Plagiarism and Harvard Referencing The Express Tribune News Network (2015)

What do you think? If you rewrite the argument from an article in your own words, are you still expected to provide a reference? A friend says that you do not have to provide a reference for a statistic because a statistic is just a fact and not someone’s ideas. Are they correct? Even if they contain specific, factual material, introductions to essays are not required to have references in them. If you write a general overview of the main ideas that you have got from reading a number of different articles, are you required to provide references? (University of Queensland, n.d.)

What do you think? If you rewrite the argument from an article in your own words, are you still expected to provide a reference? Yes, you still need to acknowledge where you got your ideas from. A friend says that you do not have to provide a reference for a statistic because a statistic is just a fact and not someone’s ideas. Are they correct? No, it’s still someone else’s work and the reader will want to know where you got your information from to assess its credibility. Even if they contain specific, factual material, introductions to essays are not required to have references in them. False If you write a general overview of the main ideas that you have got from reading a number of different articles, are you required to provide references? Yes, you are still using some else’s ideas.

What is plagiarism? Plagiarism is when you pretend that you have written or created a piece of work that someone else originated. It is cheating, it is dishonest, and if caught you will receive a mark of 0. (Board of Studies, 2006)

What is plagiarism? Some examples of cheating and plagiarism include: copying, buying, stealing or borrowing part or all of someone else's work, and presenting it as your own using material directly from books, journals, CDs or the internet without acknowledging the source submitting work that contains a large and unacknowledged contribution from another person, such as a parent, coach, tutor or author paying someone to write or prepare material that is associated with a task, such as drafts, process diaries, logs and folios. (Board of Studies, Teaching & Educational Standards NSW, n.d.)

Why does plagiarism matter? Because it is cheating. It is unethical and dishonest. Because you are not developing the skills and knowledge that are important for your learning development and life ahead. Because authors own their own words and ideas. Because there are penalties (Board of Studies, 2006)

Why does plagiarism happen? Sometimes plagiarism is outright and intentional cheating. Sometimes it is a result of ignorance Sometimes it is because of poor academic skills, for example: Lack of planning - leaving it too late to finish your work Poor note-taking Poor record-keeping of the resources used. (Board of Studies, 2006)

What happens if a student cheats in the HSC? Cheating in school assessment tasks is dealt with at school. Your child’s teachers and the school principal have to certify to the Board of Studies that all of your child’s work is their own, particularly in take-home tasks. Any help they receive must be acknowledged. Cheating may result in zero marks for the task and, depending on the task, a student may lose that course from their HSC award. The school may refuse to certify practical works or projects as ‘authentic work’ before sending them to the Board of Studies, and may also take further disciplinary action. (Board of Studies, 2010)

So…we now know: What is plagiarism Why does plagiarism matter, and Why does it happen What happens if a student cheats in the HSC? Now, we are going to look at strategies which can be used to avoid plagiarism St. Bonaventure University (2015)

Strategies to avoid plagiarism In your research assignment, you need to research! Research can be shown in your assignment, via one of two ways: Direction quotations, or Paraphrasing You should use both in your assignment. With each of these, you need to cite (refer to) the source in the text, and then list in detail in the reference list.

Strategies to avoid plagiarism: Direct quotations Direct quotes show where another person's original thoughts, words, ideas, images etc. have been used word-for-word in someone else's work. Quotations are used when you can not better explain the item. Follow these steps to use direct quotes in your assignments. Copy the exact words from the original source. Use quotation marks ' ' at the beginning and end of the copied text. Reference with appropriate author, year and page number information. (RMIT University, 2005)

Strategies to avoid plagiarism: Paraphrasing Paraphrasing is when you use someone else's ideas and put them in your own words. Even though you are not using the original author's exact words, you must still cite the author as the source of your ideas. Steps for paraphrasing Read the original text and highlight the key concepts Write down your version of it, changing the keywords and structure of the sentence(s). It is best to close the book so you do not copy word-for-word. It is important that the sentence structure and the vocabulary are different to the original. Complete citation process. Page numbers are not given in paraphrases. (RMIT University, 2005)

Strategies to avoid plagiarism: Direct Quotes and Paraphrasing Direct Quotation Paraphrased Geoscience Australia (2015) defines a cyclone as “a low-pressure system which develops in the tropics and is sufficiently intense to produce sustained gale force winds of at least 63km/h”. A tropical cyclone evolve in the tropics from a low-pressure system. It has to be strong enough to produce gale force winds, greater than 63km/h (Geoscience Australia, 2015).

Strategies to avoid plagiarism: Direct Quotes and Paraphrasing So which one should we use??? It is up to you! However, your entire assignment should not be direct quotes. Because all that shows the marker, is that you can copy and paste. As a general rule of thumb: If you can explain it in your own words, then paraphrase. However, if the source explains it perfectly, then direct quote it SodaHead (2015)

Strategies to avoid plagiarism: Direct Quotes and Paraphrasing Class Activity: Paraphrase the following direct quote: Read the following text on Volcanoes from Geoscience Australia, and paraphrase it (i.e. put in your own words). To do this: Read through it Highlight the key concepts Put the highlighted key concepts in your own words

Strategies to avoid plagiarism: Direct Quotes and Paraphrasing Class Activity: Paraphrase the following direct quote: “A volcano is a vent or chimney which transfers molten rock known as magma from depth to the Earth's surface. Magma erupting from a volcano is called lava and is the material which builds up the cone surrounding the vent. A volcano is active if it is erupting lava, releasing gas or generates seismic activity. A volcano is dormant if it has not erupted for a long time but could erupt again in the future. Once a volcano has been dormant for more than 10 000 years, it is termed extinct.” (Geoscience Australia, 2015)

Strategies to avoid plagiarism: Direct Quotes and Paraphrasing Class Activity: Paraphrase the following direct quote: “A volcano is a vent or chimney which transfers molten rock known as magma from depth to the Earth's surface. Magma erupting from a volcano is called lava and is the material which builds up the cone surrounding the vent. A volcano is active if it is erupting lava, releasing gas or generates seismic activity. A volcano is dormant if it has not erupted for a long time but could erupt again in the future. Once a volcano has been dormant for more than 10 000 years, it is termed extinct.” (Geoscience Australia, 2015)

Strategies to avoid plagiarism: Citations Direct Quote Paraphrasing Before or after the quote in brackets put: (Author, Year, Page Number) For example: (Geoscience Australia, 2015) Page numbers are not needed for websites, only books Before or after the quote in brackets put: (Author, Year) For example: (Geoscience Australia, 2015)

Strategies to avoid plagiarism: Citations - Examples Direct Quote Paraphrasing Geoscience Australia (2015) defines a Tsunami as “the phenomenon usually associated with earthquakes, landslides or volcanic eruptions in, or adjacent to oceans, and results in sudden movement of the water column.” A Tsunami occurs when an earthquake, landslide or vocalic eruption occurs in or next to the ocean. This sudden movement of land mass, results in the water moving and creating a water column (Geoscience Australia, 2015).

Strategies to avoid plagiarism: Reference List The reference list should appear at the end of your work on a separate page Have the heading ‘References’ Only include references you have cited in your work References should be listed in alphabetical order All references should have a hanging indent. That is, all lines of a reference subsequent to the first should be indented (University of Sydney, 2015)

Strategies to avoid plagiarism: Reference List Resource Type Example Book Bliss, S, Paine, J, 2010, Geoactive 2: stage 5 Australian geography, 2nd edn, John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, Queensland Website Geoscience Australia, 2015, What is an Earthquake, viewed 22 April 2015, http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/hazards/earthquake/basics/what

Strategies to avoid plagiarism: Reference List - Book Author’s surname and initial Year of publication Name of publication Edition of publication Bliss, S, Paine, J, 2010, Geoactive 2: stage 5 Australian geography, 2nd edn, John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, Queensland Name of the publisher Place of publication

Strategies to avoid plagiarism: Reference List - Website Author of webpage Year of update Title of the webpage Date viewed webpage Geoscience Australia, 2015, What is an Earthquake, viewed 22 April 2015, http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/hazards/earthquake/basics/what URL of website

For the assignment You will not be marked down if you format the reference list wrong! You will receive 0, if you do not reference at all and just copy and paste!

Further information Social Science Faculty E Block or Google “University of Sydney Harvard Style Referencing” and select the first option

References Board of Studies, 2006, What is plagiarism? , viewed 22 April 2015, http://amow.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/module3/module3s1.html Board of Studies, 2006, What strategies can be employed to avoid plagiarism?, viewed 22 April 2015, http://amow.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/module3/module3s3.html Board of Studies, 2010, HSC Assessments and Submitted Works – Advice to Parents, viewed 22 April 2015, http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/hsc_assessment_policies/hsc-assessments-works-advice-parents.html Board of Studies, Teaching & Educational Standards NSW. ,n.d., Honesty in assessment, viewed 22 April 2015, http://studentsonline.bos.nsw.edu.au/go/assessment/honesty_in_assessment/ The Express Tribune News Network, 2015, Plagiarism, viewed 22 April 2015, http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/21587/cheeekh-speak-up-plagiarism-in-the-name-of-freedom-of-expression/ RMIT University, 2005, Direct quotes, viewed 22 April 2015, https://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/lsu/content/1_studyskills/study_tuts/harvard_ll/direct.html RMIT University, 2005, Paragraphing, viewed 22 April 2015 https://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/lsu/content/1_studyskills/study_tuts/harvard_ll/paraphrase.html SodaHead, 2015, Which one, viewed 22 April 2015, http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/which-one/question-4672268/?link=ibaf&q=which+one St. Bonaventure University, 2015, Plagiarism, viewed 22 April 2015, http://web.sbu.edu/history/guide/plagiarism.html University of Sydney, 2015, Your Guide to Harvard Style Referencing, viewed 22 April 2015, http://sydney.edu.au/library/subjects/downloads/citation/Harvard_Complete.pdf