Avoiding Plagiarism : Ensuring Your Academic Integrity

Plagiarism? What is that? Students frequently hear about plagiarism from teachers, and they hear that they shouldn’t plagiarize. What is so bad about plagiarism? To answer this question, it is helpful to know what plagiarism means.

Plagiarism: The Definition The New Oxford American Dictionary defines plagiarism: Plagiarism is “the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own.” “Plagiarism.” New Oxford American Dictionary. Ed. Erin McKean. 2nd ed. Oxford UP, Oxford Reference Online Oxford UP. 26 Sept

Plagiarism: The Current Picture Plagiarism is not a new problem. In the twenty-first century, researchers must be aware that technology greatly aids educators in detecting and penalizing plagiarists.

Plagiarism: The Current Picture Teachers and professors can detect plagiarism by using the Internet and programs such as Turnitin.com, and students must understand that their work may be available online for many years and may be immediately, internationally checkable.

Plagiarism: The Current Picture Gathering resources is an essential part of research, and students need to know the ways that researchers can legally and ethically utilize the work of others.

Plagiarism is wrong for both legal and ethical reasons. Plagiarism: Why is it wrong?

Intellectual property is “a work or invention that is the result of creativity, such as a manuscript or a design, to which one has rights and for which one may apply for a patent, copyright, trademark, etc.” Intellectual property is “a work or invention that is the result of creativity, such as a manuscript or a design, to which one has rights and for which one may apply for a patent, copyright, trademark, etc.” Plagiarism: Violating the Rights of Others Plagiarists steal a creative person’s intellectual property. “Intellectual Property.” New Oxford American Dictionary. Ed. Erin McKean. 2nd ed. Oxford UP, Oxford Reference Online Oxford UP. 26 Sept

Plagiarism: Violating the Rights of Others Published work is usually protected by copyright. Copyright: “the exclusive and assignable legal right, given to the originator for a fixed number of years, to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material.” “Copyright.” Concise OED. Ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson. Oxford UP, Oxford Reference Online Oxford UP. 26 Sept

Plagiarism: Compromising Your Ethics It may feel easy to plagiarize, but there can be personal losses as well. You could impede your educational development and jeopardize the esteem of people you admire if you are caught.

Plagiarism: Why Should You Care? Plagiarists lie by saying that submitted work is their own. Plagiarists miss the educational opportunity to use their own ideas and skills. Plagiarism is essentially theft. Law suits have been filed against plagiarists. Students have been expelled, degrees have been rescinded, and employers have released employees following confirmation of plagiarism.

Plagiarism: What If You Get Caught? Plagiarism is a violation of a major school rule at Reserve How does the Reserve community view plagiarism? How does the Reserve community view plagiarism?  Faculty and library staff are deeply concerned about academic integrity  Faculty and library staff will do everything possible to make it hard to plagiarize  Faculty and library staff will do everything possible to detect plagiarism

Plagiarism: What If You Get Caught? Steps are already in place at Reserve to deal with plagiarism: Steps are already in place at Reserve to deal with plagiarism:  The first offense of academic dishonesty is usually dealt with by penalizing the student academically.  A second offense almost always results in dismissal from school.

Plagiarism: Long-term Consequences However, there can be long-term consequences of plagiarism: However, there can be long-term consequences of plagiarism:  Degrees (high school and college) have been rescinded based on proof of plagiarism  Employment contracts have been terminated based on proof of plagiarism  Law suits have been filed because of plagiarism Some people feel fortunate if they have not been caught plagiarizing.

Real-life Plagiarists A Harvard University student is embroiled in controversy when it is discovered that she plagiarized passages of her previously lauded novel. She lost her book deal and her possible movie deal with DreamWorks (Poniewozik and Sachs 184). Workforce Management magazine describes that a corporate CEO received substantial financial penalties after he was caught plagiarizing materials in a management handbook (Marquez 8). An August 4, 2006, article in The Chronicle of Higher Education cites the dismissal of a university professor due to plagiarism (Bartlett 10).

Avoiding Plagiarism: The Right Way How can you legally and ethically incorporate research in your work?

Avoiding Plagiarism: The Right Way Locating, synthesizing, and incorporating the work of others is often an important part of doing research. Fortunately, the concept of fair use allows researchers to compile information from various sources. According to U.S. copyright law, fair use is the “doctrine that copyright material may be quoted verbatim without need for permission from or payment to the copyright holder, provided that attribution is clearly given and that the material quoted is reasonably brief in extent.” “Fair Use.” New Oxford American Dictionary. Ed. Erin McKean. 2nd ed. Oxford UP, Oxford Reference Online Oxford UP. 26 Sept Fair Use:

Avoiding Plagiarism: The Right Way Citing Sources: Always cite every source you use in your work, whether you are directly quoting material or paraphrasing! Tools like the program Noodlebib can assist you in making your citations accurate and complete. Sources are usually cited within a document and listed at the end of a project. This list can be called: References Works Cited Bibliography

Avoiding Plagiarism: Setting Yourself Up to Succeed ++ Taking time to do the right thing isn’t always easy, but you can improve your chances of success by creating a research plan. Things to consider: Time Management OrganizationPreparation Contact with faculty and library staff + = Sense of accomplishment for a job well done!

For assistance in citing resources: Contact: Contact:  Mrs. Miller, Instruction Coordinator, Ong Library  Ms. Bunt, Library Director, Ong Library  A teacher or writing coach PowerPoint created by: Christina Sent, Instruction Librarian

Bibliography Bartlett, Thomas. “Southern Illinois Chief Fights Copying Charge.” Chronicle of Higher Education (Aug. 2006): 10. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. WRA Lib., Hudson, OH. 26 Sept “Copyright.” Concise OED. Ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson. Oxford UP, Oxford Reference Online Oxford UP. 26 Sept “Fair Use.” New Oxford American Dictionary. Ed. Erin McKean. 2nd ed. Oxford UP, Oxford Reference Online Oxford UP. 26 Sept “Intellectual Property.” New Oxford American Dictionary. Ed. Erin McKean. 2nd ed. Oxford UP, Oxford Reference Online Oxford UP. 26 Sept Marquez, Jessica. “Sanctions on Raytheon CEO Deemed Fitting.” Workforce Management 22 May 2006: 8. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. WRA Lib., Hudson, OH. 26 Sept “Plagiarism.” New Oxford American Dictionary. Ed. Erin McKean. 2nd ed. Oxford UP, Oxford Reference Online Oxford UP. 26 Sept Poniewozik, James, and Andrea Sachs. “An F for Originality.” Time 8 May 2006: 184. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. WRA Lib., Hudson, OH. 26 Sept