K-State’s Definition of PlagiarismK-State Honor & Integrity SystemFaculty Brown BagOctober 22, 2008

Faculty Handbook

•http://www.k-state.edu/academicpersonnel/fhbook/

•Appendix F (Academic Conduct, Academic Honesty, and Honor System Constitution

•Changes approved 9/9/08 by Faculty Senate

Plagiarism – Previous Definition1. Definition of plagiarism.

a. "Plagiarism is . . . taking somebody else's property. If you copy somebody's test answers, take an essay from a magazine and pass it off as your own, lift a well-phrased sentence or two and include them without crediting the author or using quotation marks, or even pass off somebody's good ideas as examples of your own genius, . . " Quote from Robert M. Gorrell and Charlton Laid, Modern English Handbook, 6th edition (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1976), p. 71.

b. Plagiarism covers unpublished as well as published sources; borrowing another's term paper, handing in as one's own work a paper purchased from an individual or agency, or submitting as one's own any papers from living group's, club's, or organization's files; . . .

Revision Process

•Members of Development Committee:▫Dr. David Allen – director of Honor &

Integrity System▫Dr. Elizabeth Dodd – Department of English▫Cheryl Strecker – University Attorney

•Revision through Faculty Senate Process (subcommittee reviews and approvals prior to going to Faculty Senate)

Revised Definition in Comparison to Former Definition•“Property” is spelled out as “someone

else’s ideas, work, or words”•Definition taken from 2003 Webster’s

Dictionary as opposed to 1976 source•More detailed explanation of what

constitutes plagiarism▫Buying a paper online▫Cutting and pasting information▫Using another persons ideas without

citation

“Sloppy Scholarship”

•Clearly states that unintentional plagiarism is still plagiarism▫Failure to put correct quotation marks▫Failure to use in-text citations▫Incorrect paraphrasing

“Discipline Specific Guidelines”

•Departmental or instructor guidelines of citation styles

•Expectation on the department or instructor to educate and inform the student of these guidelines

Plagiarism in the Classroom – What Can Faculty Do?•Teaching to Avoid Plagiarism

▫Citation Education▫Online quizzes▫Plagiarism Handouts for faculty and

students▫Educational needs of level of students

•Tips to Minimize Plagiarism•Plagiarism Declaration•Show examples of plagiarism

What questions or comments do you have about K-State and plagiarism?

Thank you for coming!

•Next Faculty Brown Bag:▫Thursday, November 20▫Directors Conference Rooms of the Union▫When Academic Integrity is Grey

Contact Information

Camilla J. Roberts, PhDAssistant Director

Honor & Integrity Systemchjones@ksu.edu

532-2595