Avoiding Plagiarism What it is and why you should avoid it! ationalModule/Plagiarism/whatisplagiari sm.html

Plagiarism is…  “The unauthorized use or close imitation of the of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s original work.” Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language,  Or….taking someone else’s work and presenting it as your own.  Dishonest  Cheating  Stealing

From Kathy Schrock's Guide to Plagiarism Two types of plagiarism:  Intentional Copying a friend’s work Buying or borrowing papers Cutting and pasting blocks of text from electronic sources without quotes and citation Media “borrowing”without written permission of creator Republishing anything to the web without written permissions of creators Using any material in a public way without written permission  Unintentional (lazy) Careless summarizing Poor documentation Quoting excessively Failure to use your own “voice”

From Kathy Schrock's Guide to Plagiarism Plagiarism is a SERIOUS problem… “A study of almost 4,500 students at 25 schools, suggests cheating is... a significant problem in high school - 74% of the respondents admitted to one or more instances of serious test cheating and 72% admitted to serious cheating on written assignments. Over half of the students admitted they have engaged in some level of plagiarism on written assignments using the Internet.” Based on the research of Donald L. McCabe, Rutgers University Source: “CIA Research.” Center for Academic Integrity, Duke University,

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

Consequences at Northwood  Assignment consequences are up to teachers: A “Zero” on the assignment Redoing the whole assignment Call home concerning the plagiarized assignment Note on student record (job or college effects) Suspension from student activities/sports  Loss of Trust  Lost Reputation

Yes, teachers do know…  They know your writing ‘voice’ and vocabulary  They can check too! arism3.html arism3.html Google

Avoiding Plagiarism  Research Capture your sources as you research!  Writing Direct copy/paste must be in quotes Summarize and put in your own words  Citations Always create a Bibliography From Gordon, Colin H., et al. “Plagiarism Brochure” Biology Program Guide 2003/2004. University of British Columbia. Online. 5 September

Writing  Original Organization  Use direct quotations or your own words  Read the draft closely From Gordon, Colin H., et al. “Plagiarism Brochure” Biology Program Guide 2003/2004. University of British Columbia. Online. 5 September

What about multimedia & graphics!?  Graphics such as pictures, drawings, photos, charts  Multimedia such as video’s, audio files (wav, mp3, anything and everything!) Have copyright protection and MUST always have a Bibliography!!!

Citations –Make a Bibliography!  When in doubt CITE  Citations must clearly identify the sources you used  Include a complete bibliography or works cited section in your paper, even if not teacher required… From Gordon, Colin H., et al. “Plagiarism Brochure” Biology Program Guide 2003/2004. University of British Columbia. Online. 5 September

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 remember - when in doubt, cite!

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

Remember… Only you can prevent plagiarism!

Copyright and Fair Use  Copyright is breeched when you take someone’s work and use it without written permission  Fair Use guidelines create exceptions for students and teachers to use copyrighted material for education Limited Must follow strict rules!

From Kathy Schrock's Guide to Plagiarism Copyright Protects: Pictures, Drawings, even on MySpace Film, Video, TV shows and commercials CDs or DVDs (you buy it, you own ONE copy) Computer databases and spreadsheets But students, for education ONLY have Fair Use! Any text, books, blogs, ebay ads, etc Music, lyrics, mp3 or other audio files

Copyright  Is a legal term with legal punishments  Everyone’s work is AUTOMATICALLY protected by copyright law  You must get written permission to use copyrighted material if it does not meet Fair Use Guidelines  Fair Use material MUST have a Bibliography to be used.

Fair Use – only applies if all four features are met…..  Purpose Teach, research, news reporting  Nature Factual, important to your education  Amount SMALL!  Effect Does not take $$$ away from creator

Fair Use does not apply to…  Republishing anything to the web without written permissions of creators  Using any material (song, video, script, music) in a public way or performance without written permission  These both assume $ is being lost

Fair Use Rules (whichever is LESS)  Film, video, TV, etc 10% or 3 minutes  Text, books, blogs, websites, etc 10% or 1000 words  Pictures, drawings, graphics, cartoons No more than 5 pictures from one artist  Music, lyrics etc 10% or 30 seconds

Copyright Free Resources  Creative Commmons: a new way to share enses enses  Copyright friendly resources (including Public Domain): m/ m/

Coming Soon….  How to do Bibliographies the short simple way!  For now…make sure to capture the book titles and website URLs that you do use