© 2001 Christine W. Laws, Patricia F. Sherman, & Richard C. Zath

ACADEMIC HONESTY

Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism:

What Is It?

Plagiarism

Is

One Kind of Academic Dishonesty

Basically, Plagiarism Is:

• Stealing

• Lying

• Falsifying

Levels of Plagiarism

• Cheating (Stealing)

• Plagiarism due to Laziness, Confusion, Carelessness

• Inadvertent Plagiarism

How Does Plagiarism Happen?

Under Copyright LawA Writer Owns:

• IDEAS (unless general information)

• WORDS through which the ideas are expressed

• SYNTAX (sentence formation) through which the words are ordered for style, effect, and clarity

Academic dishonesty may occur:

ConsciouslyInadvertently

Examples of Conscious Dishonesty

• Copying from another’s exam, homework, term paper, computer program, etc.

• Buying a term paper

• Submitting work done by another person

• Allowing another person to use your work

• Using a source forbidden by the instructor, such as Cliff Notes

Lying, Falsifying

• Presenting one’s own work, words, or data as if it came from an outside source

• Examples:– Making up statistical data– Making up interviews– Falsifying or making up lab tests, results– Falsifying citations in term papers

These are all examples of

CHEATING

And

Cheating is STEALING.

Someone Who Cheats

• Is fully aware that he/she is stealing

• Will experience the most serious penalties

Why Do Students Cheat?

Benefits Perceived by the Student

• Work submitted by deadline

• Better grade on the piece of work

• Better grade in the course

• Respect of the professor for the quality of the work

• Admiration of peers

Why Refrain from Cheating?

Why Refrain from Plagiarizing?

Long-Term Benefits

• Allows reader to find original source

• Gives “credit where credit is due”

• Adds credibility, to work and to student

• Adds authority to the work itself

• Gives sense of pride in the work

Costs

• Academic penalties for perpetrator– First offense: an “F” on the piece of work, and written

record sent to Student Services– Second offense: an “F” for the course, and written

record sent to Student Services– Third offense: expulsion from school

• Loss of credibility• Loss of authority• Loss of revenue for owner of the original

property

How does conscious cheating look to the professor?

• “You’re confused.”

• “You’re ignorant.”

• “You’re dissin’ me.”

• “You must think I’m a fool.”

BURDEN OF PROOFLIES WITH THE STUDENT!!

If plagiarism is suspected --

• Proof of plagiarism does NOT lie with professor

• Proof of authenticity of work lies with student• Professor may require:

– Notes and/or draft of paper– Oral examination– New examination, proctored by professor– Copy of actual source material– Any other type of proof

Levels of Plagiarism

• Cheating (Stealing)

• Plagiarism due to Laziness, Confusion, Carelessness

• Inadvertent Plagiarism

Plagiarism due toLaziness, Confusion,

Carelessness• Failure to credit source of ideas

• Failure to credit source of exact words or phrases

• Burden of proof still on student

• Penalty often the same as for cheating, unless professor elects otherwise

Levels of Plagiarism

• Cheating (Stealing)

• Plagiarism due to Laziness, Confusion, Carelessness

• Inadvertent Plagiarism

Under Copyright Law,A Writer Owns:

• IDEAS (unless general information)

• WORDS through which the ideas are expressed

• SYNTAX (sentence formation) through which the words are ordered for style, effect, and clarity

Inadvertent Plagiarism

• Failure to credit source of some words or phrases through quotation marks, even if source is cited

• Failure to credit sentence structure of original through quotation marks, even if source is cited

• Ignorance, unfamiliarity with subject or language primary causes

• Burden of proof still on student• Penalties least severe in undergraduate work

How Can I Avoid Plagiarism?

It’s Simple!

Reference sourcesCite source materialSummarize or

paraphrase information

Quote exact words, phrases

Ask for expert help when confused

Keep notes, photocopies of source material

“Now,

GO DO THE RIGHT THING!”

- Dr. Laura Schlessinger