Avoiding Plagiarism

Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism is

• Using someone else’s words or ideas without acknowledgement.

Plagiarism comes from

• A Latin word meaning kidnapper.

You can “kidnap”

• Words• Statistics• Source code• Music• Art work

Per Webster’s Collegiate (9th)

• to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own

• using a created production without crediting the source

• to commit literary theft• to present as new and original an idea or

product derived from an existing source.

What’s literary theft?

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/000/738lfddv.asp

In a search engine, type Ambrose vampire

http://slate.msn.com/?id=2060618

Did Ambrose plagiarize?• Up, up, up, groping

through the clouds for what seemed like an eternity. . . . No amount of practice could have prepared them for what they encountered. B-24s, glittering like mica, were popping up out of the clouds all over the sky.

—T. Childers

Up, up, up, he went, until he got above the clouds. No amount of practice could have prepared the pilot and crew for what they encountered—B-24s, glittering like mica, were popping up out of the clouds over here, over there, everywhere.

—S. Ambrose

What are the consequences?

• Published authors can be sued.• Students can lose credit for the paper (or the course).• Professionals can lose their degrees or licenses to practice medicine or law.

What are the consequences?

• Published authors can be sued.• Students can lose credit for the paper (or the course).• Professionals can lose their degrees or licenses to practice medicine or law.• At Kaplan, a second offense can get you expelled.

Types of plagiarism

• Turning in a paper written by someone else• Internet cut-and-paste• Sloppy paraphrasing

Professional articles are

• Written for people who have background or expertise in a field

• Filled with jargon and technical terms

Jargon• Vocabulary used by a special group or

occupational class, often only partially understood by outsiders

Jargon• Cross-sectional research has suggested that

television viewing may be associated with decreased attention spans in children. However, longitudinal data of early television exposure and subsequent attentional problems have been lacking. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that early television exposure (at ages 1 and 3) is associated with attentional problems at age 7.

Christakis, D.A., Zimmerman, F.J., DiGiuseppe, D.L., & McCarty, C.A. (2004) .Early television exposure and subsequent attentional problems in children. Pediatrics, 113(4).

To translate jargon• Look away and try summarizing

in your own words• Use Google’s define: command

e.g., define:longitudinal• Build background

e.g., read an encyclopedia article• Find an easier version

• Comments by someone who’s read the article• An interview with the author

search for name + interview

Translate jargon: Googledefine:longitudinal

Related phrases: longitudinal study longitudinal wave longitudinal studies longitudinal fissure longitudinal crack longitudinal dune longitudinal redundancy check longitudinal stability longitudinal research longitudinal waves

Definitions of longitudinal on the Web:

* refers to a study that follows participants over an extended period of time. www.sfaf.org/treatment/beta/b35/b35glos.html

* a research study which follows a group of subjects over an extended period of time, often several years.

www.crede.org/tools/glossary.html

What does this say?Cross-sectional research has suggested that television viewing may be associated with decreased attention spans in children. However, longitudinal data of early television exposure and subsequent attentional problems have been lacking. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that early television exposure (at ages 1 and 3) is associated with attentional problems at age 7.“Early Television Exposure and Subsequent Attentional Problems in Children”

Scholar speak vs. layman’s termsCross-sectional research has suggested that television viewing may be associated with decreased attention spans in children. However, longitudinal data of early television exposure and subsequent attentional problems have been lacking. Conclusions: Early television exposure (at ages 1 and 3) is associated with attentional problems at age 7. Efforts to limit television viewing in early childhood may be warranted. “Early Television Exposure and Subsequent Attentional Problems in Children”

April 5, 2004 -- An important new study has shown that the amount of children's television exposure at ages 1 and 3 directly relates to later attention problems. The report appeared in the April issue of Pediatrics.

The lead author of the study, Dr. Dimitri Christakis from the University of Washington in Seattle, said: "We found that watching television before the age of 3 increases the chances that children will develop attentional problems at age 7.”

“Attention Problems Due to TV Before 3”

Translate jargon: Interview• Frederick Zimmerman of the University of

Washington in Seattle, one of the authors, said it was impossible to say what a "safe" level of TV viewing would be for children between the ages of 1 and 3.

• "Each hour has an additional risk," he said in an interview. "You might say there's no safe level since there's a small but increased risk" with each hour.

“Toddler TV Habits Tied to Attention Deficit”

Jargon can lead to plagiarism• “I don’t know what it means,

but it sounds good.”

Jargon can lead to plagiarism• “I don’t know what it means, but it

sounds good.”• Using material that you don’t

understand forces you to rely too much on the author’s words.

Rules of thumb• If you can’t explain what a source

means in your own words, don’t use it.

Rules of thumb• If you can’t paraphrase a source,

don’t use it.• Neither the wording or the structure

of the original should be recognizable in your paraphrase.

What is the point?Original…America’s fuel is

caffeine. Coffee is the brew kick-starting a nation of bleary-eyed, foggy-headed sleepwalkers.“Caffeine Nation”Sunday Morning, 11/14/02

Paraphrase

Is this a good paraphrase?Original…America’s fuel is


Attempted ParaphraseCoffee is the drink that gives a nation of foggy-headed sleepwalkers a kick-start every morning.

This is dependent on original.Original…America’s fuel is


Attempted ParaphraseCoffee is the drink that gives a nation of foggy-headed sleepwalkers a kick-start every morning (no in-text citation).

OriginalCaffeine is one of the fastest acting drugs known to man. When we drink it, almost every cell in the body, including the brain, absorbs it within minutes. There, caffeine works its magic by blocking something called adenosine, a chemical the body releases to tell the brain it’s tired. Caffeine intercepts the adenosine, turning the "I’m tired," message into "I’m wide awake." The result is an invigorating buzz coffee drinkers crave. “Caffeine Nation”

Sunday Morning, 11/14/02

Paraphrase/New StructureCaffeine is stimulating for two reasons: it is quickly absorbed,and it blocks the chemical that signals fatigue, adenosine.

“Caffeine Nation”Sunday Morning, 11/14/02

Original ParaphraseCaffeine is one of the fastest acting drugs known to man. When we drink it, almost every cell in the body, including the brain, absorbs it within minutes. There, caffeine works its magic by blocking something called adenosine, a chemical the body releases to tell the brain it’s tired. Caffeine intercepts the adenosine, turning the "I’m tired," message into "I’m wide awake." The result is an invigorating buzz coffee drinkers crave.

Caffeine is stimulating for two reasons: it is quickly absorbed,and it blocks the chemical that signals fatigue, adenosine.

Paraphrase/QuotationAccording to a CBS news report, “Caffeine is one of the fastest acting drugs known to man.” Once absorbed, caffeine blocks the body’s chemical signal of fatigue, adenosine.


Paraphrase/QuotationCaffeine is quickly absorbed. It blocks the chemical that signals fatigue, “turning the ‘I’m tired’ message into ‘I’m wide awake.’ The result is an invigorating buzz coffee drinkers crave” (“Caffeine Nation”).



don’t use it.• Neither the wording or the structure of the

original should be recognizable in your paraphrase.exception: “shared language,” such as names

of diseases or legal terms—chronic allergic rhinitis—habeas corpus

Rules of thumb• If you can’t paraphrase a source, don’t

use it.• Neither the wording or the structure of

the original should be recognizable in your paraphrase.

• If you take more than three words from the original, quote them.


don’t use it.• Neither the wording or the structure of the

original should be recognizable in your paraphrase.

• If you take more than three words from the original, quote them.

• Quote only when the original wording is especially apt or when exact wording is important.

More good/bad examples

•http://www.wisc.edu/writing/ Handbook/Documentation.html

• Path: Quoting and Paraphrasing Sources

http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite6.ht


Paraphrasing Practice• See if you can “translate” these

proverbs, or familiar sayings.

Proverbs to paraphrase• Male cadavers provide no testimony. What’s a synonym for cadavers?

Male? Testimony?

Proverbs to paraphrase• Male cadavers provide no testimony. What’s a synonym for cadavers?

Male? Testimony?OR…

Dead men (cadavers) tell no tales (testimony).

Proverbs to paraphrase• It is futile to attempt to indoctrinate a

superannuated canine with innovative maneuvers.

• Integrity is the superlative strategy.• Everything is legitimate in matters

pertaining to ardent affection and international armed conflicts.

More “Pompous Proverbs”• Similar sire, similar scion.• Precipitancy generates prodigality.• Members of an avian species with

identical plumage congregate.• The person emitting the ultimate

cachinnation possesses thereby the optimal cachinnation (KAK'-e-na-shun).

Strategies for paraphrasing• How did you figure out the proverbs?

Strategies for paraphrasing• Pick out key words and look them up.• Find the topic sentence of each

paragraph and restate it in your own words.

• Pretend you’re explaining the subject to a child.

Strategies for technical articles• If you have to use a source you don’t

understand, build your background by reading some easier articles first.



• Take notes on unfamiliar terms.



• Take notes on unfamiliar terms.• When you go back to the harder source,

summarize what you’ve learned after each section.



• Take notes on unfamiliar terms.• When you go back to the harder source,

summarize what you’ve learned after each section.

• Create a new organization.

Rules of Thumb Review• Neither the wording or the ________

of the original should be recognizable in your paraphrase.

• If you take more than _______ words from the original, quote them.

• Quote ______ when the original wording is especially apt or when exact wording is important.

Practice

• Go to

http://dianahacker.com/writersref/flash/rs_menu.asp• Choose APA E-ex APA 3-1

Integrating Quotations in APA Papers



More documentation sources• Hamilton Style Sheet• The APA Handbook• www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite6.html• www.dianahacker.com/resdoc


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Avoiding Plagiarism