Fair Use vs. Plagiarism
A Case Study
Plagiarism Defined
• Plagiarism is stealing or using the writing or ideas of
others as though they are one's own. The word comes
f
from
L
Latin,
ti plagium
l i
which
hi h means "kidnapping".
"kid
i "
• According to West's Encyclopedia of American Law,
plagiarism is "the
the act of appropriating the literary
composition of another author, or excerpts, ideas, or
passages therefrom, and passing the material off as one's
own creation.
ti
Plagiarism
Pl i i is
i theft
th ft off another
th person's
'
writing or ideas.
Source:
http://www.uwplatt.edu/library/reference/plagiarism.html
Errors Students Make
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Out and out copying.
Paraphrasing without attribution (simply re-wording is not enough).
Failing to attribute a quotation.
quotation
Misquoting.
Mixing the author's words with one's own.
Footnoting a paragraph with no indication of what came from whom or where.
Failing to document interviews. (Brownlee 27)
Downloading an official document from the Web, altering the language or data,
then submitting it with a research paper as supporting material. (Stebelman 3)
Unauthorized collaboration on an assignment that is supposed to be an
individual effort.
Source:
http://www.uwplatt.edu/library/reference/plagiarism.html
Reasons Students Cheat
•
•
•
•
•
•
Time pressures.
Grade pressures.
Leniency of professors (including allowing students to do independent work
without supervision).
Prevailing attitude that anything found on the Internet is "fair game" and in the
public domain
domain.
Lack of awareness of some types of plagiarism.
Lack of competence of student to do the work. (Love 5)
"...believe that, given enough time, resources, and motivation, all students are
capable of original work." (Johnson 552)
Source:
http://www.uwplatt.edu/library/reference/plagiarism.html
Plagiarism vs. Fair Use
• What is plagiarism?
p g
Q: Is it possible to plagiarize yourself?
Can you be penalized for doing so?
Q: Is plagiarism an ethical or a legal
issue? What are the legal repercussions?
Presentation by:
Mississippi State University
Division of Academic Outreach & Continuing Education
Some High-Profile
High Profile Cases of
Plagiarism
•
•
•
•
University of Ohio (2006)
39 mechanical engineering
students misuse sources in their
thesis and dissertation lit
reviews
36 of the students are
internationals
Stephen Ambrose (2002)
History of plagiarism abuse
revealed in 2002
Ambrose admits to footnoting
other authors while copying
their wording
•
•
•
•
•
Timothy Goeglein (2008)
Former White House aide
20 of 38 guest columns in Fort
W
Wayne
News-Sentinel
N
S ti l show
h
plagiarism
Goeglein resigns
Joe Biden (1988)
Plagiarized paper in law school;
received F in the course
Revelation of school plagiarism
and lifted passages from British
politician Neil Kinnock’s
speech end 1988 pres.
pres bid
Presentation by:
Mississippi State University
Division of Academic Outreach & Continuing Education
Plagiarism vs. Fair Use
• Copyright – “refers to a person’s right to
copy
py the work that he or she has created”;;
copyright holder is “entitled to profit from
the sale and distribution of that work”
(Technical Communication, 8th edition,
Markel))
Presentation by:
Mississippi State University
Division of Academic Outreach & Continuing Education
Plagiarism vs. Fair Use, Cont.
• Fair use (Technical Communication, 8th
edition,, Markel))
– Gives authors the ability to quote or paraphrase
a limited amount of information from a
published work without getting permission
– Purpose of criticism, commentary, news
reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research
– Governed by general guidelines only, can lead
to misinterpretation
Presentation by:
Mississippi State University
Division of Academic Outreach & Continuing Education
Plagiarism or Fair Use?
You decide.
Presentation by:
Mississippi State University
Division of Academic Outreach & Continuing Education
Brad Vice and The Bear Bryant
Funeral Train
•
1st plagiarism allegation against Vice discovered and reported in
October 2005 by two Alabama librarians; 2nd allegation reported by
Robert Clark Young (University of Phoenix) in New York Press ((“A
A
Charming Plagiarist,” 2005)
•
Case involved two short stories:
Vice’s “Tuscaloosa Knights” vs. Carl Carmer’s
“Tuscaloosa Nights” (Stars Fell on Alabama, 1934)
Vice’s
Vi
’ “Report
“R
t from
f
Junction”
J ti ” vs. Jim
Ji Dent’s
D t’ The
Th JJunction
ti
Boys (2000, St. Martin’s Press)
Presentation by:
Mississippi State University
Division of Academic Outreach & Continuing Education
Evidence
Carmer:
Moving under the edges of the
white robes were pants-leg ends
and shoes, hundreds of them. A
pair that buttoned and had cloth
tops, a heavy laced pair
splashed with mud,
mud canvas
sneakers, congress gaiters—a
yellow pair with knobby toes
swung past…. Knox laughed.
Vice:
Moving at the hem of the white
robes were pant legs and shoes,
dozens and dozens of shoes.
One pair of button-ups with
terrycloth tops, another heavylaced pair splashed with mud,
mud
brown work boots, canvas
sneakers, congress gaiters—
even a green pair with knobby
t
toes
swung past.
t Pinion
Pi i
chortled.
Presentation by:
Mississippi State University
Division of Academic Outreach & Continuing Education
More Evidence
Dent:
They often were victims of
screwworms, a parasitic
blowfly that would lay eggs in
the sores of the living animals.
The screwworms attached
themselves to the animal
animal’ss vital
organs and sucked out the life.
They sometimes would screw
themselves into the brain and
th exit
then
it through
th
h the
th eyeballs.
b ll
Vice:
Screwworms are the larvae of
blue-bellied blowflies, which
lay their eggs in the wounded
flesh of living animals. [T]hey
will screw themselves into the
vital organs and suck the life
right out. [T]he maggots will
most likely screw themselves
into the brain…before they exit
b k th
back
throughh its
it eyes.
Presentation by:
Mississippi State University
Division of Academic Outreach & Continuing Education
Robert Clark Young:
“When one compares ‘Tuscaloosa Knights’ to ‘Tuscaloosa
Nights,’ it becomes very difficult to accept Vice’s
contention that he doesn’t understand the meaning of fair
use. Not
N only
l does
d
h hold
he
h ld a PhD iin E
English,
li h andd not only
l
does he enforce university plagiarism rules when he grades
papers at [his university], and not only does his employer
expect him to model ethical behavior for his students,
students but
his lifting from Carmer is so breathtaking in its sweep that
Vice’s feigned ignorance starts to sound like that of the 18yyear-old college
g student who,, when confronted with a
heavily plagiarized paper, sheepishly claims, ‘I guess I
didn’t know where to put all of those quotation thingies.’
You knew, Brad, you knew.”
Presentation by:
Mississippi State University
Division of Academic Outreach & Continuing Education
Questions that Young
Q
g pposes:
“How could he have done something so stupid?”
“How couldn’t he have know that in the academy,
y, plagiarism
p g
is a
hanging offense?”
“Why didn’t he ever revise the plagiarism out of his stories, when
he had so manyy chances?”
“How could a plagiarist have gotten this far?”
(A Charming Plagiarist,
Plagiarist 2005)
Presentation by:
Mississippi State University
Division of Academic Outreach & Continuing Education
Four Guidelines Determining
Fair Use
Taken from Tech. Comm., 8th edition, Markel
Consider:
purpose
p
and character of the use,,
1. The p
especially whether the use is for profit. Profit
making organizations are scrutinized more carefully
than nonprofits.
Presentation by:
Mississippi State University
Division of Academic Outreach & Continuing Education
Four Guidelines Determining Fair
Use, Cont.
Taken from Tech. Comm., 8th edition, Markel
2. The nature and purpose of the copyrighted
work. When the information is essential to the
public– for example, medical information—fair use
is applied more liberally.
Presentation by:
Mississippi State University
Division of Academic Outreach & Continuing Education
Four Guidelines Determining Fair
Use, Cont.
Taken from Tech. Comm., 8th edition, Markel
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion of
the work used. A 200-word passage would be a
small portion of a book but a large portion of a 500word brochure.
Presentation by:
Mississippi State University
Division of Academic Outreach & Continuing Education
Four Guidelines Determining Fair
Use, Cont.
Taken from Tech. Comm., 8th edition, Markel
4. The effect of the use on the potential market
for the copyrighted work. Any use of the work
that is likely to hurt the author’s potential to profit
from the original work will probably not be
considered
id d fair
f i use.
Mississippi State University
Division of Academic Outreach & Continuing Education
Avoiding Plagiarism and Fair
Use Violations
Taken from Tech. Comm., 8th edition, Markel
• When in doubt, cite!
• Avoid paraphrasing the original work too closely.
fair-use
use concept (don
(don’tt rely
• Abide by the fair
excessively on another’s work).
• Seek permission from the original author.
• Consult legal counsel.
Presentation by:
Mississippi State University
Division of Academic Outreach & Continuing Education