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Students' Guide to Preventing and Avoiding Plagiarism
Merriam-Webster's
Online Dictionary defines Plagiarism using another's words and ideas and
passing them on as your own. Words, ideas, or knowledge are considered the
Intellectual Property of the original author. U.S. Copyright Law protects the author.
When others, including students, use an author's work and present it as their own
without giving proper credit, they are dishonest, and this leads to plagiarism. Over
the past years, with the increase in the use of technology and the Internet to research
and write term papers, students have discovered how much easier and faster it is
cut and paste online information with little regard to citing sources. As a result,
plagiarism is on the rise. Statistics from research and online plagiarism detection
services, such as Plagiarism.Org, support this fact.
See
http://www.plagiarism.org/facts.html
for more statistical information.
C.W. Post plagiarism policies
Most educational institutions have codes of conduct that are in place to deal with
academic honesty. Plagiarism is usually included in these policies.
Following are the various policies currently in effect at the C.W. Post Campus of
Long Island University:
From the Undergraduate Bulletin (2002-2004, p. 13),
"Academic Dishonesty"
"Academic dishonesty is unacceptable, and condemned in the strongest
possible terms. It undermines the bonds of trust and honesty between members
of the community and defrauds those who may eventually depend upon our
knowledge and integrity. Such dishonesty consists of any of the following:
"Cheating - using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or
study aids in any academic activity.
"Fabrication - unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or
citation in an academic activity.
"Plagiarism - representing the words or ideas of another as one's own in any
academic activity.
"Facilitating academic dishonesty - helping or attempting to help another to
cheat, fabricate, or plagiarize.
"Academic dishonesty may be punishable by a range of penalties, including
failure in the course and expulsion from the University."
From the Graduate Bulletin (2005-2007, p.16), "Academic
Irregularities"
"In cases of academic irregularities or dishonesty in examinations or class work,
responsibility for disciplinary action is assigned to the appropriate Academic
Dean. Plagiarism and cheating are not only serious violations of the rules, but
also may reflect adversely on the student's reputation as well as on the reputation
of the Campus. Faculty, administrators and the student body share responsibility
for academic integrity. A student in violation of accepted academic procedures
may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion from the
Campus. Faculty members will report to the Academic Dean any case of
irregular or dishonest behavior that occurs in the class or in or her observation.
Students may likewise make such a report to the faculty member or dean. The
Academic Dean will decide what disposition is to be made of the charges.
Requests for appeals may be made to the Student/Faculty Appeals Board.
"In the case of a minor infraction that is the student's first disciplinary offense,
the Dean may authorize the faculty member to dispose of the charges, limiting
the maximum penalty to failure in the course. The faculty member will make a
report of the incident and the action taken to the Dean and the Judicial Affairs
Coordinator.
"In the case of a major infraction, or in the case of repeat academic offenses,
the student may be subject to suspension or expulsion from the Campus. If
current non-academic disciplinary action is pending for a student, further
disciplinary action may result, up to and including expulsion from the Campus."
From the College of Management
"Not only is plagiarism a practice that is unacceptable, but also it is condemned
in the strongest terms possible on the basis of moral, educational and legal
grounds. Under University policy, the offense of plagiarism may be punishable
by a range of penalties up to and including failure in the course and expulsion
from the University." (Undergraduate Bulletin 2004-2006, p.147)
"Plagiarism is a practice that is not only unacceptable, but which is to be
condemned in the strongest terms possible on the basis of moral, educational
and legal grounds. Under University policy, plagiarism may be punishable by a
range of penalties up to and including failure in the course and expulsion from
the University." (Graduate Bulletin 2005-2007, p.108)
From the College of Information and Computer Science
"Academic Conduct: Academic irregularities or dishonesty, such as plagiarism
and cheating, may result in an automatic failure in a course and dismissal from
the program." (Graduate Bulletin 2003-2005, p.34 and
Palmer School of Library and Information Science Graduate Bulletin, 2005-2007, p.7)
"Academic Conduct: Academic irregularities or dishonesty may result in
dismissal from the program. Severe infractions such as plagiarism and cheating
will result in immediate dismissal from the program." (Doctor of Philosophy in
Information Studies Program Handbook 2004-2005, p.12 & p.13)
What constitutes plagiarism:
- Turning in another person's work as your own, and this includes a
paper from free website
- Copying a paper, an excerpt, a paragraph, or a line from a source
without proper acknowledgement (these can be from a print source,
such as a book, journal, monograph, map, chart, or pamphlet, or from a nonprint source, such as the
web and online databases
- Taking materials from a source, supplying proper documentation, but
leaving out quotation marks
- Paraphrasing materials from a source without documentation of that source
- Purchasing a paper from a research service or a commercial term paper mill
- Sharing or swapping from a local source (from student papers that
were previously submitted)
- Creating invalid or faked citations
- What will happen to you if you plagiarize?
- You may have to:
- Repeat the assignment
- Fail the course
- Face possible suspension
How can you avoid plagiarizing?
Acknowledge sources by giving credit. If you don't, intentionally or not, it is plagiarism.
What are some sources that need to be credited or acknowledged?
Books, periodicals, pamphlets, charts, statistics, maps, interviews, television, radio,
Internet, online databases, and many other types of material. When credit is properly
attributed, you reduce the chance of plagiarizing.
Some tips on preventing plagiarism:
Be organized - from the onset of a research project, establish order while
gathering information. This will help to alleviate confusion and problems, especially when
the time comes for the bibliography, works cited, and reference pages to be prepared.
Use a note card to identify the following:
- Source (citation) - common sources:
- Book: Author, Title, Publisher, Place and Year of publication
- Periodical: Author, Title of Article and Periodical, Year, Vol. Issue and Pages
- Internet: URL/Web Address, Author ,Title, and the Date site was accessed
- Quotes - note the page numbers, enclose quoted material in
quotation marks, and include a link to the source.
- Paraphrasing/Summarizing - in your notes, indicate points and ideas
in your own words and, again, create a parenthetical reference to the source.
To cite, use the Citation Style page on the Library Homepage:
http://www.cwpost.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citation.htm
Remember:
- If the information is factual or well documented, (e.g. John F. Kennedy
was a democrat), then it not imperative to cite.
- If the information requires credit or documentation, cite it.
- Information on the Internet, including research papers from
paper mills, is available to all (student and professor).
- Professors are experts in their fields, and knowledgeable about current and past research.
If you need additional assistance consult:
By adhering to the five principles of the
ethos statement:
"respect for oneself, respect for others, respect for property, respect for authority,
and honesty," charges for ethical misconduct such as plagiarism can be prevented.
Amrita Madray
February 2006
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