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Academic Integrity @ UW

Leeanne RomaneSystems Design Engineering Librarianlromane@library.uwaterloo.ca

Presented at ExpecTAtions Winter 2007.

Created by Anne Fullerton, Chemical Engineering Librarian. Revised Sept. 2006

What it means. How to strengthen yours.

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Questions I’ll Address:

• What’s Academic Integrity? Plagiarism?

• Why do people plagiarize?

• How can you detect plagiarism?

• If you detect plagiarism, what then?

• How can you help your students avoid plagiarism?

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Academic Integrity

When you submit academic work, you are saying:

“This work is my own except whereI have given full and explicit acknowledgement

of other people’s work.”

Plagiarism and Referencing Standards, Leeds University.

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• Reference list at the end of a thesis, research paper, report etc. Correctly and accurately constructed [style guide].

• In text references credit ideas that belong to others.

Examples: Smith and Smith (1999) emphasised the importance .....

The faster webpages downloaded, the more usable the site was. (Pritzker and Budman, 2003).

Using sources correctly adds value to your work – it’s evidence

that you have read the peer reviewed literature; gives your ideas authority.

By synthesizing ideas from several sources - you make conclusions and construct your own ideas. That’s evidence of thinking! And it is the process by which we learn.

Examples of Academic Integrity

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ParaphraseGoal: to put someone’s ideas in your own words

1. Don’t use same sentence structure2. Don’t substitute words here and there3. Avoid using the author’s keywords or unusual words4. Credit the source. 5. If you can’t paraphrase it, quote it directly* and use

quotation marks “ ”

* maximum 5 lines; 1 quote per page

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Original text

The craft of hurricane forecasting advanced rapidly in the sixties and early seventies, thanks to fast computers and new atmospheric modeling techniques. Now there is a lull in the progress, strangely parallel to the lull in the storm cycle. The National Hurricane Warning Center shoots for a 24-hour warning period, with 12 daylight hours for evacuation. At that remove, it can usually predict landfall within 100 miles either way. Longer lead times mean much larger landfall error, and that is counterproductive. He who misses his predictions cries wolf.

(From "Our Barrier Islands," by William H. MacLeish, Smithsonian, Sept. 1980, p. 54.)

Is this paraphrase OK?

Hurricane forecasting made rapid progress in the 60s and 70s due to fast computers and new atmospheric techniques, but there is now a lull in the progress. The Warning Center tries for a 24-hour warning period, including 12 hours of daylight. That close to the storm’s arrival, the Warning Center can usually predict landfall within 100 miles either way. If lead times are longer, there will be a much larger error, which will be counter-productive (MacLeish 54).

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Original text

The craft of hurricane forecasting advanced rapidly in the sixties and early seventies, thanks to fast computers and new atmospheric modeling techniques. Now there is a lull in the progress, strangely parallel to the lull in the storm cycle. The National Hurricane Warning Center shoots for a 24-hour warning period, with 12 daylight hours for evacuation. At that remove, it can usually predict landfall within 100 miles either way. Longer lead times mean much larger landfall error, and that is counterproductive. He who misses his predictions cries wolf.

(From "Our Barrier Islands," by William H. MacLeish, Smithsonian, Sept. 1980, p. 54.)

Hurricane forecasting made

rapid progress in the 60s and 70s due to fast computers and new atmospheric techniques, but there is now a lull in the progress. The Warning Center tries for a 24-hour warning period, including 12 hours of daylight. That close to the storm’s arrival, the Warning Center can usually predict landfall within 100 miles either way. If lead times are longer, there will be a much larger error, which will be counter-productive (MacLeish 54).

No – it’s Plagiarized Unacceptable Paraphrasing. Why? Duplicates original sentence structure. Several phrases stolen word for word.

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Acceptable paraphrasing: uses different language & sentence structure from the original [original text]

During the past forty years, powerful computers and new techniques which allow modeling of the atmosphere have significantly increased the accuracy of hurricane forecasting, though there have been no improvements in forecasting during the past few years. However, now it is possible to predict where a hurricane will hit land with an error of not more than 100 miles if a warning of 24 hours is allowed. If more than 24 hours is required, the error will be greater. Repeated forecasting errors will cause the public to ignore the warnings (MacLeish 54).

lull in the progress

landfall

sixties and early seventies fast

atmospheric modeling techniques

MacLeish gets credit for the ideas.

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Summarize

Goal: condense the essential points of someone else's work into your own words. Short piece of writing compared to a paraphrase.

Summarize or Paraphrase or Quote??? How much detail from your source is relevant to

your argument? e.g. If your reader needs only the basic facts, then summarize.

More Info: http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/CiLL/refchoice.htm

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2 Summaries - which is acceptable?

Hurricane warnings can be provided within a 24-hour warning period, with 12 hours of daylight for evacuation, and can identify landfall within 100 miles (MacLeish 54).

Using computers and new techniques which allow modeling of the atmosphere, forecasters can now provide a 24-hour hurricane warning and predict where a storm will hit with an error of not more than 100 miles (MacLeish 54).

Examples adapted from:University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. 2001. Avoiding Plagiarism. [online] Retrieved September 18, 2006 from http://www.usip.edu/writing/plagrsm.html

Plagiarised from original

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Plagiarism

“Words and ideas are the property of their authors. Plagiarism is theft of property.”

Avoiding plagiarism,University of the Sciences in Philadelphia

Including:

• print material and words and ideas in electronic form • program code, html code etc. which you copy or adapt• facts, statistics, opinions, lines of argument, examples,

research results - any source of information

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UW Policy 71 - Student Academic Discipline

“A university is a community of scholars in which knowledge is generated and disseminated through scholarship and teaching. All members of the community - faculty, students and staff - are bound to conduct themselves with honesty, integrity, fairness and a concern for others. Any action which unnecessarily impedes the scholarly activities of members of the University is an offence punishable by appropriate disciplinary action which, in the case of students, is described in this policy.”

http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy71.htm

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Why People Plagiarize

• weak research skills• confuse paraphrasing and plagiarism• careless notetaking• confusion about how to cite sources• copy and paste is so easy• author says it better than I can• time pressures• high personal expectations• group collaboration vs collusion• cultural differences

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How You Can Detect Plagiarism

• notice writing style changes in a paper• recognizes the text because you know

the research literature on the topic.

• detection software: turnitin • Google search, journal search engines

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Consequences of Plagiarism and other academic offences

UW Policy 71 -- Student Academic Discipline Policy

One or more of these disciplinary penalties imposed:

• A warning; note in your file• Failing grade submitted• Disciplinary probation until you graduate• Grades erased or degrees revoked• Suspension for 3 years• Expulsion (permanent); recorded on transcripts

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Consequences of Plagiarism (2)

“Last semester, two students plagiarized papers in my class.

They stole 15 hours of my time from my other

students..If I had not had to track down their sources, print and save evidence, consult...I’d have had other students’ papers back to them sooner.”

“Plagiarism not only wastes time, ..it destroys trust.

I’ll be more suspicious of my future students because of the dishonesty of these two”

Professor, Virginia Tech University

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Consequences of Plagiarism (3)

Blocks and hinders –

• the learning of course and research materials The struggle to put ideas into your own words is

part of the process of learning – or constructing meaning.

• the development of the academic skills which are needed for success in grad studies or at work.

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How to Strengthen Academic Integrity

• Take careful, meticulous notes. Document everything.

• Place quotation marks around anything you copy word-for-word and record where you found it.

• When paraphrasing, you don’t need quotation marks but you must credit the original source.

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How to Strengthen Academic Integrity (2)

• weak research skills• confusion about how to

cite sources

Your Liaison Librarian Consultations & Instruction

Library Info Desk staff

• time pressures• careless notetaking• high personal expectations

Supervisor Counselling Services Short courses- time management;

notetaking, etc.

Discussions with a counsellor

Are there: Then Talk to:

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How to Strengthen Academic Integrity (3)

Is there:

• confusion about paraphrasing and plagiarism? • other academic writing concerns?

Then investigate:

Grad student services @ UW Writing Clinic

Writing courses English Language Institute- Renison College

English 109 (Academic Writing) ESL 102R (Intro to Error Correction In Writing)Continuing Ed. (ENGL 001) A Framework for Writing (online course)

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Here’s an exercise. Why bother???? Because skill development takes work & time!

Choose a sentence from an article you are reading:

1. Read the original text.2. Think about it’s meaning.3. Look away from the original (rely on memory).4. Write down the idea in you own words.5. Check your version with the original for content, accuracy and

mistakenly borrowed phrases.

This is an excellent exercise during lab or for homework.

Discuss the results together.

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Test Your Understanding of Academic Integrity, Paraphrasing & Plagiarism

Was this PowerPoint presentation with web links helpful?

Please let me know. Leeanne Romane lromane@library.uwaterloo.ca

QuizAcademic Integrity

Answer 10 questions. Check your score results & correct answers. Try the test again – no limits. Substitute: UW Policy 71 – Student Academic Discipline for York's Senate Policy on Academic Honesty

Practice Paraphrasing

A B

Decide if the student writing is plagiarism. Get immediate, detailed feedback on your answers.NOTE: A and B each link to 3 different original sources.

Questions?

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Questions

• What else should UW do to discourage academic dishonesty?

  • Have you (or someone you know) ever

faced what you think of as an ethical dilemma relating to academic integrity? What kinds of dilemmas?