Academic Honesty: Avoiding Plagiarism in Academic Writing

Westminster International University in Tashkent

A plagiarism case

in show business

Outline
What is plagiarism? Students reasons for plagiarising Ways of avoiding plagiarism Common knowledge or intellectual property? Referencing in academic writing

What is plagiarism?
comes from Latin word plagiarius an abductor, and plagiare, to steal (HNN, 2008 ) someones ideas, thoughts or findings are used or presented without any referencing and acknowledgment. violates the rights of an author whose ideas, thoughts or findings were used without giving any credit for his work.

Why do students plagiarise?

1. They are afraid of failing. 2. They think that their own ideas are not as good as those of others. 3. They have no confidence in their own writing ability in English. 4. They are not familiar with the techniques of referencing. 5. They cannot manage their time effectively. 6. They think there is nothing unethical about it.

How to avoid plagiarising?

You need to develop your own
research skills writing skills

personal skills

Research skills
thinking about the question/topic and using your own ideas and experience
managing the information you collect from sources developing an effective note-taking system

Writing skills
planning drafting and redrafting referencing quoting paraphrasing summarising editing

Personal skills
time management
talking to teachers asking for help

acting on feedback

Plagiarism - are you at risk?

Successful paraphrasing

Practical activities on avoiding plagiarism

paraphrasing is used instead of a direct quotation in a paraphrase, the meaning is the same as in the original text but the words are different a reference to a paraphrase must be provided

An example of paraphrasing
Original Source Material
Technology has significantly transformed education at several major turning points in our history. In the broadest sense, the first technology was the of figures in the sand with a stick were methods used to communicate -- yes, even to educate.

primitive modes of communication used by prehistoric people before the development of spoken language. Mime, gestures, grunts, and drawing
Taken from: Frick, T., (1991). Restructuring Education Through Technology. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation.

A paraphrase
According to Frick (1991),one of the earliest technologies was non-verbal signs that our prehistoric ancestors used before spoken language emerged.

Avoiding plagiarism
Successful quoting
should be properly incorporated in academic research a correct reference is provided

has an appropriate length

Examples of direct quotes:

The domestication of dogs long predated the domestication of other animals. (Sheldrake, 1999, p.5).
Sheldrake (1999) asserts that the domestication of dogs long predated that of other animals. (p.5).

Common knowledge or intellectual property?

Material is normally considered common knowledge if its something most people already know or could easily be found in a general reference source (Tensen, n.d. cited in SCC, 2008)

Examples of common knowledge

Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan.

World War 1 began in 1914.

Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911.

A cow has four stomachs.

Uzbekistan became independent in 1991.

(Adapted from Tensen, n.d. cited in SCC, 2008)

Referencing in academic writing

shows that you have done some research on a topic

acknowledges someones ideas and work helps to refer to works or findings of other scholars
Adapted from Hania Salter-Dvorak, 2008

What do you need to include in a bibliography?

Printed books
Author/editors surname and initials., (Year of publication). Title of book: including subtitles. (in italics or underlined) Edition. (if applicable) Place of publication: (followed by a colon) Name of publisher.

E-journal article accessed via website on the open Internet Authors surname, initials., (Year of print publication). Title of article. Name of journal. (in italics or underlined) Date of print publication (if applicable, e.g. May/June) Volume number (in bold) Page numbers. (or online equivalent) [online] Available from: <URL>
[Accessed (enter date you viewed the article)].

Bibliography
Copyright, (2007). Extreme Gall. [online] Available from: http://benedict.com/Audio/Vanilla/Vanilla.aspx[Accessed 3 May 2008]. History News Network (HNN), (2008). The American Historical Associations (AHA) Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct. [online] George Mason University. Available from: <http://www.hnn.us/articles/514.html> [Accessed 1 May 2008]. Martin, B., (2004). Plagiarism: policy against cheating or policy for learning? [online] University of Wollongong. Available from: <http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/pubs/04ppdf> [Accessed 1 May 2008]. Salter-Dvorak, H., (2008). What is Successful Academic Writing? EAP lecture delivered on 25th April 2008 Seminole Community College (SCC),(2008). Avoid plagiarism through practice, Available from: <http://www.scc-fl.edu/english/plagiarism/> [Accessed 28th April 2008].