Avoiding Plagiarism

The subject of plagiarism often causes a feeling of panic, but there is little to worry about as long as you know the following:

· what plagiarism is

· how to avoid it by using correct documentation.

Plagiarism is the use of words, facts, figures, ideas, graphics, etc. obtained from the work of others in such a way as to convey the impression that the material originated with you.

On the job or at an academic institution, plagiarism can lead to serious consequences. At work, it may lead to the loss of jobs and reputations. At school, there are serious academic penalties (see the student handbook for details). If you submit work that includes materials not originating with you, as in a research report, you can avoid problems by including complete documentation. Does this mean you have to document everything in a research report? Almost but not quite!

Information that is common knowledge in your field does not require documentation. Not sure what is common knowledge? If in doubt, it’s better to document too much than too little.

Ideas you developed yourself or information that results from your own work does not need documentation either, but it is important to make clear that it is yours. Words not in quotation marks, however, are assumed to be yours without further explanation.

Documentation is the use of an agreed format to show which material came from sources other than the report writer and also to show where that material came from.

If you understand the reasons for documentation and realize that they are based on honesty and common sense, you will not find documentation frustrating. Whether at work or at school, you document for the following reasons:

· Honesty and courtesy: to give credit to the person who wrote the words you are quoting or developed the ideas, information or graphics, etc. that you are using.

· Reliability: to enable readers to check your accuracy by comparing your material to the source that provided the material, and to enable readers to judge whether your sources themselves are reliable and up-to-date.

· Utility: to allow your readers to find your sources for themselves if they would like more information.

Put yourself in the writer’s place, and you will understand why careful documentation matters so much. Do you want others to make use of your ideas or words while giving the impression that such material originates with them? Do you want to deal with people who dishonestly claim to have done or written things they haven't? Do you want to read material you cannot check for reliability, or that you cannot use to obtain further information?

So what part does documentation play in ensuring that your reports are founded on honesty, courtesy, reliability and utility?

· It shows precisely where you obtained information, facts, figures, ideas and any words you quoted or graphics you copied or adapted. This is done by supplying brief notes within the paper indicating the source, combined with more detailed lists of works at the end.

· It shows which words you actually quoted. This is done by using quotation marks (for short quotations) or indented text (for longer quotations), along with the source.

· It shows where you included paraphrase (information taken from another source and expressed in your own words) and summary. These passages do not require quotation marks since the actual words of the source are not used, but the source of the information must still be shown.

Whether plagiarism occurs accidentally or deliberately makes no difference to the way your work is judged, since the effect is the same—credit has not been given for the words or information used.

Plagiarism is also plagiarism whether the whole paper is downloaded from the Web or a passage is quoted from a source without quotation marks as if the words were your own. Scissors and paste plagiarism occurs when the report writer, without using quotation marks, takes a passage and manipulates it in such a way that the original remains recognizable despite changes in words and phrases, word or sentence order, the insertion of other material, etc.

Of course, in any human endeavour, grey areas occur, but if you are in doubt as to whether or not you should document, it is always safer to do so.

You may find it helpful to see some examples. To make it clear why some are acceptable uses of sources and some are not, they have all been based on this brief text:

“However, our graduates also need to be effective communicators in their personal and social lives. Good communications skills enable people to understand better and to express their opinions, dissent, agreement, concern and knowledge in an effective and useful way.”

Here are some examples of acceptable documentation (shown using MLA citations):

· Quotation: "However, our graduates also need to be effective communicators in their personal and social lives. Good communications skills enable people to understand better and to express their opinions, dissent, agreement, concern and knowledge in an effective and useful way" (Smith 23).

· Paraphrase plus quotation: Smith believes that college graduates need communications skills outside the classroom and the workplace, where they must be able to express "opinions, dissent, agreement, concern and knowledge" effectively (23).

· Another example of paraphrase plus quotation: College graduates need communications skills outside the classroom and the workplace, where they must be able to express "opinions, dissent, agreement, concern and knowledge" effectively (Smith 23).

· Summary: Smith says college graduates need to be able to communicate effectively in a variety of personal and social situations (23).

Here are some examples of plagiarism:

· Quotation marks missing, implying that this is a paraphrase and that these are the words of the report-writer rather than the original (compare with 1 above): However, our graduates also need to be effective communicators in their personal and social lives. Good communications skills enable people to understand better and to express their opinions, dissent, agreement, concern and knowledge in an effective and useful way (Smith 23).

· Quotation marks missing, misleadingly implying that this is all paraphrase (compare with 2 above): Smith believes that college graduates need communications skills outside the classroom and the workplace, where they must be able to express opinions, dissent, agreement, concern and knowledge effectively (23).

· Source missing, suggesting that these are the ideas of the report writer rather than of the original: College graduates need to be able to communicate effectively in a variety of personal and social situations in which they must express their ideas, agreement or disagreement, interest and knowledge.

· Scissors and paste, implying that these are all the words of the report writer rather than bits and pieces from the original: However, graduates also need to be effective at communicating in their social and personal lives. Good communications skills enable people to understand better and to express their dissent, opinions, agreement, concern and information in useful and effective ways (Smith 23).

REMINDER: if you have quoted, it is not enough to give the source. You must give the source and put quotation marks around the quoted phrases or indent the whole passage if it is a lengthy one. If you have paraphrased or summarized the material in your own words, quotation marks are not required, but you must still give the source.

A sensible precaution, even if it is not required by your teacher or employer, is to print off all materials obtained from the Internet (the Web, email, etc.) and note the details of the source on the printout — Web pages may disappear or be altered at any time. If possible, also ensure that printed sources can be retrieved.

Avoiding plagiarism is just the beginning. Although avoiding plagiarism is essential to writing an acceptable report, it doesn’t guarantee excellence. A successful report isn’t a collection of source material loosely linked by sentences of your own, however honestly documented, nor is it an expression of your own ideas unsupported by evidence.

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