Academic Ethics and Plagiarism

Research, Learning, and Writing with Integrity

Plagiarism is the act of presenting the words, ideas, images, sounds, or the creative expression of others as your own.

PLAGIARY -  Etymology:  Latin plagirius, kidnapper, plagiarist, from plagium, kidnapping, from plaga, net.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed.

WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?

All plagiarism is intentional; that is, all plagiarism is done on purpose.

#1: TRUE OR FALSE?

Intentional versus Unintentional

Not all plagiarism is done on purpose

Here are some classicexamples

You wrote a paper on Shakespeare in your World Studies class and got a good grade on it. You reuse the paper two years later in your British Literature class. Is this plagiarism?

#2: PLAGIARISM-YES or NO?

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

◦ Re-submitting papers in different classes without permission of the instructor(s)

Unintentional◦ Careless paraphrasing

(not your own ideas, yet not cited as someone else’s)

◦ Poor documentation (taking good notes but forgetting where you got the info)

◦ Quoting excessively (which usually results in a failure to use your own “voice”)

You read an article and use a summary of the information in your paper. You don’t cite it because you wrote it. Is this plagiarism?

#3: PLAGIARISM-YES or NO?

You must cite where you got your information, even if it’s in your own words.

Summarize when: You want to establish background or offer an

overview of a topic You want to describe knowledge about a

topicWhere does the citation go?When summarizing information you borrow

from a source, paraphrase it in your own words and then put the in-text citation afterward.

YESSUMMARIZING NEEDS CITATION

#4: TRUE OR FALSE?

Plagiarism is only bad if you get caught doing it.

Why academic integrity matters

When you copy, you cheat yourself by limiting your own learning.

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

Cheating is unethical behavior It is only right to give credit to

authors whose ideas you use(example of student

dissertation) Citing gives authority to the

information you present Citing makes it possible for your

readers to locate your source The consequences are not

worth the risks!

How valuable is YOUR academic

reputation?

How embarrassing! In recent news . . . Last December (2008), rock guitarist Joe Satriani filed a

lawsuit against British rock band Coldplay for illegally copying or plagiarizing portions of the song “If I Could Fly.” February of 2008, Coldplay won the song-of-the-year Grammy Award for “Viva la Vida” (“Coldplay denies plagiarism charge”). According to the Associated Press:

At the time the suit was filed, Coldplay (Chris Martin, lead singer, above) said the

resemblance between the songs was ‘entirely coincidental' and that 'Joe Satriani is a great musician.’' But in its legal filing, the band has changed its tune, saying that ‘If I Could Fly’ should not receive copyright protection because it ‘lacks originality.’ (qtd. in

“Coldplay denies plagiarism charge”)

Since December, charges against Coldplay have been dropped. According to a New York

Times article, details of the case remain sealed, but Coldplay is not required to admit to any wrongdoing.

WORKS CITED: "Coldplay denies plagiarism charge."  The New York Times. 8 Apr. 2009. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Public Trial Site. 30 Oct. 2009. Web.

  "Lawsuit Is Dropped Against Coldplay."  The New York

Times. 17 Sept. 2009. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Public Trial Site. 30 Oct. 2009. Web.

How embarrassing!

“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.”

Based on the research of Donald L. McCabe, Rutgers University

Source: “CIA Research.” Center for Academic Integrity, Duke University, 2003 <http://academicintegrity.org/cai_research.asp>.

How serious is the problem?

Possible school consequences:

“0” on the assignment Parent notification Referral to

administrators Suspension or

dismissal from school activities--sports and extracurricular

Note on student record

Loss of reputation among the school community

Expulsion from a college or university-tuition, fees, etc. will not be reimbursed.

What if:◦ Your architect cheated his way through math

class. Will 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 tax forms properly?

(Lathrop and Foss 87)

Why does it matter?

Content does not need to be copyrighted © in order to be protected.

#5: TRUE OR FALSE?

Check out this video on Copyright rules:Copyright Basics video So what does that mean for school? It said

Fair Use included EDUCATION, right?

#6:YES OR NOSomething to remember: 10%Generally if you use less than 10 % of

any published item, you should be within the limits of FAIR USE FOR EDUCATION OR SCHOLARLY RESEARCH.

COPYRIGHT AND FAIR USE

Most students don’t follow this, but you should use:◦ no more than 30 seconds of any one song in a presentation,

◦no more than 3 minutes of a full-length video,

◦no more than 5 images from any one single artist,

◦no more than a 1,000 words from text

COPYRIGHT AND FAIR USE

Even common knowledge (for example, “the U.S. joined World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor”) should be cited in academic writing.

#7: TRUE OR FALSE?

Facts that are widely known, or

Information or judgments considered “common knowledge”

These do NOT have to be documented.

What you DON’T need to cite:

George Washington was our first president. The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on

December 7, 1941. Florida has higher average daily

temperatures than Montana.

Examples of common knowledge

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 it!

What is common knowledgeTECHNICALLY?

Acceptable examples of common knowledgeKnown time and date relating information

("There are seven days in a week.")

Well-known historical fact ("Julius Caesar was a Roman".)

Geographic pieces of information easily verified by a non-specialized map ("Dallas is in Texas")

Plain sight observations that can be made from public property ("A tall spire sits atop the Empire State Building")

Obvious national associations ("German is the primary language in Germany")

Mathematical or logical truisms ("1+1=2")

You are discussing your own experiences, observations, or reactions

Compiling the results of original research, from science experiments, etc.

You are using common knowledge

No need to document when:

A FEW HELPFUL TIPS:As you take notes . . .

Use a separate page for each source you use

Write the citation information at the top of every page

Include any direct quotes or unique phrases in quotation marks or mark with a big Q

Make sure you note a paraphrase and mark it with a big P

Include page numbers and source references so you can go back and check for accuracy as you write.

Use in-text documentation when:

You use an original idea from one of your sources, whether you quote or paraphrase it

You summarize original ideas from one of your sources

You use factual information that is not common knowledge (Cite to be safe.)

You quote directly from a source You use a date or fact that might be

disputed

Original source (this goes in your Works Cited):

Will, George F. "Electronic Morphine." Newsweek 25 Nov. 2002: 92.

How do I cite using MLA style?

Two different ways to cite:- Within the textGeorge Will reported that in 2002 Internet gambling surpassed pornography to become the Internet's most lucrative business (92).- After the textThe first gambling Web site appeared in 1995, and online gambling has since become the most lucrative Internet business (Will 92).

MLA (Modern Language Association) released a new edition of rules in April, 2009.

There are a few important rules to remember that have changed the way we do citation. Most of the databases have not caught up with this change, therefore, some slight alteration in the formatting will be necessary.

A Few Things to Know about your Works Cited Page

#1: No more underlining — publication titles and the name of the online product accessed are now italicized

#2:No more URLs — MLA no longer requires URLs, but encourages writers to provide a URL if the citation information does not easily lead readers to the source

#3:Publication medium –write ‘Print’ if it is from a print resource and ‘Web’ if it is from a website or database.

Three new rules to remember

Where can you go to get help with your citation page?

• The library—your teacher-librarians!

• Green handout/worksheet found in the library

• Easybib.com

• Citation Machine

PLAGIARISM SCAVENGER HUNT

ASSIGNMENT

What’s the big deal?

If I change a few words, I’m

okay, right?

Wrong! Using any original ideas without documenting your source is plagiarism too!

QuotingParaphrasing Summarizing

To blend source materials in with your own, making sure your own voice is heard.

Use these three strategies,

Quotations are the exact words of an author, copied directly from a source, word for word. Quotations must be cited!

Use quotations when: You want to add the power of an author’s words to

support your argument You want to disagree with an author’s argument You want to highlight particularly eloquent or powerful

phrases or passages You are comparing and contrasting specific points of

view You want to note the important research that precedes

your ownCarol Rohrbach and Joyce Valenza

Quoting

Paraphrasing means rephrasing the words of an author, putting his/her thoughts in your own words. When you paraphrase, you rework the source’s ideas, words, phrases, and sentence structures with your own. Like quotations, paraphrased material must be followed with in-text documentation and cited on your Works-Cited page.

Paraphrase when: You plan to use information on your note cards and wish to

avoid plagiarizing You want to avoid overusing quotations You want to use your own voice to present information

Carol Rohrbach and Joyce Valenza

Paraphrasing

Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) of one or several writers into your own words, including only the main point(s). Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material. Again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to their original sources.

Summarize when:

You want to establish background or offer an overview of a topic

You want to describe knowledge (from several sources) about a topic

You want to determine the main ideas of a single source

Carol Rohrbach and Joyce Valenza

Summarizing

Parenthetical citations are usually placed at the end of a sentence, before the period, but they may be placed in the middle of sentence

Cite the author's last name and the page number

In the absence of an author, cite the title and the page number

If you are using more than one book by the same author, list the last name, comma, the title, and the page

If you identify the author and title in the text, just list the page number

How do I cite using MLA style?

When citing a Web source, you will not have page numbers. Refer to your Works Cited entry and use the first words in it. For instance:

"Caret." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 28 April 2006. 10 May 2006. Web.

would be cited as (“Caret”).

But, what about the Web?

Works Consulted "Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism." Citing Sources.

2006. Duke University Libraries. 28 Aug 2006 <http://library.duke.edu/research/plagiarism/>.

Cullen, Lisa. "Rule No. 1: Don't Copy.." Time May 15 2006: 41.

Dunlap, Kent. "Plagiarism." World Book Online Reference Center. 2006. [Legacy High School Library. Aug. 28, 2006.] <http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar433110>.

Lathrop, Ann and Kathleen Foss. Student Cheating and Plagiarism in the Internet Era. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2000.

Lewis, Mark. “Doris Kearns Goodwin And The Credibility Gap.” Forbes.com 2 Feb 2002. <http://www.forbes.com/2002/02/27/0227goodwin.html>

Write for College. Wilmington, MA: Great Source Education, 1997.