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What is Plagiarism?

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TopicsDefinitionsWhy do people plagiarise?Infamous examples

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DefinitionsPlagiarise: "To take and use as one’s own,

the thoughts, writings or inventions of another" (OED)

Some definitions also include the element of 'advantage gain'

Collude: To work together for mutual benefit, but with the intention to deceive a third party

Does not necessarily refer to plagiarism

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Types of PlagiarismIntra-corpal plagiarism – e.g. copying from

other students on same courseExtra-corpal – copying from an external

source, such as a book or web siteAutoplagiarism – citing one’s own work

without acknowledgement

(Culwin and Lancaster 2001)

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Features of Plagiarism Fairly new notion

Originality and individual authorship have not always been highly valued

Not a legal term Plagiarism is not necessarily illegal Intellectual property law emerged from property law – does

not easily cope with ideas, words, art etc.

Can be intentional or unintentional Covers paraphrasing as well as verbatim copying Does not just apply to copyrighted works

You can plagiarise without breaching copyright, and you can breach copyright without plagiarising

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Why Do People Plagiarise?Genuine lack of understanding about what

constitutes plagiarismBelief that one’s own work is

inadequatePoor writing and research practice

e.g. referencing, citations, quoting

To get higher marksTo save time and effortBecause everyone else does itCultural factors

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What’s Wrong With It?Penalises honest studentsDegrades academic standards, degrees, and

institutionsFuture negative impact on professional

standards if students are not learning required topics properly

It’s cheating!

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But…. A key component of academic research is reading

and using other people’s work What is common knowledge? Backlash and postmodernism

Questioning/subversion of intellectual property e.g. Creative Commons, Copyleft, OpenCola, detritus.net

Copying/pastiche now viewed more positively Beat the Witch Huntwww.study-skills.net/plagiarism.pdf

Does plagiarism necessarily involve intention to cheat?

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Plagiarism in TextAuthors who have been

accused of plagiarism include:

Yann Martel, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Graham Swift, Helen Keller

Claims are often malicious – Stephen King, JK Rowling

Shakespeare "So all my best is dressing old words new" (Sonnet 76)

"There are, after all, only so many plots in the world" (McCrum, Guardian 28/4/02)

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Plagiarism in Music Robbie Williams (Jesus in a Camper Van) V Loudon Wainwright III/Woody Guthrie – ordered to remove song from future copies of album

George Harrison (My Sweet Lord) V The Chiffons (He’s So Fine) – 'unconscious copying', Harrison had to pay royalties

Solomon Linda (Wimoweh) – tune used by at least 170 artists

The Verve (Bittersweet Symphony) V Rolling Stones (The Last Time) – slight altering of song. Album distribution halted

Silence – Mike Batt V John Cage

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Plagiarism in Other Fields Advertising

Revels, Guinness

Film and Television The Sting – producers sued

by author of The Big Con Barbara Taylor Bradford V Sahara Television

Journalism New York Times (Jayson Blair) n.b. also invented stories – the opposite of plagiarism?

Politics Iraq dossier Senator Joe Biden

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Excuses"I had internalised your musings" VN

Narayan, to Brian Appleyard"The important thing is that it’s accurate" HM

Government"There are only so many

notes in a scale" Tim Rice"Originality is nothing

more than judicious imitation" Voltaire"To copy from one work is plagiarism, to copy

from two is research" (Miscellaneous writers)

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SummaryAny discussion of plagiarism must be

informed by a clear definition of what it isPlagiarism can occur in all fields of

endeavour, including academia