GUIDELINES ABOUT PLAGIARISM AND HONOUR CHARTER

CEPS/INSTEAD IMPALLA Program GUIDELINES ABOUT PLAGIARISM AND HONOUR CHARTER Assignments, presentations and final dissertation : what is expected from you, what is allowed, what is forbidden Academic year 2003-2004 Professor Jean-Claude Ray Philippe Liégeois Annette Trilling

26/03/2008 Page 2 of 19 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction...2 Section 1 : What is plagiarism, what it is not...4 Section 2 : When and how citing sources... 11 Section 3 : Possible sanctions... 16 Annex 1 : Tricks to avoid plagiarism... 17 Annex 2 : Complementary sources of informations... 19 INTRODUCTION This document is about plagiarism. Plagiarism can be seen as the unacknowledged use of somebody else s words or ideas. While some cultures may show some tolerance vis-à-vis the lack of documentation of sources 1, our institutions (KULeuven and CEPS/INSTEAD) do not. As MIT-Massachusetts Institute of Technology, we consider our words and ideas intellectual property ; like a car or any other possession, we believe our words belong to us and cannot be used without our permission 2. Then, we can consider like Northwestern University that A conscientious writer always distinguishes clearly between what has been learned from others and what he or she is personally contributing to the reader's understanding 3. You can find many reasons for requiring from students and researchers such a behaviour. Apart legal aspects, the main concerns are ethics and efficiency. As pointed out at Princeton University, the essential element is intellectual honesty. Proper citation permits a reader to determine the extent of your knowledge of the topic. And, most important, proper citation permits a reader to 1 For example, students from schools in east Asia may learn that copying directly from sources, without citation, is the proper way to write papers and do research. Students in France, preparing for the Baccalaureate examination, may be encouraged to memorize whole passages from secondary sources and copy them into papers and exam essays. Those cultural differences can sometimes lead to false assumptions about citation practices and expectations http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pub/integrity/pages/citing.html, section 5 2 http://www.libraries.mit.edu/guides/courses/fall2001/21f.222/plagiarism.html 3 http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/plagiar.html, introductory part

26/03/2008 Page 3 of 19 more readily understand and appreciate your original contribution to the subject. In contrast, a very well-informed, complex, or sophisticated piece of work, without adequate or accurate acknowledgment of sources, will only provoke your reader s concern or suspicion 4. Moreover 5, As any of you know who have found interesting ideas or sources in the notes or bibliography of an article, they can be valuable in pointing out new directions for readers to take in their own research. Plagiarism can be perceived as (MIT) a very serious offense 6 that might (University of Puget Sound) undermine the mutual trust upon which educational institutions rest 7. Therefore, as a complement to the regulations (laws) applicable to you (http://www.kuleuven.ac.be/english/pdf/exregulations.pdf) as a student of the University of Leuven, we have gathered information (often taken from outside world) about the nature of plagiarism [Section 1], rules about the way to document sources in the scope of the IMPALLA program [Section 2] and possible sanctions [Section 3]. This handout as a whole must be seen as our official position to be used as a Honour charter about (against) plagiarism. Take a copy of pages 2 and 3 of it and bring them, signed, to the Impalla Secretary. Signing up this Honour charter means that you have read it carefully and that you bind yourself to take it into account as honestly as possible. For agreement about the document 8 : GUIDELINES ABOUT PLAGIARISM AND HONOUR CHARTER Assignments, presentations and final dissertation : what is expected from you, what is allowed, what is forbidden Date Name of the student Signature 4 http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pub/integrity/pages/acknowledge.html 5 Princeton University, http://web.princeton.edu/sites/writing/writing_center/handouts/whentocitesources.pdf, page 1 6 http://www.libraries.mit.edu/guides/courses/fall2001/21f.222/plagiarism.html 7 Inger Brody, Ann Ekes, and Jeanette DiScala, University of Puget Sound's Academic Standards Committee, Subcommittee on Academic Honesty ; http://library.ups.edu/research/guides/intelown.htm 8 To be copied and given back to the IMPALLA secretariat

26/03/2008 Page 4 of 19 SECTION 1 : WHAT IS PLAGIARISM, WHAT IT IS NOT Plagiarism is a generic term involving many kinds of behaviour. Verbatim use ( word for word ) of the text of an author without any reference to the source is plagiarism. Using common knowledge (e.g. George W. Bush is the president of the USA), that is (Northwestern University) knowledge which is common to all of us or ideas which have been in the public domain and are found in a number of sources 9, is not. In-between those two extremes lie intermediary actions (e.g. paraphrasing) that must be carefully taken into account. The following figure, due to the Purdue University Online Writing Lab 10, gives some examples of misconducts. We could adopt, as a sufficiently open definition of plagiarism, the one by the University of California/Los Angeles : Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the use of another s words or ideas as if they were own ; including, but not limited to representing, either with the intent to deceive or by omission of the true source, part of an entire work produced by someone other than the student, obtained by purchase or otherwise, as the student s original work ; or, representing the identifiable but altered ideas, data or writing of another person as if those ideas, data or writing were the student s original work 11. In addition, it should be clear that (University of Michigan) Reworking somebody else s 9 http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/plagiar.html, section 2 10 Brought by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/research/r_plagiar.html, section1 11 http://www.deanofstudents.ucla.edu/studentconductcode.pdf

26/03/2008 Page 5 of 19 sentences with a thesaurus is still plagiarism 12. Moreover, if, while paraphrasing, (MIT) your words and phrases are too close to those of the original source, this, too, is plagiarism 13. In this sense, using a thesaurus for rewriting an original document, or translating it, must also be seen as plagiarism. In practice, plagiarism usually take then two forms : direct/mosaic plagiarism ( word for word copying) and paraphrasing. Here follow some examples of each of them. In all those examples, enlightenments (through italics) are ours. DIRECT/MOSAIC PLAGIARISM Example 1 (source : http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/plagiar.html) Source Material From : Emotion in the Human Face : Guidelines for Research and an Integration of Findings by Paul Ekman, Wallace V. Friesen, Phoebe Ellsworth (New York : Pergamon Press, Inc), p.1. (Psychology source) The human face in repose and in movement, at the moment of death as in life, in silence and in speech, when alone and with others, when seen or sensed from within, in actuality or as represented in art or recorded by the camera is a commanding, complicated, and at times confusing source of information. The face is commanding because of its very visibility and omnipresence. While sounds and speech are intermittent, the face even in repose can be informative. And, except by veils or masks, the face cannot be hidden from view. There is no facial maneuver equivalent to putting one's hands in one's pockets. Further, the face is the location for sensory inputs, life-necessary intake, and communicative output. The face is the site for the sense receptors of taste, smell, sight, and hearing, the intake organs for food, water, and air, and the output location for speech. The face is also commanding because of its role in early development; it is prior to language in the communication between parent and child. Misuse of source Many experts agree that the human face, whether in repose or in movement, is a commanding, complicated, and sometimes confusing source of information. The face is commanding because it's visible and omnipresent. Although sounds and speech may be intermittent, the face even in repose may give information. And, except by veils or masks, the face cannot be hidden. Also, the face is the location for sensory inputs, lifesupporting intake, and communication. Comment The plagiarized passage is an almost verbatim copy of the original source. The writer has compressed the author's opinions into fewer sentences by omitting several phrases and sentences. But this compression does not disguise the writer's reliance on this text for the concepts he passes off as his own. The writer tries to disguise his indebtedness by beginning with the phrase "Many experts agree that....". This reference to "many experts" makes it appear that the writer was somehow acknowledging the work of scholars "too numerous to mention". The plagiarized passage makes several subtle changes in language (e.g., it changes "visibility and omnipresence" to 12 http://www.umich.edu/ugl/anthro/plagiarism_1.html 13 http://lirairies.mit.edu/guides/courses/fall2001/21f.222/plagiarism.html

26/03/2008 Page 6 of 19 "it's visible and omnipresent"). The writer has made the language seem more informal in keeping with his own writing style. He ignores any embellishments or additional information given in the source-passage. He contents himself with borrowing the sentence about how only masks and veils can hide the face, without using the follow-up elaboration about there not being a "facial equivalent to putting one's hands in one's pockets". He also reduces the source's list of the face's diverse activities at the end of the paragraph. Had the writer credited the authors of the Emotions book in this text or in a footnote, and enclosed the borrowed material in quotation marks, this would have been a legitimate use of a source. Example 2 (source : http://www.csubak.edu/ssric/modules/other/plagiarism.html) Let's suppose you were assigned to write a book review of Theodore M. Porter's book, Trust in Numbers : The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life (Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, 1995). In preparing to write your paper, you come across a book review by Lisa R. Staffen, published in Contemporary Sociology (March, 1996, Vol. 25, No., 2, pp. 154-156). Staffen's review begins as follows : It has become fashionable to reject the notion of absolute objectivity on the grounds that objectivity is simply unattainable or, even if attainable, is undesirable. Staffen's opening is good, active prose. Let's suppose you like it. More important, you imagine that your instructor would like it a lot. You decide to start your paper as follows. (I've indicated Staffen's original comment in red.) Plagiarism : I feel it has become fashionable to reject the notion of absolute objectivity on the grounds that objectivity is simply unattainable. This would be a clear case of plagiarism and therefore unacceptable. Adding "I feel" at the beginning is a nice personal touch, but it doesn't change anything. Example 3 (source : http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pub/integrity/pages/plagiarism.html) Original source (text) Alvin Kernan The Playwright as Magician. New Haven : Yale University Press, 1979. pp.102-103. From time to time this submerged or latent theater in Hamlet becomes almost overt. It is close to the surface in Hamlet's pretense of madness, the "antic disposition" he puts on to protect himself and prevent his antagonists from plucking out the heart of his mystery. It is even closer to the surface when Hamlet enters his mother's room and holds up, side by side, the pictures of the two kings, Old Hamlet and Claudius, and proceeds to describe for her the true nature of the choice she has made, presenting truth by means of a show. Similarly, when he leaps into the open grave at Ophelia's funeral, ranting in high heroic terms, he is acting out for Laertes, and perhaps for himself as well, the folly of excessive, melodramatic expressions of grief. Text example 1

26/03/2008 Page 7 of 19 verbatim plagiarism, or unacknowledged direct quotation : Almost all of Shakespeare's Hamlet can be understood as a play about acting and the theater. For example, there is Hamlet's pretense of madness, the "antic disposition" that he puts on to protect himself and prevent his antagonists from plucking out the heart of his mystery. When Hamlet enters his mother s room, he holds up, side by side, the pictures of the two kings, Old Hamlet and Claudius, and proceeds to describe for her the true nature of the choice she has made, presenting truth by means of a show. Similarly, when he leaps into the open grave at Ophelia's funeral, ranting in high heroic terms, he is acting out for Laertes, and perhaps for himself as well, the folly of excessive, melodramatic expressions of grief. Comment Aside from an opening sentence loosely adapted from the original and reworded more simply, this entire passage is taken almost word-for-word from the source. The few small alterations of the source do not relieve the writer of the responsibility to attribute these words to their original author. A passage from a source may be worth quoting at length if it makes a point precisely or elegantly. In such cases, copy the passage exactly, place it in quotation marks, and cite the author. Text example 2 lifting selected passages and phrases without proper acknowledgment : Almost all of Shakespeare's Hamlet can be understood as a play about acting and the theater. For example, in Act 1, Hamlet adopts a pretense of madness that he uses to protect himself and prevent his antagonists from discovering his mission to revenge his father's murder. He also presents truth by means of a show when he compares the portraits of Gertrude's two husbands in order to describe for her the true nature of the choice she has made. And when he leaps in Ophelia's open grave ranting in high heroic terms, Hamlet is acting out the folly of excessive, melodramatic expressions of grief. Comment This passage, in content and structure, is taken wholesale from the source. Although the writer has rewritten much of the paragraph, and fewer phrases are lifted verbatim from the source, this is a clear example of plagiarism. Inserting even short phrases from the source into a new sentence still requires placing quotations around the borrowed words and citing the author. If even one phrase is good enough to borrow, it must be properly set off by quotation marks. In the case above, if the writer had rewritten the entire paragraph and only used Alvin Kernan's phrase "high heroic terms" without properly quoting and acknowledging its source, the writer would have plagiarized. Example 4 (source : http://web.princeton.edu/sites/writing/writing_center/handouts/plagiarism.pdf Here is a passage from "Warfare : An Invention - Not a Biological Necessity" by Margaret Mead. In this essay, Mead says that warfare : is an invention like any other of the inventions in terms of which we order our lives, such as writing, marriage, cooking our food instead of eating it raw, trial by jury, or burial of the dead, and so on. Some of this list any one will grant are inventions : trial by jury is confined to very limited portions of the globe; we know that there are tribes that do not bury their dead but instead expose or cremate them; and we know that only part of the human race has had a knowledge of writing as its cultural inheritance. But, whenever a way of doing things is found universally, such as the use of fire

26/03/2008 Page 8 of 19 or the practice of some form of marriage, we tend to think at once that it is not an invention at all but an attribute of humanity itself. Here is how one student used this passage in his essay : We know that there are many cultures that do not have warfare, and therefore it seems that warfare, is an invention like any other of the inventions in terms of which we order our lives, such as writing, marriage, cooking our food instead of eating it raw, trial by jury, or burial of the dead. You can see that the italicized portion comes directly from Mead's texts. Therefore this passage is plagiarized. It does not matter that the inventions that Mead lists could have been listed by anyone else. It does not matter that the student learned this material from Mead, and thinks that he doesn't need to document everything that he has learned. The fact is this : this material comes directly from another writer, is not placed within quotation marks, is not documented, and therefore is stolen. Example 5 (source : http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/plagiar.html) Source Material From : Language in Sociocultural Change by Joshua Fishman (Stanford University Press, 1972), p.67. (Linguistics source) In a relatively open and fluid society there will be few characteristics of lower-class speech that are not also present (albeit to a lesser extent) in the speech of the working and lower middle classes. Whether we look to phonological features such as those examined by Labov or to morphological units such as those reported by Fischer (1958) (Fischer studied the variation between -in' and -ing for the present participle ending, i.e. runnin' vs. running and found that the former realization was more common when children were talking to each other than when they were talking to him, more common among boys than girls, and more common among "typical boys" than among "model boys"), we find not a clear-cut cleavage between the social classes but a difference in rate of realization of particular variants of particular variables for particular contexts. Even the widely publicized distinction between the "restricted code" of lower-class speakers and the "elaborate code" of middle-class speakers (Bernstein 1964, 1966) is of this type, since Bernstein includes the cocktail party and the religious service among the social situations in which restricted codes are realized. Thus, even in the somewhat more stratified British setting the middle class is found to share some of the features of what is considered to be "typically" lower-class speech. Obviously then, "typicality," if it has any meaning at all in relatively open societies, must refer largely to repertoire range rather than to unique features of the repertoire. Misuse of source In a relatively fluid society many characteristics of lower-class speech will also be found among the working and lower middle classes. Labov's and Fischer's studies show that there is not a clear-cut cleavage between social classes but only a difference in the frequency of certain speech modes. All classes share certain speech patterns. The difference among classes would only be apparent by the frequency with which speech expressions or patterns appeared. By this standard, then, Bernstein's distinction between the "restricted code" of the lower-class speakers and the "elaborated code" of middle-class speakers is useful only up to a point, since Bernstein mentions cocktail parties and religious services as examples of "restricted speech" groupings. "Typicality" refers more to speech "range" than to particular speech features. Comment

26/03/2008 Page 9 of 19 While this passage contains relatively few direct borrowings form the original source, all its ideas and opinions are lifted from it. The writer hides her dependency on the source by translating its academic terms into more credible language for a novice in sociology. For example, the plagiarist steers clear of sophisticated terms like "phonological features," "morphological units," and "repertoire range". However, her substitutions are in themselves clues to her plagiarism, since they over-generalize the source's meaning. The writer seems to acknowledge secondary sources when she refers to Labov's and Fischer's studies, but she obviously has no first-hand knowledge of their research. If she had consulted these studies, she should have footnoted them, rather than pretending that both she and her audience would be completely familiar with them. She intertwines her own opinions with the source and forms a confused, plagiarized mass. The writer should have acknowledged her indebtedness to her source by eliminating borrowed phrases and crediting her paragraph as a paraphrase of the original material. PARAPHRASING Example 6 (source : http://www.csuohio.edu/a_and_s/faculty/handbook/genint/plag.html) MATERIALS WHICH EVEN IF PROPERLY PARAPHRASED MUST BE CREDITED TO THEIR SOURCES 1. Original Version "He was still returning frequently to see the Elgin Marbles, and perhaps within recent months had made the tracing that survives, in the Keats House in Rome, of the Sosibios Vase" (Bate 510). Proper Paraphrase : During this period Keats often revisited the Elgin Marbles, and there is some reason to believe he may have made a tracing of the original urn, the so-called Sosibios Vase (Bate 510). Improper (Plagiaristic) Paraphrase : Keats continued to go back often to inspect the Elgin Marbles, and maybe in the same time had produced the drawing that is now extant, in the Keats House in Rome, of the Sosibios Vase. Explanation : In the proper paraphrase considerable changes have been made both in wording and ordering; the detailed facts surrounding the composition of Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn" are not generally known; they represent the results of a specific researcher's investigations, and the writer of the proper paraphrase has accordingly credited them to Bate by means of a parenthetical citation. (This citation could also be done through a footnote.) In the improper paraphrase, the writer merely translated Bate's words, usually for the worse. He has failed to give Bate credit due him for the results of his research. 2. Original Version : "It is in every way a more considerable poem than the 'Nightingale.' This is not to say that it is superior. For it achieved its success partly because it is more limited in what it tries to say" (Bate 510). Proper Paraphrase : In Bate's view the "Ode on a Grecian Urn" is not a better poem than the "Ode to a Nightingale," but, he implies, it is successful because it is both more conscious and more limited in its aim (510).

26/03/2008 Page 10 of 19 Improper (Plagiaristic) Paraphrase : The "Ode on a Grecian Urn" is in all aspects a more thought out work than the "Nightingale". This is not to assert that it is better. For it attains its victory in part because it is less extensive in what it seeks to declare. Explanation : The writer of the proper paraphrase has significantly altered Bate's wording; because the opinions expressed are the particular views of Bate, his name is associated with them in the text. In such circumstance, both the reasoning and the words of the original author are his property and the use of either must be credited. The parenthetical citation (or footnote) is provided in order to give specific information as to the place where Bate's opinion may be found. The writer of the improper paraphrase has slavishly attempted to translate Bate's comment and has failed to provide any indication of the source. 3. Paraphrasing Lecture Material If material comes from a lecture or discussion in a course, particularly the former, you should give credit to the lecturer. If your notes are inexact, consult the lecturer or do your own research to substantiate the point. Conclusion The reason for clear documentation may be simply stated : clear documentation gives proper credit to the work of others and permits your reader to check at its source the evidence on which your work is based. As in scientific writing, writing in other fields should permit the reader to follow your experiment and arrive at the same results. The comparison is not exact, but it may serve to illustrate the nature of the task of writing. College and graduate school courses prepare one for the time when others than teachers and fellow students will be interested in your work and will want to follow it up. Example 7 (source : http://www.csubak.edu/ssric/modules/other/plagiarism.htm) Staffen's review begins as follows : It has become fashionable to reject the notion of absolute objectivity on the grounds that objectivity is simply unattainable or, even if attainable, is undesirable. Plagiarism : Many people today have rejected the idea that there is such a thing as absolute objectivity since they do not believe that it can be achieved. Even though few of the original words remain in the passage above, the thought expressed has been taken from another writer and offered as your own. Even if you found a way to express Staffen's idea without using any of her original words, that would still constitute plagiarism. Sorry. If you're going to use someone else's words and/or ideas, you have to give them due credit. Use someone else's words and ideas, go to jail. Well, it's not quite that bad, but academics don't have much sense of humor about cheating. I'll admit, I kind of enjoyed the student who turned in a paper his friend had written for the same course the preceding semester. He just whited-out his friend's name and typed his own over it--and you could read the original name from the back of the page. He took the course again.

26/03/2008 Page 11 of 19 There is nothing wrong with presenting someone else's words and ideas in a term paper or in a published, scholarly work. In fact, any field of thought evolves as people read each other's ideas, learn from and build on those ideas. The key to doing this properly lies in acknowledgement and citation. When we borrow words and ideas from others, we acknowledge that we are doing so, and we give our readers a full bibliographic reference so they would be able to locate and read the original. It might be useful for you to leaf through some academic journal articles. It will be clear that academics think it's fine to use other people's words and ideas. It's just important to use them appropriately. Use them as resources for building your own unique contribution to the ongoing conversation of ideas. REMARKS Electronic sources As pointed out by the University of Michigan, many people think that online materials are free to be reproduced and distributed at will. THIS IS NOT TRUE 14. Self-plagiarism According to Dr. Ronald B. Standler (Plagiarism in Colleges in USA, 2000), for students self-plagiarization is taking a term paper or essay that was written for one class and submitting substantial parts of that work for credit in a second class, without informing the instructor 15.???? SECTION 2 : WHEN AND HOW CITING SOURCES As pointed out at MIT, the best way to avoid plagiarism is to cite your sources - both within the body of your paper and in a bibliography of sources you used at the end of your paper. citing them, you obtain permission to use another s words by giving that person credit for the work s/he has done. [ 16 In other words, citing a source means that], in the body of your text, you took the words/ideas/figures from another place 17. Therefore, if you have any doubt about whether you are committing plagiarism, cite your sources or ask the professor in charge of the lecture (or job) under consideration. Here follows a table which gives you some ideas about the question of when giving credit, as seen by the Purdue University. 14 http://www.lib.umich.edu/ugl/classes/plagiarism.html 15 http://www.rbs2.com/plag.htm 16 Using let you skipping part of the original text without departing from your verbatim relation. Square brackets [ and ] indicate that you are paraphrasing the author in the so-called word for word citation. 17 http://libraries.mit.edu/tutorials/general/plagiarism.html

26/03/2008 Page 12 of 19 Choosing When to Give Credit 18 Need to Document When you are using or referring to somebody else s words or ideas from a magazine, book, newspaper, song, TV program, movie, Web page, computer program, letter, advertisement, or any other medium When you use information gained through interviewing another person When you copy the exact words or a "unique phrase" from somewhere When you reprint any diagrams, illustrations, charts, and pictures When you use ideas that others have given you in conversations or over email No Need to Document When you are writing your own experiences, your own observations, your own insights, your own thoughts, your own conclusions about a subject When you are using "common knowledge" folklore, common sense observations, shared information within your field of study or cultural group When you are compiling generally accepted facts When you are writing up your own experimental results Different academic disciplines can use different rules about citation. We give you hereafter some examples about a proper way for proceeding. We can deviate from those guidelines (for example put words in a block of idented text rather then using quotation marks) but be careful about the absolute necessity of full clarity as far as the source and the page reference are concerned.???? Remark : electronic sources At a minimum, cite the name and the author of the site (if available), the Internet address, and the date of access to the site as referenced (numerous examples in the present document). DIRECT QUOTATION EXAMPLE 8 (source : http://www.csubak.edu/ssric/modules/other/plagiarism.htm) Original source : Lisa R. Staffen, published in Contemporary Sociology (March, 1996, Vol. 25, No., 2, pp. 154-156). Staffen's review begins as follows : It has become fashionable to reject the notion of absolute objectivity on the grounds that objectivity is simply unattainable or, even if attainable, is undesirable. 18 Brought by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/research/r_plagiar.html, section1

26/03/2008 Page 13 of 19 Here's an example of how you might properly include Staffen's comment in your term paper, with a bibliographic entry at the end of the paper. Proper use : Lisa Staffen (1996:154) begins her review of Porter's book by suggesting "It has become fashionable to reject the notion of absolute objectivity on the grounds that objectivity is simply unattainable or, even if attainable, is undesirable". This gets the information out for the reader, and it would be accompanied by an appropriate bibliographic citation at the end of your paper : Bibliography : Lisa R. Staffen, "Featured Essays," Contemporary Sociology, March, 1996, Vol. 25, No., 2, pp. 154-156. Here are some other acceptable ways to use Staffen's passage. Each would be accompanied with a bibliographic entry at the end of the paper. Proper use : In her review of Porter's book, Lisa Staffen (1996:154) says the idea of absolute objectivity is now commonly rejected as "simply unattainable or, even if attainable, [as] undesirable". Proper use : According to Lisa Staffen (1996:154), it has become fashionable to reject the idea of absolute objectivity altogether. In summary, it is quite acceptable -- even desirable -- to include the ideas of others in your term paper. This can be a sign of good scholarship, as well as assuring your instructor that you've done some of the reading for the course. (We like to think you read some of it.) However, it's important that you acknowledge and cite materials properly. The key is that your reader know what you are borrowing and how to look up the original materials. Example 9 (source : http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/plagiar.html) Examples of Materials which Have Been Appropriately Cited I. Quoted Material and Unusual Opinion or Knowledge Source : The teenage detective who was once a symbol of spunky female independence has slowly been replaced by an image of prolonged childhood, currently evolving toward a Barbie doll detective.... Every few pages bring reminders of Nancy's looks, her clothing, her effect on other people.... The first entry in this series carries a description of Nancy : "The tight jeans looked great on her long, slim legs and the green sweater complemented her strawberry-blonde hair". Jackie Vivelo, "The Mystery of Nancy Drew," MS., November, 1992, pp. 76-77 Use and Adaptation of the Material : Nancy Drew has become a "Barbie doll" version of her old self. She has become superficial and overly concerned with her looks. She is described in the new series as wearing "tight jeans [that] looked great on her long, slim legs"¹. She has traded her wits and independent spirit for a great body and killer looks.² ¹ Jackie Vivelo, "The Mystery of Nancy Drew," MS., November, 1992, p. 77. ² Vivelo, pp. 76-77 Explanation : The writer has paraphrased most of the material, and she has borrowed a few of the author's words. She has also discovered that the paraphrased ideas are unusual (not found in other sources). Therefore, the writer has placed quotation marks around the author's words and has credited the

26/03/2008 Page 14 of 19 author twice--once directly after the quoted material and once at the conclusion of the author's ideas. II. Interpretation Source : One recent theory, advanced by the physicist Gerald Hawkins, holds that Stonehenge was actually an observatory, used to predict the movement of stars as well as eclipses of the sun and moon. Such a structure would have been of great value to an agricultural people, since it would enable them to mark the changing seasons accurately, and it would have conferred seemingly supernatural powers on the religious leaders who knew how to interpret its alignments. Stanford Lehmberg, The Peoples of the British Isles : A New History, vol. I, (Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1992), p. 9. Use and Adaptation of the Material : If Stonehenge was an astronomical observatory which could predict the coming of spring, summer, and fall, this knowledge would have given tremendous power to the priestly leaders of an agricultural community.¹ ¹ Stanford Lehmberg, The Peoples of the British Isles : A New History, vol. I, (Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1992), p. 9 Explanation : The writer has appropriately cited this material since the writer is in debt to someone else for the analysis, even though the writer has not used any direct quotations. PARAPHRASING, CHARTS AND GRAPHS Example 10 (source : http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/plagiar.html) III. Paraphrased Material Source : As a recent authority has pointed out, for a dependable long-blooming swatch of soft blue in your garden, ageratum is a fine choice. From early summer until frost, ageratum is continuously covered with clustered heads of tine, silky, fringed flowers in dusty shades of lavender-blue, lavenderpink, or white. The popular dwarf varieties grow in mounds six to twelve inches high and twelve inches across; they make fine container plants. Larger types grow up to three feet tall. Ageratum makes an excellent edging. How to Grow Annuals, ed. Sunset Books and Sunset Magazine (Menlo Park, CA : Lane Books, 1974), p. 24. Use and Adaptation of the Material : You can depend on ageratum if you want some soft blue in your garden. It blooms through the summer and the flowers, soft, small, and fringed, come in various shades of lavender. The small varieties which grow in mounds are very popular, especially when plandted in containers. There are also larger varieties. Ageratum is good as a border plant.¹ ¹How to Grow Annuals, ed. Sunset Books and Sunset Magazine (Menlo Park, CA : Lane Books, 1974), p. 24. Explanation :

26/03/2008 Page 15 of 19 The writer has done a good job of paraphrasing what could be considered common knowledge (available in a number of sources), but because the structure and progression of detail is someone else's, the writer has acknowledged the source. This the writer can do at the end of the paragraph since he or she has not used the author's words. V. Using Other Authors' Charts and Graphs Source : Accretion Chart for Illinois tax on OID bond, prepared by John Lindsay, Principal Financial Securities, Inc., 6/12/95. Use and Adaptation of the Material : As the following chart indicates, investment in an OID (Original Issue Discount) bond is taxable by the State of Illinois on the accretion and interest.¹ ¹Accretion Chart for Illinois tax on OID bond, prepared by John Lindsay, Principal Financial Securities, Inc., 6/12/95. Explanation : Instead of creating an original chart or graph, the writer has used one from an outside source to support what the writer has to say; therefore the chart or graph has been cited. If the writer had created an original chart, some of the facts might need citations. Example 11 (source : http://web.princeton.edu/sites/writing/writing_center/handouts/plagiarism.pdf Here is a passage from "Warfare : An Invention - Not a Biological Necessity" by Margaret Mead. In this essay, Mead says that warfare : is an invention like any other of the inventions in terms of which we order our lives, such as writing, marriage, cooking our food instead of eating it raw, trial by jury, or burial of the dead, and so on. Some of this list any one will grant are inventions : trial by jury is confined to very limited portions of the globe; we know that there are tribes that do not bury their dead but instead expose or cremate them; and we know that only part of the human race has had a knowledge of writing as its cultural inheritance. But, whenever a way of doing things is found universally, such as the use of fire

26/03/2008 Page 16 of 19 or the practice of some form of marriage, we tend to think at once that it is not an invention at all but an attribute of humanity itself. Here is how yet another student used Mead's text : One way of deciding whether or not a cultural behavior is an invention is seeing how pervasive it is other cultures. We are aware of wide variations in such behavior as marriage, nurturing children, or division of labor by gender, so we know that these behaviors are not inherent to all humans. Likewise, we know that warfare does not exist in many cultures, supporting the idea that it is merely an invention. Here, the student substantially changes Mead's wording and adds information of his own that hehas gotten from other sources. By synthesizing information from other sources, he is showing that his understanding goes beyond what Mead has told him. He applies Mead's ideas to other readings. This passage is not plagiarized. Here is yet another student's work : The case that warfare is nothing more than an invention is made strongly by the anthropologist Margaret Mead, who compares such aggressive behavior with marriage, cooking food, and burying the dead. These behaviors, like warfare, are not practiced universally, and so can justly be called an invention. Only when something is practiced universally, Mead says, do we conclude "that it is not an invention at all but an attribute of humanity". Here, the student is referring directly in his essay to the work of Margaret Mead. Therefore, the paraphrase at the beginning serves as a summary of Mead's ideas. It is clear to the reader that the ideas presented are Mead's and not the author's. At the end of this passage, the author decides to quote a part of Mead's text, and we know from the information within the essay that this material is from Mead. This passage is not plagiarized. Reprinted with permission from The Writing Center at Harvard University, 1995/a. SECTION 3 : POSSIBLE SANCTIONS As a regular student of the KULeuven, you are submitted to the ordinary bylaws available in that university : http://www.kuleuven.ac.be/english/pdf/exregulations.pdf In addition, you must consider that plagiarism is an offense. If you have plagiarized, whatever intentionally or not, you might face serious consequences. The penalty can go from a not-passed mark to the lecture under consideration up to the exclusion from the IMPALLA school. Above those direct sanctions, your career and reputation (at least at the academic level) could be seriously damaged. Which procedure???? (steering committee?) and acceptation of the decision???? You must know that many available tools are available for detecting plagiarism. In case of suspicion on our side, those tools will be used, as they were in the past already.

26/03/2008 Page 17 of 19 ANNEX 1 TRICKS TO AVOID PLAGIARISM A] See e.g. : http://www.writing.nwu/tips/plag.html http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/ print/research/r_plagiar.html http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/plagiar.htm B] ORGANIZE YOUR DOCUMENTATION THE READING CARD Documentation Center, CEPS/INSTEAD A reading card is intended to store useful information from the reading of a work or an article, in order to refind its precise trace when necessary. It can refer to the whole of the document or only to the parts which relate to the studied topic. HOW TO MAKE A READING CARD? During your reading, you must note the following elements : 1) Bibliographical references : You must indicate the complete bibliographical references of your document : - the author or authors - the date of publication - the title of the book, paper or article, or anything else such as lecture, cdrom. - if it is a published work, the place of publication and the publisher - the number of pages - the international identification of the books (ISBN) or the periodical (ISSN) - if it is a paper in a journal or an article in a paper, the title of the journal, the volume and issue numbers, the page numbers of the paper or article - if it is a chapter in an edited book, the title of the edited book and the name of the editor, the page numbers of the chapter. 2) Contents of the document : - the plan (contents) of the book or the article (summary) - the most significant ideas - the keywords - essential data (statistics) - significant citations (with the references of the pages)

26/03/2008 Page 18 of 19 - the degree of relevance compared to the subject of search 3) The localization of documents : - the name of the library or documentation centre where you found your document - define the document type : book, article, Cd-Rom, electronic file, internet address - general rules to access the library (example : possibility to borrow books, only copies ) - the identification mark of the book (to locate quickly in the library ) - is there a bibliography? 4) Example : Title : Individualization : Institutionalized Individualism and its Social and Political Consequences. Authors : BECK Ulrich, BECK-GERNSHEIM Elisabeth Editors : Sage Publication Date : 2001 Page : 221 p. Document type : Book Library : CEPS/INSTEAD Documentation Center Rules : free access for students. Book mark : 02 01 BEC - Impalla ISBN : 0-7619-6112-7 Contents : Beck argues that we are in the midst of a fundamental change in the nature of society and politics. This change hinges around two processes : globalization and individualization. The book demonstrates that individualization is a structural characteristic of highly differentiated societies, and does not imperil social cohesion, but actually makes it possible. Ulrich Beck and Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim argue that it is vital to distinguish between the neo-liberal idea of the free-market individual and the concept of individualization. Citations : p.58 : << Whereas in the 1960s there was still a marked gender gap in opportunities, the chances of entry to all sectors of the educational system are today almost equal;>> Keywords : family, children, individualization, poverty, wealth Degree of interest (0-10) : 8

26/03/2008 Page 19 of 19 ANNEX 2 COMPLEMENTARY SOURCES OF INFORMATIONS - Clearinghouse for articles, resources and information about plagiarism, Sharon Stoerger, http://www.web-miner.com/plagiarism - Fraude et plagiat (in French) http://www.cu.lu/lettres/download/lshplag.pdf - "Plagiarism : What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It. What is Plagiarism and Why is it Important?... How Can Students Avoid Plagiarism?..." From Indiana University Writing Resources page. http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html - How to avoid plagiarism http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/plagiar.htm - What Is Plagiarism? http://www.georgetown.edu/honor/plagiarism.html - Using Sources http://www.hamilton.edu/academics/resource/wc/usingsources.html - Plagiarism. by. Earl Babbie. http://www.csubak.edu/ssric/modules/other/plagiarism.htm - The instructors Guide to Internet Plagiarism http://www.plagiarized.com/index.shtml