PREVENT PLAGIARISM UNIT 2 LECTURE 2

ProfessorEmily B. Ryan

Overview:

Plagiarism and evaluating sources. Writing Center—great resource! Unit 3 paper.

What is Plagiarism?

What is Plagiarism?

Students are expected to be the sole authors of their work. Use of another person’s work or ideas must be accompanied by specific citations and references. Though not a comprehensive or exhaustive list, the following are some examples of dishonesty or unethical and unprofessional behavior: Plagiarism: Using another person’s words, ideas, or results

without giving proper credit to that person; giving the impression that it is the student’s own work …

Copying work or written text from a student, the Internet, or any document without giving due credit to the source of the information.

What is Plagiarism?

Now we know that plagiarism is the act of copying someone else’s words without giving credit to the actual author. Sometimes, students can plagiarize without intending to do so.

The Responsible Plagiarist

At times, students will want to copy the words of others because the student feels that the author has done a much better job of saying what the student wants to say. For example, students often copy the words of a court case when drafting an issue statement or statement of facts. Even though this action is well-intentioned, it is still plagiarism.

So how do students avoid plagiarizing?

How to Avoid Plagiarizing

When writing academic papers, such as essays, or when turning in work for academic credit, such as posting on a discussion board, there are two things that students must learn in order to avoid plagiarizing:

How to cite work appropriately. How to paraphrase, summarize, and quote properly.

How to Cite

What to Use

For citing general materials, use the citation style is generally known as APA.

How to Cite

APA format requires two components for a proper and complete citation: an in-text citation and a References page. It is impossible to give proper credit to a source without both of these components.

In-Text Citations

The in-text citation is a short, truncated snippet of bibliographic information. In addition to signaling that you, the author of the paper, are quoting, citing or paraphrasing, the purpose of this information is to give your reader a quick key to the References page at the end of your paper, where the rest of your bibliographic information is contained.

If you are summarizing or paraphrasing, the in-text citation contains the author’s last name and the date: (Smith, 2003).

If you are quoting, you will need to also include a page or paragraph number: (Smith, 2003, p. 370) or (Smith, 2003, para. 3).

References

The References page, placed at the end of your paper, contains the complete bibliographic information necessary for your reader to actually locate the material you have used in your paper. The components of a Reference depend upon the type of source used: book, newspaper article, journal article, court case, statute, etc.

Here is what a typical non-legal reference would look like:

Borman, W.C., Hanson, M.A., Oppler, S.H., Pulakos, E.D., & White, L.A. (1993). Role of early supervisory experience in supervisor performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 443-449. Retrieved October 23, 2000, from PsycARTICLES database.

Remember!

The in-text citation is a short, truncated snippet of bibliographic information which only allows your reader to locate the complete bibliographic record on the References page.

Without a References page, the in-text citation is meaningless, because there is not enough information available to identify the cited work. Without the in-text citations in the body of your work, the Reference page is meaningless, because your reader would not know where in your paper you were using the references listed.

You have to have both in-text citations and a References page to properly cite the materials you have used!

Citing Legal Materials—In-Text Citations

Court Cases: Underline or italicize the name of the case and give the year of the decision in parentheses. Make sure you use “v.”—never “versus” or “vs.”

Example: The case of Dunder v. Miflin (2008) determines product liability law in this area.

Statutes: Give the name of the statute without emphasis, such as italics. Make sure that each word of the statute is capitalized. Include the year the law was passed.

Example: To protect children against sex offenders, Congress enacted the Jacob Wetterling Sexual Offender Act of 1994.

Citing Legal Materials—References

A References page using legal materials would refer to the Bluebook for all bibliographic elements:

Examples:

Court Case

Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)

Statute

     Tex. Penal Code § 49.09 (LEXIS through 2007 legislation).

How to Paraphrase, Summarize and Quote

How to Paraphrase

Paraphrasing is the most common way of synthesizing ideas from someone else. It is a skill you will learn early and use often. The purpose of paraphrasing is to give an in-depth treatment of the material in question– this may allow you, the writer, to methodically critique the paraphrased material, for example.

A good writer uses his or her own personal writing style throughout the paraphrase– he or she does not simply change the wording from the original source. This skill can be difficult because it requires that you, the writer, really understand the source you are paraphrasing.

Even when paraphrasing, you will want to include an in-text citation with the authors name and the date of the publication to alert your reader to the fact that are relying upon someone else’s work or idea.

Example: (Smith, 2003)

Paraphrase Example:

Consider the case of Katko v. Briney (1971). In this instance, a property owner tried to protect his unoccupied farmhouse from vandals and burglars by using a “trap gun”—a shotgun rigged to go off when a door in the house was opened. A burglar was shot by the trap gun when he entered the house, incurring serious injury. Upon appeal, the Supreme Court of Iowa held that property owners may not protect unoccupied real property from criminal invaders by use of deadly force, since the value of human life outweighs simple property interests.

Reference

Katko v. Briney, 183 N.W.2d 657 (Iowa 1971).

How to Summarize

Summaries differ from paraphrases in length and intent. The purpose of a summary is to quickly distill the main idea of the material in question. Summaries do not include the same level of detail as paraphrases do. They are intended to provide brief, factual accounts of the material you wish your reader to be aware of on a less-detailed level than the material you paraphrase.

Remember that as with paraphrasing, you must be faithful to the author’s meaning and intent. Do not editorialize or insert your own opinion in a summary.

Also as with paraphrasing, you will want to include an in-text citation with the authors name and the date of the publication to alert your reader to the fact that are summarizing someone else’s work or idea.

Example: (Smith, 2003)

Summary Example

In Katko (1971), the court held that a real property owner may not protect unoccupied real property from criminal invaders by use of deadly force, since the value of human life outweighs simple property interests.

Reference

Katko v. Briney, 183 N.W.2d 657 (Iowa 1971).

How to Quote

Quoting is an important but over-used technique in student writing. Quotes should be used sparingly, and your entire paper should not be more than 20 percent quotation from all sources.

Try to paraphrase and summarize when you can, but quote when you need to precisely critique the original author, or when the original author worded something in a particularly eloquent way.

When quoting, you need to include an additional element in your in-text citation: the page or paragraph number from which the quotation came.

Example: (Smith, 2003, p. 370)

Quotation Example

In Katko (1971), the court relied more heavily upon a secondary source than it did its own prior decisions. See, for example how extensively it quoted Prosser on Torts:

Prosser on Torts, Third Edition, pages 116-118, states: “…the law has always placed a higher value upon human safety than upon mere rights in property, it is the accepted rule that there is no privilege to use any force calculated to cause death or serious bodily injury to repel the threat to land or chattels, unless there is also such a threat to the defendant's personal safety as to justify self defense… [S]pring guns and other man-killing devices are not justifiable against a mere trespasser, or even a petty thief. They are privileged only against those upon whom the landowner, if he were present in person would be free to inflict injury of the same kind.“ (Katko v. Briney, 1971, p. 660).

Reference

Katko v. Briney, 183 N.W.2d 657 (Iowa 1971).

Use Reliable Sources:

Conducting Research

Solidifying your topic

Planning your strategy to find the best sources

Evaluating your source for credibility and

reliability

Using your source

Documenting your source

Primary Sources to Use:

Library resources.Lexis.

Secondary Resources for Research: Google / Google books or Scholars.

However, Google has pitfalls . . . Make sure sources are reliable.

Bar Association websites (national and local)

Textbooks

Not Recommended:

Ask.com YahooAnswers.com Wikipedia 

Creditability of Sources:

Read the URL carefully: Look for a personal name (e.g., jbarker or

barker) following a tilde ( ~ ), a percent sign ( % ), or the words "users," "members," or "people."

Is the server a commercial ISP or other provider of web page hosting (like aol.com or geocities.com)

Great resource on evaluating credibility: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/

Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html

Creditability of Sources:

Is the domain extension appropriate for the content? Government sites: look for .gov, .mil Educational sites: look for .edu Nonprofit organizations: look for .org (though this

is no longer restricted to nonprofits) Many country codes, such as .us, .uk. and .de,

are no longer tightly controlled and may be misused. Look at the country code, but also use the techniques in sections 2 and 4 below to see who published the web page.

Creditability of Sources:

Is it published by an entity that makes sense? Who "published" the page? In general, the publisher is the agency or person operating the "server" computer from which the document is issued. The server is usually named in first portion of

the URL (between http:// and the first /) Have you heard of this entity before? Does it correspond to the name of the site?

Creditability of Sources:

Look for links that say "About us," "Philosophy," "Background," "Biography", etc.

If you cannot find any links like these, you can often find this kind of information if you Truncate back the URL. INSTRUCTIONS for Truncating back a URL: In the top Location Box, delete the end characters of the URL stopping just before each / (leave the slash). Press enter to see if you can see more about the author or the origins/nature of the site providing the page. Continue this process, one slash (/) at a time, until you reach the first single / which is preceded by the domain name portion. This is the page's server or "publisher."

Look for the date "last updated" - usually at the bottom of a web page. Check the date on all the pages on the site.

Indicators of quality information: Look for a link called "links," "additional sites,"

"related links," etc. In the text, if you see little footnote numbers or links

that might refer to documentation, take the time to explore them. What kinds of publications or sites are they? Reputable? Scholarly? Are they real? On the web (where no publisher is editing most pages), it is possible to create totally fake references.

Look at the publisher of the page (first part of the URL). Expect a journal article, newspaper article, and some other publications that are recent to come from the original publisher IF the publication is available on the web. Look at the bottom of such articles for copyright information or permissions to reproduce.

Writing Center:

Writing Center

Live tutoring Question and Answer Reference Library Help Free Paper Review

Writing Center

KU’s WC live tutors are available 15 hours each week:

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET

(Please note we are closed all other days, including official University holidays).

Click on "Speak with a Writing Center Tutor“ link and "Join Live Tutorial“ will appear. This is where you

can interact with a friendly, capable tutor.

Writing CenterWriting Center’s Reference Library has a wide

variety of tips on common writing issues under these categories:

Writing Types and Tools Writing Process Research, Citation, and Plagiarism Writing Mechanics

Writing Center

Did you know you can submit a draft paper for feedback to the KU Writing Center?

When you “Submit a Paper for Feedback,” one of the WC tutors will review it and give you some valuable suggestions to help you improve your writing. This is especially useful during the draft stage of the writing process. The tutor will return your paper (with clear, useful suggestions) within 48-72 hours.

Writing Center – Tutor Review

You must attached a Word .doc, .docx, or .rtf file. Failure to do this will delay timely feedback.

With your submission, you must provide: your full name your Kaplan email address an alternative email address (for

example, hotmail, Gmail, yahoo, etc.) your course and section number

(LS498-01) the name of your instructor (Emily

Ryan)

Writing Center Tutor Review of Draft

How do you do it?Attach your paper to an email message

from your Kaplan email account and

send it to: KUWC@kaplan.edu

Turnitin.com

Turnitin.com

It is easy to plagiarize and even easier to be caught unaware through turnitin.com

Turnitin helps detect potential plagiarism by comparing student work against 3 massive, continuously updated databases of content. Every Originality Report provides instructors with the opportunity to help students learn about proper citation and safeguard their academic integrity.

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A Sample Turnitin.com Inbox

Scale shows at a glance which papers are suspect. Click on the colored square below report to view.

Sample Turnitin.com Report

Unit 3 Paper

Submit your first drop box assignment, which is an essay on the “U.S. Court System.” Directions for this assignment include: A brief essay in which you discuss the organization

of the U.S. Court System. You also need to address the jurisdiction of the federal courts, explaining the requirements for filing in that jurisdiction (Examples: federal question or diversity jurisdiction).

Next, research the court system in your home state and explain the similarities and differences between the federal and state systems. In addition, how do the two systems parallel each other?

Additional criteria:

Paper should be 2-4 pages, excluding cover or reference page.

Viewpoint and purpose should be clearly established and sustained.

Assignment should follow the conventions of Standard American English (correct grammar, punctuation, etc.).

In-text citations should be included per APA and/or BlueBook standard.

Assignment should be well ordered, logical and unified, as well as original and insightful.

Your work should display superior content, organization, style, and mechanics and appropriate citation should be used.

Plagiarism and APA Resources:

An Introduction to APA Citation

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Sample APA Citations

http://www.liu.edu/CWIS/CWP/library/workshop/citapa.htm

Plagiarism: What It Is and How

to Avoid Ithttp://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/

plagiarism.shtml

Plagiarism: What It Is and How

to Avoid Ithttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/

589/01/

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Plagiarism and APA Resources:

How to Paraphrasehttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/

619/01/

How to Summarizehttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/

563/01/

When to Use Quotations

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/577/01/

References

Aaron, J. E. (2001). The Little, Brown compact handbook. (Revised Custom 4th ed.). Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing.

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Columbia Law Review, Harvard Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review & The Yale Law Journal. (2005). The bluebook: A uniform system of citation (18th ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Law Review Association.

Hacker, D. (2008). Rules for writers. (6th ed.). New York: Bedford/St. Martin.

Lipson, A. & Reindl, S. (2003) The responsible plagiarist: Understanding students who misuse sources. About Campus, pp 7-14. July–August 2003 Retrieved January 6, 2009, from http://media.wiley.com/assets/165/44/jrnls_ABC_JB_lipson803.pdf

VanDam, K. & Tysick, N. (Eds.). (2008). KU handbook for writers. (2nd. ed.) New York: Cengage Learning.