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.”

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 wouldn’t want your teacher to know about

Two types of plagiarism: Intentional

Copying a friend’s work

Buying or borrowing papers

Cutting and pasting blocks of text from electronic sources without documenting

Media “borrowing” without documentation

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

yourself. You limit your own learning.

The consequences are not worth the risks!

It is only right to give credit to authors whose ideas you use.

Education is not an “us vs. them” game! It’s about learning to learn!

Is your academic

reputation valuable to you?

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 (cont’d) New York Times senior reporter Jayson Blair

forced to resign after being accused of plagiarism and fraud.

Controversial New Jersey valedictorian denied her seat as a Harvard freshman when it discovered she plagiarized in a local newspaper.

“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: N0 credit for

assignment! Parent notification! Referral to

administrators! Note on student

record! Unsatisfactory

citizenship!

Is this important? What if…

Your architect cheated his way through math class. Would 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 stand-in to take his major tests? Does he know enough to complete your parents’ 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: 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 person’s ideas without giving them credit.

Using another person’s research, results, diagrams, or images without giving them credit.

Evil Acts of Plagiarism… Buying, stealing, or

borrowing a paper Copying from another

source without citing Building on someone

else’s ideas without citation

Using the source too closely when paraphrasing

Deliberate Plagiarism

Maybe Accidental Plagiarism

Identifying Plagiarism

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

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

Is this plagiarism?

Verdict: Plagiarism

The student should have used quotation marks around the words that he copied directly from the original source such as “unsettled” and “startled” and “signing ape”.

Also, there is no parenthetical reference with the page number of the source statement.

Identifying plagiarism

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

Student’s Paper:The existence of a signing ape unsettled linguists and startled animal behaviorists  (Davis 26).

Is this plagiarism?

Verdict: PlagiarismEven though the writer has cited the source, the writer’s 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

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

Student’s 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).

Is this plagiarism?

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

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

Student’s 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).

Is this plagiarism?

Verdict: Not PlagiarismThe student has cited the source, and appropriately paraphrased the original source into his own words.

Strategies to avoid plagiarism• Do not look at your resource while taking

your notes. Turn the resource face down and take notes in your own words.

• Know how to quote, cite, and paraphrase.

• When in doubt, ask your teacher.

• Do your own work and don’t fall behind!

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 bibliography 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 citeIn-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.

Don’t avoid citing Internet sources and articles from electronic databases just because you don’t 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.

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. Don’t 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 paraphrasing1. Read the original passage until you

understand its meaning 2. Set the book aside. 3. Write your paraphrase on note cards or a

sheet of paper. 4. Compare your paraphrase with the original to make

sure that the essential information is preserved. 5. Use quotation marks to identify any unique

term or phrase you have borrowed exactly from the source

6. Document your sources (include page numbers) on your note cards so you can easily cite later.  

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

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