cambridge university library how to avoid plagiarism dr. emma coonan research skills librarian,...

Cambridge University Library

How to avoid plagiarismDr. Emma CoonanResearch Skills Librarian, Cambridge University Library

Varsity survey

Varsity, 31 October 2008

What is it?

… submitting as one’s own work that which derives in part or in its entirety from the work of others without due acknowledgement.

(University of Cambridge 2009)

… passing off someone else’s work as your own, whether intentionally or unintentionally, for your own benefit.

(Carroll 2002, p.40)

”

”

“

“

Examples of plagiarism

• quoting verbatim another person’s work without due acknowledgement of the source

• paraphrasing another person’s work by changing some of the words, or the order of the words, without due acknowledgement of the source

• using ideas taken from someone else without reference to the originator

• cutting and pasting from the Internet to make a pastiche of online sources

• submitting someone else’s work as part of a candidate’s own without identifying clearly who did the work

www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/plagiarism/students/statement.html

(University of Cambridge, 2008)

The bottom line

Ensuring that your readers can distinguish between your own and others’ thinking means that you:

• Give credit for the work you have built on

• Get credit for the work you have done yourself

Case study: inadvertent plagiarism

• Student lost track of time and could not locate useful resources close to deadline

• Searched the internet, avoiding essay banks

• Cut-and-pasted information for own reference, but didn’t identify text as direct quotation

• Paraphrased sources, but didn’t cite properly

Case study: inadvertent plagiarism

Detection software found a high match with an internet source and identified the work as plagiarised …

… and identified the student as a plagiarist.

What caused it?

• Problems locating resources

• Poor evaluation of website content

• Note-taking issues

• Poor citation practice

Finding and evaluating resources

Get to know your sources

• Talk to your supervisor/DoS

• Explore the eresources@cambridge subject lists: www.lib.cam.ac.uk/electronicresources

Know where to find help

• Talk to librarians

• Find classes and online study skills modules: www.skills.cam.ac.uk

Note-taking

Make sure you can identify:

• Which parts of your notes are quotations (including single significant words)

• Which parts are paraphrases of the author’s points

• Which parts of your own writing are a response to the argument or directly inspired by ideas in the text

Will you be able to tell the difference in a month’s time?

Paraphrasing (‘patchworking’)

Mixing other people’s ideas and words in with your own:

• shows you have read and assimilated the required reading

• strengthens your argument

• allows you to maintain your ‘flow’ of writing

But where you have drawn on someone else’s work you must always cite it.

Common scenarios

Scenario 1

I copied the material straight from the web because my English is not very good, and I wanted to make sure you understood what I was trying to say.

“”

(Collins 2002, p.21)

Scenario 2

It is my work. I’ve changed the words in the article to my own. Isn’t that enough? “ ”

(Collins 2002, p.43)

Scenario 3

I had a student this week who admitted the plagiarism but said he wasn’t to blame because the person he copied from didn’t tell him it was plagiarised …

“”

(Collins 2002, p.5)

Referencing

© evaxebra www.flickr.com

In-text citation: a short ‘pointer’ to the full entry at the point in your text where

you quote or paraphrase

PLUS

Full entry in a bibliography or reference list: this entry should contain all the details necessary for a

reader to follow up your sources.

You must give both parts of the reference to avoid committing plagiarism.

A reference consists of two elements

In-text citations

These may appear actually in your text, as parenthetical citations –

“In a recent study of parenthetical citation practice (Walker, 2007) argued that …”

- or as footnotes or endnotes1.

(Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page; endnotes at the end of your paper or dissertation.)

1. Anthony Grafton, The Footnote: A Curious History (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997).

Reference list vs. bibliography

• References = works cited

Only contains the items you’ve made specific reference to in your work

• Bibliography = works consulted

A list of everything you read to prepare for the assignment. It contains all the items you’ve cited plus sources that you found useful but didn’t cite

(Neville 2007, pp.13-14)

Citation styles

Your school or department will probably have a preferred or citation style. It might even be mandatory to use a particular style.

Do you know which one you should use …

… or where to find out?

www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/plagiarism/students/depts.html

Where do you draw the line?

More on when to reference

• Common knowledge

• Secondary referencing

• Autoplagiarism

Common knowledge

You don’t need to cite a source if you’re stating a fact that:

• is widely accessible - you may not know the total population of China, but you would be able to find the answer easily from numerous sources

• is likely to be known by a lot of people

• can be found in a general reference resource, such as a dictionary or encyclopedia

www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/plagiarism/students/referencing/commonknowledge.html

(University of Cambridge, 2008)

Common knowledge

Statement: Pterosaurs were the flying reptiles of the dinosaur age

Citation: ‘Everyone' knows this, so no citation is needed.

Statement: Even the largest pterosaurs may have been able to take off simply by spreading their wings whilst facing into a moderate breeze.

Citation: Wilkinson, M.T., Unwin, D.M. and Ellington, C.P. (2005). High lift function of the pteroid bone and forewings of pterosaurs. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

(University of Cambridge, 2008)

Secondary referencing

• You find a useful quotation from another source in the item you’re reading, and can’t locate the original source.

• Make it clear in your text that you are relying on an intermediary source!

Murray’s conclusion (2003, p.65) supported the views of White (2001) on genetic abnormalities in crops.“ ”

(Pears & Shields, 2005)

Autoplagiarism

Where to get help …

• School or department referencing guidelines (essential!)

• University Offices: plagarism informationwww.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/plagiarism

• Skills directory:www.skills.cam.ac.uk

• CUSU study skills: www.cusu.cam.ac.uk/academic/studyskills

• Libraries and librarianswww.lib.cam.ac.uk/Courses and departmental library sites

Bibliography

Carroll, Jude. A Handbook for Deterring Plagiarism in Higher Education. Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development, 2002.

Li, Xia. Electronic Style: A Guide to Citing Electronic Information. Westport: Meckler, 1993.

Lipson, Charles. Doing Honest Work in College: How to Prepare Citations, Avoid Plagiarism, and Achieve Real Academic Success. 2nd ed. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2008.

Neville, Colin. The Complete Guide to Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism. 3 January 2007. http://www.myilibrary.com/Browse/open.asp?ID=112960&loc=i (accessed 30 January 2009).

Bibliography

Pears, Richard, and Graham Shields. Cite Them Right: the Essential Referencing Guide. Rev. ed. Newcastle: Pear Tree, 2008.

Stothard, Michael. “‘1 in 2’ Admits to Plagiarism.” Varsity 31 Oct. 2008: 1-2.

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 7th ed. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2007.

Research Skills Programme

At www.lib.cam.ac.uk/Courses/ you can …

• Find our timetable of subject-based sessions

• Book for hands-on information skills classes

• Request one-to-one training

• Download these slides and other handouts

E-mail us at research-skills@lib.cam.ac.uk