Transcript Plagiarism - WordPress.com

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
Student Information
Niagara College
1
What is in this presentation
This information is designed to:



Ensure students are aware of our policy on Student Academic Misbehaviour
Clarify what is and isn’t plagiarism; both INTENTIONAL and UNINTENTIONAL
Provide students with key strategies to minimize UNITENTIONAL plagiarism
Topics covered include:
2
What is Academic Integrity?
3-4
Niagara College policy on Student Academic Misconduct
5-11
What is plagiarism and why do students plagiarize
12-15
Academic writing – essays and assignments
16-18
What is and isn’t plagiarism (more detail) Interactive Quiz
19-22
Seven strategies to help prevent unintended plagiarism
23-36
References and links to more detailed online resources
37
What is Academic Integrity?
The commitment, even in the face of adversity, to five fundamental
values: (Center for Academic Integrity )
 Honesty,
 Trust,
 Fairness,
 Respect, and
 Responsibility.
3
“Theses values go beyond simply not cheating or plagiarizing.
They mean that you are responsible for your own learning and
have an obligation to be honest -- with yourself and others; and a
responsibility to treat other students and your professors with
respect and fairness.”
Why is it important?
ICAI conference guests discuss the
importance of academic integrity.
Filmed during the ICAI 2008 International
Conference in Myrtle Beach
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSfmWIlEhSg
4
Let’s look at the Niagara College Policy
on Student Academic Misconduct
The Niagara College policy (1999)provides examples
of student academic misconduct related to:
A: Exams and Tests
B: Laboratory Work
C: Essays and Assignments
5
See policy here:
Student Academic Misconduct
A: Exams and Tests – Misconduct
These behaviours are always INTENTIONAL
Often called CHEATING
6

Impersonation of a candidate in an examination or test

Copying from another student or making information available
to other students knowing that this is to be submitted as the
borrower's own work

Possession of unauthorized material during a test or exam

Submission of a take-home examination written by someone
else.
B: Laboratory – Misconduct
These behaviours are always INTENTIONAL
Often called CHEATING




Copying a laboratory report or allowing someone else to copy
one's report
Using another student's data unless specifically allowed by the
Faculty
Allowing someone else to do the lab work
Faking a report or fabricating data.
These behaviours may be INTENTIONAL
Often referred to as PLAGIARISM

7
Using direct quotations or sections of paraphrased material in a
lab report without acknowledgment
C: Essay and Assignment – Misconduct
These behaviours are always INTENTIONAL
Often called CHEATING






Submitting an essay written in whole or in part by someone else
as one's own
Preparing an essay or assignment for submission by another
student
Copying an essay or assignment, or allowing one's essay or
assignment to be copied by someone else
The buying or selling of term papers or assignments
Submitting the same piece of work in more than one course
without the permission of the faculty
Submitting all or part of a computer program without major
modifications of one's own.
These behaviours may be INTENTIONAL
Often referred to as PLAGIARISM
8

Using direct quotations or sections of paraphrased material
without acknowledgment
Note:
Collaboration and Group Assignments

Student academic misconduct should be distinguished from cooperation and collaboration.

Students may be permitted/expected to work on assignments
collectively and to present results either collectively or separately.

This is not a problem as long as it is clearly understood whose work
is being presented, e.g. formal acknowledgment by footnoting.
Watch out for collusion!
Acting with another person with intent to deceive

9
Remember: academic misconduct rules apply to group assignments.
Make sure the final submission has been vetted and approved by all
groups members to avoid consequences that could occur as a result
of plagiarism…..Plan enough time for this to happen effectively.
What are the formal consequences
identified in our policy?
Student academic misconduct is a serious offence and will not be
tolerated.
The minimum penalty for a first offence is a mark of “0” for the work
involved.
Second incident could result in removal from course
A formal process is involved, including information that goes with
your student record at Registrars’ Office and stays for two years
Informal but significant consequence
Your Personal integrity and reputation. Is it worth it?
10
Note:
“The college reserves the right to assess academic
misconduct penalties up to and including course,
program or college suspension depending on either
the nature of the incident or the cumulative effect of
a subsequent incident.”
Niagara College Student Academic Misconduct Policy
1999
The student will be formally notified of any
suspensions.
11
What is plagiarism?
12

Plagiarism is using the words or ideas of
others and presenting them as your own.

Plagiarism is a type of intellectual theft.

It can take many forms, from deliberate
cheating to accidentally copying from a
source without acknowledgement.
We generally associate Plagiarism
with Assignments and Essays
Why?
In any post-secondary institution, students
are expected use intellectual thinking
process as a critical component of producing
their own “original work”.
This is ACADEMIC WRITING
13
Academic writing involves

INTELLECTUAL THINKING PROCESSES
Researching, understanding, selecting, summarizing,
interpreting, organizing and expanding on the work of others
14

REWORKING the information and

INTEGRATING it into your own original thoughts and
insights

ACKNOWLEDGING the work of others
What is the intellectual challenge
of Academic Writing?
You must develop a topic based on what
has already been said and written
You must rely on the opinions and
work of experts and authorities
BUT
Improve or disagree
With those thoughts
You must give credit to
the work of others
BUT
Make your own
adequate contribution
BUT
Use your own words
and voice
You must improve your language skills
to mirror “academic style”
15
BUT
Write something
new and original
Why is plagiarism a concern?

Prevents the development of academic skills

Does not recognize the work of others

Often a sign of underlying academic
weaknesses – so sometimes is unintentional
Bigger issue:
It’s unethical
16
Undermines and devalues the
credibility and worth of the course
Unfair to the students who have taken
the time to produce their own work
and/or study for assignments
Why do students plagiarize?

Weak Writing and Research Skills
e.g. Lack of research skills, confusion with paraphrasing

Misunderstanding key concepts
e.g. Confusion about what is and isn’t plagiarism, common knowledge

External factors
e.g. Competition for scholarships, family pressure

Internal Factors
e.g. Poor time management and procrastination

Cultural Factors
e.g. Different values related to plagiarism in different cultures
17
http://guides.library.ualberta.ca/content.php?pid=62200&sid=457755
How not to plagiarize?
First: Be aware of what is and isn’t plagiarism
18
Then use these key strategies:
1:
Plan your work
2:
Work on weak academic skills
3:
Learn how to acknowledge your sources
4:
Learn how to incorporate the work of others
(summarizing and paraphrasing)
5:
Use quotations correctly
6:
Learn to take notes effectively from other sources
7:
Use best practices for research and drafting
(summary of most of the above strategies)
Be aware of what is and isn’t plagiarism

Plagiarism is using the words or ideas of others and
presenting them as your own.

Plagiarism may vary in terms of
INTENT ( whether the student is consciously trying to cheat)
– EXTENT (how much of the content is plagiarized)
However, both intentional AND unintentional plagiarism are
violations of Niagara College Academic Honesty policy
–
19

Many students plagiarise unintentionally.

Unintentional plagiarism can result from not knowing
how to acknowledge/incorporate sources of information,
careless note-taking, or cut/past from electronic sources.
Some common forms of plagiarism

Submitting the following as your own work
–
–
–
–

Not acknowledging the work of others
–
–
–
–
20
Downloading an assignment from an online source
Buying, stealing or borrowing an assignment
Copying a section of a book, article or website
Copying, cutting and pasting text from electronic sources
Using exact sentences/paragraphs from others without acknowledgement
Putting someone’s ideas into your words without acknowledging source
Using your ideas, but heavy reliance on others without acknowledging
Relying too much on other people’s material
Take one of these tests to see if
you know what plagiarism is
A quiz on Plagiarism and Collusion–Deakin University
http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/studyskills/plagiarism-test/index.php
University on New South Wales – Sydney, Australia
http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism/plagquiz.html
21
Once you know what plagiarism is
Use these
strategies
to
Reduce UNINTENTIONED PLAGIARISM
22
Strategy 1:
Plan your work

Plan ahead and begin writing your assignments well before
they are due.

Leaving work until the last minute doesn't give you enough time
to read, digest, form your own ideas and write information in
your own words.

When students rush to meet a tight deadline, they are more
likely to plagiarise unintentionally or succumb to the temptation
to 'cut and paste' information directly from electronic resources.
Here’s some suggestion to improve time management
http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism/how_2.html
23
Strategy 2: Improve weak academic skills
Many incidents of plagiarism occur because of underdeveloped
academic skills
For example:
Lack
of confidence in using your own words
Difficulty focusing your answer
Lack of critical and analytical skills
Inadequate note-taking, research and referencing skills
Poor writing skills
Here’s some suggestions for strategies that might help
http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism/how.html
24
Strategy 3:
Learn how to reference work of others
Make sure your assignments are referenced correctly.

Cite and reference the words, ideas or information from other sources used in
your assignments - acknowledges their contribution
Why?



http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/why-reference.php
Acknowledges contribution of others
Provides credibility to your work and supports your insights
Demonstrates adequate research and reading on your part
Must be accurate – so reader can find information
Must use acceptable styles – usually APA or MLA
25
What do you need to reference?
When you are using words or ideas from:
26

Books and Journal articles;

Newspapers, Magazines, Pamphlets or Brochures;

Films, Documentaries, Television programs or Advertisements;

Web pages or computer-based resources;

Letters or emails;

Personal interviews or lecturers

Any reprinted diagrams, illustrations, charts or pictures.
FAQ
http://www.uts.edu.a
u/teachlearn/avoidin
gplagiarism/faqs/ind
ex.html#11
What don’t you need to reference?

Writing your observations/experiment results (e.g. field trip report)

Writing about your own experiences (e.g. a reflective journal);

Writing your own thoughts, comments or conclusions in an
assignment;

When you are evaluating or offering your own analysis;

When you are using 'common knowledge' (facts found in
numerous places/likely to be known by many people) or folklore;

When you are using generally accepted facts or information
Check out this tutorial “You Quote it, You Note it!”
27
http://library.acadiau.ca/tutorials/plagiarism/
Strategy 4: Learn how to incorporate
the work of others into your own work
In addition to knowing rules for referencing, you also
need to understand how to effectively integrate material
in your writing.
Important writing skills that avoid plagiarism are
Paraphrasing and Summarizing
Why?
Expressing information or ideas in your own words
demonstrates that you have understood, absorbed,
and have interpreted the information.
28
Paraphrasing
A paraphrase is usually on a short section of text. It keeps the
meaning of the text but uses different words.
It is an alternative to using direct quotations and helps students to
integrate evidence and source material into their assignments.
Paraphrasing is also a useful skill for:



29
Making notes from readings,
Note-taking in lectures, and
Explaining information in tables, charts and diagrams.
How to paraphrase
Check out this link to find out
How to paraphrase ( Six steps)
 Paraphrase examples and exercises

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/1/
From Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
Paraphrasing is a valuable skill because...
It helps you control the temptation to quote too much
It helps you to flow your words more effectively
The intellectual processes involved help you to understand the original work
30
Plagiarism by Paraphrasing Risk Quiz
“ The most common form of college-level plagiarism is not
produced by intentional theft of another's ideas. For
predictable reasons, it happens when students try to
paraphrase published scholarly sources.”
(Goucher College writing program)
Take this interactive quiz to see if you can
distinguish paraphrasing from plagiarism
http://faculty.goucher.edu/writingprogram/sgarrett/Default.html
31
Summarizing
32

A summary is an overview of a text.

The main idea is given, but the details and
examples are left out – thus reducing the text
to it’s most important ideas

Summarizing is a useful skill for making notes
during lectures or from readings, writing an
synopsis and incorporating materials
Key steps in summarizing
Summaries will vary according to the length of the original text,
how much information you need and how selective you are
How to summarize?



Read the text and highlight the main points as you read
Reread the text, make notes of the main points but leave out any
examples or specific details..
Finally, without the text, rewrite your notes in your own words;
restate the main idea plus major points
When to summarize?




33
To identify the main points of someone else's work in your own
words, without the details or examples.
To reduce author's ideas into fewer words than original
To briefly give examples of differing points of view on a topic.
To support the ideas that you are presenting in your own writing
Strategy 5: Use quotations correctly
A quotation is an exact reproduction of spoken or
written words.
Direct quotes can provide strong evidence, act as an
authoritative voice, or support a writer's statements.
Check this link to determine how and when to quote
http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/sumpara.html#sumpara2
34
Strategy 6:
Make effective notes from sources
Unintentionally plagiarism often occurs when students take
'word-for-word' notes then reproduce these in their assignments.
Minimize accidental plagiarism by take notes carefully.
Develop a system to distinguish between:
– what you have copied directly from a source,
– what you have noted in your own words,
– your own comments about the material.
Effective Note making from Written Text
35
http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/notemake.html
Strategy 7: Use Best practices for
Research and Drafting
Good practices not only help avoid plagiarism, but improve the
efficiency and organization of your research and writing.
Check this link for Best Practice for Research and Drafting
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/03/
Topics include:







36
Reading and note-taking
Interviewing and Conversing
Writing, Paraphrasing and Summarizing
Writing Direct Quotes
Writing about other’s ideas
Maintaining Drafts
Revising, Proofreading and Finalizing your paper
Key References
Materials have been developed from these resources
Explore these links to get detailed information
related to plagiarism concepts
1: Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.A.
Online Writing Lab (OWL)
2:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/1/
The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Learning Centre http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism/index.html
3: Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/why-reference.php
4: International Centre for Academic Integrity, Clemson University
Center for Academic Integrity
5:
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
Library Guide http://guides.library.ualberta.ca/content.php?pid=62200&sid=457755
37