Copyright law Trademark and unfair competition laws Fraud

Possible consequences

Having an academic degree rescinded, or professional status revoked Loss of reputation

upheld punishment imposed by the college.

In most cases involving a student or professor, the court has

Cyber-cheating in the digital age

Plagiarism before the Internet era: books, journals, fraternity test files, etc. In the present day: far easier to cheat, but its also growing easier to detect

Cyber-cheating in the digital age

Technology has made it easier to track down and identify cases of plagiarism you wont get away with it.

TurnItIn.com

Methods of detecting plagiarism

More accurate search engines Full-text journal articles in library databases Commercial plagiarism-detection services aimed at teachers As always, the professor may well recognize the source.

Some telltale signs

It doesnt sound like the students writing. It was printed from a web browser and still has a header/footer on it. The free essay has a tagline at the end that the student forgot to remove. Page numbers dont make sense; fonts switch around; material is off-topic or seems patched together References to charts, graphs, accompanying material that isnt there References to material not owned by the library Dead links All citations are to old material or historical events referred to in the present tense Students cant identify citations, provide copies of the cited material, or answer questions about it

Self-plagiarization

Students Professionals

CONCLUSION

Inadvertent plagiarism is as bad as the intentional kind. If you plan ahead and use good research skills, you wont have to run to the library at the last minute, make up citations, surf the web for all your research, falsify your data.. Learn from your past mistakes. Realize that an act of plagiarism might cost you your reputation, your degree, or your professional career.

Some slides are courtesy of Springfield School District, Oreland, Pa.

http://www.sdst.org/shs/library/powerpoint/ plagiarism.ppt