PLAGIARISM

05/05/23

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PLAGIARISM the practice of using other people’s ideas

and works without appropriating the sources and passing it as one’s own works

it is a false assumption of authorship. Includes:

Presenting the work of others as one’s own work. Copying verses/figures/tables from another work

without citing the source.Using synonyms but copying the sentence

structure of a source without citing the source. Failure to put “quotation marks”. Incorrect citation information. Hiring someone to write your work

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However, plagiarism is a highly subjective concept relating to factors such as linguistic competence, culture, academic integrity, legal/regulatory frameworks and institutional governance etc.

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FORMS OF PLAGIARISM Intentional plagiarism occurs when writers know

well they are passing off someone else's words or ideas as their own.

Unintentional/accidental plagiarism is often the result of poor citation or referencing (lack of knowledge to do proper citation and referencing) or lack of understanding about what constitutes plagiarism

Self-plagiarism is the act of using one's own published or submitted work without mentioning the previous use or publication.

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DETECTING PLAGIARISMThe internet makes easier to commit

plagiarism… But at the same time it has made it easier to detect!

Use meta-search engines – those which access many search engines at the same time e.g. completeplanet

Use search engines such as:www.google.com, scholar.google.com etc

It is necessary to posses good search skills (e.g., phrase searching; use of Boolean operators – AND, OR, NOT; query modifiers – allintitle:, allintext:, site:domain ) 6

Use plagiarism detection software:www.scanmyessay.com www.articlechecker.com/etc.

However, most academic databases are part of the “Invisible Web” and neither search engines nor Internet plagiarism services have access to them.

Search specific databases including library catalogues, ETD etc.

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Manual detection - when supervisors use knowledge/skills to detect that a submitted work is composed of some parts that are not the author’s own

Look at:Writing style, language, vocabulary,

tone, grammar, etc. It doesn't sound like the student you know!

Look for gray letters in the text, often an indication that the page was downloaded from the web, as color letters on a screen show up gray in a printout

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Citations are made to materials not owned by your library! Using secondary citations without acknowledging through In: referencing

Citations can not be verified.Citations in the text are not included in the

list of references.Websites (urls) listed in citations are

inactive.A students can not identify citations or

provide copies of the cited material.A student can not explain what he/she has

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AVOIDING PLAGIARISM Teaching students proper writing skills Introducing information literacy /search

courses to students and staff ---- including proper citation styles (sometimes students are relatively better than staff in using the web!)

Introducing students to what plagiarism is….and the possible consequences

Formulate anti-plagiarism policies, laws/regulations

Libraries making research output available online e.g. ETD & grey literature

Institutions should acquire plagiarism detection software

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