We’ll look at---

Definitions

Consequences

Research Tips

DefinitionsMerriam-Webster Dictionary defines plagiarism as:

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

to use (another's production) without crediting the source

to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

Definitions We will cover these applications of plagiarism

today.

Most colleges and universities define what is considered plagiarism for their own institutions. You can often find this in the college catalog.

Our own college catalog has a section on plagiarism and the consequences

** http://www.plagiarism.org/plagiarism-101/what-is-plagiarism

RHC Catalog Cheating/Plagiarism Cheating is defined as obtaining or

attempting to obtain credit for work by the use of any dishonest, deceptive, fraudulent, or unauthorized means. Helping someone commit an act of academic dishonesty is also considered cheating. Examples include, but are not limited to:

1. Unacceptable exam behavior – communicating with fellow students, copying material from another student’s exam or allowing or using unauthorized materials, or any behavior that defeats the intent of an exam.

2. Plagiarism – taking the work of anothere and offering it as one’s own without giving credit to that source, whether that material is paraphrased or copied in verbatim or near verbatim.

**pg. 31, RHC Catalog, 2014-15

RHC Catalog 3. Unauthorized collaboration on a project,

homework, or other assignment where an instructor expressly forbids such collaboration.

4. Documentary falsification including forgery, altering of campus documents or records, tampering with grading procedures, fabricating lab assignments, or altering medical excuses.

RHC CatalogConsequences of cheating/plagiarism may include:

1. Receive an “F” in the course.

2. Receive a 0 on that assignment.

3. Be referred to the Dean of Student Life for further disciplinary action.

Intentional Plagiarism

Copy a friend's work [such as papers, tests]

Buying or borrowing papers

Cutting and pasting blocks of text without citing the source

Publishing the work on the web without permission of the creator

Intentional Plagiarism… [or not]

http://www.pyrczak.com/antiplagiarism/cartoons.htm

Unintentional

Incomplete or careless quoting or paraphrasing

None/incomplete documentation

Quoting too much from source

No use of your own ideas

Unintentional?

http://vetahrix009.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/plagiarism_3.gif

Common Knowledge An idea is common knowledge if:

The same idea can be found in the same form in several different sources (and all these sources aren’t getting the idea from one common, published source).

It is information that your readers most likely already possess (whether the information is accurate or a popular misconception).

It is factual information that is in the public domain, for example, widely known dates of historical events, facts that are cited in standard reference works, etc.

From “Teaching Guide for GSIs: preventing academic misconduct. http://gsi.berkeley.edu/teachingguide/misconduct/paraphrasing.html

Examples Common Knowledge:

John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States in 1960. [public fact, contained in many sources]

Not Common Knowledge:

According the American Family Leave Coalition’s new book, Family Issues and Congress, President Bush’s relationship with Congress has hindered family leave legislation (6). [information/opinion stated by an author]

Video Video on Unintentional Plagiarism [Cal Poly Pomona]:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNVg_V_QsMQ

Paraphrasing A work must be cited if:

The paraphrase retains all or most of the original author’s ideas or uses an idea from the original author that is not common knowledge.

The paraphrase retains the sequence of the original author’s ideas or arrangement of the material or it modifies the sequence of the ideas but retains central ideas and key phrases from the original.

The purpose of discussing the author’s ideas is to use them as an example of a particular point of view.

From “Teaching Guide for GSIs: preventing academic misconduct. http://gsi.berkeley.edu/teachingguide/misconduct/paraphrasing.html

Exercise on Paraphrasing See below for short exercise on paraphrasing [UC

Berkeley]

http://gsi.berkeley.edu/teachingguide/misconduct/exercise.html

Consequences of plagiarism Academic

Penalties Imposed by Instructors Lower grade for assignment, or failing in course

RHC Official Policies: 1. Receive an “F” in the course. 2. Receive a “Ø” (zero) on that assignment. 3. Be referred to the Dean of Student Affairs for further disciplinary action.

From RHC College Catalog, 2014-2015, p. 31.

Consequences of plagiarism Professional

Discrediting of work

Loss of license/ability to practice

Censure by profession/field

You lose, by losing out on the chance to learn as a student, and by loss of professional status/abilities as a professional.

Research Tips to Avoid Plagiarism Know the code of the institution you attend

Be familiar with our RHC code [p. 31, RHC College Catalog]

Give credit where credit is due

Exact words: use quotes for exact words of author Summaries: indicate sources of summaries of other’s ideas Paraphrases: indicate sources of paraphrase

Common Knowledge must be distinguished from ideas of others:

The Internet is common knowledge [not!]

Avoid minor changes in wording from a source. Changing one or two words is not sufficient, you must rewrite in your own words

Try to aim for creative work in your own words

Use the documentation style required for the assignment

Use MLA, APA or other required styles [see our guides here]

Begin assignments early enough to avoid sloppy citing or referencing of sources

Exercise Take the short quiz below:

http://www.csupomona.edu/~judicialaffairs/academic-integrity-resources/plagiarism-quiz.shtml

Questions? Other Sources for Information about Plagiarism

Vail Tutorial on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity

http://www-apps.umuc.edu/vailtutor/index.html

OWL Tutorial

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/02/

Links Paraphrasing Exercise [UC Berkeley]

http://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/academic-misconduct-intro/plagiarism/paraphrase-exercise/

OWL Is it Plagiarism yet? http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/02/

RHC College Catalog [p. 31 policy on academic integrity] http://www.riohondo.edu/wp-

content/uploads/2014/08/Academic-Guidelines.pdf

Video [Cal Poly Pomona] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNVg_V_QsMQ