How to Avoid Plagiarism

1. How to Avoid Plagiarism

2. What is Plagiarism? • Plagiarism means using another’s work without giving them credit and saying that it is your own • 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

3. How big of a problem is it? • “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>.

4. 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 • Web publishing without permissions of creators • Unintentional • Careless paraphrasing • Poor documentation • Quoting excessively • Failure to use your own “voice”

5. Ways to Plagiarize • Copying and pasting text from online encyclopedias • Copying and pasting text from any web site • Using photographs, video or audio without permission or acknowledgement • Using another student’s or your parents’ work and claiming it as your own even with permission • Quoting a source without using quotation marks-even if you do cite it • Citing sources you didn’t use • Getting a research paper, story, poem, or article off the Internet • Turning in the same paper for more than one class without the permission of both teachers (this is called self-plagiarism)

6. Excuses Everyone does it! It’s okay if I don’t get caught! I was too busy to write that paper! (Job, big game, too much homework!) This assignment was BORING! I’ve got to get it in otherwise it won’t be accepted! My parents expect “A”s! My teachers expect too much!

7. 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 • Senator Joseph Biden dropped his 1987 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination • Copied in law school and borrowed from campaign speeches of Robert Kennedy • Probe of plagiarism at UVA--45 students dismissed, 3 graduate degrees revoked • Controversial New Jersey valedictorian denied her seat as a Harvard freshman when it discovered she plagiarized in a local newspaper

8. Possible School Consequences • Zero on the assignment • Parent notification • Referral to administration • Suspension or dismissal from school activities…or school!!! • Note on student record Is it worth the risk?

9. Is this Plagiarism? • Original Source • For all of us, nature controls about 50 percent of our intellectual horsepower, and environment determines the rest (Medina 92). • Student’s Paper • For all of us, nature controls about 50 percent of our intellectual horsepower, while the environment determines the rest.

10. Answer: Yes • The student should have used quotation marks around the words that he copied directly from the original source. Also, there is no parenthetical reference with the page number of the source statement.

11. Is this Plagiarism? • Original Source • For all of us, nature controls about 50 percent of our intellectual horsepower, and environment determines the rest (Medina 92). • Student’s Paper • Our intellectual horsepower is controlled 50 percent by nature and the rest is determined by environment (Medina 92).

12. Answer: Yes • Even though the writer has cited the source, the writer’s words are not his own. Look at how closely the phrase  resembles the wording of the source.

13. Is this Plagiarism? • Original Source • For all of us, nature controls about 50 percent of our intellectual horsepower, and environment determines the rest (Medina 92). • Student’s Paper • For all of us, nature administers about 50 percent of our cerebral horsepower, and atmosphere regulates everything else(Medina 92).

14. Answer: Yes • 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.

15. Is this Plagiarism? • Original Source • For all of us, nature controls about 50 percent of our intellectual horsepower, and environment determines the rest (Medina 92). • Student’s Paper • According to John Medina, a combination of intelligence and the surroundings of a person are the 2 key factors in how their brain functions.

16. Answer: No • The student has cited the source, and appropriately paraphrased the original source into his own words.

17. How can you avoid plagiarism? • Use your own words and ideas • Alwaysgive credit to the source where you have received your information • If you use someone’s exact words - put them in quotes and give credit using in-text citations. Include the source in your references • If you have paraphrased someone’s work, (summarizing a passage or rearranging the order of a sentence and changing some of the words)-always give credit • Take very good notes--write down the source as you are taking notes. Do not wait until later to try and retrieve the original source • Avoid using someone else’s work with minor “cosmetic” changes

18. 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 documentation information in your notes

19. 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

20. 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 • You don’t need to cite facts or ideas that are common knowledge

21. What is 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 • What are some examples of common knowledge?

22. 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

23. Overall Ideas • Inadvertent plagiarism is as bad as the intentional kind • If you plan ahead and use good research skills, you won’t have to run to the library at the last minute, make up citations, surf the web for all your research, falsify your data • Learn from your past mistakes • Realize that an act of plagiarism might cost you your reputation, your degree, or your professional career

24. Sources • What Is Plagiarism? (And Why You Should Care!). Christian Brothers University. Web. 15 July 2011. <www.cbu.edu/idc/groups/library/.../web.../library_datafile_plag_ppt.ppt >. • McGowen, Hansen, and Mirka. Avoiding Plagiarism. Calgary Board of Education, 2011. Web. 15 July 2011. <schools.cbe.ab.ca/b806/library/Plagiarism.ppt>. • Medina, John. Brain Rules for Baby. First ed. Seattle: Pear, 2010. Print.