What’s the big deal, anyway??? Plagiarism What’s the big deal, anyway??? © Stephanie Shubert 2016 (Borrowed from Becky Portwood 2009 – 2014) - All Rights Reserved

What is plagiarism? According to Webster’s 2002 Dictionary and Thesaurus, plagiarism is: The practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as your own. The word “plagiarism” comes from the Latin plagiarus meaning “kidnapper” PoliticsNJ, The Pulblis Group, Hoboken, NJ. http://www.politicsnj.com/plagerism090903.htm.

Synonyms for Plagiarism Borrow Counterfeit Infringe Pirate Reproduce Appropriate Thieve Steal Cheat Academic Misconduct

Did you know? 80% of “high-achieving” high school students admit to cheating (plagiarizing). 51% of these students did not believe cheating was wrong. 95% of cheating high school students said they had not been caught. Source: Nov. 22, 1999 issue of U.S. News and World Report

Another study found: 72% of students reported one or more instances of serious cheating on written work. 15% had submitted a paper obtained in large part from a term paper mill or website. 52% had copied a few sentences from a website without citing the source. 90% of the students using the Internet to plagiarize had also plagiarized from written sources. Source: McCabe, D.L., & Tevino, L.K. (1996). “What we know about cheating in college: Longitudinal trends and recent developments” Change, 28(1), 28-33. (EJ 420 088)

And in more recent studies: 59% of high school students admitted cheating on a test during the last year. 34% self-reported doing it more than two times. One out of three high school students admitted that they used the Internet to plagiarize an assignment. (Source: Jarc, Rich. (2011). “What Would Honest Abe Lincoln Say?” from The Ethics of American Youth Survey: 2010.) In a survey of 24,000 students at 70 high schools, Donald McCabe (Rutgers University) found that 64 percent of students admitted to cheating on a test, 58 percent admitted to plagiarism and 95 percent said they participated in some form of cheating, whether it was on a test, plagiarism or copying homework. (Source: Meyer, Jeremy P. (2010). “Students’ Cheating Takes a High-Tech Turn.”)

And really…… It doesn’t matter if you intend to plagiarize or not! In the eyes of the law….any form of plagiarism is an offense that demands punitive action. Ignorance is never an excuse. If a plagiarist receives more than $2,500 for copyrighted material, he or she may face up to $250,000 in fines and up to 10 years in jail! It is even possible to plagiarize from yourself, if you are citing a work you submitted elsewhere. Source: Turnitin.com- http://www.plagiarism.org/research_site/e_what_is_plagiarism.html

All of the following are considered plagiarism: Turning in someone else’s work as your own Copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit to them as the original author Failing to provide the source of a quotation, summary, or paraphrase. Allowing or hiring another person to write all or part of a composition, report, or research paper. Using all or part of a text acquired through an online “essay mill” or other term-paper service.

ATTENTION!!! Changing the words of an original source is NOT sufficient to prevent plagiarism. If you have kept the essential idea of an original source, and have not cited it, then no matter how drastically you may have altered its context or presentation, you have still plagiarized!

Are there consequences for plagiarism? Academic: Could result in a zero for that paper, bringing down your average. Detention, parent notification, admin referral, Possibly ISS At the college level, it can result in getting kicked out of the school. In the workplace: Zero tolerance- you can lose your job! Legal: Most cases are considered misdemeanors, with fines between $100-$50,000, and up to ONE YEAR in jail. A felony conviction can cost you $250,000 and up to ten years in jail!

Let’s Watch This Here’s a short video that will give some good examples of plagiarism. Afterward we will discuss them in detail.

(Job, big game, too much homework!) Excuses Everyone does it! It’s okay if I don’t get caught! I was too busy to write that paper! (Job, big game, too much homework!) This assignment was BORING! I’ve got to get into ??? U.! My parents expect “A”s! My teachers expect too much!

What If…… Your architect cheated his way through math class. Will your new home be safe? Your lawyer paid for a copy of the bar exam to study. Will the contract she wrote for you stand up in court? The accountant who does your taxes hired someone to write his papers and paid a stand-in to take his major tests? Does he know enough to complete your tax forms properly? (Lathrop and Foss 87)

Types of Plagiarism There are several types of plagiarism that need further discussion. Pay CLOSE attention! You could be guilty of one of these… Switch to the PDF White Paper for details on each type.

No…. Do I have to cite everything? Facts that are readily available and generally known to the public are considered “common knowledge” and are not protected by copyright laws. You can use these facts without citing authors or sources. Hooray for common knowledge!

Copyright, Public Domain, and Fair Use All expressions of original ideas that are recorded in some media are protected under copyright laws. Once copyright law protection expires, original works go into public domain. Fair Use laws allow the public to “borrow” these copyrighted or public domain ideas, as long as they’re cited properly.

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

So, what is citation? The title of the work Information about the author(s) The name and location of the publisher of the work The date the work was published The page numbers of the material you’re borrowing The website where you found it Any other important information that identifies the work or the date you accessed the material

And when do I cite? Whenever you use quotes Whenever you paraphrase Whenever you use an idea that someone else has already expressed Whenever you make specific reference to the work of another Whenever someone else’s work has been critical in developing your own ideas.

And WHY do I cite? Citations are helpful to anyone who want to find out more about your ideas and where they came from. Not all sources are good or right- proper citation will keep you from taking the rap for someone else’s bad ideas. Citing sources shows the amount of research you’ve done. Citing sources strengthens your work by lending outside support to your ideas.

But…HOW do I cite? MLA Style APA Style Most high school English teachers prefer this style APA Style Most college professors prefer this style

Preventing Plagiarism You can always “borrow” from the works of others if you know how to do the following: Quote Paraphrase Summarize

Use quotations when: You want the author’s words to support your text You want to disagree with an author’s argument You want to highlight important or powerful phrases or passages by the author

Paraphrase when… You want to use your own voice to present information. Paraphrasing means rephrasing the words of an author in your own words. You rework the ideas, words, phrases, and sentence structures with your own.

Summarize when… You want to establish background or offer an overview of a topic You want to describe knowledge from several sources about a topic You want to determine the main ideas of a single source

But don’t forget… PLAGIARISM Proper citation keeps you from being accused of the dreaded…. PLAGIARISM

For more information: http://www.plagiarism.org - Everything you want to know about plagiarism but were afraid to ask! http://www.copyright.gov/ - The definitive laws on copyright and fair use http://andyspinks.com/researchhelp/APA/APAGuide.pdf - Andy Spinks has made APA citation style very simple with this guide. http://andyspinks.com/mla/pdf/MLAguide.pdf - Andy did it again with his MLA citation guide.

Plagiarism and Fair Use Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suMza6Q8J08 How to know if a source is reliable by Shmoop Video Plagiarism TED

Works Cited Jarc, Rich. “What Would Honest Abe Lincoln Say”. Josephson Institute. Josephson Institute: Center for Youth Ethics, 10 Feb. 2010. Web. 11 Mar. 2013. http://charactercounts.org/programs/reportcard/2010/installment02_report-card_honesty-integrity.html Meyer, Jeremy P. “Students' cheating takes a high-tech turn.” Denver Post.com. The Denver Post, 27 May, 2010. Web. 11 Mar. 2013. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_15170333 “Plagiarism Statistics.” 2005. Hamilton Southeastern High School English Department Policies and General Information. 27 Jan. 2009 http://www.hse.k12.in.us/staff/HHS_English/Plagiarism%20Statistics.htm. “Plagiarism Survey”. U.S. News and World Report. . Nov. 22, 1999. Software4Students. “How to Avoid Plagiarism”. 24 Feb. 2014. Web. 2 Feb. 2012.http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?v=OsAQOnjk_To Turnitin.com. “White Pages: the Plagiarism Spectrum”. Web. 2012. 2 Feb. 2012. Valenza, Joyce Kasman. “What is Plagiarism? (And why you should care!)”. 2004. Springfield Township High School, PA.Web. 5 Feb. 2009 www.sdst.org/shs/library/powerpoint/plagiarism.ppt. “What is Plagiarism”. Plagiarism.org. 2008. iParadigms, LLC. 27 Web. Jan. 2009 http://www.plagiarism.org/index.html.