Plagiarism: Can’t live with it! How to live without it!

Department of PsychologyMount Royal University

Plagiarism? What exactly is plagiarism?

You may think you know what plagiarism is, however, there are many forms of plagiarism. Some you may be familiar with, some you may not.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary plagiarism is “The action or practice of taking someone else's work, idea, etc., and passing it off as one's own; literary theft.” (Oxford English Dictionary: http://dictionary.oed.com)

Plagiarism is a very serious academic offense. It is important you know what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it.

Is Plagiarism Ever OK? There are many reasons why students plagiarize,

however, none are acceptable.

“Plagiarism? It’s not really that serious…..is it?”Plagiarism is a form of academic misconduct and an

extremely serious offense. Being reported for plagiarism can result in a reduced grade, receiving a grade of “F” in the course, or even suspension from the University for repeated offenses.

Why reinvent the wheel? The original author said it so well!Using someone else’s words, ideas, or work and

misrepresenting it as your own is stealing. Words and ideas are considered to be the property of the original author.

Is Plagiarism Ever OK?

“But I didn’t know that was plagiarism!” Some incidences of plagiarism occur by accident, and some do

not. Both cases are equally as serious. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are familiar with the rules of plagiarism and the code of student conduct. You can read about these rules on the Office of Student Conduct’s website: www.mtroyal.ca/codeofstudentconduct

“Too many assignments, too little time.” As a University student, you are expected to learn to budget

your time carefully. Do not leave assignments to the last minute. Start early, and spread out course work across the semester.

Is Plagiarism Ever OK? “I didn’t have time to check if that was plagiarism or

not, so I just did it.” Make the time! An incidence of plagiarism on your academic

record may affect your credibility as a student and impact your GPA. If you are unsure if you are plagiarizing, ask for help from your professor, the library, or the Student Learning Center.

“The profs have a lot of papers to grade. They won’t have the time to check all of them.” Not everyone gets caught when they plagiarize, but most

professors are checking very carefully now, and as a result, more students are being caught. Here at Mount Royal University, professors are strongly encouraged to check carefully and report all cases.

How Do I Know if it is Plagiarism? In it’s simplest form, if you copy material word for word

from a book, article, or other source (including the internet) without using quotation marks, you are plagiarizing.

When you quote an author directly, the quote must be enclosed in quotation marks, and followed in text by a citation of the source that provides the author’s name, the year of the publication, and the page number the quote is extracted from. The source must also be included in the bibliography or reference page. Even more information is required for the reference page.

How Do I Know if it is Plagiarism?

For example, here is a direct quote (properly referenced):“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief” (Watson, 1930, p. 104).

ReferencesWatson, J. B. (1930). Behaviorism, revised edition. Chicago:

University of Chicago Press.

How Do I Know if it is Plagiarism? Can I use someone else’s idea as long as I don’t use their words?

Anytime you use an idea that is not your own, you have to credit the original author. You do this by creating a citation and then including a reference in your bibliography. A citation is an insertion naming your source and the year of publication. e.g., (Watson, 1930).

I wasn’t exactly sure where I found the information, so I just cited another author I used in my term paper. This is plagiarism! Putting in any citation is not sufficient. The citation

actually has to represent the true and original author.

But doesn’t that mean that everything I write needs a citation? It often seems like every sentence requires a citation. Often, it is even

necessary to cite the same author more than once in the same paragraph. There are some cases, however, that don’t require a citation.

When is it NOT plagiarism?

You do not have to use a citation when: It is a fact that is common knowledge. Common knowledge

includes anything that you could find in multiple sources that don’t cite a single original source.e.g., Canada officially became a country in the year 1867. This statement does not require a citation.

It is your own original idea

You are voicing an opinion about, or analyzing the ideas of someone else. (Remember: you still have to cite the original idea)

How Do I Know if it is Plagiarism?

Here are some examples of statements. See if you can tell which ones require citations.The central nervous system includes the brain and the

spinal cord.No. This is common knowledge and does not require a citation.

The similarity effect suggests that when we think someone likes us, we tend to like them more.Yes, this is an idea put forth by another researcher and,

therefore, must be cited (Sprecher, 1998). Sigmund Freud is considered to be the founder of

psychoanalytic theory.No. This is common knowledge and does not require a citation.

How Do I Know if it is Plagiarism? I worked on a group project. If we all submit the same paper or assignment

based on the project, is it plagiarism? Yes. Unless you have been asked to submit a single paper or presentation, each paper

should be written independently.

I worked on a group presentation and one of the other members plagiarized. I can’t be punished for that, can I? Yes you can! When you participate in a group presentation, and your name is included,

you are responsible for the content. Therefore, if one member of your group plagiarizes, you are also responsible. Be sure to check your group members’ work!

So what if someone else writes the paper for me but they have cited everything properly Getting someone else to write your paper, or buying a paper from someone else is

plagiarism.

What about the internet? Although you may have access to material on the internet, copying an entire

paper from the internet, or even using information off a website without indicating the source is plagiarism.

How Do I Know if it is Plagiarism?

What about graphs, charts, drawings, or other graphics from the internet or other sources? Does plagiarism only apply to words?Plagiarism refers to any content that you use without

crediting the original author or creator, thereby passing it off as your own work. This includes graphics, charts, etc.

What if it is my own work? Is it still plagiarism?Yes it is. Copying parts of your own paper and using it in

another paper, or turning the same term paper in for two different courses is plagiarism as well as academic dishonesty.

How Do I Know if it is Plagiarism?

If I take a sentence or paragraph from another source and change a few words, or change the order of the words, is that enough to keep it from being plagiarism?No, this is still plagiarism. Plagiarism also refers to copying

the structure of the text. That is, how the paragraph or sentences are arranged, and how the ideas are organized.

Although you may have changed some of the words, you are still copying the structure of the material.

So How Do I Avoid Plagiarizing?

There are several key ways to avoid plagiarism.

Paraphrasing

Interpretation

Citations

Quotations

So How Do I Avoid Plagiarizing?

What does paraphrasing mean?When you paraphrase something, you rewrite the

ideas of another author using your own words, but you still must give the original author credit for the idea. It is important to note, however, that paraphrasing does not always prevent plagiarism.

If you use the same word order, paragraph structure, or some of the same words, it could still be plagiarism.

So How Do I Avoid Plagiarizing? For example, here is some original text from your Introductory

Psychology textbook “The physical stimuli for the sense of taste are chemical substances

that are soluble (dissolvable in water). The gustatory receptors are clusters of taste cells found in the taste buds that line the trenches around tiny bumps on the tongue” (Weiten & McCann, 2010, p. 169)

Let’s paraphrase it:Our sense of taste comes from chemical substances that are

dissolved in water. The taste buds contain clusters of taste cells that respond to these chemicals.Has this been changed enough to avoid plagiarism?Actually no. Although it looks different, it still has the same word order, the

same paragraph structure, and even includes some of the same clusters of words. Even with the changes, it is still the intellectual property of the original author so you must give the author credit by referencing it.

So How Do I Avoid Plagiarizing? I’m confused. I thought paraphrasing was OK.

Paraphrasing can help you to avoid plagiarism, however, you still have to be very careful.

The best way is to paraphrase, but instead of taking the original text and trying to change it, interpret it.

Read your material; understand it; and then write about the meaning of the material in your own words.

For example, using the same piece of text: We are able to taste what we eat due to taste receptor cells

found in the taste buds and these receptors are activated when chemicals in our food dissolve in the liquid of our mouth (Weiten & McCann, 2010).

Don’t forget, even though the words are now different, the idea still has to be cited.

So How Do I Avoid Plagiarizing?

So what’s the difference between paraphrasing and interpreting?

In paraphrasing you are trying to take material and rewrite it by changing it sentence by sentence to avoid plagiarism.

In interpretation, you take larger chunks of material and learn and understand the contents. Then you write your understanding of the material. Some terminology may be the same, but it represents your understanding of the content.

So How Do I Avoid Plagiarizing? Citations:

There are a number of correct ways to cite a source, depending on the format you use (APA, MLA, etc.), and the structure of your sentence. In psychology we use APA formatting. A few are shown below, but more detail can be found at http://flash1r.apa.org/apastyle/basics/index.htm

Examples of citations: Recent research suggests that schizophrenic disorders should be

divided into two categories based on the absence or presence of symptoms (Andreasen, 1990).

Andreasen (1990) suggests that schizophrenic disorders……..

In 1990, Andreasen suggested that schizophrenic disorders…….

So How Do I Avoid Plagiarizing?

Wouldn’t it just be easier to quote?Quoting does help you avoid plagiarism, however,

most instructors want to see that you understand the material you are including in your papers. Filling your term paper or research paper with quotations does not indicate an understanding of the content.

A general rule of thumb for using quotations is that you should only quote statements that are so profound they will lose their impact if you change the wording.

So How Do I Avoid Plagiarizing? For example, Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech

“I have a dream…..” wouldn’t be the same if you paraphrased it.

General definitions, the findings of studies, etc. should be paraphrased or interpreted, not quoted.

The best scenario when quoting is to use a very short (4 or 5 lines maximum) quote, and then write the rest of the content in your own words.

How well do you understand?

Now that you have learned what plagiarism is and how to avoid it, take the plagiarism quiz to test your knowledge.