Plagiarism

Students say ....

"If I have an assignment, all I need to do is get on the Web and do a simple search. Then when I find what I want, I’ll read through it and cut-and-paste the information.”

What do we call this?

Plagiarism, or simply cheating.

Word definition

“Plagiarism is direct copying without acknowledging the source or the author. In other words, it means stealing other’s work and is regarded as a serious academic offence.

How to avoid plagiarism

1. quoting DIRECTLY , using the author’s exact words 2. quoting INDIRECTLY (by paraphrasing or summarising the author’s words)

Direct quoting

EXAMPLE : According to the Central Queensland University's

Undergraduate Handbook

(2002, p.50), plagiarism is a serious offence and: reference “… involves submitting or presenting work as if it were the student's own work done expressly for that particular course when, in fact, it is not. “ Source: http://www.cqu.edu.au/referencing/examples.htm

Indirect quoting

• using round brackets ( ), e.g.

Also a recent study from US has shown that between 33% and 69% of all occupational injuries were missed of the reported injuries ( Leigh et al., 2004 ). Previous global estimates have been based on existing information from industrialized countries. The fatality rate and absolute number of fatalities for developing countries were calculated based on regional estimates. However, studies from different countries have shown that a ratio between fatal and non-fatal accident is quite constant if accurate recording systems exist ( Dupré, 2001 and Takala, 1999 ).

reference

Paraphrasing

You are allowed to paraphrase but not copy: Example:

Original

Women who wish to complete their education and establish careers before having babies should do so without fear of infertility, a demographer for the Population Council advises.

Paraphrase

According to the population geography expert, women who want to finish their studies and start a career before they have a baby, need not fear of not having babies.

Bibliography – what is Bibliography

= a list of literary sources that you have used in your report (books, journal articles, reports, handbooks, leaflets, the Internet). It is given at the end of the report and may be arranged in different ways (usually in alphabetical order).

Reference

Reference

= a sign or indication that refers the reader to the source of information Example : In the Undergraduate Handbook ( 2002, p. 50 ) the issue of plagiarism is discussed and four examples of types of plagiarism are presented. reference

Why are referencing and bibliography necessary?

By giving references you help the reader to easily locate a full description of the item you have cited. E.g.:

In this report I followed a model for writing dissertations, designed by (Howell, 2003).

Possible approaches in citing bibliography BOOKS:

1. Smith C.S., Jones M.(1992) Corporate Safety, Cambridge University Press

JOURNAL ARTICLES:

2. Howell E. (2000) Writing dissertations,

Journal of Academic Writing,

12/9, pp. 63-72

WEB SOURCES:

3. Hallal W.: The Technology Revolution (http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon/contents) last accessed: June 2002 evolution