Plagiarism Just Isn’t for Everybody Stephen Burd ([email protected]) Academic Technology Liaison Presentation copies available online http://averia.unm.edu Last revised: 11/6/2015 8:57 PM.
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Transcript Plagiarism Just Isn’t for Everybody Stephen Burd ([email protected]) Academic Technology Liaison Presentation copies available online http://averia.unm.edu Last revised: 11/6/2015 8:57 PM.
Plagiarism Just Isn’t for Everybody
Stephen Burd ([email protected])
Academic Technology Liaison
Presentation copies available online
http://averia.unm.edu
Last revised: 11/6/2015 8:57 PM
Plagiarism
Dictionary definition: the act of
using another person's words or ideas
without giving credit to that person
A humorous musical perspective:
“… in one word he told secret of success in
mathematics: PLAGIARIZE, plagiarize, let no one
else’s work evade your eyes, remember why the good
Lord made your eyes, so don’t shade your eyes, but
plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize, … only be sure always
to please call it … RESEARCH”
Tom Lehrer – Lobachevsky – Songs and More Songs
by Tom Lehrer – Rhino Records
Plagiarism - Perspectives and Implications
Ideas, words, images, and data are the “product”
of researchers’ labor
Who owns them – author, funder, publisher, public
domain?
Giving credit where credit is due
It isn’t plagiarism if you do this
Enable readers of your work to find related work
Honesty about your contribution
Show how your work builds on others’ work
Compare and contrast your ideas/work to others’ work
Definitively show your unique contribution
Editor and Funding Agency Perspectives
Is this original work?
What’s the balance of original and un-original content?
Has any portion been published elsewhere?
If so, where and how much?
Is included material properly cited?
Is everything that should be cited actually cited?
Do the citations reference the proper sources?
Has the work been funded before?
By other funding agencies?
By other PIs doing similar things?
By the same PI(s) in the past?
If yes, are the earlier projects cited in this proposal?
What is a Plagiarism Detection Tool?
Modern plagiarism detection software/services
perform the following functions:
Search for similar or identical text on the web, in publication
databases, and in other document repositories
Annotate the document to identify matched text
Enable viewing of matched text sources
Optionally report an originality or plagiarism “score”
Best to think of the tools as:
Match detection or originality tools
NOT – plagiarism detection tools
The distinction implies that plagiarism is a judgment
based in part on evidence of matching and originality
Available Tools
Roll-your-own
Anyone can search for matches using the search engine of
their choice (e.g., Google or Bing)
Though workable, using search engines directly has
disadvantages that include:
Lots of cutting, pasting, and typing
Inability to easily get behind “pay walls”
Inefficient for large amounts of suspect material or large numbers of
documents
Turnitin/iThenticate
The clear market leader
Turnitin – optimized for class-related use
iThenticate – optimized for research-oriented use
Capabilities and Limitations
The good:
Works very well with text, including simple paraphrasing
Searches documents in multiple languages
The bad:
Type I (false negative) and Type II (false positive) errors
Images and sounds aren’t matched
Not easily applied to larger bodies of work including
document collections, web sites, and blogs
The ugly:
As with any tool, automated plagiarism detection:
Can be well-used or misused
Training helps to achieve desired outcomes
iThenticate at UNM
iThenticate currently licensed UNM-wide
Current license expires August 2015
Renewal currently being negotiated
Free use by UNM users
Authorized users – all faculty, staff, and students
Register for an account
Visit ithenticate.unm.edu
Click the big red button on the right
Access training materials
Access iThenticate
Accessed as an online application (i.e., a Web application or
software as a service)
http://www.ithenticate.com
About iThenticate Originality Reports
Originality reports contain information about
matches between submission content and various
source databases including:
Internet-accessible content
Publication databases and repositories
Originality reports contain a similarity index
A percentage of matched or unoriginal content
Lower score is better – but what’s a good score?
Sample Turnitin Originality Report
Drilling Down to Sources
Using Originality Reports - Advice
iThenticate is a tool for identifying some instances of potential
plagiarism
The tool will generate false positives and negatives
The author or reviewer needs to:
Examine the matches and decide whether they constitutes plagiarism
Watch for missed matches (e.g., passages that sound too sophisticated/polished,
style mismatches, …)
Determine how similarity (proper or improper) impacts the publication or funding
decision
iThenticate streamlines the process of identifying potential
plagiarism and follow-up investigation
Similarity indices can be used to identify targets for investigation (e.g.,
above a certain percentage or the top few percentage values)
Matches are visually summarized and paired to sources
Source material can be viewed with a single click in most cases
Summary – the tool is simply that – a tool – not a substitute for
human judgment or follow-up effort
“Every (or any?) tool is a weapon - if you hold it right” – Ani diFranco
Summary
Editors and funding agencies use originality
checking tools to detect plagiarism
You have access to the same tools that they use
Free to you
Easy use
Don’t you want to see what they’re going to see
BEFORE they see it?