Avoiding Plagiarism

1. Avoiding Plagiarism College of Arts and Letters Old Dominion University

2. “Several recent studies and reports suggest that there is an alarmingly unacceptable level of misconduct, inappropriate behavior, fraud, and gross misconduct occurring in all areas of scholarly and professional activities.” Dr. Phil Langlais, VP for Graduate Studies, ODU

3. Training in ethical behavior • This Powerpoint is designed to inform you about research ethics and plagiarism. • More and more students are reporting knowledge of incidents of plagiarism. • Plagiarism is unethical. If you plagiarize, you are: • Lying to your professor. • Lying to yourself. • Cheating yourself by failing to gain a truer knowledge of your own unique abilities.

4. Plagiarism includes: • Making use of another’s work (words or ideas) without acknowledgement • Leading your audience to believe that another’s work is your own

5. Examples of Plagiarism • Submitting a research paper obtained from a commercial service, the Internet or another student • Submitting a research paper prepared for you or with unacknowledged assistance of another individual • Making simple grammatical or word-order changes to borrowed material and representing it as one’s own work • Leaving out quotation marks when they are necessary • Taking any credit for work that you did not create yourself – work belonging to others

6. How Faculty “Catch” Plagiarizers • Faculty are voracious readers. “Professional” or uncharacteristic writing in student papers can tip off faculty to plagiarism. • Simple phrase and key word searching on the Internet can reveal plagiarism. • Sophisticated software programs, such as “Safe Assign” can be linked electronically to your paper submission.

7. Avoiding Plagiarism – I • Become familiar with the academic practice and the style guide in your discipline; strive to become a diligent and conscientious scholar. • Use appropriate language and avoid jargon. • Learn to use quotation marks correctly. • Learn when and how to cite sources; follow proper citation formatting. • Be thorough and generous in acknowledging intellectual debts to others.

8. Avoiding Plagiarism – II • Take careful notes. • Carefully mark direct quotations. • Avoid “cutting and pasting” and “dragging and dropping” from electronic sources.

9. The Ambrose Case: A Scholar’s Plagiarism • Stephen Ambrose, a well-known historian and senior scholar, was accused of plagiarizing the work of a junior scholar published by a lesser-known press.

10. The Ambrose Case: The Works Under Examination • Thomas Childers, Wings of Morning: The Story of the Last American Bomber Shot Down over Germany in World War II (Perseus, 1995). • Stephen Ambrose, The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s over Germany (Simon & Schuster, 2001).

11. Childers, Wings, 83. “Up, up, up, groping through the clouds for what seemed like an eternity … No amount of practice could have prepared them for what they encountered B-24s, glittering like mice, were popping up out of the clouds all over the sky.” Ambrose, Wild, 164. “Up, up, up he went, until he got above the clouds. No amount of practice could have prepared the pilot and crew for what they encountered --- B24’s, glittering like mice, were popping up out of the clouds over here, over there, everywhere.” The Ambrose Case: Passage in Question – Example I

12. Childers, Wings, 11. “Howard struggled to master the internal electronics of the radio, building generators, studying vacuum tubes and amplifiers, transformers and transmitters. He disassembled the sets, examined the intricate ganglia of tubes and wires, and reassembled them blindfolded.” Ambrose, Wild, 64. “He mastered the internal electronics of the radio, built generators, studied vacuum tubes and amplifiers, transformers and transmitters. He learned to disassemble a set, then reassemble it blindfolded.” The Ambrose Case: Passage in Question – Example II

13. The Ambrose Case: Childer’s Evidence • His story was based on several factual sources • His uncle’s experience on a B-24 crew out of England with Eighth Air Force • A cache of private letters stored in Childer’s grandmother’s house in Tennessee that had been sent home by radio operator Howard Goodner • Interviews with one surviving crew member and letters from family of another • U.S. military records of the period • His book was published six years earlier than Ambrose’s

14. The Ambrose Case: Ambrose’s Evidence • His book was based on some factual sources • Senator George McGovern’s experiences as a bomber pilot in Italy with the Fifteenth Air Force; McGovern is quoted extensively and is Ambrose’s good friend • Childer’s Wings of Morning: The Story of the Last American Bomber Shot Down over Germany in World War II; Childer’s book is mentioned in four footnotes, and it is listed in Ambrose’s bibliography.

15. The Ambrose Case: Why did plagiarism occur? • In the passages already discussed (and in several others), Ambrose copied and/or paraphrased closely without using quotation marks appropriately. He also did not cite his sources fully. • Thus he presented work that was not his as his own.

16. The Ambrose Case: Ambrose’s Reaction • Admitted to “copying without adequate attribution” but not to plagiarism • Apologized for minor errors • Reworked text for paperback edition to provide better attribution (at least 20 pages of 263 totally reworked)

17. The Ambrose Case: The Fallout • Scholars undertook an extensive examination of Ambrose’s published work • One critic uncovered nine other problematic passages in The Wild Blue. • Other scholars uncovered a pattern of plagiarism that stretched back to Ambrose’s Ph.D. dissertation, as well as citation problems in six of his other books

18. The Ohio University Case: Student Plagiarism • In 2005, The Ohio University became concerned about student cheating and conducted a thorough review of its recent graduate theses and dissertations. • “I don’t know of any other school that has gone to such great lengths to identify cheating,” said Donald McCabe who was involved in the review of student materials.

19. The Ohio University Case: Results • By 2008, one alumnus of the University’s college of engineering had had his degree revoked because of plagiarism and twenty-two other alumni were being ordered to rewrite their graduate theses and/or dissertations.

20. What happens when you plagiarize? • You steal from someone else • You cheat the system and put others at a disadvantage • You show a lack of confidence in yourself • You embarrass yourself, your family, and your friends • You lose the respect of those around you • You risk your academic career and jeopardize your future success

21. What happens to you at ODU if you plagiarize? • You break the ODU Honor Code • A formal investigation may occur conducted by a University hearing officer • If found guilty, you may receive a grade of F in the class and have “academic dishonesty” stamped on your transcript • If a second offense, disciplinary sanctions may include dismissal from the University

22. Don’t Plagiarize! Never, Ever!