What is Plagiarism and How Can You Avoid It?

Real-Life Examples of Plagiarism Plagiarism is an issue in the academic environment and beyond. As the following real-life examples demonstrate, using information without crediting its original source can harm your credibility.

Using Existing Knowledge Use your own words, your own voice, your own ideas AND/OR Paraphrase or quote, and cite – Paraphrase: restate information, giving the meaning in another form – Quote: to repeat wording exactly using quotes (“”) – Cite: to give credit to original author of material; to provide full source information of original material (author, title, publisher, date, etc.)

m/ Is it Plagiarism? You read: “Nineteen percent of full- time freshmen say they spend only 1 to 5 hours per week preparing for classes…” From: Young, Jeffrey R. Homework? What Homework? Chronicle of Higher Education, 49 (15).12/6/2002. You write: Nineteen percent of full-time freshmen say they spend only 1 to 5 hours per week preparing for classes. YES! You need to use quotes and to cite your source Oct. 22, 2010

m/ Is it Plagiarism? You read: "Students are studying about one- third as much as faculty say they ought to, to do well," said George D. Kuh, director of the survey and a professor of higher education at Indiana University at Bloomington. From: Young, Jeffrey R. Homework? What Homework? Chronicle of Higher Education, 49 (15).12/6/2002 You write: Most students spend about one-third as much time studying as faculty say they should. Yes! You must credit your source if you paraphrase text. Oct. 22, 2010

m/ Is it Plagiarism? You read : "Students are studying about one- third as much as faculty say they ought to, to do well," said George D. Kuh, director of the survey and a professor of higher education at Indiana University at Bloomington. From: Young, Jeffrey R. Homework? What Homework? Chronicle of Higher Education, 49 (15).12/6/2002 You write : According to George D. Kuh, Indiana University at Bloomington, students study about one-third of the time that is expected by faculty (Young, 2002). No. As long as you have included the Young article in your reference list, you have properly cited your source. Oct. 22, 2010

m/ Is it Plagiarism? You read : “The tip given most consistently by professors and college officials is that students should simply do their homework. The most commonly prescribed amount is at least two hours of class preparation for every hour spent in the classroom…” From: Young, Jeffrey R. Homework? What Homework? Chronicle of Higher Education, 49 (15).12/6/2002 You write : College students should do their homework. No. Commonly known facts or ideas do not have to be cited. (Can you find this information in at least five sources?) Oct. 22, 2010

m/ Is it Plagiarism? Yes! You need to credit the source of images and other media as well as text. Gray wolf (Canis lupus). © Jeff Lepore/Photo Researchers Wolf. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 31, 2004, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Should we or shouldn’t we protect the gray wolf? By Ima Lamb Eng 110 Apr. 1, 2004 You find : Your title page : Oct. 22, 2010

m/ Is it Plagiarism? When in doubt, cite it! Oct. 22, 2010

What is Plagiarism? Plagiarism means using another’s work without giving them credit and saying that it is your own

Plagiarism is… misrepresenting the ideas, expression of ideas or work of others as one's own. It includes reproducing or paraphrasing portions of someone else's published or unpublished material, regardless of the source, and representing these as one's own thinking by not acknowledging the appropriate source or by the failure to use appropriate quotation marks.

Examples of Plagiarism… Copying and pasting text from online encyclopedias Copying and pasting text from any web site Using photographs, video or audio without permission or acknowledgement Using another student’s or your parents’ work and claiming it as your own even with permission Using your own work without properly citing it!

More Examples of Plagiarism… Quoting a source without using quotation marks-even if you do cite it Citing sources you didn’t use Getting a research paper, story, poem, or article off the Internet Turning in the same paper for more than one class without the permission of both teachers (this is called self-plagiarism) Can you think of more?

How to Avoid Plagiarism… Use your own words and ideas Always give credit to the source where you have received your information If you use someone’s exact words - put them in quotes and give credit using in-text citations. Include the source in your references

How to Avoid Plagiarism… If you have paraphrased someone’s work, (summarizing a passage or rearranging the order of a sentence and changing some of the words)- always give credit Take very good notes--write down the source as you are taking notes. Do not wait until later to try and retrieve the original source Avoid using someone else’s work with minor “cosmetic” changes

How to avoid plagiarism… Cite your sources Learn to quote and paraphrase your sources properly Draw from many sources Map out your argument and then bring in sources to support it

Getting Started… What is a reference list? –A reference list at the end of a paper provides the full information necessary to identify and retrieve each source. It cites works that specifically support a particular article. –References should be alphabetically listed by author’s last name at the end of the paper or presentation. A bibliography? –A bibliography cites works for background or for further reading.

Getting Started… What is a Citation? –References and citations in text are the formal methods of acknowledging the use of a creator’s work. An In-Text Citation? –Direct citations and quotations are acknowledged in the body of a research assignment. (Right in the sentence or paragraph)

What do I need to cite? You should always provide references for  Direct quotations  Summaries, paraphrases  Statistics  Charts, graphs, diagrams  Controversial interpretations  Results of others’ research

What don’t I need to cite? You don’t need to provide references for “Common knowledge or facts”—NOTE: this does not mean you can copy from texts word- for-word. Your own arguments and original ideas (but you must ask for permission to use part/all of previously submitted material) Write up your own experimental results

What is “Common Knowledge or Facts” The same information uncited in at least five other sources Information that your readers will already know Information a person could easily find with general reference sources (encyclopedia) General information NOT quoted directly

Sample journal article The informational and entertainment capabilities of the Web have increasingly been recognized,both as an advertising medium (Day, Shyi, & Wang, 2006) and as part of an integrated marketing communication (IMC) program (Belch & Belch, 2007). Recent research has uncovered synergies between TV and Web advertising (Chang & Thorson, 2004), explored the extent of interactivity in Western versus Eastern corporate Web sites (Cho & Cheon, 2005),and examined the relationship between interactive functions and Web site rankings (Tse & Chan, 2004). Although these investigations have greatly enhanced our understanding of how to effectively utilize the Web as a marketing communications tool,these studies have focused primarily on adults (e.g.,Geissler, Zinkhan, & Watson, 2006; Jiang, Jones, & Javie, 2008; Park, Lennon,& Stoel, 2005). Our understanding of how to customize this medium to more effectively reach children, in contrast, is limited. Considering that children influence over $600 billion of annual U.S. household purchases (Piperato, 2005) and represent a substantial and rapidly growing segment of Internet users, it is imperative to gain a better understanding of the factors that influence their ability to navigate Web sites and process information. Rose, M., Rose, G., Blodgett, J.G. (2009).The effects of interface design and age on children's information processing of Web sites. [Electronic version]. Psychology & Marketing, Vol. 26(1): 1–21.

Can you detect plagiarism? There's a new class of worker out there: Nearly Autonomous, Not in the Office, doing Business in their Own Time Staff. Or nanobots, for short. Empowered by their mobile devices and remote access to the corporate network, nanobots put in long hours, sometimes seven days a week -- just not at their desks. Different from mobile workers, who usually stay in close contact with managers, nanobots thrive on their driven natures and on the personal freedom with which they are entrusted. Found at many levels of an organization, from sales managers to senior executives, they are self-starting high achievers who produce strong results with a minimum of supervision. Allowed to find their own equilibrium between work and private lives, they tend to put work first. Pauleen, D. & Harmer, B. (2008, Dec. 15). Away from the desk...always. Wall Street Journal Digital Network. Retrieved Dec. 22, 2008, from

Is this plagiarism? Compare the original to the paraphrase Original: There's a new class of worker out there: Nearly Autonomous, Not in the Office, doing Business in their Own Time Staff. Or nanobots, for short. Empowered by their mobile devices and remote access to the corporate network, nanobots put in long hours, sometimes seven days a week -- just not at their desks. Different from mobile workers, who usually stay in close contact with managers, nanobots thrive on their driven natures and on the personal freedom with which they are entrusted. Found at many levels of an organization, from sales managers to senior executives, they are self-starting high achievers who produce strong results with a minimum of supervision. Allowed to find their own equilibrium between work and private lives, they tend to put work first. Paraphrase #1: Did you know there’s a new class of worker out there? Nearly Autonomous, Not in the Office, doing Business in their Own Time Staff—or, more simply, nanobots (Pauleen and Harmer, 2008). Empowered by their mobile devices and remote access to the company network, nanobots put in long hours, sometimes seven days a week -- just not at their desks. Unlike mobile workers, who usually stay in close contact with managers, “nanobots thrive on their driven natures and on the personal freedom with which they are entrusted,” (2008, par.2). Interestingly, they are high achievers who are self-motivated and produce good results with little supervision. They are found at many levels of an organization, from sales managers to senior executives. Allowed to find their own balance between work and personal lives, they usually put work first (2008). Pauleen, D. & Harmer, B. (2008, Dec. 15). Away from the desk...always. Wall Street Journal Digital Network. Retrieved Dec. 22, 2008, from

Verdict: Plagiarism The author has included citations, but has misled the reader to believe that the original has been paraphrased, while in fact much of the text is copied word for word.

Words in blue have been copied verbatim from the text by this writer. Paraphrase #1: Did you know there’s a new class of worker out there? Nearly Autonomous, Not in the Office, doing Business in their Own Time Staff—or, more simply, nanobots (Pauleen and Harmer, 2008). Empowered by their mobile devices and remote access to the company network, nanobots put in long hours, sometimes seven days a week -- just not at their desks. Unlike mobile workers, who usually stay in close contact with managers, “nanobots thrive on their driven natures and on the personal freedom with which they are entrusted,” (2008, par.2). Interestingly, they are high achievers who are self-motivated and produce good results with little supervision, They are found at many levels of an organization, from sales managers to senior executives. Allowed to find their own balance between work and personal lives, they usually put work first (2008). Pauleen, D. & Harmer, B. (2008, Dec. 15). Away from the desk...always. Wall Street Journal Digital Network. Retrieved Dec. 22, 2008, from Verdict: Plagiarism

Paraphrasing Good paraphrases… 1) change the order & structure of sentences 2) use synonyms/different forms of words 3) may change the voice or perspective Source: /

Paraphrasing Good paraphrases… 1) change the order & structure of sentences ORIGINAL Instead of analyzing data with an exploratory factor analysis (where each item is free to load on each factor) and potentially facing a solution inconsistent with initial theory, a CFA can give the investigator valuable information regarding the fit of the data to the specific, theory-derived measurement model (where items load only on the factors they were designed to measure), and point to the potential weakness of specific items. PARAPHRASE If the focus of the investigation is the connection between data and the theoretical model being used for measurement, a CFA is a better choice than an exploratory factor analysis, as the CFA is more likely to provide results that show the connection between data and theory (Mueller & Hancock, 2001). Source: Mueller RO and Hancock GR. (2001). Factor Analysis and Latent Structure: Confirmatory Factor Analysis. In N. J. Smelser & P. B. Baltes (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences (pp ). Oxford, England: Pergamon.

Paraphrasing Good paraphrases… 2) use synonyms/different forms of words Johnson, C.S., MeLeod, W., Kennedy, L., and McLeod, K. (2008).Osteoporosis Health Beliefs Among Younger and Older Men and Women [Electronic version]. Health Education & Behavior 35(5) ORIGINAL Optimizing peak bone mass during the early years is thought to be a key factor in preventing osteoporosis later in life. PARAPHRASE To prevent osteoporosis, experts believe it is important to build bone mass before adulthood (Johnson et al., 2008).

Cite your sources When adapting or reproducing a table, cite the original source in the note below the table.

Special Consideration: The INTERNET Special recognition needs to be given to the Internet as a source of information. Due to the transient nature of information on the Internet, a copy (either paper or disk) should be retained. WHY??? Internet sites must be examined very carefully for reliability, as all sources are not authoritative or trustworthy.  Lack of author or publisher often indicates that the information should be treated with caution.  The work of other students (e.g. home pages) may be consulted but should never be a sole source of information.