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Keeping
it Honest: Avoiding Plagiarism
 Southwestern
University Honor Code
Copyright
and Plagiarism
Types
of Plagiarism
Print
Sources for Avoiding
Plagiarism
Online
Sources for Avoiding
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Detection Services
and Tools
Each student entering Southwestern pledges
to support the Honor System. According
to the Student Handbook, "The
purpose of the Honor System of Southwestern
University is to stimulate and promote
the ideals of honesty and integrity among
students and to eliminate the practice
of cheating by putting into practice
these ideals of honesty and integrity." Sometimes
it is difficult to understand what is
and what isn't academically honest, especially
when writing papers. This page is intended
to clarify what plagiarism and academic
dishonesty are and offer some suggestions
on avoiding them in your work.
Southwestern
University Honor Code
From the Southwestern University
Student Handbook:
"Plagiarism is the submission
of another's work as one's own without
acknowledgment in the written work.
There are basically four ways in which
research papers use or incorporate written
materials, and each of these requires
footnoting.
1. Direct quotations should
be marked off with quotation marks,
with a footnote to indicate the source.
It is not necessary to place in quotation
marks every word in your paper that
appears in a source you are using.
If your paper concerns Napoleon, for
example, you need not place "Napoleon" in
quotation marks merely because your
sources use the name. Similarly, there
are phrases of some length such as "on
the other hand" or "it is
evident that" which are common
property and act in effect as single
words.
2. Paraphrase. Where
your own language follows closely the
language of a written source, or where
your line of argument follows a source,
you need not use quotation marks, but
you are obliged to indicate the source
in a footnote.
3. General indebtedness.
Where the ideas in your paper closely
resemble and were suggested by the
ideas in a source, a footnote should
be used to indicate this.
4. Background information.
In any area of inquiry there are matters
of fact commonly known to everyone
with a serious interest. Such information
need not be footnoted one fact at a
time. Instead, a general footnote toward
the beginning of the paper, naming
the sources where such general information
was obtained, is sufficient."
There are many other types of academic
dishonesty, including, but not limited
to, cheating on tests, providing answers
to test or homework questions to another
student, stating false attendance at
a required event, falsifying academic
records, submitting work done in one
class for credit in another class, and
claiming work done by others as your
own.
Acts of suspected academic dishonesty
are referred to the Student Judiciary
and the Dean of Students for review.
The consequences for academic dishonesty
are severe, ranging from loss of credit
for an assignment to failure in a course.
Repeated acts of academic dishonesty
may result in both academic and non-academic
penalties, including expulsion from the
University. It is far better to avoid
academic dishonesty and plagiarism in
all your work.
Copyright
and Plagiarism
Under the most recent revisions to U.S.
Copyright Law, as soon as a work is created
and put into tangible form, including
electronic form, it is copyrighted and
that copyright is the property of the
author of the work, whether or not the
work has been published in any way. There
is a common belief that works "freely
available" on the Internet aren't
copyrighted and that copying them isn't
plagiarism. This isn't true! You
may want to read Brad Templeton's Ten
Big Myths About Copyright Explained for
more explanation.
Academic traditions emphasize the importance
of fair use, which in the U.S. Copyright
Law means that individuals should be
allowed to use portions of copyrighted
works for the purposes of study, commentary,
or criticism, without fear of prosecution.
Even so, fair use still requires that
all works used be attributed to their
original authors. For more information
about copyright and fair use, you may
want to visit the UT
System Crash Course in Copyright by
Georgia Harper.
Types
of Plagiarism
There are two main types of plagiarism:
intentional and unintentional. The majority
of student plagiarism is probably unintentional.
The examples below show how plagiarism
may be intentional or unintentional and
offer some tips on how to avoid unintentional
plagiarism.
| Plagiarism Example
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Intentional
|
(Possibly) Unintentional
|
|
Using someone else's exact
words without quotation marks
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Trying to impress your audience
by using an eloquent phrase and
letting them think that you wrote
it.
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Copying and pasting from a source
and forgetting to add in quotation
marks.
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Tip: Don't ever copy and paste
directly from an online source
into your main document. Copy
into a document labeled "Notes" instead,
so that if you get busy or distracted
you won't forget that you copied
the material. Use special colors
to indicate copied text, or put
a "Q" in front of the
text to indicate that the material
is a quote. Always indicate the
source of the material, too,
so that you can go back and find
it later when you're doing your
citations.
|
|
Paraphrasing a source
too closely
|
Worrying about using too many
direct quotes and so deciding to
change just a few words in the
original and pretend like it's
your own phrasing.
|
Paraphrasing the original quote
word by word, without changing
the phrasing.
|
|
Tip: Paraphrasing is difficult
and requires practice. You may
have to rewrite the quotation
many times before you get a version
that is substantially different
from the original. Successful
paraphrases often use fewer words
than the original, and they use
phrasing and language that is
natural to you. Try writing a
paraphrase without looking at
the original to let your own
voice come through, but always
compare your version to the original
to make sure you've changed it
enough. Also, mix quotations
and paraphrase -- leave striking
phrases as they are in the original,
with quotation marks around them,
and paraphrase the rest of the
material: "In keeping with
the idea of 'democratic dictatorship,'
the government allowed only limited
elections during this period,
and the results were known to
everyone in advance" (Simmons,
1983, 24).
|
|
Paraphrasing a source
without providing a citation
|
Trying to present an idea written
by someone else as your own.
|
Thinking that you don't need to
cite a source because you changed
their words.
|
|
Tip: All ideas that you've
found in your research should
be cited in your paper, whether
you quote them directly, indirectly
(by paraphrasing them), or just
use them as background knowledge.
A good strategy is to introduce
the original author before you
mention the idea: "In 1915,
according to Alexander Thomas,
the American sense of equality
and fair play led to a general
reconsideration of the idea of
votes for women."
|
|
Not crediting significant
indirect influences on your work
|
Not citing a textbook used in
another class because you want
your instructor to think that you've
thought of these issues for yourself.
|
Forgetting to cite a book you
read last year although the author's
ideas are important to your argument.
|
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Tip: Always be honest with
yourself and your instructor.
If you have any question about
whether or not your work is derivative,
that is, based on someone else's
ideas, ask your instructor or
a librarian for guidance. If
you realize after you've submitted
a paper that you left out some
sources, contact your instructor
to let them know what happened.
You're here to learn, so don't
be afraid to ask for advice!
|
|
Plagiarizing an entire
paper
|
Buying a paper from a paper mill,
or turning in a paper written by
someone else.
|
Turning in a paper you wrote for
a different class because the topics
were very similar.
|
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Tip: If you ask your instructor
for permission in advance, you
may be allowed to reuse parts
of your own work without worrying
about being academic dishonest.
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Print
Sources for Avoiding Plagiarism
Below is a list of titles for some of
the books on plagiarism and writing manuals
with plagiarism and citation advice that
are available in our library. Other manuals
that address specific disciplines of
study are also available. Some of these
manuals are available for check out, but
in some cases the most recent editions
will be in the reference collection and
will not circulate.
Plagiarism
Buranen, Lise, and Alice M. Roy, editors. Perspectives
on Plagiarism and Intellectual Property
in a Postmodern World
(808 P432)
Decoo, Wilfried. Crisis on Campus:
Confronting Academic Misconduct
(378.1958 D358c)
Harris, Robert. The Plagiarism Handbook:
Strategies for Preventing, Detecting,
and Dealing with Plagiarism. Companion
Web site at www.antiplagiarism.com
(808 H243p)
LaFollette, Marcel. Stealing Into
Print: Fraud, Plagiarism, and Misconduct
in Scientific Publishing
(179.9 L133s)
Mawdsley, Ralph D. Legal Aspects
of Plagiarism
(346.0482 M449l)
Mallon, Thomas. Stolen Words: Forays
Into the Origins and Ravages of Plagiarism
(808 M297s)
Writing Manuals
Axelrod, Rise B., and Charles R. Cooper. The St.
Martin's Guide to Writing
(808.042 Ax22s)
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for
Writers of Research Papers. 6th
ed.
(Reference 808.027 G35mh 2003)
Hacker, Diana. The Bedford Handbook
(Reference 808.042 H115b 2002)
Heffernan, James A.W., John E. Lincoln,
and Janet Atwill. Writing, a college
handbook 5th ed.
(808.042 H361w 2001)
Shields, Nancy. Where Credit Is
Due: A Guide to Proper Citing of Sources
-- Print and Nonprint. 2nd edition.
(Reference 808.027 Sh61w)
Slade, Carol. Form and Style: Research
Paper, Reports, Theses. 11th edition.
(Reference 808.02 Sl12f 1999)
Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers
of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.
6th edition.
(Reference 808.02 T74m 1996)
Walker, Melissa Writing Research
Papers: A Norton Guide. 4th edition.
(Reference 808.02 W153w 1997)
Xia Li. Electronic Styles: A Guide
to Citing Electronic Information.
(Reference 808.027 W15s 1998)
Online
Sources for Avoiding Plagiarism
There are many resources available online
for learning about copyright and plagiarism.
Some sites are targeted more at instructors,
while others have writing advice for
students to help them avoid plagiarism.
There are also several online plagiarism
detection services, many of which allow
limited free use of the service.
Carbone, Nick. Bedford
Workshops on Teaching Writing Online:
Plagiarism
Part of the online workshop, "Strategies for
Teaching with Online Tools," this page includes
advice for instructors on ways to introduce students
to the concept of plagiarism and ways to design assignments
that lessen the chance that students will intentionally
plagiarize.
Purdue University Online Writing Lab
(OWL). Avoiding
Plagiarism.
A good primer on plagiarism for students from one
of the most respected online writing labs in the
country, with exercises to help them decide if they
are at risk of plagiarizing.
Stoerger, Sharon. Plagiarism.
An annotated webliography of news articles and resources
about plagiarism for both instructors and students,
adapted from work done at the Office of the Vice
Chancellor of Research, University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign.
Trivedi, Lisa, and Sharon Williams,
Hamilton College. Avoiding
Plagiarism
A basic introduction to the topic of plagiarism for
students, including good examples of paraphrasing
and integrating source material.
Young, Kay, University of Wisconsin at Platteville Karrmann
Library. Plagiarism
Prevention
An overview of copyright and plagiarism, mostly directed
at instructors.
Copyright
Harper, Georgia. UT
System Copyright Crash Course
A set of resources and a tutorial on copyright from
the UT Systems Legal Counsel, primarily addressed
towards faculty and instructors.
Stanford University Libraries. Copyright & Fair
Use
A set of resources on copyright and fair use from
the Stanford University Libraries.
Templeton, Brad. Brief
Introduction to Copyright
An introduction to copyright for everyday users from
the chairman of the Board of the Electronic Frontier
Foundation.
Templeton, Brad. Ten
Big Myths About Copyright Explained
A list of ten (actually eleven) of the most common
misunderstandings regarding copyright in the electronic
age.
Plagiarism
Detection Services and Tools
CopyCatchGold
CopyCatch is a software program that uses forensic
textual analysis to determine possible plagiarism;
it does not rely on external databases of student
papers. CFL Software Development also offers a
CopyChecker program for students designed to help
teach better ways to use source material. Free
to educational institutions in the UK.
EVE2:
Essay Verification Engine
Unlike Turnitin.com and MyDropBox.com, EVE2 matches
student papers against Internet sources only, eliminating
most intellectual property concerns. Currently, the
software costs $19.95 per license with no recurring
fees.
Glatt
Plagiarism Screening Program
This program uses stylistic analysis and tests students
to determine whether or not they have plagiarized.
The site also offers a self-detection
service that may help students determine whether
or not they have used sources correctly.
Google
The best-known of the Internet search engines, Google
can be used as a rudimentary plagiarism detection
service by entering phrases from students' papers
to search for matches in its index. This technique
works best with phrases of four or more words or
shorter phrases with unusual word combinations;
phrases should be enclosed in quotation marks.
Other search engines offer similar facilities.
MyDropBox.com
MyDropBox.com compares student papers to Internet
sources as well as to a database of submitted student
papers, but unlike Turnitin.com, MyDropBox.com
maintains separate databases for individual institutions
to decrease the likelihood of intellectual property
issues.
Plagiarism.org
By the developers of Turnitin.com, this site offers
a brief overview of the rise of online plagiarism
and a review of technologies available for plagiarism
detection. Also includes a link to "Research
Resources," offering advice to both students
and instructors.
Turnitin.com
Turnitin.com offers subscription-based plagiarism-detection
services to faculty and staff using software originally
developed at the University of California, Berkeley.
Note that there are intellectual property issues
associated with Turnitin.com's practice of adding
papers submitted for testing to its database; see
Andrea L. Foster's "Plagiarism-Detection
Tool Creates Legal Quandary" in the May
17, 2002 edition of the Chronicle of Higher
Education.
Danielle Cunniff
Plumer, August 2004
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