WELCOME Mrs. Wiese, Teacher Librarian

No matter how many words you change.

Definition: Plagiarism is the act of presenting the words, ideas, images, sounds, or the creative expression of others as your own.

Students. If: you have copied, included, downloaded, the words and ideas of others in your work that you neglected to cite, you have had help you wouldn’t want your teacher to know about,

Two types of plagiarism: Intentional –Copying a friend’s work –Buying or borrowing papers –Cutting and pasting blocks of text from electronic sources without documenting –Media “borrowing”without documentation –Web publishing without permissions of creators Unintentional –Careless paraphrasing –Poor documentation –Quoting excessively –Failure to use your own “voice”

Excuses It’s okay if I don’t get caught! I was too busy to write that paper! (Big game, too much homework!) My teachers expect too much! My parents expect “A”s! This assignment was BORING! Everyone does it! No one gets caught!

Possible school consequences: “0” on the assignment Parent notification Note on student record Loss of reputation in the school community

Do I have to cite everything?

Nope! Facts that are widely known, or Information or judgments considered “common knowledge” Do NOT have to be documented. Hooray for common knowledge!

Examples of common knowledge John Adams was our second president The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 If you see a fact in three or more sources, and you are fairly certain your readers already know this information, it is likely to be “common knowledge.” But when in doubt, cite!

No need to document when: You are discussing your own experiences, observations, or reactions Compiling the results of original research, from science experiments, etc. You are using common knowledge

What’s the big deal? If I change a few words, I’m okay, right? Wrong! Paraphrasing original ideas without documenting your source, is plagiarism too!

You can “borrow” from the works of others in your own work!

Use these three strategies, Quoting Paraphrasing Summarizing To blend source materials in with your own, making sure your own voice is heard.

What is a citation? It gives credit to the author(s). It helps prevent plagiarism. It has specific styles such as MLA or APA. It validates your information so the teacher knows it is real.

Just because it’s on the Internet doesn’t mean that it is true!

Techniques for judging validity Look at the DOMAIN:.edu Internet Service Provider/not com.

5 W’s of evaluation Who wrote it? What is the purpose of the site? When was it created, and updated? Where is the info from? Why is it useful to me?

Look carefully Check for the following: –Last update –Whether the links work & are reliable –A specified author Credentials- what makes them an expert? –Organization that is responsible for the page –Spelling errors are a red flag –Does it all add up??? Why was it posted?

AUTHORITY/Authorship AUTHORITY/Authorship Does the author identify himself/herself? What are his/her credentials? Is he/she the orginator/creator of the information? Linked from another “reputable” site? Affiliated with a well known institution? If it begins with ~ and a name, avoid it

PERSPECTIVE PERSPECTIVE Is the point of view clearly stated? Is there a bias? (a one-sided view) What is the purpose of the site?

ACCURACY ACCURACY Are the facts stated on the page supported by other sources of information? Is the site connected to an organization or institution of good reputation?

CURRENT CURRENT Information must be “timely” (current) When was the web site last updated or revised? Are the links still working? Poorly maintained sites won’t update links.

MAKE A. P. A. C. WITH YOURSELF Authority- Perspective Accuracy Current

This presentation was adapted from the following sources : Beck, Susan. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: or, Why It’s a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Sources A presentation previously conducted by Peter Millbury at CSLA Annual Conference, 2007 Valenza,Joyce (2007,June) Plagiarism. Retrieved 01/10/13 from

TODAY Start your research Mrs. Miriam A. Wiese Teacher Librarian