Plagiarism

Plagiarism
Keri Sammons 11/5/2011 Counseling 502 Human Growth and Development Liberty University

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Plagiarism can be described as to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own: use (another's production) without crediting the source. (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary) This act of stealing can also be referred to as fraud. When a person intentionally misrepresents someone elses work for their own (PlagiarismdotORG), they have now crossed the line to illegal. There are various reasons why students plagiarize. Some students are just too lazy to do their own work. Some are in a hurry because they did not allow time to do their own work. Some are not clear on what plagiarism really is. Sometimes the act of plagiarism is unintentional; PlagiarismdotORG lists several reasons why a student would plagiarize. The first is Citation Confusion; students really dont know how to cite work. The second is Plagiarism vs. Paraphrasing; students dont know when they are paraphrasing and when they are plagiarizing. When they try to reword a work, they mistakenly make it their own and dont cite the information. The third reason would be, "I was just copying my notes. Sometimes students take notes and assume that they can write a paper from the notes they have taken, without citing where those notes came from. The fourth reason, "I couldn't find the source. When a student takes notes they dont write down the cite information, so, they just leave it out. The fifth reason, "I thought we didn't have to quote facts It is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between "common knowledge" information that is free to use and original ideas which belong to someone. The sixth reason is, Confusion about Expectations. Students may not be aware of what proper research requires. If a student is not taught how to write a research paper properly, they may be unaware of the rules involved.

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Sometimes the act of plagiarism is intentional. Students take bits and pieces of information they find on the internet, piece them all together and call it their own. Some students may be too lazy to actually write their own paper so they find one on the internet or buy one from a so-called service or pay a friend to write one for them. Some students do not plan time to write their paper. So, in a hurry, they copy and paste from the internet or they retype work from articles and books. It is important to use citation when writing a paper for several reasons. First, as stated earlier it could result in plagiarism, therefore possibly resulting in legal issues. Second, there is nothing wrong with giving credit to the person who actually wrote it. Although, at the time, it may seem like its extra work to put a name at the end of a sentence or write a reference page or it may seem silly to throw in those quotes where needed. In reality, it isnt that much extra and it is actually alright to show work from others when you are writing a paper. Citing is a way of showing how much research you have done. (plagiarismdotORG 2011) Its not a bad thing; it actually shows that you are doing your work. Citations make your work look good! Also, when you use citations, other people can use your research to find out more about the topic you are writing about. (plagiarismdotORG 2011) An example of proper and improper citation would look like the following: Proper use: Website PlagiarismdotORG states: There are many reasons students plagiarize. Sometimes deadlines come around more quickly than expected, sometimes assignments feel overwhelming, and sometimes the boundaries of plagiarism and research just get confused.

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When properly cited, the author has been given recognition and the text has been put in quotes. Improper use: There are a lot of reasons students plagiarize. Deadlines come around more quickly than they expected, sometimes assignments feel overwhelming, and the boundaries of plagiarism and research just get confused. When improperly cited, there are only a few words changed in the text, thereby the authors original words are really being used. The writer either needed to properly paraphrase or cite and quote the original text. When using direct quoting you are taking text that the original author has used because it expresses the idea in the best possible way. (PlagiarismdotORG) Quotation marks should be at the beginning and the end of the text taken and the author should be cited either at the beginning of the sentence or parenthetical at the end.

Paraphrasing is another way to use an authors ideas without directly quoting, but you must give credit to the author for the idea. Paraphrasing is putting the text from the material into your own words. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original text, taking a bigger section of the material and condensing it by using your own words. According to Purdue University Online Writing Lab here are examples of improper paraphrasing and proper paraphrasing:

Original text: Intellectual honesty is the admission that humanity is linked together in a kind of

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collective learning process. Very little is discovered "de novo," that is, without a solid foundation in other researchers' previous exploration and understanding. Citation is an act of humility and an act of appreciation for what other scholars have pieced together about the nature of a particular problem or an aspect of some phenomenon.

Improper paraphrasing: Intellectual honesty is the admission that humanity is linked together in a kind of joint learning process. Not very much is discovered new without really understanding other scholars' previous research and knowledge. Citing shows you are grateful and appreciate what other researchers have figured out about a particular issue.

The writer has merely changed a few words, original work is not quoted, and the source has not been recognized by citing.

Proper paraphrasing: Hoemann says that there is very little absolutely new knowledge. Most of our discoveries take advantage of work done by those who have gone before us. The process of learning is, in fact, a long tradition passed on from generation to generation. Acknowledging the source of ideas gives recognition to the contributions of others in this tradition and is, as Hoemann says, an act of humility. 1. Hoemann, George. Electronic StyleWhy Cite? 14 September 1998. University of Tennessee. 3 Oct. 2000 <http://web.utk.edu/~hoemann/why.html>

Common knowledge is a sort-of gray area in plagiarism. The Purdue University Online Writing Lab states that, even experts on plagiarism disagree on what counts as common

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knowledge. There are two criteria that should be considered when looking at information as common knowledge, quantity and ubiquity. Quantity refers to the fact being found in many places. Ubiquity refers to the likelihood that it is known by a lot of people. When looking for quantity, experts recommend that if you find the fact in 3-5 different sources, it is common knowledge. With ubiquity, it is better to assume that a fact is not common knowledge if your peers do not know about that fact. A good rule to follow with common knowledge is if you are not sure, assume that the fact is not common knowledge and cite.(Purdue Online Writing Lab)

Over-citing and under-citing can be another issue in plagiarism. Over-citing is actually giving too much information about the author of the material, and can be considered an error. But, under-citing is considered plagiarism. Under-citing is not putting enough information about the author at the text to be cited, or not putting the correct information in the reference area of the citation.

Taking into consideration all of the ways that plagiarism can take place in a paper, it is in the best interest of the student to, take time and find out how to cite research in a paper. Dont claim stupidity on the subject. As Sir Francis Bacon said, Knowledge is power. The more we know about something, the better we are at it.

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References Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (n.d.) Retrieved November 3, 2011, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarism What is Plagiarism? (n.d.) Retrieved November 3, 2011, from http://www.plagiarism.org/learning_center/what_is_plagiarism.html Purdue University Online Writing Lab, Avoiding Plagiarism: Safe Practices, 18 September 2007, Retrieved November 4, 2011, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/03/ Sir Francis Bacon, Religious Meditations, Of Heresies, 1597 English author, courtier, & philosopher (1561-1626). Hoemann, George. Electronic Style Why Cite? 14 September 1998. University of Tennessee. 3 Oct. 2000, Retrieved November 5, 2011, http://web.utk.edu/~hoemann/why.html ,