PLAGIARISM

SO WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?

For Students taking Criminal Justice and

Legal Assistant Studies Courses

This short presentation will:

Help you to understand what plagiarism is and how

to avoid it.

Identify the consequences of committing plagiarism

and/or other acts of academic dishonesty.

Help you understand the difference between

paraphrasing, quoting, and plagiarism.

Provide you with the opportunity to inform your

instructor that you have completed this module.

Plagiarism

To plagiarize means to take someone else’s

words and/or ideas (or patterns of ideas) and

to present them to the reader as if they are

yours.

Plagiarism is an act of stealing

It is also an unwise act because it : a) does not

help you learn and b) you can be severely

punished for it.

See UTC Student Handbook p. 5 or visit:

https://www.utc.edu/Administration/StudentDevelopment/handbook/academics.pdf

Plagiarism includes:

words

ideas

images

sounds

Plagiarism can be:

Intentional – when you mean to

mislead others and represent work as your

own when it is not

Careless – when you are careless and do not

properly credit/cite material that is someone

else’s work (published or unpublished)

Intentional Acts

Copying a friend’s work

Buying papers or homework assignments

Copying material off an internet site without citing the

source

Using a web site that sells research papers

Cutting and pasting material without a citation

Paraphrasing and only changing a few words or using

synonyms of words

Submitting a paper more than once to different instructors

Unintentional Acts

Sloppy citations

lack information

have inaccurate information

Paraphrasing inappropriately

Improper documentation of sources

If you plagiarize:

You may jeopardize your academic career and

your reputation

BUT – MORE IMPORTANTLY

You cheat yourself. Failing to complete

assignments means you do not develop

intellectually, learn critical thinking skills, and

improve writing skills.

An education costs a lot of money – get what

you paid for!

Penalties for Plagiarism

The instructor can give you a failing grade on the

assignment or in the course

You can be referred to Honor Court and have a

formal finding put on your record

Honor Court can rule:

You receive an F in the course

You are to be placed on disciplinary probation

You are suspended from UTC

You are dismissed from UTC

Is this plagiarism?

Original Source: “While it is not feasible to

abandon the use of the automobile, foot patrol

can and has been integrated by many agencies

into their overall strategy.” [Gaines, L.; Kappeler,

V., and Vaughn, J. (1999). Anderson: Cincinnati,

OH. (p. 200).

Student paper: While most think it is not practical

to completely get rid of patrol cars, many think

that foot patrols can be used in agencies.

Yes No

Correct: This is plagiarism.

Obviously, using the exact sentence without a

citation is plagiarism, but this example also is

plagiarism. The student has merely changed a few

words from the original statement without a

citation.

Continue

Incorrect: This is plagiarism.

Obviously, using the exact sentence without a citation is plagiarism, but this example also is plagiarism. The student has merely changed a few words from the original statement without a citation.

Original Source: “While it is not feasible to abandon the use of the automobile, foot patrol can and has been integrated by many agencies into their overall strategy.” [Gaines, L.; Kappeler, V., and Vaughn, J. (1999). Anderson: Cincinnati, OH. (p. 200).

Student paper: While most think it is not practical to completely get rid of patrol cars, many think that foot patrols can be used in agencies.

A paraphrase:

uses another author's idea, but it is

expressed in the student’s own words.

Quotation marks are not required unless

the material is presented word for word.

Just changing a few words from the

original doesn't count! That is still

plagiarism and not paraphrasing.

Is this plagiarism?

Original Source: “While it is not feasible to abandon the use of the automobile, foot patrol can and has been integrated by many agencies into their overall strategy.” [Gaines, L.; Kappeler, V., and Vaughn, J. (1999). Anderson: Cincinnati, OH. (p. 200).

Student paper: While most think it is not practical to completely get rid of patrol cars, many think that foot patrols can be used in agencies (Gaines, Kappeler, & Vaughn,1999, p. 200).

Yes No

Correct: This is plagiarism.

Obviously, using the exact sentence without a citation is plagiarism, but this example also is plagiarism. The student has merely changed a few words from the original statement. Even though the author was cited, the student followed the authors’ words so closely that is plagiarizing.

If this point is that important to your paper, the student you should quote the authors’ directly with the use of direct quotations and the appropriate citation.

Another way to paraphrase this point can be seen on the next slide.

Continue

Incorrect: This is plagiarism.

Obviously, using the exact sentence without a citation is plagiarism, but this example also is plagiarism. The student has merely changed a few words from the original statement without a citation.

Original Source: “While it is not feasible to abandon the use of the automobile, foot patrol can and has been integrated by many agencies into their overall strategy.” [Gaines, L.; Kappeler, V., and Vaughn, J. (1999). Anderson: Cincinnati, OH. (p. 200).

Student paper: While most think it is not practical to completely get rid of patrol cars, many think that foot patrols can be used in agencies.

Correct way to paraphrase:

Original source: “While it is not feasible to abandon the use of the automobile, foot patrol can and has been integrated by many agencies into their overall strategy.”

Paraphrase: Most departments continue to use automobiles to patrol because it is impossible to staff enough officers to use foot patrol alone. Most departments, however, have at least some officers who patrol on foot. (Gaines, Kappeler, & Vaughn,1999, p. 200).

Is this plagiarism?

Student paper: Most police officers who are

patrolling on the street wear uniforms.

No Yes

This probably is NOT plagiarism.

General knowledge does NOT have to be cited.

For example, George Washington was the first

president of the US.

General knowledge is tricky because there is a

degree of interpretation as to what is and what is

NOT a part of this category.

It is always better to be safe than sorry.

Is this plagiarism?

Student paper: The criminal justice system is

extremely costly to run and maintain.

Yes No

Correct -- because

This is a trick question. While the statement is generally common knowledge, this exact sentence was taken out of another source without a citation.

In order to cite it should read, “The criminal justice system is extremely costly to run and maintain”(Siegel, 2008, p. 11).

If the student has used information from this source and then fails to cite this sentence, the instructor will probably view it as intentional plagiarism.

Continue

Incorrect -- because

This is a trick question. While the statement is generally common knowledge, this exact sentence was taken out of another source without a citation.

In order to cite it should read, “The criminal justice system is extremely costly to run and maintain”(Siegel, 2008, p. 11).

If the student has used information from this source and then fails to cite this sentence, the instructor will probably view it as intentional plagiarism.

Is this plagiarism?

Student paper: Murder fell 39% in the US from

1990-1999.

Yes No

Correct -- because

Anytime a specific statistic is used, the author

must cite the source (table, page number,

web site or where ever the original “fact”

came from).

You must also provide a footnote for any

chart, graph, figure, picture or table taken

directly from another source.

Continue

Incorrect: This is plagiarism.

Anytime a specific statistic is used, the author

must cite the source (table, page number, web

site or where ever the original “fact” came

from).

You must also provide a footnote for any

chart, graph, figure, picture or table taken

directly from another source.

Is this plagiarism?

Student paper: After interviewing 5 victims as

assigned, 4 of them, or 80% were very

traumatized by their experience.

Yes No

Correct -- because

This is your conclusion based on your

assignment from the instructor to interview

victims. You are synthesizing the information

you gathered from the victims and reporting

it in your paper. You do not need to cite this

information.

Continue

Incorrect: This is not plagiarism.

This is your conclusion based on your assignment

from the instructor to interview victims. You are

synthesizing the information you gathered from the

victims and reporting it in your paper. You do not

need to cite this information.

Is this plagiarism?

Student paper states: After reviewing the papers assigned on fear of crime, most of the authors argue that women are more fearful than men. One of the problems with these studies, however, is that they fail to consider what types of crimes in their studies. Perhaps women are found to be more fearful because they are afraid of rape while men might be more afraid of robbery. In order to truly understand fear of crime, studies must look at specific types of crime.

Yes No

Correct -- because

This is your conclusion based on your

readings. You are analyzing the studies you

read and critiquing them. When you use

your own thoughts and words to analyze

material, it is NOT plagiarism, unless you are

using the words of someone else who has

made this critique.

Continue

Incorrect: This is not plagiarism.

This is your conclusion based on your readings. You

are analyzing the studies you read and critiquing

them. When you use your own thoughts and words

to analyze material, it is NOT plagiarism, unless

you are using the words of someone else who has

made this critique.

Is this plagiarism?

Student paper: It is clear that most of the

research on crime rates shows that crime

generally has declined in the past 20-25

years (Jones, 2005; Smith, 2007; Wilson,

2009).

Yes No

Correct -- because

This is the students’ original words and is a summary of his/her readings and they have cited the overall conclusions of several authors. When you use your own thoughts and words to summarize material is NOT plagiarism as long as you have cited the authors that you are summarizing.

Continue

Incorrect: This is not plagiarism.

This is the students’ original words and is a

summary of his/her readings and they have cited

the overall conclusions of several authors. When

you use your own thoughts and words to summarize

material is NOT plagiarism as long as you have

cited the authors that you are summarizing.

Is this plagiarism?

Student paper: (This statement was taken word for work from Wikipedia on the internet.) Several methods for measuring crime exist, including household surveys, hospital or insurance records, and compilations by police and similar law enforcement agencies.

Yes No

Correct -- because

It does not matter what the source of the

material is when it comes to rules about

plagiarism. Students must apply the same

rules to citing internet citations. The rules for

internet citations are still evolving so you may

want to ask your instructor how they want this

information documented.

Continue

Incorrect: This is plagiarism.

It does not matter what the source of the

material is when it comes to rules about

plagiarism. Students must apply the same

rules to citing internet citations. The rules for

internet citations are still evolving so you may

want to ask your instructor how they want this

information documented.

Use a citation when:

You use an original idea from one of your sources, whether you quote or paraphrase it

You summarize original ideas from one of your sources

You use factual information that is not common knowledge

You quote directly from a source

You use a date or fact that might be disputed

To avoid any accusation of plagiarism:

When in doubt cite the material

Be sure you understand the citation style required

by the instructor

If in doubt about citation expectations, talk to your

instructor

Take notes carefully and record all reference

information for your paper

Don’t allow yourself to fall for excuses:

I’m too busy. Everyone

does it.

No one will

know.

I’ll never get

caught.

I can’t do the

work.

Honor Pledge

I have reviewed the CRMJ/LAS plagiarism review. I will not steal, cheat, plagiarize, or do anything that would bring dishonor to myself or that would require a referral to Honors’ Court. I understand that if I commit these acts there will be consequences.

Click on this area to send an email to submit my honor pledge. In the body of the email, copy the above pledge. It MUST be sent from your UTC email address.