AVOIDING PLAGIARISM WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM DR. SEUSS Inspired by: Rosiana (Nani) L. Azman, Ph.D. and Stephen H. Fox, Ph.D. from University of Hawai i Maui College
WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THIS? Plagiarism is a persistent problem in education Academic misconduct has been described as ubiquitous, an epidemic, a perennial problem, and one of the major problems in education today (Christensen Hughes & McCabe, 2006, p. 51-52) Many studies have shown that a majority of undergraduate students self-report utilizing some form of academic misconduct over the course of their education Christenson Hughes, J. M., & McCabe, D. L. (2006a). Understanding academic misconduct. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 36(1). Retrieved from http://journals.sfu.ca/cjhe/index.php/cjhe/article/viewfile/183525/183471
Survey of 6,000 American students, 1990-1991 2/3 of those behaviours involved serious written cheating of students reported engaging in at least one of 14 questionable behaviours 66% Christenson Hughes, J. M., & McCabe, D. L. (2006a). Understanding academic misconduct. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 36(1). Retrieved from http://journals.sfu.ca/cjhe/index.php/cjhe/article/viewfile/183525/183471
Study conducted at 11 Canadian higher education institutions, 2002-2003 The most common behaviours: copying from a written source w/o citing 53% 37% of undergrads reported engaging in at least one instance of serious cheating on written work over one academic year copying from the Internet w/o citing 25% Christenson Hughes, J. M., & McCabe, D. L. (2006b). Academic misconduct within higher education in Canada. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 36(2). Retrieved from http://journals.sfu.ca/cjhe/index.php/cjhe/article/view/183537/183482
CBC survey of 54 Canadian Universities, 2011-2012 students disciplined for cheating in 2011-2012 Plagiarism = 50% >7,000 of academic discipline cases Moore, H. (2014, February 25). Cheating students punished by the 1000s, but many more go undetected. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/cheating-students-punished-bythe-1000s-but-many-more-go-undetected-1.2549621.
SO, WHAT IS PLAGIARISM? Source: Langara College Code of Academic Conduct, available at https://langara.ca/registration-and-records/pdf/f1004.pdf
WHY DO STUDENTS PLAGIARIZE? Lack of knowledge and skills No clear idea what plagiarism is, or how to avoid it through proper writing and citation procedures Lack of confidence Does not think their work can stand on its own, worried about grades or impressing instructor Lack of time Failure to plan enough time to complete an assignment properly Lack of interest Thinks the assignment doesn t apply to a real-world experience, is only worried about grades, not about actual learning Cultural differences Not understanding North American academic culture Lack of consequences May have gotten away with it in the past, perceive others to be doing it
HOW DO STUDENTS PLAGIARIZE? Turning in someone else's work as their own (or turning in your own work from another assignment) Copying words or ideas from sources without giving credit Failing to put a quotation in quotation marks Not providing a proper citation for a quotation or paraphrased passage Forgetting to include the source of a paraphrase or quotation Changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit Copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not
All plagiarism spectrum images turnitin. Retrieved from http://turnitin.com/assets/en_us/media/plagiarism-spectrum/
WAIT, WHAT DOES DR. SEUSS HAVE TO DO WITH ANY OF THIS? Imagine you are writing an essay on the relocation decisions faced by students as they complete their college education One of the sources you have chosen to use is the beloved book Oh, the Places You ll Go! by Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) Geisel, T. S. (1960). Oh, the places you ll go! New York: Random House, Inc.
IS IT PLAGIARISM? We ll look at several examples, and you can tell me if each one would be considered plagiarism
Geisel, T. S. (1960). Oh, the places you ll go! New York: House, Inc. Random
IS THIS PLAGIARISM? When they graduate from college, the first thing many students want to do is head straight out of town. YES! I ve taken the phrase head straight out of town directly from someone else s work, word for word, without an appropriate citation.
IS THIS PLAGIARISM? When they graduate from college, the first thing many students want to do is head straight out of town. YES! I ve put the phrase head straight out of town in quotes, showing it is from someone else s work, word for word, but I still haven t included an appropriate citation.
IS THIS PLAGIARISM? When they graduate from college, the first thing many students want to do is head straight out of town (Geisel, 1960). YES! I ve got an in-text citation, but the phrase head straight out of town isn t in quotes, even though I copied it word for word. If I don t put the quotes in, it looks like I m claiming these words as my own.
IS THIS PLAGIARISM? When they graduate from college, the first thing many students want to do is head straight out of town (Geisel, 1960, p. 5). NO! The phrase head straight out of town is in quotes, showing that I used it word for word from someone else. I ve also included the correct APA style in-text citation.
IS THIS PLAGIARISM? When they graduate from college, the first thing many students want to do is head directly out of town (Geisel, 1960). YES! This isn t adequate paraphrasing I can t put it into quotes because I haven t copied word for word, but the sentence structure is still too close to the original.
IS THIS PLAGIARISM? When they graduate from college, the first thing many students want to do is move directly out of the city (Geisel, 1960). YES! This still isn t adequate paraphrasing the sentence structure is still too close to the original because all I ve really done is replace some words with their synonyms.
IS THIS PLAGIARISM? When they graduate from college, the first thing many students want to do is depart forthwith directly from their domicile (Geisel, 1960). NO! But it s not great writing! I ve adequately paraphrased the passage to capture the original author s intent, but the passage has become much less readable.
IS THIS PLAGIARISM? When they graduate from college, the first thing many students want to do is leave town in search of new adventures (Geisel, 1960). NO! This shows an adequate and readable paraphrase that captures the intentions of the source material and includes a proper in-text citation.
SO, HOW CAN YOU AVOID PLAGIARISING? Proper citation is key to avoiding the most common types of plagiarism There are many different ways in which you can cite your work (called citation styles ) Depending on what area you are studying and working in, one style will be the norm for the sciences, APA style is the most common Use the style consistently It is a series of formatting and content rules that ensure everyone s citations will look the same Your instructors will let you know which citation style they prefer for you to use You can get citation help in the Library and Writing Centre
AVOIDING PLAGIARISM CONTINUED Map out your writing Take good notes during the research process keep track of all your sources never write down an idea without also noting where you got it from Use your writing to clearly distinguish your ideas from those of your sources Understand how to paraphrase Changing a few words of the original sentences is not a legitimate paraphrase. You must change both the words and the sentence structure of the original, without changing the content You still need to cite paraphrased sources!
WHAT TO CITE? Words or ideas presented in a magazine, book, newspaper, song, TV program, movie, Web page, computer program, letter, advertisement, or any other medium Information you gather through an interview or conversation with another person Diagrams, illustrations, charts, pictures, or other visual materials you reprint Electronically-available media (including images, audio, and video) you reuse or repost Course material, including information covered by your instructors in lectures
YOU DON T NEED TO CITE Your own lived experiences, observations, insights, thoughts, and conclusions about a subject Your own results from lab or field experiments Your own artwork, digital photographs, video, audio, etc. Things that are common knowledge
HOW TO TELL IF IT S COMMON KNOWLEDGE Quantity Can it be found in more than 3 places? Ubiquity Is it something that the average educated person would know? Generality Is it something that could be very easily found in a general reference source?
WHEN IN DOUBT, CITE IT!
NOW IT S YOUR TURN jweldon@langara.ca