A Concise Article On Plagiarism & Referencing

This article is prepared to explain explicitly, all about plagiarism and how to make good referencing. It also relates to you the dangers and disadvantages of plagiarism, how to plagiarize without being caught, how to copy and paste without plagiarizing, etc.

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Article Content

1.    Plagiarism: Definition
2.    Types of Plagiarism
3.    Plagiarism: Why the Concern?
4.    Why cite Sources?
5.    Citable Sources/Materials
•     Common vs Uncommon Knowledge
6.    Possible Consequences of Plagiarism
7.    Avoiding Plagiarism
•     Quotation
•     Paraphrasing
8.    Detecting Plagiarism
9.    Detection Tools
10.  Exercises:
•     Quotation
•     Paraphrasing
•     Self-check for plagiarism

What is Plagiarism?

•    Plagiarism is using others’ ideas, opinions, theories, assertions, words, data, images, figures, etc without clearly citing (referencing) the sources.

•    “It is possible not only to plagiarize the works of others, but also one's own work through reuse of identical or nearly identical portions of manuscripts without acknowledgement or citation.”

See Also: FORMAT FOR UNDERGRADUATE REPORTING, REFERENCING AND CITATION 

See Also: HOW TO PREPARE A PROFESSIONAL AND CONCISE SEMINAR REPORT AND PRESENTATION

Types of Plagiarism

1.    Intentional Plagiarism

•    Cutting and pasting from more than one source to create a paper without quoting or giving credit.

•    Borrowing words or ideas from other students or sources without giving credit.

•    Passing off as one’s own pre-written papers from the Internet or other sources.

•    Copying an essay or article from the Internet, on-line source, or electronic database without quoting or giving credit.

•    Cutting and pasting from more than one source to create a paper without quoting or giving credit.

•    Borrowing words from other students or sources without giving credit.

2.    Unintentional Plagiarism

•    Paraphrasing poorly: changing a few words without changing the sentence structure of the original, or changing the sentence structure but not the words. 

•    Quoting poorly:  putting quotation marks around part of a quotation but not around all of it, or putting quotation marks around a passage that is partly paraphrased and partly quoted.

•    Citing poorly:  omitting an occasional citation or citing inaccurately.  

3.    Plagiarism of Ideas

•    Presenting another’s ideas as your own without giving the person credit.

•    Submitting a paper without citing or incorrectly citing another’s ideas.

4.    Plagiarism of Authorship

Turning in a replication of someone else’s work as your own—for example:
•    A friend’s paper or thesis.
•    Paper or thesis from a fraternity collection or electronic database.
•    Paper or thesis downloaded from the Web.
•    Paper or thesis purchased from one of those online paper/thesis mills.

5.    Plagiarism of Self

•    The use of previous work for a separate assignment: Although these were you original words and thoughts, receiving credit for a previous assignment is considered cheating.

Plagiarism: Why the Concern?

•    “Plagiarism is a lie, cheating, and stealing.” When you copy someone else’s work or words as if it were yours, you are implicitly saying, “I did this work” when you didn’t“. You are lying! You are also stealing someone else’s thoughts and work, which is both lazy and dishonest.

•    Plagiarism is academic and research misconduct and is taken very seriously by the global academic community.

•    “Plagiarism undermines the authenticity of research manuscripts and the journals in which they are published and compromises the integrity of the scientific process and the public regard for science.”

•    The production of new knowledge could be jeopardized  unless intellectual property rights are guaranteed.

•    Plagiarism is illegal and violates the literary rights of individuals who are plagiarized and the property rights of copyright holders.

Why Cite (Reference) Sources?

You must always acknowledge your sources by citing them for the following reasons:
•    Giving credit to others for the work they have done is the only way you have the right to use another’s creative and intellectual output.

•    You show readers that you have done your research.

•    You point readers to sources that may be useful to them.

•    You allow your readers to check your sources, if there are questions or issues.

Citable Sources/Materials

•    Print sources:  books, journal articles, newspaper, conference proceedings – any material published on paper.

•    Electronic sources:

–    Articles retrieved from databases.
–    Personal and organizational websites
–    Government and institutional websites
–    Computer source code
–    etc

That is, any material published or made available on the Internet.

•    Pieces of information that are not common knowledge (Uncommon knowledge ):
–    Data: geospatial (GIS) data, Census, economic and other types of data published by governments, data from surveys, economic indicators, bioinformatics data.
–    Images: charts, graphs, tables, illustrations, architectural plans, photographs, drawings.
–    Others: ideas, suggestions, opinions, assertions, theories, equations, statistics, etc.
–    Recorded material: television broadcasts, podcasts or public speeches.

•    Spoken material:  personal conversations, interviews, information obtained in lectures, poster sessions, or scholarly presentations of any kind.

http://integrity.mit.edu/citing-your-sources/citing-electronic-sources

Common vs Uncommon Knowledge 

Common knowledge:

These are facts that can be found in numerous places and are likely to be generally known by a lot of people.
Examples:

•    Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

•    Barack Obama was the first American of mixed race to be elected president. 

These are generally known facts and do not need referencing. 

Uncommon knowledge:

These are facts that are not generally known and others’ interpretation of facts.
Examples:

•    Datasets generated by you or others.

•    Statistics obtained from sources such as the National Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

•    References to studies done by others.
E.g-- “Researchers have found that dispersants utilized to clean up oil spills can lead to lung damage when airborne particles of these dispersants combine with crude oil and are inhaled”.

Why Wikipedia and or other wikis are not Reliable Academic Sources

“Wikipedia is NOT A RELIABLE Academic Source

Many of us use Wikipedia as a source of information when we want a quick explanation of something.  However, Wikipedia or other wikis, collaborative information sites contributed to by a variety of people, are not considered reliable sources for academic citation, and you should not use them as sources in an academic paper”.

http://integrity.mit.edu/citing-your-sources/citing-electronic-sources

Possible Consequences of Plagiarism

•    Profound embarrassment.

•    Loss of reputation.

•    Sanctions including: Public disclosure, Loss of research funding, Loss of professional stature, Termination of employment.

•    Legal action against the person(s) committing plagiarism due to violation of literary or intellectual property rights.

Quotation and How to Quote

Quotation:

Every time you use others’ exact words (written or spoken), you MUST enclose the words in quotation marks and cite the source.

Example:
•    “Public schools need reform but they’re irreplaceable in teaching all the nation’s young”.

Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, Wells Library Information Commons, 1320 E. Tenth St., Bloomington, IN 47405
Phone: (812) 855-6738, April 2004. http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml

Paraphrasing and How to Paraphrase

Paraphrasing is taking others’ words from a source and restating them using your own vocabulary, such that the meaning of the original text is preserved without copying its exact wording:

•    Do not just rearrange or change a few words.

•    Read over what you want to paraphrase carefully; cover up the text so you can’t see any of it and write out the idea in your own words without looking.

•    Check your paraphrase against the original text to be sure you have not accidentally used the same phrases or words, and that the information is accurate.

•    Change the structure of the sentence.

•    Although you use your own words to paraphrase, you must still acknowledge the source of the idea or information.

How to Detect Plagiarism

“When it comes to plagiarism, technology has been both a blessing and a curse. Though it has made it easier than ever to find and copy work from others without attribution, it’s also made it easier to track and handle plagiarism when it happens”

J. Bailey, “The Limitation of Every Plagiarism Checker” December 7, 2011, http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2011/12/07/the-limitation-of-every-plagiarism-checker

Plagiarism Detection Tools

•    Online services ()

DupliChecker- http://www.duplichecker.com/

PlagiarismChecker- http://www.plagiarismchecker.com/

SeeSources- http://www.plagscan.com/seesources/

Chimpsky- http://chimpsky.uwaterloo.ca/

Unplag Free Plagiarism checker - https://unplag.com/free-plagiarism-checker 

•    Free Software Tools () 

Viper- http://www.scanmyessay.com 

CopyTracker- http://sourceforge.net/projects/antiplag/  

•    Commercial Software Tools ()  

CopyCatch – http://www.copycatch.freeserve.co.uk 

Eve2 – http://www.CaNexus.com

Findsame – http://www.findsame.com

Turnitin – http://www.turnitin.com  (formerly known as plagiarism.org) 

Wordcheck – http://www.wordchecksystems.com 

Plagiarism Detect- http://www.scanmyessay.com/  

Plagiarism Exercises

•    Quotation
•    Paraphrasing
•    Self-check for plagiarism

Quotation Exercises

Exercise taken from http://integrity.mit.edu/academic-writing/avoiding-plagiarism-quoting : 

Original text:
Because of their unique perspective, Americans fear globalization less than anyone else, and as a consequence they think about it less than anyone else. When Americans do think about globalization, they think of the global economy as an enlarged version of the American economy.

ANSWER- Incorrect quotation (Plagiarism)

The American view of globalization is unlike that of the rest of the world. Because of their unique perspective, Americans fear globalization less than anyone else, and therefore think about it less than anyone else (Thurow, 1993).

Why is this plagiarism?

The source was cited but quotation marks were not put around the exact words that were copied.

Lack of quotation marks makes the reader to think the words are the authors own and that of Thurow.

ANSWER- Correct quotation (Not Plagiarism)

Economist Lester Thurow (1993) has asserted that the American reaction to globalization is different from that of the rest of the world in that "American's fear globalization less than anyone else, and as a consequence and as a consequence they think about it less than anyone else".

Why is this not plagiarism?

The author has introduced the quotation with his/her own words.

The source was cited.

Quotation marks were used to enclose the exact words of the source.

Paraphrasing Exercises

Exercise 1 taken from http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml : 

Original text:

The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of the population were the three great developments of late nineteenth century American history. As new, larger, steam-powered factories became a feature of the American landscape in the East, they transformed farm hands into industrial laborers, and provided jobs for a rising tide of immigrants. With industry came urbanization the growth of large cities (like Fall River, Massachusetts, where the Bordens lived) which became the centers of production as well as of commerce and trade.

ANSWER-1: Unacceptable paraphrase (plagiarism)

The increase of industry, the growth of cities, and the explosion of the population were three large factors of nineteenth century America. As steam-driven companies became more visible in the eastern part of the country, they changed farm hands into factory workers and provided jobs for the large wave of immigrants. With industry came the growth of large cities like Fall River where the Bordens lived which turned into centers of commerce and trade as well as production.

Why ANSWER 1 is Plagiarism

It is considered plagiarism for two reasons:

The writer has only changed around a few words and phrases, or changed the order of the original sentences.

 The writer failed to cite a source for any of the ideas or facts. 

ANSWER 2: Acceptable paraphrase (not Plagiarism)

Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of northeastern industrial cities of the nineteenth century. Steam-powered production had shifted labor from agriculture to manufacturing, and as immigrants arrived in the US, they found work in these new factories. As a result, populations grew, and large urban areas arose. Fall River was one of these manufacturing and commercial centers (Williams et al., YR).

 Why ANSWER 2 is Not Plagiarism
•    It is considered an acceptable paraphrase because the writer:
–    Accurately relayed the information in the original
–    Used her/his own words.
–    Let readers know the source of her/his information. 

ANS-3: Acceptable quotation and paraphrase used together (Not Plagiarism)
Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of northeastern industrial cities of the nineteenth century. As steam-powered production shifted labor from agriculture to manufacturing, the demand for workers "transformed farm hands into industrial laborers," and created jobs for immigrants. In turn, growing populations increased the size of urban areas. Fall River was one of these hubs "which became the centers of production as well as of commerce and trade" (Williams et al., YR).

Why ANS-3 is Not Plagiarism
•    It is acceptable paraphrasing because the writer:
–    recorded the information in the original passage accurately.
–    gave credit for (referenced) the ideas in this passage.
–    indicated which part is taken directly (as is) from her source by putting the passage in quotation marks and citing the page number. 

Some Paraphrasing Exercises

Exercises 2 to 6 taken from http://integrity.mit.edu/academic-writing/avoiding-plagiarism-paraphrasing

Click the link to download the PDF copy of  this article for free: A CONCISE ARTICLE ON PLAGIARISM & REFERENCING

By Dr. Ifeyinwa .E. Achumba
EEE Department,
Federal University Of Technology Owerri

See Also: FORMAT FOR UNDERGRADUATE REPORTING, REFERENCING AND CITATION 


See Also: HOW TO PREPARE A PROFESSIONAL AND CONCISE SEMINAR REPORT AND PRESENTATION

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