From minke@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.EduThu Jan 5 22:20:19 1995 Date: Thu, 5 Jan 1995 05:43:05 -1000 From: Karl Minke To: College Cc: Margit Watts , Gary A James Subject: Plagiarism (fwd) There has been a lot of discussion about this hand-out on the Teaching of Psychology list, and I thought it might of interest to others in the College. Karl ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 4 Jan 1995 09:34:03 -1000 From: STUART J. MCKELVIE To: TIPS@FRE.FSU.UMD.EDU Subject: Plagiarism Dear Members of TIPS, At the end of last year, I stated that the department of psychology at Bishop's University had developed a detailed handout on plagiarism and I offered to send it to anyone who asked. I have replied to many such requests. I did not offer to send an e-mail version because I did not have a copy on the word processor. However, my colleague Steve Black has found one and we think that it would be useful to circulate it. I hereby do so. We have used this handout with some success since 1986. It is given to every student in classes where reports or essays are required. DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY BISHOP'S UNIVERSITY GUIDE TO ACADEMIC HONESTY (Avoidance of Plagiarism) Revised January, 1994 ______________________________________________ SUMMARY 1. Any part of your paper which contains the exact words of an author must appear in quotation marks, with the author's name, and the date of publication and page number of the source attached. 2. Material should not be adapted with only minor changes, such as combining sentences, omitting phrases, changing a few words, or inverting sentence order. 3. If what you have to say is substantially your own words, but the facts or ideas are taken from a particular author, then omit the quotation marks and reference with a bracketed citation, such as (Jones, 1949). 4. Always acknowledge "secondary sources". 5. Every statement of fact, and every idea or opinion not your own must be referenced unless the item is part of common knowledge. 6. Do not hand in for credit a paper which is the same or similar to one you have handed in elsewhere. 7. It is permissible to ask someone to criticize a completed paper before you submit it, and to bring to your attention errors in logic, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and expression. However, it is not permissible to have another person re-write any portion of your paper, or to have another person translate into English for you a paper which you have written in another language. 8. Keep rough notes and drafts of your work, and photocopies of material not available in the Bishop's library. In doubtful cases, your instructor may ask you to take a Cloze test of your written submission. ASK YOUR INSTRUCTOR FOR ADVICE IF YOU ARE NOT SURE THAT YOU HAVE FOLLOWED THESE GUIDELINES CORRECTLY INTRODUCTION Plagiarism is a serious matter. It is an annoyance to your professor, unfair to your classmates, and destructive of the process of university education. Most students believe they know what plagiarism is. Some of them are wrong. As Moore (1966) puts it: When a teacher, or a textbook, says, "Most of your notes should be summaries," or, "Mark all quotations in your notes with quotation marks to be sure you will know exactly where paraphrase stops and quotation begins," the matter seems so elementary and the injunction so clear that often no more is said about it. But when the final paper comes in, the instructor recognizes phrases and sentence patterns that are completely unlike the student's usual writing; no quotation marks indicate that the student is borrowing directly, although a footnote may acknowledge in- debtedness for the ideas. When the instructor checks the source, he finds that the striking phrases and the uncharacteristic sentences come from the source, though perhaps with slight modifications. He calls the student in to examine the honesty of the paper, and often the student is genuinely bewildered. He has been taught to write precis in high school; he has not copied his source word for word; he has given credit for the information in a footnote. What has gone wrong? Sometimes he is expelled from college without ever finding out. (Sometimes, unhappily, he knows perfectly well.) (p. 229) The Department of Psychology has prepared this guide to ensure that students are fully informed of the Department's interpretation of the University regulations on plagiarism. The Department would like to encourage students to make use of the published scholarly literature in their term papers and project reports, and a careful reading of this handout will help students do so in a professional, correct, effective, and honest manner. Penalties for Plagiarism Submission of a paper for credit which does not conform to Departmental rules as described here will result in appropriate disciplinary action. You may be required to re-write the paper, or to submit an acceptable paper on an entirely new topic. You may also receive a reduced mark on the assignment, a zero mark on the assignment, or (when the plagiarism is extensive), a zero in the course . DEPARTMENTAL RULES Guideline 1 ANY PART OF YOUR PAPER WHICH CONTAINS THE EXACT WORDS OF AN AUTHOR MUST APPEAR IN QUOTATION MARKS, WITH THE AUTHOR'S NAME, AND THE DATE OF PUBLICATION AND PAGE NUMBER OF THE SOURCE ATTACHED. Examples: According to Smith (1977), "The child may be father to the man but the man is also father to the child" (p. 43). Bower (1949) has stated that "Life is for the living" (p. 53). It is as true today as 100 years ago that "Psychology is no science; it is only the hope of a science" (James, 1892, p. 311). However, a quotation of more than 40 words is reproduced in an indented paragraph without quotation marks but with the necessary identifying information. The quotation from Moore which begins this handout provides an example. Use quotations only in special cases, such as when the information is particularly concise or striking in its original form. Excessive use of quotations suggests that the student does not understand the material sufficiently well to provide an effective paraphrase (as in Guideline 3), or is simply attempting to use up space in the paper. Guideline 2 MATERIAL SHOULD NOT BE ADAPTED WITH ONLY MINOR CHANGES, SUCH AS COMBINING SENTENCES, OMITTING PHRASES, CHANGING A FEW WORDS, OR INVERTING SENTENCE ORDER. It is a common but serious student error to submit a paper which consists of a pieced-together collection of writings from various sources, in which sentence structure and a few words here and there have been altered, and in which the source author's name has been inserted at irregular intervals. EVEN THOUGH THE AUTHOR HAS BEEN CREDITED, THIS IS STILL PLAGIARISM, because there is nothing to indicate to the reader that the style and phrasing are those of the source author and not the student. Example: (original version): When he is both awake and contented the young infant's main preoccupation is looking--either in exploring the environment or in examining particular parts of it more carefully. No reinforcement is needed for this response other than the presence of sufficiently interesting sights. (plagiarized version): The young infant's main preoccupation, when both awake and contented is looking. He explores the environment or examines particular parts of it more carefully. The only reinforcement needed for this response is the presence of sufficiently interesting sights (Fantz, 1969, p. 48). The second version is too close to the original to be considered your own summary. In this case, you should use the author's exact words set in quotation marks. (acceptable version): According to Fantz (1969, p.48) an awake and content infant is primarily concerned with examining his environment. Fantz argues that this response is maintained solely by the reinforcement provided by the interesting sight itself. This version is acceptable because it is a true summary in the student's own words rather than the thinly disguised words of the author. The student is also careful to remind the reader that the ideas are those of Fantz ("according to Fantz"; "Fantz argues"). Guideline 3 IF WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY IS SUBSTANTIALLY YOUR OWN WORDS, BUT THE FACTS OR IDEAS ARE TAKEN FROM A PARTICULAR AUTHOR, THEN OMIT THE QUOTATION MARKS AND REFERENCE WITH A BRACKETED CITATION, SUCH AS (Jones, 1949). Examples: Skinner (1945) states that... According to Melzack and Brown (1965, p. 44)... Babies have an innate preference for the human face (Fantz & Ryerson, 1970). Piaget (1952) opened our eyes to the fact that... It can be argued (Lorenz, 1943, ch. 3) that... How we construe ourselves, as Kelly (1955) puts it, is... The page or chapter number is given whenever it may be difficult to locate the passage in the source. In practice, page numbers are always provided for citations to books, but usually not for journal articles (but always for direct quotations). Guideline 4 ALWAYS ACKNOWLEDGE "SECONDARY SOURCES". A "secondary source" differs from a "primary source" in that the information comes from one author writing about what another author said, rather than directly from the original author. A student will sometimes try to create the impression of having read widely by citing a large number of papers, none of which have actually been read. Instead, the citations are obtained from a review article or a textbook, and it is the review author's statements about these studies that are the source of the information. In order to avoid plagiarism, the secondary source that was used must be cited in your paper. Moreover, simply reading the article over in the original does not then give you the right to borrow comments about it from a secondary source unless that secondary source is fully acknowledged in your paper. Examples: Melzack (1973) has reviewed the work of Livingston (1943) and Geldard (1960) and concludes... According to Skinner (1975), the approach used by Maslow (1957)... Babies have an innate preference for the human face (Fantz, 1970; as cited in Scarr, 1973). Note: a) Your reference list should contain only the secondary sources. In the above example, these would be Melzack (1973), Skinner (1975), and Scarr (1973). b) Secondary sources, when properly acknowledged, are "legal". However, it is recommended that you use primary sources whenever possible. Even if you successfully convert a review into your own words, it will still be someone else's analysis of a particular problem, not your own, and therefore unoriginal. Moreover, interesting insights are more likely to come from studying the original work rather than a second-hand account of it. Rather than citing secondary sources such as review articles, instead use them to obtain references to the primary literature, which are then consulted directly. This will demonstrate your ability to critically review and organize scholarly material, not someone else's. Guideline 5 EVERY STATEMENT OF FACT, AND EVERY IDEA OR OPINION NOT YOUR OWN MUST BE REFERENCED UNLESS THE ITEM IS PART OF COMMON KNOWLEDGE. Some judgement must be used in deciding whether an item requires a reference. When you are uncertain, either check with your professor or err on the side of excessive acknowledgement. Examples: Psychologists study human behaviour. (No reference required.) Psychology is the study of behaving man in a stimulating environment (Black, 1979). A person can be considered a type of machine. (No reference required.) A person can be considered a type of holographic microcomputer (Jones, 1977). Guideline 6 DO NOT HAND IN FOR CREDIT A PAPER WHICH IS THE SAME OR SIMILAR TO ONE YOU HAVE HANDED IN ELSEWHERE. It is dishonest to claim course credit more than once for essentially the same work. In addition, it deprives you of the opportunity of researching and gaining knowledge on different topics, one of the aims of a university education. It also goes without saying that you must not submit (wholly, or in part) the work of another student as your own, or purchase papers for submission. Guideline 7 IT IS PERMISSIBLE TO ASK SOMEONE TO CRITICIZE A COMPLETED PAPER BEFORE YOU SUBMIT IT, AND TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION ERRORS IN LOGIC, GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, SPELLING, AND EXPRESSION. HOWEVER, IT IS NOT PERMISSIBLE TO HAVE ANOTHER PERSON RE-WRITE ANY PORTION OF YOUR PAPER, OR TO HAVE ANOTHER PERSON TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH FOR YOU A PAPER WHICH YOU HAVE WRITTEN IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE. Students whose first language is not English, or who have a history of difficulties in writing are particularly encouraged to seek help from other students. However, any paper can benefit from the comments of another reader before the work is submitted. Nevertheless, the student should ensure that this process of critical review does not go beyond generally-acceptable limits to the point where an unacknowledged individual makes a significant contribution to your work. "Ghost-writing" is not tolerated in scholarly work. Guideline 8 KEEP ROUGH NOTES AND DRAFTS OF YOUR WORK, AND PHOTOCOPIES OF MATERIAL NOT AVAILABLE IN THE BISHOP'S LIBRARY. IN DOUBTFUL CASES, YOUR INSTRUCTOR MAY ASK YOU TO TAKE A CLOZE TEST OF YOUR WRITTEN SUBMISSION. This guideline is for your own protection. The prompt submission of notes and early versions of your work when requested is helpful in convincing your instructor that the work is, in fact, your own. Similarly, the presentation of photocopies of articles consulted at other libraries and not available at Bishop's (for books, a copy of the title page will suffice), proves that you at least consulted the sources cited in your paper. The Cloze test is a method long used in assessing language ability and recently validated as an effective means of identifying cases of plagiarism (Glatt & Haertel, 1982; Standing & Gorassini, 1986). Successful performance on this test will provide convincing evidence that you have not plagiarized. A SELECTION OF QUOTATIONS ON PLAGIARISM Canadian Universities A. Plagiarism is that form of academic dishonesty in which an individual submits or presents the work of another person as his or her own. Scholarship quite properly rests upon examining and referring to the thoughts and writings of others. However, when excerpts are used in paragraphs or essays, the author must be acknowledged through footnotes or other accepted practices. Substantial plagiarism exists when there is no recognition given to the author for phrases and sentences incorporated in an essay. Complete plagiarism exists when a whole essay is copied from an author, or composed by another person and presented as original work. Unless prior approval has been obtained, a similar situation is created when the same essay is submitted for credit to more than one professor. All forms of academic dishonesty, including misrepresentation in essay work, are considered serious offences within the University community. (University of British Columbia Calendar, 1978-79) B. Plagiarism is considered a serious academic offence which could lead to loss of credit and suspension from the University. Plagiarism may be defined as the presentation by an author of the work of another author, in such a way as to give his or her reader reason to think that the other author's work is his or her own. A student who is in any doubt as to what constitutes plagiarism is urged to discuss the matter with the instructor concerned before completing an assignment. (Dalhousie University Calendar, 1978-79) C. Plagiarism is the act of presenting the ideas or words of another as your own. While it may be argued that few ideas are original, instructors expect students to acknowledge the sources of ideas and expression that they use in essays. To represent them as self-created is dishonest and academically worthless. You may quote or paraphrase another writer if he has stated an idea strikingly, as evidence to support your arguments or conclusions, or as a point against which to argue, but such borrowing should be used sparingly and always indicated in a footnote. The aim of scholarship is to develop your own ideas and research and only by trying to develop your own thoughts and arguments will you mature academically. To provide adequate documentation is not only an indication of academic honesty but also a courtesy enabling the teacher to consult your sources with ease. Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism... The same penalty will apply in the case of an offence..... related to plagiarism, namely submitting a term paper for credit in more than one course without the prior written permission of the instructors in the courses concerned. A fortiori, plagiarism is also the act of: (a) submitting a term paper written in whole or in part by someone other than yourself; (b) copying the answer or answers of a fellow student in any test, examination or take-home assignment. (Department of Political Economy, University of Toronto; supplied May, 1979, pp. 1-2) D. Plagiarism is the acknowledged use of the work of another writer. 1. It is "literary theft". Not all guilty students may be caught, but those who are caught will suffer a severe penalty. It is a great mistake to assume, as some students do, that the marker has not read the textbook. Of course you must take facts and ideas from other writers, but you should either rethink those ideas and restate those facts in your own words, or you should quote your source directly. Slight rearrangements of an author's words or sentences are not acceptable. Rearrangements cannot be cited as direct quotations and must therefore be regarded as plagiarism if they occur persistently. (Department of Political Economy, University of Toronto, supplied May, 1979, p. 6) E. Plagiarism: presentation of work as one's own which originates from some other, unacknowledged source, quoting verbatim or almost verbatim from a source...without acknowledging this to be a quotation, is plagiarism. Also taking over someone else's argument, arrangement and supporting evidence (for example, statistics, bibliographies) without indicating such dependence, is plagiarism. In general, submitting someone else's work, in whatever form...without acknowledgement, is plagiarism. (Atkinson College, York University 1975, p. 23) Various Authors A. Plagiarize, - ise, v.t. Take and use another person's (thoughts, writings, inventions, or abs.) as one's own... F.L. plagiarius kidnapper....(Fowler & Fowler, 1964, p. 926) B. Plagiarism is a legal as well as an ethical offense, and you should be careful to avoid it. As a matter of integrity and courtesy, you must give credit to the source of your ideas whether you quote or not. If you do not quote your source verbatim, be sure to paraphrase in your own words . (Wilson & Locke, 1966, p. 395) C. In the process of writing, we all employ a vast stock of general ideas that are everyone's common property - the source may not even be known - most easily identified as encyclopedic knowledge. These ideas form the broad base of all our thinking, and our use of them is recognized, without censure, as derivative. But other ideas come to be distinctly identified as someone's personal property, like Buffon's statement that style is the man. If a writer has made a personal investment in an idea - an investment of his time or his insight - it is his, and he deserves to be given credit for it, whether it is quoted directly or paraphrased. The individual who passes off other people's ideas as his own is guilty of plagiarism - and, one might add, of ingratitude. John Ruskin reminds us that we should be more than willing to admit our indebtedness to the past by expressing our thanks, for all our present knowledge is based upon it. We need to be both honest and grateful. (Irmscher, 1969, p. 52) On paraphrasing A. A paraphrase expresses the essence of the author's style in about the same number of words but in your own style. Many students who sincerely believe they are paraphrasing a statement are actually guilty of plagiarism. Changing a word here and there and reversing the other of phrases is not sufficient, even though you give credit in a footnote. If you cannot write a paraphrase without looking at the original, you are not likely to write it truly in your own words and style. (Campbell & Ballou, 1974, p.11) B. Upon choosing a given passage, decide whether the excerpt should be quoted directly or indirectly. Unless you determine that a verbatim quotation is preferable...use a accurate, meaningful paraphrase. To avoid unintentional plagiarism, rephrase the statement in your own words; this is best done when not looking at the original. Do not substitute synonyms here and there or rearrange sentence elements. (Campbell and Ballou, 1974, p. 39) Newspaper Reports "U of T revokes doctoral degree for plagiarism" reports the decision of the University of Toronto to revoke a doctoral degree in educational theory awarded to a graduate seven years earlier. The decision was based on a complaint to the university by a scholar that his work had appeared in the thesis without acknowledgement. The matter was before the courts for four years, which finally ruled that the university had the right to revoke degrees. (The Sherbrooke Record , June 26, 1981) "Judge backs Princeton in plagiarism decision" reports the case of an honours student at Princeton University accused of plagiarizing a term paper. A Superior Court judge upheld the right of the University to refuse to allow her to graduate, and to notify the law schools at which she was accepted. In an earlier news item, the student was described as a potential Rhodes scholar and an athlete- scholar. Her brother was quoted as saying "She has ostracized herself from the community with this". (The Montreal Gazette , May 26 and June 3, 1982) REFERENCES Atkinson College, York University. (1975). Academic Standards & Grading Practices (4th ed.). Campbell, W.G., & Ballou, S.V. (1974). Form and Style: theses, reports, term papers (5th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Dalhousie University. Calendar , 1978-79. Department of Political Economy, University of Toronto. Plagiarism pamphlet . Supplied May, 1979. Fowler, H.W., & Fowler, F.G. (1964). The concise Oxford dictionary of current English (5th ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. Glatt, B., & Haertel, E. (1982). The use of the Cloze testing procedure for detecting plagiarism. Journal of Experimental education , 50 , 127-136. Irmscher, W.F. (1969). Ways of writing . New York: McGraw-Hill. Moore, R.H. Handbook of effective writing . (1966). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Standing, L., & Gorassini, D. (1986). The problem of plagiarism in class assignments. Teaching of psychology, 13, 130-132. University of British Columbia. Calendar , 1978-79. Wilson, H.W. & Locke, L.G. (1966). The university handbook . New York: Holt Rinehart & Winston.