Lecturer of Community Medicine Plagiarism Nazar P. Shabila Lecturer of Community Medicine Hawler Medical University nazar.shabila@hmu.edu.iq

Lecture outline What is plagiarism? Types of plagiarism Why does plagiarism occur? What are the consequences of plagiarism? Why does plagiarism matter? How to detect plagiarism? How to avoid plagiarism?

(Thesis, papers, photographs, songs, even ideas!) What is plagiarism plagiare : to kidnap plagiarius: abductor (kidnapper) Plagiarism is the act of stealing someone else's work and attempting to pass it off as your own. (Thesis, papers, photographs, songs, even ideas!) Stealing ideas

What is Plagiarism? Academic Definition: the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit

The Definition Appropriation: “The appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit” Appropriation: Using or taking something that is not yours Ideas (concept), processes (methods), results, or words (phrases): Another person’s intellectual property Giving appropriate credit: Providing reference (the name of the original author, sufficient publication data, using quotation symbols to indicate direct quotes)

Types of plagiarism Complete Plagiarism Verbatim Plagiarism Summarizing or Paraphrasing Self-plagiarism Invalid Source Misleading Attribution

Types of plagiarism Complete Plagiarism (Intellectual theft, Stealing) A researcher takes a study, a manuscript or other work from another researcher and simply resubmits it under his/her own name. E.g. Copying the work of another researcher, with or without his consent. Buying or commissioning a thesis or other piece of work and presenting it as your own.

Types of plagiarism 2. Verbatim Plagiarism (Copy-and-paste) Quoting another’s work ‘word for word’ without placing the phrases in quotation marks (“…”) and providing a clear citation and reference. E.g. A researcher copies and pastes a block of text from someone else’s work into a paper without providing proper citation, including quotation marks.

Types of plagiarism 3. Summarizing or Paraphrasing Is putting the source’s ideas in your own words; restating the ideas in your own way. Summarizing or paraphrasing the work or ideas of another without citing and referencing the original source. E.g. A researcher incorporates ideas or data from another researcher’s study, but rewrites the information in his/her words without providing proper citation.

Types of plagiarism 4. Self-plagiarism Submitting, in whole or in part, your own work which has previously been submitted elsewhere, without citing and referencing the earlier work. E.g. A researcher inserts sections of text from an earlier published manuscript (e.g. Methods section) in a new manuscript, without citing the earlier work.

Types of plagiarism 5. Invalid Source When researchers reference either an incorrect or nonexistent source.

Types of plagiarism 6. Misleading Attribution (Inaccurate authorship) An inaccurate or insufficient list of authors who contributed to a manuscript. E.g. When authors are denied credit for partial or significant contributions made to a study When authors are cited in a paper although no contributions were made. Collaborating with another researcher and then presenting the resulting work as one’s own

Why does plagiarism occur? Intentional (Fraud) Borrowing, purchasing, or obtaining work composed by someone else and submitted under another's name. Unintentional (Often results from students' inexperience) Simply not understanding what plagiarism is. Not citing or referencing properly within your work. Pressure from deadlines and poor time-management leading to a ‘cut and paste’ approach Disorganized research and note-taking leading to confusion between your own thoughts and ideas taken from other sources. Lack of confidence in putting things into your own words (poor paraphrasing).

Possible consequences of plagiarism Plagiarism is considered stealing, but the concept does not exist in a legal sense. Institutions and journals have specific guidelines and disciplinary procedures Lower grades Thesis not accepted, thesis stripped of Expulsion from university/no degree Loss of job Articles rejected by journals and employer informed Loss of scholarly reputation

Why does plagiarism matter to you? Very common (30% of students’ papers) As researcher, you need to know it to avoid it in your future research work As lecturer, you need to know it to detect it in: Students’ projects/thesis (supervisor/examiner) Research papers (reviewer of journals/scientific promotion)

Detecting Plagiarism What do you think is the easiest, simply available method to detect plagiarism?

Detecting Plagiarism 1. Google Google 4-6 words, a sentence, a paragraph You might find a similar study Compare it with the submitted study for similarities

Detecting Plagiarism 2. Simple free plagiarism detection software (e.g., plagiarismchecker.com) Clipart Source: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/results.aspx?qu=detective&sc=20#60 Harris, 2004, citation: Harris, R. (2004). Anti-Plagiarism Strategies for Research Papers, retrieved on 8/20/08 from http://www.virtualsalt.com/antiplag.htm

Detecting Plagiarism 3. Plagiarism checking software There are many types of plagiarism tools to check students' and researchers’ work for improper citation or potential plagiarism. Most international peer review journals and institutions use these tools to check submitted manuscripts or thesis. These tools compare the submitted work against the world's largest academic database.

Examples of plagiarism checking software http://turnitin.com/ Most commonly used by institutions and journals Watch this “Originality check demo” http://turnitin.com/en_us/features/demos http://www.ithenticate.com/ Buy online credits - $50 per manuscript (25,000 words) and discount for multiple manuscripts plagiarismdetect.com Per page price

Principles of anti-plagiarism Most journals and institutions do not accept if ≥30% of manuscript/thesis has been copied from various previously published sources. Direct copying of sentences or paragraphs is only acceptable; A reference is provided. By putting the copied section in “quotation marks” to indicate that the section is not your own words.

Results from plagiarism checker

How to avoid plagiarism

How to avoid plagiarism Students and researchers should become aware of plagiarism Sign declaration that have understood what is plagiarism and will avoid it Training course and presentations on plagiarism Check for plagiarism Establish clear guidelines for plagiarized cases Warning, lower grades, repeat assignment, fail, expel

How to avoid plagiarism Write your own ideas and in your own words 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 Never copy more than 3-4 words in a row from a source without using quotation marks Never use special words or phrases without properly quoting and citing them

What do I need to cite? You should always provide references for Direct quotations Summaries, paraphrases Charts, graphs, diagrams, if not yours Results of others’ research

What I don’t need to cite? You don’t need to provide references for Common knowledge or facts E.g.: In Iraq, health services are provided by public and private health sectors. The public health sector includes a network of primary health care centers and hospitals. Your own arguments and original ideas E.g.: This study showed that the participants had negative experience with the antenatal care at PHCCs and preferred to use private care, but they rarely used the latter. This could be the kind of viewpoint of many poor people who cannot afford to use the private care.

How to avoid plagiarism Direct quotation If you quote directly from the source: Indicate the quoted passage by quotation marks “……” Provide a citation within the text Link the citation of quoted material to the reference Remember, you should keep direct quotations to the minimum in the manuscript.

Example of direct quotation with proper citation Original text (WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety-2013): Approximately 1.24 million people die every year on the world’s roads, and another 20 to 50 million sustain non-fatal injuries as a result of road traffic crashes. Student work According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety-2013, “approximately 1.24 million people die every year on the world’s roads, and another 20 to 50 million sustain nonfatal injuries as a result of road traffic crashes” (WHO, 2013). References: WHO (2013). Global status report on road safety 2013: Supporting a decade of action. Luxembourg: WHO.

How to avoid plagiarism 2. Paraphrasing Paraphrase the original source rather than directly quoting Indicated the source of the original ideas by providing a citation in the text Provide the full reference in the bibliography This is more commonly used than direct quoting

Example of paraphrasing with proper citation Original text Approximately 1.24 million people die every year on the world’s roads, and another 20 to 50 million sustain non-fatal injuries as a result of road traffic crashes. Student work Road traffic accidents claim an estimated 1.24 million lives and 20 to 50 million nonfatal injuries in the world every year (WHO, 2013). References: WHO (2013). Global status report on road safety 2013: Supporting a decade of action. Luxembourg: WHO.

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