1 QMU’s Approach to Plagiarism including using Support - [email protected].

1

QMU’s Approach to Plagiarismincluding using

Support - [email protected]

2

Overview

• What is plagiarism?• How to cite/reference• What does plagiarism look like?• Turnitin - an introduction• Originality reports• Where to get help

3

Definition of plagiarism at QMU:

“The presentation by an individual of another person’s ideas or work (in any medium, published or unpublished) as though they were his or her own.”

Academic Handbook, QMU

4

Plagiarism = Stealing of ideas and labour

Many cases in the arts end up in court

One recent case in fiction:

• Kaavya Viswanathan v Megan F McCafferty• It was alleged that Viswanathan “borrowed” at least

29 bits and pieces from two novels by McCafferty• Viswanathan claimed it was accidental and

apologised but her publishers withdrew the contract and cancelled all publicity and a film deal

5

The Academic Context The student who cuts and pastes from a website has used

someone else’s work to gain an unfair advantage over their fellow students.

You won’t end up in court but:

“Serious cases of cheating and plagiarism will be referred for consideration through the University’s disciplinary procedure. Undertaking fraudulent practices can result in a student being required to leave the University.”

(QMU Assessment Regulations 21.6)

6

Good practice involves:• using books and articles as a source of

information and citing all materials. (If you need to copy someone else’s words, put them into quotation marks and provide a reference*)

• explaining the main points, comparing and contrasting the views of different authors

• adding your own comments and opinions.

* This will ensure that you are not perceived as copying anyone’s work and will gain you better marks

7

How to cite in text – an overview

• citation is an acknowledgement of the work or the ideas of someone else

• the way used at QMU to cite is to put the name of the author, and the date of publication, in the text of your work (Smith 2010).

• at the end of your work, you generate a list of these references:

SMITH, N. 2010. The Great European Crisis. 2nd ed. London: Penguin

8

Paraphrasing – a quick overview

• paraphrasing is putting someone else’s work and ideas into your own words

• sometimes students only change one or two words and this is considered as plagiarism, even if there is a reference to the original work

• one of the best ways is to read a paragraph and then close the book and write the paragraph in your own words.

(Don’t forget to cite the original work!)

What does plagiarism look like?

• Original Text from Mennell (1996, p.17):

Tastes in food, like those of music, are socially shaped.

• In student’s assignment:

Tastes in food, like those of music, are socially shaped.

IS THIS PLAGIARISM? WHY?

9

What does plagiarism look like?

• Original Text from Mennell (1996, p.17):

Tastes in food, like those of music, are socially shaped.

• In student’s assignment:

Tastes in food, like those of music, are socially shaped (Mennell 1996).

IS THIS PLAGIARISM? WHY?

10

What does plagiarism look like?

• Original Text from Mennell (1996, p.17):

Tastes in food, like those of music, are socially shaped.

• In student’s assignment:

Food tastes, like music tastes, are socially shaped (Mennell 1996).

IS THIS PLAGIARISM? WHY?

11

What does plagiarism look like?

• Original Text from Mennell (1996, p.17):

Tastes in food, like those of music, are socially shaped.

• In student’s assignment:

Society helps to form fashions in both food and music (Mennell 1996).

IS THIS PLAGIARISM? WHY?

12

What does plagiarism look like?

• Original Text from Mennell (1996, p.17):

Tastes in food, like those of music, are socially shaped.

• In student’s assignment:

“Tastes in food, like those of music, are socially shaped” (Mennell 1996, p.17).

IS THIS PLAGIARISM? WHY?

13

• TiiUK compares submitted work against:

14

Turnitin – An introduction

• and generates an “originality report” …..

Millions of web pages including all of Wikipedia

Articles from over 10,000 newspapers,

periodicals and journals

All UK Institutions

Student Paper Database

15

Sample Report

16

This is OK – it’s referenced

This is OK – it’s seven words, the minimum match

This is referenced but the paraphrasing could be improved

This is OK – it’s referenced but might be improved with quotes

17

Problem area – no reference, no paraphrasing. This is plagiarism.

What if I have a problem?

More information can be found on the Plagiarism Wiki at:

https://sites.google.com/a/qmu.ac.uk/plagiarism/home

Two places to get help:

LRC front desk OR [email protected]

18