Academic Writing 1:Plagiarism

NTH001christopher.kullenberg@theorysc.gu.se

Definition:pla·gia·rize

1. To use and pass off (the ideas or writings of another) as one's own

2. To appropriate for use as one's own passages or ideas from (another)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Plagiarism• Plagiarism is representing one’s writing as original when it

is not

• It is a form of academic dishonesty and a serious offence within academia– Within education– Within research

• It leads to professional & disciplinary action

Main types of plagiarism

Copying text chunks/sentences without reference Copying texts/sentences with reference but without

quotation marks Direct translations with no references or quotation marks Close paraphrasing of other texts by changing presentation

order or altering a few words Appropiating as one’s own someone elses’key term or ’catch

phrase’

The central idea• See further “by standing on the shoulders of Giants” but

attribute (Newton to Hooke, 5 Feb 1676)• When you summarise an idea or an argument, make sure

you use your own words• When you refer to someone else’s ideas, use clear

referencing (Kullenberg 2012)• When you use someone else’s words, make it clear that

they are by using referencing & quotation marks “someone else’s words” (Kullenberg 2011)

Two kinds of plagiarism:Intentional plagiarism & Uncareful plagiarism

• Both are plagiarism & both are forbidden

• What is and what is not plagiarism not always clear or self-evident

• Common traps – translation from one language to another – copy-pasting– meshing two ideas into one elegant hybrid sentence– note-taking - take note but give reference

• Cases where plagiarising has been intentional, the students have mostly been under pressure

• Avoid last-minute deadline desperation - ask for an extension

• Do not worry about whether Your written English is not good enough – while we care about presentational style and will not restrict our comment to content, we are not language teachers

Two kinds of plagiarism:Intentional plagiarism & Uncareful plagiarism

URKU

ND

(Source: www.urkund.se/SE/funktion.asp, accessed 110110)

Internet

Published material

Student material

Students

Urkundsystem

Teacher

What will happen?

1. Your program coordinator is informed.2. Meeting with me and chief of department. Possibility

to explain oneself. You may bring a friend, a fellow student or a representative of the student association (Kåren)

3. Report to headmaster of the University of Gothenburg4. Referral (if needed) to the disciplinary council and an

advisory decision5. Decision from headmaster: exclusion from studies for a

period of time (4 weeks – totally)

How to avoid it – by referencing (Harvard system)

• Quotation marks: It has been claimed that “while plagiarism can and should be understood relative to the educational system that produces it, its consequences for students are often severe” (Eriksson 2010, p. 2).

• Indentation: It has been claimed that

while plagiarism can and should be understood relative to the educational system that produces it, its consequences for students are often severe (Eriksson 2010, p. 2).

• Embedded reference: Eriksson in her article Cheating as Culture (2010), stresses that “while plagiarism can and should be understood relative to the educational system that produces it, its consequences for students are often severe” (p. 2).

Always Add a Bibliography(see “Template for seminar reports” at GUL)

Books:Author, Initials/first name., Year. Title of book. Edition. [only include this if not the first edition]

Place: Publisher. Kuhn, Thomas., 1970. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 2nd edition. Chicago: Chicago

University Press.

Journal article:Author, Initials., Year. Title of article. Full Title of Journal, Volume number (Issue/Part number),

Page numbers. MacKenzie, Donald., 1978. Statistical Theory and Social Interests: A Case-Study. Social Studies of

Science, 8 (1), 35-83.

Chapter(s) in edited books:Chapter author(s) surname(s) and initials. Year of chapter. Title of chapter followed by ”In” Book

editor(s) initials and surnames with ed. or eds. after the last name. Year of book. Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher. Chapter number or first and last page numbers followed by full-stop.

Smith, J., 1975. A source of information. In W. Jones, ed. One hundred and one ways to find information about health. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 33-73.