ACADEMIC INTEGRITY & PLAGIARISM 7 …...2016/11/07 · Academic integrity for students Stress, lack of time, a missed lecture. None of these constitute reasons to ‘stretch the rules’

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY & PLAGIARISM 7 NOVEMBER 2016

Philip Dutré, Vicedean Fac. Engineering Science

Why does a minister resign?

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg Doctoral degree 2007, revoked 2011

http://de.guttenplag.wikia.com/wiki/GuttenPlag_Wiki

Why does a minister resign?

Why does an academic resign?

(NRC, 6 september 2012)


http://diederikstapel.com/


(De Standaard, 6 maart 2010)

Intellectual honesty

What is the product of scientific research? New knowledge, insights, … Manifested as: Books, papers, interviews, theses, …

What is the gain for the scientist? Everlasting fame! (Nobelprize ) Scientific credits Academic reputation (Money)

Who invented ‘calculus’?

Newton or Leibniz?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GodfreyKneller-IsaacNewton-1689.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gottfried_Wilhelm_von_Leibniz.jpg

Who discovered the structure of DNA?

Watson & Crick? Wilkins? Franklin? 1962 Nobel-prize

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rosalind_Franklin.jpg

Standing on the shoulders of giants

We are always building on the work of others …

"What Descartes did was a good step. You have added much several ways, and especially in taking the

colours of thin plates into philosophical consideration. If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the

shoulders of Giants."

Isaac Newton in a letter to Robert Hooke, 1676

What is plagiarism?

Using statements, ideas, thoughts, research results of third parties … without proper reference. … claiming them as your own. … to gain an unfair advantage (exams, gradings,

reputation, …). … whether intentional or not.

Very serious breach of academic integrity!

Academic integrity for students

Stress, lack of time, a missed lecture. None of these constitute reasons to ‘stretch the rules’ and you should not be tempted to do so. You are in an academic environment where you are being educated to become an engineer with an independent mind. This includes developing an academic attitude, which involves learning to trust your own critical faculties and being assessed on your own performance. Fraud and academic misconduct, whether committed deliberately or unknowingly, do not belong in this context.

(TU Delft)


Fundamental to the academic work you do at MIT is an expectation that you will make choices that reflect integrity and responsible behavior.

MIT will ask much of you. Occasionally, you may feel overwhelmed by the amount of work you need to accomplish. You may be short of time, working on several assignments due the same day, or preparing for qualifying exams or your thesis presentation. The pressure can be intense. […] However, no matter what level of stress you may find yourself under, MIT expects you to approach your work with honesty and integrity.

Honesty is the foundation of good academic work. Whether you are working on a problem set, lab report, project or paper, avoid engaging in plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, cheating, or facilitating academic dishonesty.

(MIT)


Although it might be tempting to think of plagiarism as only a minor form of cheating, or as a simple matter of academic etiquette, this is far from accurate. Indeed, it is essential that plagiarism should be understood as a breach of academic integrity. Academic reputations can be destroyed because of plagiarism. Everyone involved in scholarly work, whether senior or junior members of an academic institution, are members of an institutional community which aims to uphold intellectual honesty and transparency. This means that due respect should be given to the originators of ideas, data and works being consulted. An absence of such demonstrable respect (through appropriate referencing) means that people have failed to complete the learning process; it is unethical and can have lasting negative consequences for future careers.So intentional plagiarism matters because you would be letting yourself down, you would spoil your reputation as a scholar, disciplinary procedures would follow, and there might be lasting consequences which could limit your job prospects. It matters too because you would be letting your institution down; it undermines the fundamental tenets of scholarly discourse.

(Cambridge University)

More concrete (plagiarism):

... copying word by word (or almost word by word) (whole or in parts) irrespective of the source (including digital sources) without properly citing or without adequate referencing;

... copying images, illustrations, graphs, sounds- and video, without adequate referencing;

... paraphrasing arguments made by others, without adequate referencing;

... translating texts without adequate referencing.

http://www.kuleuven.be/plagiaat/

More concrete (fraud):

Other forms of fraud, are also not tolerable: Paying for work to be done by others,

and presenting this as your own; Re-using your own old work, and presenting it as new; Simulating or falsifying research results.

Example

Source: Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. New York and London: W. W. Norton & Co., 1999. 159."The ways in which domesticated animals have diverged from their wild ancestors include the following. Many species changed in size: cows, pigs, and sheep became smaller under domestication, while guinea pigs became larger."

Student Writing Sample # 1There are many differences between domesticated and wild animals.

Does this writing sample use sources correctly?YesBy definition, domesticated and wild animals are different; thus, the student has not reproduced an idea or piece of research unique to Diamond's work.

Example


Student Writing Sample # 2Domesticated animals diverged from their wild ancestors in numerous ways. Animals such as cows became smaller, while animals such as guinea pigs became larger.

Does this writing sample use sources correctly?NoThis sample uses information and ideas from Diamond's passage that are not common knowledge. The writer simply rephrases each of Diamond's sentences in the original order. Since the student uses no documentation whatsoever, this sample involves plagiarism.

Example


Student Writing Sample # 3A careful examination of the ways in which domesticated animals have diverged from their wild ancestors shows that cows, pigs, and sheep became smaller under domestication, while guinea pigs became larger.

Does this writing sample use sources correctly?NoThis writing sample quotes two passages verbatim from Diamond: "the ways in which domesticated animals have diverged from their wild ancestors" and "cows, pigs, and sheep became smaller under domestication, while guinea pigs became larger." Although the student strings these quotations together in his/her own sentence, both the ideas and phrasing belong to Diamond. Without quotation marks or an attribution to Diamond, this writing sample clearly constitutes plagiarism.

Self-check

General (undisputed) knowledge? E.g. dates of birth Multiple independent sources claiming the same fact?

Ideas/opinions of others? Always mention source, paraphrase, …

Experiments / Results of others? Ask for permission, always reference

Look at papers, books, … to see how it’s done!

Related(1)

Use scientific sources that can be properly referenced Books Academic journals Digital libraries

Wikipedia? Encyclopedias? “I found it on the internet … “ “I found it on Wikipedia …”

Related (2)

Make it clear in the text when you are quoting or referencing: Quotation marks for paraphrasing Lagae said: “quoted text“ [Lagae2009]

Or simple referring: … as is shown in Lagae et al. [Lagae2009] …

References themselves: [Lagae2009], [42], [LLDD09], … End of text, footnotes, end of chapter, … Usually included in ‘style sheets’

Related (3)

Self-plagiarism

If you use work you have written yourself earlier, you should also refer to it! You don’t get paid twice for the same work!

Related(4)

Plagiarism w.r.t. co-student E,g, reports, assignments, … Improper collaboration

Gaining an advantage from the work of others= fraud

Procedure Fac. Eng. Science

1. All theses are checked with plagiarism checking software.

2. Suspicious cases are checked manually.3. If significant plagiarism is suspected referal to

exam commission4. Exam commission reviews case (hearing with

student), and (possibly) sanction is decided. (see also Regulations on Education and Examinations /

Onderwijs- en Examenreglement)

Procedure Fac. Eng. Science

Sanction depends on: Nature of plagiarism Size of plagiarism Student’s experience

Sanction: “0” mark for thesis Reduced mark for thesis

Conclusion

Give credit where credit is due.

Never claim the work of others as your own.

Use reliable sources, so you know where your information comes from.

When in doubt, consult your promotor.

References and more info

http://www.kuleuven.be/plagiaat/ http://plagiarism.arts.cornell.edu/tutorial/index.cfm http://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/goodpractice/a

bout/ https://www.indiana.edu/~tedfrick/plagiarism/ https://integrity.mit.edu/ http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/plagiarism/ https://communitystandards.stanford.edu/student-conduct-

process/honor-code-and-fundamental-standard http://studenten.tudelft.nl/en/students/legal-position/fraud-

plagiarism/

Documents

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY & PLAGIARISM 7 …...2016/11/07 · Academic integrity for students Stress, lack of time, a missed lecture. None of these constitute reasons to ‘stretch the rules’