Plagiarism

=Plagiarism (Academic Integrity) (GWU EMSE 216-8000)=

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 * See also: ** Citation | Avoiding Plagiarism | Paraphrasing | Elements of Plagiarism | What to Reference | Where to Reference | TurnItIn | Free Plagiarism Checkers

InWork - Draft in progress. ToDo switch to numbering references.


 * From the EMSE Academic Integrity perspective, plagiarism includes three forms of Academic dishonety: 1) Lying, 2) Cheating, and 3) Stealing** (Ryan 2011, Slide 4). Plagiarism is passing off others ideas as one's own. Current interpretation includes expression of those ideas (need to put exact words in quotes).

For our disseration work, any of the elements of written plagiarism (as academically interpreted by EMSE) are unacceptable. It is not clear if one has to speak with parenthetical citations; however, major facts, etc. need to be referenced in proposal and dissertation defenses (see what to reference). End notes in speaking make less sense, but might be appropriate in some cases. However, plagiarism " rules hold whether you are writing drafts, posting to blackboard, presenting using Powerpoint, or writing a formal article or term paper. They always, always, always apply." (EMSE 8000 Syllabus, Spring 2011)

"**Plagiarism** is defined in dictionaries as "the wrongful appropriation, close imitation, or purloining and publication, of another author's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions, and the representation of them as one's own [|original work]." The modern concept of plagiarism as [|immoral] and [|originality] as an [|ideal] emerged in Europe only in the 18th century, particularly with the [|Romantic movement], while in the previous centuries authors and artists were encouraged to 'copy the masters as closely as possible" and avoid "unnecessary invention.'

"The 18th century new morals have been institutionalized and enforced prominently in the sectors of [|academia] and [|journalism], where plagiarism is now considered [|academic dishonesty] and a breach of [|journalistic ethics], subject to sanctions like [|expulsion] and other severe career damage. Not so in [|the arts], which have resisted in their long-established tradition of copying as a fundamental practice of the [|creative process], with plagiarism being still tolerated by 21st century artists.

" Plagiarism is not a [|crime] but is disapproved more on the grounds of [|moral] offence." - [|Wikipedia]

"Despite the 18th century new morals, and their current enforcement in the ethical codes of academia and journalism, the arts, by contrast, have resisted in their long-established tradition of copying as a fundamental practice of the creative process, and in the 21st century plagiarism is still tolerated by artists." - [|Wikipedia]

[|Read Plagiarism.Org FAQs] for a quick __ of the topics and assoicated topics. Be careful in taking them literally. With a quick read they seem to mix plagiarism, fraud, copyright infringement, exemptions, etc. a little to liberally for this author. Academics don't like dictionary definitions as sources; however, in the case of plagiarism, the original meaning of plagiarism (as represented in a historical dictionary) seems most correct. Other elements of (academic) plagiarism seem to have been incoporated for ease of assigning plagairistic culpability.


 * According to Meriam-Webster Online Dictionary,
 * to "plagiarize" means
 * "to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own **:** use (another's production) without crediting the source
 * "to commit literary theft **:** present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source" (Meriam-Webster 2011)
 * "plagiarism" means
 * "1) an act or instance of [|plagiarizing]. 2) something plagiarized.
 * According to Dictionary.com, "plagiarizism" means
 * 1) " the unauthorized use or close imitation of [|the] language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work.
 * 2) " something used and represented in this manner. " (Dictionary.com 2011) Encyclopedia Britannica defines plagiarism as
 * "** plagiarism ****,** the act of taking the writings of another person and passing them off as one’s own. The fraudulence is closely related to forgery and piracy—practices __ generally __ in violation of [|copyright laws].
 * "If only __ thoughts __ are duplicated, expressed in different words, there is no [|breach of contract]. Also, there is no breach if it can be proved that the duplicated wordage was arrived at independently." (Encyclopedia Britannica 20110
 * Webster's New World Law Dictionary defines plagiarism as "Copying or stealing someone elseÂ’s words or ideas and claiming or presenting them as if they were your own." (plagiarims (law definition) Webster's New World Law Dictionary)

There apprears to be a little difference in intepretation from the definitions, but the all the elements of plagiarism apply for EMSE academic work. ** EMSE's position ** is there is no unintential plagiarism. But Plagiarism.Org states "Perhaps the most common reason for inadvertent plagiarism is simply an ignorance of the proper forms of citation." (Plagiarism.Org 2011 {[|plagiarism prevention article]})

Plagiarism.Org has some good material. To start, see the [|What Is] (or this wiki Elements of Plagiarism) and [|FAQs] pages.

"Most of the plagiarism committed by students is unwitting and is due to their ignorance about what constitutes plagiarism. If you do not know exactly what plagiarism is, you cannot avoid doing it." (Barnaum undated) This article provides examaples of 5 types of plagiarism ~Copy & Paste, Word Swtich, Style~ (same order/outline), Metaphor (analogy) and Idea ("creative idea or solution")


 * "Public domain information is any idea or solution about which people in the field accept as general knowledge. For example, what a black hole is and how it is defined is general knowledge. You do not need to reference a general description of a black hole. The escape velocity of earth is also general knowledge and needs no reference. The approximate distance to the center of the Galaxy is also general knowledge. However, a new idea about how to look for black holes or a new solution to a physics problem needs to be attributed to the authors. If you don't know what is accepted as public domain in a particular field, ASK" (Barnaum undated)

EMSE Evaulations
 * "Two step source laundering does not help
 * "Changing the phrasing and doing a thesaurus attack only disguises plagiarism
 * "Good paraphrasing is essential
 * "Sloppiness is no excuse
 * "Scholars have a duty to be precise
 * "There is no such thing as accidental plagiarism" (Ryan 2011, Slide 18)
 * "Even if you provide the correct source," but don't include quotation marks, "this still constitutes plagiarism" (Ryan 2011, Slide 19)


 * Sources**
 * 1) Ryan, Julie J.C.H. D.Sc. (2011) Lecture/Presentation, March 8, 2011. Material taken in part from []
 * Ryan, Julie J.C.H. Doctoral Research: A Practical Guide to Selecting Your Topic, Developing Your Research, and Writing Your Dissertation. Unpublished work in progress, 2010
 * 1) Plagiarism. (2011, March 24). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved 16:21, March 27, 2011, from []
 * 2) Barnaum, C. Dr (undated) "A Student's Guide to Recognizing It and Avoiding It" Department of Physics and Astronomy, Valdosta State University. Galdosta, GA) Accessed March 27, 2011 from []
 * 3) Ryan, Julie Dr. and Barbera, Joseph Dr. EMSE 8000 (216) "Research Methods for the Engineering Manager, Spring 2011" (Course Syllabus, EMSE George Washington University, 2011)
 * 4) to plagiarize (2011) Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Accessed March 17, 2011 from []
 * 5) plagiarism (2011) Dictionary.com Accessed March 24, 2011 from []
 * 6) ToDo - Encyclopedia Britanica citation.
 * 7) plagiarism (law definition) Webster's New World Law Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
 * Provided by dictionary.com. Accessed March 27, 2011 from []
 * 1) Plagiarism (2011) Plagiarism.Org. Accessed March 17, 2011
 * from []
 * from []
 * 1) Horse of a different color (2011). UsingEnglish.com. Accessed March 17, 2011 13:19 from []
 * UsingEnglish.com defines the phrase as an idiom. One would think that idioms would fit into the common knowledge category and need not be cited. (Plagiarism.Org 2011 {[|FAQs article]})
 * 1) Dr. Barbera ( TBR rest ), EMSE 8000, Spring 2011. March 22, 2011.
 * 2) plagiarism (2011) Article from the Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed March 24, 2011 from []

Contributors: Sisson