plagiarism by miss t. reference librarian institutional copyright specialist © janet tillman/the...

PlagiarismByMiss T.Reference LibrarianInstitutional Copyright Specialist

© Janet Tillman/The Master’s College, 2007, permission is granted for non-profit educational use; any reproduction or modification should include this statement.

“… there is no new thing under the sun.” (Eccl. 1:9b )

Plagiarism in Cultural Context

“Many cultures do not recognize Western notions of plagiarism, which rests on a belief that … ideas can be owned …

PREFACE

… In many countries outside the United States…using the words and ideas of others without attribution*! is considered a sign of deep respect …” (Lunsford 2003, 397)

* Attribution: acknowledging the author for his/her work; giving credit to an author for his/her work! Highlighting and underlining is mine.

However, in academic writing in the United States, you need to give credit for all the materials you use with a few exceptions like common knowledge. (Lunsford 2003, 397)

When you put your name on a paper you are declaring that you are the author of all the words in the paper except those clearly indicated as quotations. (Harris 2001, 136-138)

This is key to understanding why phrases and summaries are considered plagiarism, if you don’t cite them properly.

INTRODUCTION

Outline

• Reasons for Research Writing & Citing

• Plagiarism: What it is

• Plagiarism: What it is not

• Types of Plagiarism

Outline

• Causes of Accidental Plagiarism

• Avoiding Plagiarism

• Importance of Citing Sources

• Consequences of not Citing Sources

Outline

• What to Cite

• What not to Cite

• How to Cite

• How Much to Cite

Outline

• Protect Your Own Intellectual Property*

• A Word About Copyright

• Reading Resources

• Internet Resources

*intellectual property (related to the law) a name for property (such as patents, trademarks, and copyright material) which is the product of invention or creativity, and which does not exist in a tangible, physical form. Ideas or creations of the mind.

Reasons for Research Writing & Citing

It might help you to understand the need to avoid plagiarism if you understood the purpose of the research paper in the first place.


• The goal of the research paper is to express your own original thinking. (Harris 2001, 16)

• Block quotations connected by a few comments is NOT a research paper. (Harris 2001, 16) Block quotation: long quote set apart

from the main text by a space above and below and indented on both sides like this passage.


• The intention is that, “…quotations, paraphrases and summaries should support [your] arguments and the points [you] are developing...”. (Harris 2001, 16)

• “…merely presenting research material is not the goal.” (Harris 2001, 16)


• Research papers are a valuable educational tool for learning to synthesize ideas, analyze issues, present a coherent* argument and work with information. It is designed to train you to think, to teach you to learn, to investigate as well as to cite. (Harris 2001, 20; 22)

*related logically; fits together well


• “…in the North American setting, most research essays are to be presented mostly in your own words. …The research essay is supposed to make use of … research [so that you can] present your own analysis and arguments.” (Badke 2003, 100)


• “The professor in a Western academic setting is mainly interested in seeing how well YOU have understood the material. Professors do not want you simply to repeat what you’ve read but to interpret what you’ve read, expressing your own understanding in your own words.” (Badke 2003, 103; my bold)


• “Research writing exercises your critical thinking and your ability to collect ideas.” (Lester 2005, 89).

• “By announcing clearly the name of a source, you reveal the scope of your reading and thus your credibility…”. (Lester 2005, 89)

• “…[citations] give clear evidence of [your] investigation into the subject, and they enhance [your] image as a researcher.” (Lester 2005, 89)

Plagiarism: What it is

• Plagiarism is, “The action or practice of taking someone else's work, idea, etc., and passing it off as one's own…” (OED)

• Plagiarism is the failure to give proper credit for words or ideas that originate with someone else whether accidentally or intentionally.


• Whether intentional or accidental, presenting words or ideas as though they are yours but in fact have come from someone else is plagiarism.

• Plagiarism is unethical*.* Not morally right; not honorable; not virtuous; not decent (OED)


• Presenting information as though it were your own, whether it came from a print or an electronic source including the Internet, is plagiarism.

• Improperly citing sources is plagiarism.

• Plagiarism is lying, cheating and dishonest.

• Plagiarism is considered stealing, fraud and literary theft.

Plagiarism: What it is not

• Plagiarism is not illegal

• Plagiarism is not a violation of copyright law– Copyright becomes an issue

if a large amount of material from the same source is copied with or without proper attribution.

Types of Plagiarism - Intentional

• Downloading free papers off the Internet

• Buying papers

• Copying articles from a database and presenting it as yours

Types of Plagiarism - Intentional

• Translating foreign language materials into English and presenting it as though it were yours

• Copying papers from previous students

• Cutting & pasting from several sources without proper attribution.

Types of Plagiarism – Unintentional (could also be intentional)• Quoting only part of the quote

and pretending the rest is yours

• Changing some words but copying whole phrases

• Paraphrasing✶ without attribution (giving credit to the author)

✶ Express the meaning of someone else's words using different words. A rewording of something written or spoken by someone else. (OED)

• Summarizing without attribution

• Directly quoting a source but leaving out the quotation marks or block indentions is a form of plagiarism

• Quotations properly marked or indented but without citations either accidentally or intentionally is still plagiarism

Types of Plagiarism – Unintentional (could also be intentional)

• Improper or inadequate citing of sources is plagiarism

• Paraphrases that are too close to the original wording or sentence structure even if you cite it is plagiarism

• Thoroughly rewriting a source’s words without attribution is plagiarism

Types of Plagiarism – Unintentional (could also be intentional)

Causes of Accidental Plagiarism

• Failure to keep track of sources

• Ideas get mixed up with your own thoughts making it difficult to remember which is whose

• Carelessness in note taking

• Misunderstanding of what is plagiarism

• Ignorance of proper citing style

Causes of Accidental Plagiarism

• Using the same paper for more than one class is not considered plagiarism by most professors on this campus however, the majority of them do not allow it without first obtaining permission.

Avoiding Plagiarism• Good note taking – keep track of

your sources and the notes that come from each

• Keep your bibliography constantly current - add each and every source you find to your bibliography the very first time you use it

• Number each item in your bibliography and put the same number along side (or before and after) each corresponding quote, summary or paraphrase in your notes

Avoiding Plagiarism

• Photocopy or save to your files the portions of the books, the articles and the Web sites that you use

•Article: author, title of article, name of journal, volume, issue, date, page numbers

•Book: author, title, place of publication, publisher, date, page numbers

•Web site: author/provider, title, URL, date last updated, date accessed

– Write on the photocopy or copy/paste to files any citation information that is not already present

Avoiding Plagiarism• Use Q notes – put the letter Q and

the page number before and after a quote or a partial quote like this: Q39 … put Q-quotes around everything you drag and drop from electronic sources. You can supplement that … by coloring the author’s text … or by using a different font. Just be consistent.Q

• Insert citation information with each new item in your notes include: author, title, publisher, date.

• See Lipson, “Doing Honest Work in College” pp. 34-39 for more details on Q notes.

Avoiding Plagiarism

• Photocopy the title page and verso* of each book that you use

• Copy/paste footnotes and endnotes into the text as you are writing, while the source is right in front of you.

• Use font styles and colors to differentiate between sources

*The left-hand page of a book

Avoiding Plagiarism

• Use font styles and colors to differentiate other sources from your own work

• Ask your instructor if in doubt about how to use or acknowledge sources

• Refer to the Reading Resources listed at the end of this presentation for more help

Importance of Citing Sources

• Academic Integrity – enables us to trust the source we use and to demonstrate that our own work is equally trustworthy. (Lunsford 2003, 396)

• It gives credibility to the researcher and to the research


• It shows appreciation to those who have gone before us

• It lets your readers know where they can find more information

• It increases your critical thinking skills by forcing you to think carefully about your own research (Lunsford 1995, 175)


• “Acknowledging sources …demonstrates to readers that you have looked at more than one side of an issue, that you have considered several points of view.” (Lundsford 2003, 393)

Consequences of not Citing Sources• On the other hand,

“Failure to credit sources breaks trust with both the research … and the readers … it can easily destroy the credibility of the researcher and the research.” (Lunsford 1995, 175)

Consequences of not Citing Sources

• Fail assignment

• Fail class

• Expelled from the institution

• Outside of school– Loose status, position, even a job – Degrees revoked (take back),

books withdrawn from publication– Loss of respect

What to Cite

• Direct Quotes – exactly word for word including spelling and punctuation; everything must be exactly as it appears in the source

• Partial Quotes

• Paraphrases

What to Cite

• Summaries/Précis (“pray-SEE”)– to sum up; to state briefly– concise or abridged* statement;

• Judgments and opinions of others

• Ideas gleaned (picked up) from a source

*shortened

What to Cite

• Facts that are not widely known or not familiar to your readers.

• Claims that are arguable: an author presents as fact a claim that may or may not be true.

• If you aren’t sure, cite it.

What to Cite

• Images, statistics, charts, tables, graphs, photographs, illustrations and other visual sources

• Personal interviews, help from friends, instructors and others

• When in doubt do…cite– Better to have it [a citation] and

not need it than to need it and not have it.

What to Cite

• Another person’s theory, opinions, or beliefs that are not yours.

• Another person’s theory, opinions or beliefs that are also yours but you want to demonstrate that you have researched the information or you want to provide support for them. (Babione 2005, 175)

What to Cite

– it’s new enough not to be a part of a field’s common knowledge.

– An informed reader might think that you’re implying that it is your own.” (Turabian 2007, 79)

•“Cite ideas that are not your own … when …

– the idea is associated with a specific person and

What Not to Cite

• Common Knowledge: information known by most readers.– Local or regional knowledge

shared by your readers– Shared experiences: coursework

and lectures shared by members of the same class

– Common factual information found in an almanac (book of facts), dictionary or repeatedly occurring in many different sources

What Not to Cite

• Your own field research (original study), original findings or original surveys

• Dates and facts that are widely available

How to Cite – direct quotations

• Quotations must be marked before and after with quotation marks or for longer quotes indented at both margins

• Use a double slash(//) inside the quote to indicate a page break (when a quote begins on one page and ends on another). (Lipson 2004, 35)


• Avoid using too many quotations. “Overuse cheapens their value.” (Lipson 2004, 44)

• Direct quotations should be short and few. – Less than five lines– Less that 20% of the paper– No more than one per page


• When it would be impossible to restate as effectively in your own words.” (Sorenson 1999, 109)*

• “When an authority’s words carry weight…

• When the quotation is concise…

• [When] a summary or paraphrase causes the words to lose their impact…

How to Cite – partial quotations

• Use the ellipsis (a series of three periods; like this …) to indicate the omission of a word or words. Use a fourth period to mark the end of a sentence, if that’s where the omission occurs.

• Use brackets [like this] to insert your own words inside a quote or to change a word or to make any other editorial additions.

How to Cite - summaries

• Even though the wording is entirely your own you need to cite the source

• Must keep the same tone and the same message as the original

• Usually about one third the length of the original

How to Cite - paraphrases

• Use when you need to simplify the language of a complicated text

• Use when you need to clarify a passage

• Be very careful to NOT slip in phrases from the original

How to Cite - paraphrases

• The length should be about the same as the original

• It should present the same ideas, in the same order, keep the same tone and deliver the same message as the original

• Changing the order of some words or replacing a few words is NOT a paraphrase

How Much to Cite

• A well researched paper should have about two citations per page

• The number of sources used depends on the topic, how much you’ve studied it and how long the paper is.

How Much to Cite

• A complex or intensely debated issue will need more sources to cover the differing issues.

• A short paper or a simple topic will only need a few sources

(Lipson 2004, 171)

Conclusion

so, you must cite that source and enclose any sequence of … exact words in quotations marks or set them off in a block quotation.” (Turabian 2007, 80)

“If the person whose work you used read your report, would [s/he] recognize any of it as [his/hers], including paraphrases and summaries, or even general ideas or methods? If

Protect Your Intellectual Property• Protect your notes and any drafts

you may have of your paper; both print and electronic.

• Be careful with your passwords, discs or USB drives (flash drive; thumb drive) – make sure they are secure.

• Save all your drafts and notes so you can show where your information came from should it become necessary.

A Word About Copyright

• Automatic copyright – all the research and writing you do is automatically copyrighted the moment it becomes tangible*.

• Email is public and copyrighted - the original author owns the copyright on it

• Get permission to use or forward email sent to you or information obtained through discussion groups or other online forums including Web sites.

*touchable; material; real

Reading Resources

• Babione, Alexandra. “Copy Me: Plagiarism: How to Avoid it.” In Guiding Students from Cheating and Plagiarism to Honesty and Integrity: strategies for change by Ann Lathrop and Kathleen Foss, 175-176. Westport, CN: Libraries Unlimited, 2005

✶ ✶Badke, William B. Beyond the Answer Sheet: Academic Success for International Students. N.Y.: iUniverse, Inc. 2003. pp 97-103.

✶ ✶ Buy this one! ✶ ✶

✶Read these

Reading Resources

• Harris, Robert A. The Plagiarism Handbook: Strategies for Preventing, Detecting, and Dealing with Plagiarism. LA: Pyrczak Publishing, 2001.

✶Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers: a complete guide, 11th ed. San Francisco: Pearson Longman, 2005. pp.88-102.

Reading Resources

✶Lipson, Charles. Doing Honest Work in College: how to prepare citations, avoid plagiarism, and achieve real academic success. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2004. pp. 32-48.

• Lunsford, Andrea and Robert Connors. The St. Martin’s Handbook, 3rd ed. N.Y.: St Martin’s Press, 1995. pp. 586-606.

Reading Resources

✶Lunsford, Andrea A. The St. Martin’s Handbook, 5th ed. N.Y.: Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2003. pp. 393-402.

• Markman, Roberta H., Peter T. Markman and Marie L. Waddell. 10 Steps in Writing the Research Paper, 4th ed. N.Y.: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc., 1989. pp. 119-126.

Reading Resources

• Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers, Rev. Wayne C. Booth and Gregory G. Colomb. 7th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2007. p. 73-80.

• Sorenson, Sharon. The Research Paper: a Contemporary Approach, Rev. ed. N.Y.: AMSCO Publication, 1999. pp. 107-115.

Internet Resources

• Plagiarism: what it is and how to avoid it? www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html

• Avoiding Plagiarism http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/

http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html

http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/

Internet Resources

• WPA Statement on Plagiarism http://www.wpacouncil.org/node/9

• Plagiarism.org Learning Center http://www.plagiarism.org/

http://www.wpacouncil.org/node/9

http://www.wpacouncil.org/node/9

http://www.plagiarism.org/

plagiarism by miss t. reference librarian institutional copyright specialist © janet tillman/the...

Documents