Writing and Plagiarism

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Writing and Plagiarism
Keele University Postgraduate Students Induction

• (For EU students)
• Stephen Bostock and Mike Brough

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Summary

• What is it?
• Why is it a problem?
• Keeles position
• How is technology involved?
• The regulations

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• Regulations
• http//www.keele.ac.uk/admin/ps/governance/acts/Re
  gulations/Reg208.htm
• Guide to the plagiarism regulations
• http//www.keele.ac.uk/depts/aa/landt/docs/guideto
  regs.pdf

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Plagiarism

• Literary theft, cheating, copying
• Passing off someone elses work or ideas as ones
  own, without giving them credit or
  acknowledgement
• Intentional or not
• Including
• Plagiarising published/ web sources
• Plagiphrasing patching text together from
  different sources or reworking a single source
• Colluding (not collaborating)
• Fraudulent authorship

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Plagiarism definition

• To pass off someone elses work as your own,
  without acknowledgement of the source

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Including

• Copy a paragraph exactly
• Copy a paragraph and replace a few words
• Create a paragraph by copying sentences from
  other sources
• All these are wrong unless copied text is in
  quotes and the sources are acknowledged.
• If an idea but not text is being re-used, no
  quotes are possible but you still need to
  acknowledge the source.

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An example

• One purpose is attempt to shock, to generate
  awareness - focusing on urban lifestyles and
  living, resource utilization etc. Secondly, to
  build scenarios if criteria used to define the
  footprints are changed, or resource utilization
  reduced, how does it affect the footprints?
  Finally, to evaluate and monitor policies and
  programs (Rees, 2001). What footprints have
  particular policies and programs generated? If
  their structure is changed and modified, or new
  policies put in place, how are footprints
  affected?

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Examples of good practice

• If you use someones words put them in quotes and
  give the source (publication, page)
• If you use someones ideas in your own words,
  give the source (publication, page)
• If you use your own words for your own ideas,
  great! (Justify them with argument or evidence.)

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Why is this a problem?

• For the student
• failure to achieve academic learning outcomes
• treated as academic misconduct
• For the teacher
• a waste of time, an irritation
• For the institution
• threat to reputation and value of degrees
• QA, regulations, and legislative context

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Collaboration and collusion

• Collaboration is encouraged even in preparation
  for individual assessed writing
• Academic discussion, sharing sources, proof
  reading
• Collusion is shared work but claimed to be
  individual
• Sharing text, drafts or final copies, paper or
  digital
• Sharing answers or ideas that lead to the same
  answer when there is a right answer
• Technical editing, redrafting by others
• Where to draw the line may vary with discipline
  and with assignment check with your tutor.
• Acknowledge any help you got including proof
  reading (in an Acknowledgements statement)

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Keeles position

• Keele is a scholarly community with a culture of
  research and teaching The pursuit of truth in
  the company of friends.
• Plagiarism (or collusion) is serious misconduct.
• We (the University and the students Union) want
  to raise student expectations of scholarly
  writing, providing guidance teaching.
• Staff will set a good example in their own
  materials.
• Regulations and procedures are applied
  consistently across the University.
• Each School has an Academic Conduct Officer.
• Software supports the detection/confirmation of
  plagiarism or collusion.

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Technology

• Electronic writing makes it easier to plagiarize
• Web documents give more opportunity cheat Web
  sites
• Internet communication widens the geographical
  scope but
• Technology also aids detection

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Turnitin www.submit.ac.uk

• The Plagiarism Detection Service detects use of
  the web, collusion within and between cohorts,
  and published text books.
• A demonstration web site open to all.
• Guides for teachers and students are available.
• Keele licenses its use Schools use it to provide
  consistent evidence.
• Students should expect to have work checked
  without notice, either to investigate a suspicion
  or (occasionally) to screen a whole cohort of
  work.

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Web sites

• Sources on plagiarismhttp//www.keele.ac.uk/depts
  /aa/landt/links/plagiarism.htm
• Keele regulations and guidancehttp//www.keele.ac
  .uk/depts/aa/regulationshandbook/reg8.htmcheating
  http//www.keele.ac.uk/depts/aa/regulationshandbo
  ok/plagiarism.htmhttp//www.keele.ac.uk/depts/aa/
  regulationshandbook/cheating.htm
• The Keele key skills package has a section on
  plagiarism http//www.learn.keele.ac.uk/lskills/TL
  TP3/entersite.html
• Postgraduate induction materials (SB,
  MB)http//www.keele.ac.uk/depts/aa/landt/pg/index
  .htm
• Frequently asked questions on assessmenthttp//w
  ww.keele.ac.uk/depts/aa/regulationshandbook/faqs.h
  tmassess

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References and reading

• 1. From Academic writing for graduate students by
  Swales and Feale, University of Michigan, 1993
• 2. Colon, A. 2001 Avoid the pitfalls of
  plagiarism, Writer 114 (1) p. 8
• 3. JISC Plagiarism project 2001
  http//online.northumbria.ac.uk/faculties/art/inf
  ormation_studies/Imri/Jiscpas/site/jiscpas.asp
  including A guide to good practice by Jude
  Carroll Jon Appleton
• 4. Park, C. 2003 In other (peoples) words
  plagiarism by university students literature
  and lessons, Assessment and Evaluation in HE 28
  (5) 471-488
• 5. Franklyn-Stokes, A. and Newstead, S.E. 1995
  Undergraduate cheating who does what and why,
  Studies in Higher Education, 20 (2)