Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Student Information Niagara College

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Student Information Niagara College 1

What is in this presentation This information is designed to: v v v Ensure students are aware of our policy on Student Academic Misbehaviour Clarify what is and isn’t plagiarism; both INTENTIONAL and UNINTENTIONAL Provide students with key strategies to minimize UNITENTIONAL plagiarism Topics covered include: 2 What is Academic Integrity? 3 -4 Niagara College policy on Student Academic Misconduct 5 -11 What is plagiarism and why do students plagiarize 12 -15 Academic writing – essays and assignments 16 -18 What is and isn’t plagiarism (more detail) Interactive Quiz 19 -22 Seven strategies to help prevent unintended plagiarism 23 -36 References and links to more detailed online resources 37

What is Academic Integrity? The commitment, even in the face of adversity, to five fundamental values: (Center for Academic Integrity ) v Honesty, v Trust, v Fairness, v Respect, and v Responsibility. 3 “Theses values go beyond simply not cheating or plagiarizing. They mean that you are responsible for your own learning and have an obligation to be honest -- with yourself and others; and a responsibility to treat other students and your professors with respect and fairness. ”

Why is it important? ICAI conference guests discuss the importance of academic integrity. Filmed during the ICAI 2008 International Conference in Myrtle Beach http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=x. Sfm. WIl. Eh. Sg 4

Let’s look at the Niagara College Policy on Student Academic Misconduct The Niagara College policy (1999)provides examples of student academic misconduct related to: A: Exams and Tests B: Laboratory Work C: Essays and Assignments 5 See policy here: Student Academic Misconduct

A: Exams and Tests – Misconduct These behaviours are always INTENTIONAL Often called CHEATING 6 l Impersonation of a candidate in an examination or test l Copying from another student or making information available to other students knowing that this is to be submitted as the borrower's own work l Possession of unauthorized material during a test or exam l Submission of a take-home examination written by someone else.

B: Laboratory – Misconduct These behaviours are always INTENTIONAL Often called CHEATING l l Copying a laboratory report or allowing someone else to copy one's report Using another student's data unless specifically allowed by the Faculty Allowing someone else to do the lab work Faking a report or fabricating data. These behaviours may be INTENTIONAL Often referred to as PLAGIARISM l 7 Using direct quotations or sections of paraphrased material in a lab report without acknowledgment

C: Essay and Assignment – Misconduct These behaviours are always INTENTIONAL Often called CHEATING l l l Submitting an essay written in whole or in part by someone else as one's own Preparing an essay or assignment for submission by another student Copying an essay or assignment, or allowing one's essay or assignment to be copied by someone else The buying or selling of term papers or assignments Submitting the same piece of work in more than one course without the permission of the faculty Submitting all or part of a computer program without major modifications of one's own. These behaviours may be INTENTIONAL Often referred to as PLAGIARISM 8 l Using direct quotations or sections of paraphrased material without acknowledgment

Note: Collaboration and Group Assignments l Student academic misconduct should be distinguished from cooperation and collaboration. l Students may be permitted/expected to work on assignments collectively and to present results either collectively or separately. l This is not a problem as long as it is clearly understood whose work is being presented, e. g. formal acknowledgment by footnoting. Watch out for collusion! Acting with another person with intent to deceive l 9 Remember: academic misconduct rules apply to group assignments. Make sure the final submission has been vetted and approved by all groups members to avoid consequences that could occur as a result of plagiarism…. . Plan enough time for this to happen effectively.

What are the formal consequences identified in our policy? Student academic misconduct is a serious offence and will not be tolerated. The minimum penalty for a first offence is a mark of “ 0” for the work involved. Second incident could result in removal from course A formal process is involved, including information that goes with your student record at Registrars’ Office and stays for two years Informal but significant consequence Your Personal integrity and reputation. Is it worth it? 10

Note: “The college reserves the right to assess academic misconduct penalties up to and including course, program or college suspension depending on either the nature of the incident or the cumulative effect of a subsequent incident. ” Niagara College Student Academic Misconduct Policy 1999 The student will be formally notified of any suspensions. 11

What is plagiarism? 12 l Plagiarism is using the words or ideas of others and presenting them as your own. l Plagiarism is a type of intellectual theft. l It can take many forms, from deliberate cheating to accidentally copying from a source without acknowledgement.

We generally associate Plagiarism with Assignments and Essays Why? In any post-secondary institution, students are expected use intellectual thinking process as a critical component of producing their own “original work”. This is ACADEMIC WRITING 13

Academic writing involves l INTELLECTUAL THINKING PROCESSES Researching, understanding, selecting, summarizing, interpreting, organizing and expanding on the work of others 14 l REWORKING the information and l INTEGRATING it into your own original thoughts and insights l ACKNOWLEDGING the work of others

What is the intellectual challenge of Academic Writing? You must develop a topic based on what has already been said and written 15 BUT Write something new and original You must rely on the opinions and work of experts and authorities BUT Improve or disagree With those thoughts You must give credit to the work of others BUT Make your own adequate contribution BUT Use your own words and voice You must improve your language skills to mirror “academic style”

Why is plagiarism a concern? l Prevents the development of academic skills l Does not recognize the work of others l Often a sign of underlying academic weaknesses – so sometimes is unintentional Bigger issue: It’s unethical 16 Undermines and devalues the credibility and worth of the course Unfair to the students who have taken the time to produce their own work and/or study for assignments

Why do students plagiarize? l Weak Writing and Research Skills e. g. Lack of research skills, confusion with paraphrasing l Misunderstanding key concepts e. g. Confusion about what is and isn’t plagiarism, common knowledge l External factors e. g. Competition for scholarships, family pressure l Internal Factors e. g. Poor time management and procrastination l Cultural Factors e. g. Different values related to plagiarism in different cultures 17 http: //guides. library. ualberta. ca/content. php? pid=62200&sid=457755

How not to plagiarize? First: Be aware of what is and isn’t plagiarism 18 Then use these key strategies: 1: Plan your work 2: Work on weak academic skills 3: Learn how to acknowledge your sources 4: Learn how to incorporate the work of others (summarizing and paraphrasing) 5: Use quotations correctly 6: Learn to take notes effectively from other sources 7: Use best practices for research and drafting (summary of most of the above strategies)

Be aware of what is and isn’t plagiarism l Plagiarism is using the words or ideas of others and presenting them as your own. l Plagiarism may vary in terms of INTENT ( whether the student is consciously trying to cheat) – EXTENT (how much of the content is plagiarized) However, both intentional AND unintentional plagiarism are violations of Niagara College Academic Honesty policy – 19 l Many students plagiarise unintentionally. l Unintentional plagiarism can result from not knowing how to acknowledge/incorporate sources of information, careless note-taking, or cut/past from electronic sources.

Some common forms of plagiarism l Submitting the following as your own work – – l Not acknowledging the work of others – – 20 Downloading an assignment from an online source Buying, stealing or borrowing an assignment Copying a section of a book, article or website Copying, cutting and pasting text from electronic sources Using exact sentences/paragraphs from others without acknowledgement Putting someone’s ideas into your words without acknowledging source Using your ideas, but heavy reliance on others without acknowledging Relying too much on other people’s material

Take one of these tests to see if you know what plagiarism is A quiz on Plagiarism and Collusion–Deakin University http: //www. deakin. edu. au/current-students/study-support/studyskills/plagiarism-test/index. php University on New South Wales – Sydney, Australia http: //www. lc. unsw. edu. au/plagiarism/plagquiz. html 21

Once you know what plagiarism is Use these strategies to Reduce UNINTENTIONED PLAGIARISM 22

Strategy 1: Plan your work l Plan ahead and begin writing your assignments well before they are due. l Leaving work until the last minute doesn't give you enough time to read, digest, form your own ideas and write information in your own words. l When students rush to meet a tight deadline, they are more likely to plagiarise unintentionally or succumb to the temptation to 'cut and paste' information directly from electronic resources. Here’s some suggestion to improve time management http: //www. lc. unsw. edu. au/plagiarism/how_2. html 23

Strategy 2: Improve weak academic skills Many incidents of plagiarism occur because of underdeveloped academic skills For example: v. Lack of confidence in using your own words v. Difficulty focusing your answer v. Lack of critical and analytical skills v. Inadequate note-taking, research and referencing skills v. Poor writing skills Here’s some suggestions for strategies that might help http: //www. lc. unsw. edu. au/plagiarism/how. html 24

Strategy 3: Learn how to reference work of others Make sure your assignments are referenced correctly. § Cite and reference the words, ideas or information from other sources used in your assignments - acknowledges their contribution Why? § § § http: //www. deakin. edu. au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/why-reference. php Acknowledges contribution of others Provides credibility to your work and supports your insights Demonstrates adequate research and reading on your part Must be accurate – so reader can find information Must use acceptable styles – usually APA or MLA 25

What do you need to reference? When you are using words or ideas from: 26 l Books and Journal articles; l Newspapers, Magazines, Pamphlets or Brochures; l Films, Documentaries, Television programs or Advertisements; l Web pages or computer-based resources; l Letters or emails; l Personal interviews or lecturers l Any reprinted diagrams, illustrations, charts or pictures. FAQ http: //www. uts. edu. a u/teachlearn/avoidin gplagiarism/faqs/ind ex. html#11

What don’t you need to reference? l Writing your observations/experiment results (e. g. field trip report) l Writing about your own experiences (e. g. a reflective journal); l Writing your own thoughts, comments or conclusions in an assignment; l When you are evaluating or offering your own analysis; l When you are using 'common knowledge' (facts found in numerous places/likely to be known by many people) or folklore; l When you are using generally accepted facts or information Check out this tutorial “You Quote it, You Note it!” 27 http: //library. acadiau. ca/tutorials/plagiarism/

Strategy 4: Learn how to incorporate the work of others into your own work In addition to knowing rules for referencing, you also need to understand how to effectively integrate material in your writing. Important writing skills that avoid plagiarism are Paraphrasing and Summarizing Why? 28 Expressing information or ideas in your own words demonstrates that you have understood, absorbed, and have interpreted the information.

Paraphrasing A paraphrase is usually on a short section of text. It keeps the meaning of the text but uses different words. It is an alternative to using direct quotations and helps students to integrate evidence and source material into their assignments. Paraphrasing is also a useful skill for: v v v 29 Making notes from readings, Note-taking in lectures, and Explaining information in tables, charts and diagrams.

How to paraphrase Check out this link to find out How to paraphrase ( Six steps) v Paraphrase examples and exercises v From Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) Paraphrasing is a valuable skill because. . . http: //owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/619/1/ It helps you control the temptation to quote too much It helps you to flow your words more effectively The intellectual processes involved help you to understand the original work 30

Plagiarism by Paraphrasing Risk Quiz “ The most common form of college-level plagiarism is not produced by intentional theft of another's ideas. For predictable reasons, it happens when students try to paraphrase published scholarly sources. ” (Goucher College writing program) Take this interactive quiz to see if you can distinguish paraphrasing from plagiarism http: //faculty. goucher. edu/writingprogram/sgarrett/Default. html 31

Summarizing 32 l A summary is an overview of a text. l The main idea is given, but the details and examples are left out – thus reducing the text to it’s most important ideas l Summarizing is a useful skill for making notes during lectures or from readings, writing an synopsis and incorporating materials

Key steps in summarizing Summaries will vary according to the length of the original text, how much information you need and how selective you are How to summarize? v v v Read the text and highlight the main points as you read Reread the text, make notes of the main points but leave out any examples or specific details. . Finally, without the text, rewrite your notes in your own words; restate the main idea plus major points When to summarize? v v v 33 v To identify the main points of someone else's work in your own words, without the details or examples. To reduce author's ideas into fewer words than original To briefly give examples of differing points of view on a topic. To support the ideas that you are presenting in your own writing

Strategy 5: Use quotations correctly A quotation is an exact reproduction of spoken or written words. Direct quotes can provide strong evidence, act as an authoritative voice, or support a writer's statements. Check this link to determine how and when to quote http: //www. lc. unsw. edu. au/onlib/sumpara. html#sumpara 2 34

Strategy 6: Make effective notes from sources Unintentionally plagiarism often occurs when students take 'word-for-word' notes then reproduce these in their assignments. Minimize accidental plagiarism by take notes carefully. Develop a system to distinguish between: – what you have copied directly from a source, – what you have noted in your own words, – your own comments about the material. Effective Note making from Written Text 35 http: //www. lc. unsw. edu. au/onlib/notemake. html

Strategy 7: Use Best practices for Research and Drafting Good practices not only help avoid plagiarism, but improve the efficiency and organization of your research and writing. Check this link for Best Practice for Research and Drafting http: //owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/589/03/ Topics include: v v v v 36 Reading and note-taking Interviewing and Conversing Writing, Paraphrasing and Summarizing Writing Direct Quotes Writing about other’s ideas Maintaining Drafts Revising, Proofreading and Finalizing your paper

Key References Materials have been developed from these resources Explore these links to get detailed information related to plagiarism concepts 1: Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana, U. S. A. Online Writing Lab (OWL) 2: http: //owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/589/1/ The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia Learning Centre http: //www. lc. unsw. edu. au/plagiarism/index. html 3: Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia http: //www. deakin. edu. au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/why-reference. php 4: International Centre for Academic Integrity, Clemson University Center for Academic Integrity 5: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta Library Guide http: //guides. library. ualberta. ca/content. php? pid=62200&sid=457755 37