In Our Own Words:
Plagiarism Interventions @
The University of Texas Libraries
Michele Ostrow, Meghan Sitar, and Cindy Fisher
Library Instruction Services
Goals for Today
1. Learn about the nature
and extent of plagiarism.
2. Learn about approaches
to programs for plagiarism
prevention that can be modified and adapted for other
libraries.
3. Learn about ways to support teachers/faculty to create
“plagiarism proof” assignments
Dalton, K. (2009). Goal Posts.
Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/katiedee/3644929496/
Defining Our Problem and Our
Environment
Grayson, D. (2006). Problems are Opportunities.
Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/donnagrayson/195244498/
Defining Our Problem and Our
Environment
Obstacle #1
Faculty expected students to
enter college with an
understanding of how and when
to cite their sources
Coles, S. (2008). Interrobang.
Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/stewf/2886229996/
Defining Our Problem and Our
Environment
Obstacle #2
Students were expected to
uphold the university honor
code, which claims academic
integrity (and thus plagiarism) as
part of it.
Coles, S. (2008). Interrobang.
Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/stewf/2886229996/
Defining Our Problem and Our
Environment
Obstacle #3
No one on campus was
providing training to help either
of our constituents demystify
academic integrity generally and
plagiarism specifically.
Coles, S. (2008). Interrobang.
Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/stewf/2886229996/
A Little Bit of Background
J, M. (2008). History (80/366).
Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/chealion/2349587639/
Resulting Programs and Initiatives
• Peer-led Freshman Interest
Group (FIG) Plagiarism
Training
• Drop-in Library Workshops
• Online Plagiarism and
Citation Tutorials
College, C. L. B. (2011). Hands shooting sparks.
Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/11303774@N08/5390215267/
Potential Partners
• Teaching faculty and
graduate students
• Undergraduates
• One-on-one
• Student organizations
• Campus departments
• Student-focused help
centers
fountain, gem. (2007). holding hands.
Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/23236076@N06/2226398871/
Size Doesn’t Matter
Abraham, S. (2007) Size doesn’t matter.
Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/shimrit/1479655102/
Potential Stakeholders
• Who values your work?
• Who has a stake in
student success?
• How can you engage
them?
Ahlefeldt-Laurvig, F. (2010). Statistics about statistics about...
Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/hikingartist/4769199272/
Possibilities for Outreach
• Professional
development seminars
• Teacher in-service
trainings
• Student groups, such
as student government
• New teacher or faculty
orientations
Thorn, J. (2005). reaching.
Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/joethorn/290760357/
Think about the situation at your own institution,
including potential stakeholders and partners.
Then discuss your situation with your neighbor for
additional insights.
Working with students
Drop-in Workshops
Online Tutorial
Training Peer Mentors for
First-Year Interest Groups (FIGS)
McNally, S. (n.d.). “Plagiarism: Getting in Trouble for Something You Didn’t Do.” - Threadless.com. Retrieved April 13, 2011,
from http://www.threadless.com/product/2351/Plagiarism_Getting_in_Trouble_for_Something_You_Didn_t_Do
Defining the problem
“One of the problems as written was ‘Captain Kirk
was sitting on the bridge of the USS Enterprise…’”
Plagiarism of the Week featuring Patton Oswalt & Barack Obama. (2010). . Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OqBMTMb3dE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Self-plagiarism
Deja vu: Medline duplicate publication database. (n.d.). . Retrieved April 11, 2011, from
http://dejavu.vbi.vt.edu/dejavu/
What is the multiple submission policy?
• Reusing your own papers without permission
is considered scholastic dishonesty
• “You may not submit a substantially similar
paper or project for credit in two (or more)
courses unless expressly authorized to do so
by your instructor(s).”
Section 11-802(b) of the Institutional Rules on Student Services and Activities,
http://registrar.utexas.edu/catalogs/gi07-08/app/appc03.html
Why is it a problem?
Image from Amazon.com
Callahan, D. (2004). The
Cheating Culture: Why
More Americans Are Doing
Wrong to Get Ahead (1st
ed.). Orlando: Harcourt.
2008/09 @ UT
421 Academic Cases Referred
145 Cases of Plagiarism
http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/downloads/discproc_academic.pdf
2008/09 @ UT
44.9% of
academic
violators had
a GPA of 3.0
or higher
http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/downloads/discproc_academic.pdf
2008/09 @ UT
International
students
represented as
ethnicity
U of Minnesota:
85% of cases
involve
international
students
Holt, S. (2010, December 17). Responding to Non-Native Speakers of English. Teaching with
Writing: University of Minnesota. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from
http://writing.umn.edu/tww/responding_grading/nonnative/nn_speakers.html
Storytelling: Young writers
She claims it’s “mixing,”
not plagiarism.
Image from Jezebel.com
In 2010, 17 year-old
author Helene Hegemann
was accused of lifting an
entire page from a lesserknown author’s work.
Kulish, N. (2010, February 11). Author, 17, Says It’s “Mixing,” Not Plagiarism. The New York Times.
Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/world/europe/12germany.html
Storytelling: Professional writers
Image from Posner.com
In February 2010, Gerald Posner
resigned from his position at The
Daily Beast after Slate identified
several instances of plagiarism in
his work. Posner claimed that the
“warp speed” of publishing on the
web and mistakes in identifying
the words of others in his
electronic notes led to
“inadvertent” plagiarism.
Posner, Gerald. “My Resignation from The Daily Beast.” The Posner File 10 Feb 2010. Web. 15
Feb 2010.
Shafer, Jack. “Plagiarism at the Daily Beast: Gerald Posner concedes lifting from the Miami
Herald.” Slate Magazine 5 Feb 2010. Web. 15 Feb 2010
Storytelling: Academics
In 2005, a former Ohio University graduate student
uncovered 55 master’s theses from the engineering
department that appeared to include plagiarism. In
2007, the University revoked the master’s degree of
one of the accused. It was recommended that 12
other of the theses be rewritten.
Wasley, P. (2006, August 11). The Plagiarism Hunter. The Chronicle of Higher Education, A8.
Wasley, P. (2007, April 6). Ohio U. Revokes Degree for Plagiarism. The Chronicle of Higher
Education, A15.
Storytelling: Popular images
•2008: The Associated Press contacted
HOPE poster artist Shepard Fairey,
demanding payment for uncredited and
unlicensed use of the AP photo used as
the basis of the poster image and
threatening a copyright infringement
suit.
•2009: Fairey filed a suit against the AP
requesting a declarative judgment that
he was protected under fair use
AP Photo/Mannie Garcia/ Shepard Fairey
guidelines.
•The AP and Fairey settled in January
2011.
Italie, Hillel. “AP Accuses Obama Artist Shepard Fairey Of Copyright Infringement.” The Huffington Post 4 Feb
2009. Web. 15 Feb 2010.
Kennedy, Randy. “Shepard Fairey and The A.P. Settle Legal Dispute.” The New York Times 12 Jan. 2011. Web. 1
Mar. 2011.
Pogrebin, Robin. “Artist Is Facing Criminal Probe Over His Use of Obama Photo.” The New York Times 27 Jan
2010. NYTimes.com. Web. 15 Feb 2010.
Storytelling: Sources for
Discussion Starters
• Wikipedia: List of Plagiarism
Controversies
• Cheating Culture Blog: Plagiarism
• Regret the Error Blog: Plagiarism
• Design examples from
You Thought We Wouldn’t Notice
• Music examples from Gelf Magazine
Storytelling Activity:
Discussion Starters
• Review the handout of potential
discussion starters
• Which stories would resonate with your
students or patrons? Why?
• Do you have other stories we should add
to this list?
• Turn to the person next to you and share
your thoughts.
Sharing Strategies & Expertise
Strategies: Tutorial
Strategies: Tutorial
Strategies: FIGs and Drop-ins
Image from Amazon.com
Harris, R. A. (2001). The
Plagiarism Handbook:
Strategies for Preventing,
Detecting, and Dealing
With Plagiarism (1st ed.).
Pyrczak Publishing.
Cite It? Game
YES
on one
side
NO
on the
other
Source for dry-erase table tents - $14.99 for 50
Cite it?
During a lecture in your RTF class, your professor
mentions the results of a study she is about to
publish about the impact of television on
toddlers. You use the information in your paper
for that class.
Harris, Robert A. "Using Sources Quiz." The Plagiarism Handbook. Los Angeles:
Pyrczak Publishing, 2001. 143-144.
Cite it?
During a lecture in your RTF class, your professor
mentions the results of a study she is about to
publish about the impact of television on
toddlers. You use the information in your paper
for that class.
Cite it! Even though the professor knows what
you are talking about because it is her study, you
still need to cite it because it isn’t your work or
your idea.
Harris, Robert A. "Using Sources Quiz." The Plagiarism Handbook. Los Angeles:
Pyrczak Publishing, 2001. 143-144.
Cite it?
You quote from an interview you conducted
with your grandmother.
Harris, Robert A. "Using Sources Quiz." The Plagiarism Handbook. Los Angeles:
Pyrczak Publishing, 2001. 143-144.
Cite it?
You quote from an interview you conducted
with your grandmother.
Cite it! Whenever you quote someone else’s
words, you must cite them, regardless of your
relationship to that person.
Harris, Robert A. "Using Sources Quiz." The Plagiarism Handbook. Los Angeles:
Pyrczak Publishing, 2001. 143-144.
Cite it?
You are writing a paper for your History class
about World War II and mention that the US
entered the war after Pearl Harbor was bombed.
Harris, Robert A. "Using Sources Quiz." The Plagiarism Handbook. Los Angeles:
Pyrczak Publishing, 2001. 143-144.
Cite it?
You are writing a paper for your History class
about World War II and mention that the US
entered the war after Pearl Harbor was bombed.
Do not have to cite it. This is considered
common knowledge that can be found in many
sources.
Harris, Robert A. "Using Sources Quiz." The Plagiarism Handbook. Los Angeles:
Pyrczak Publishing, 2001. 143-144.
Cite it?
You do a survey of students on campus, asking
about their favorite Austin restaurants. You
report on your findings in your paper.
Harris, Robert A. "Using Sources Quiz." The Plagiarism Handbook. Los Angeles:
Pyrczak Publishing, 2001. 143-144.
Cite it?
You do a survey of students on campus, asking
about their favorite Austin restaurants. You
report on your findings in your paper.
Do not have to cite it. When you do original
research, you do not cite yourself if the research
is conducted for the paper. (If you already
published the research elsewhere, you would
need to provide a citation to that publication.)
Harris, Robert A. "Using Sources Quiz." The Plagiarism Handbook. Los Angeles:
Pyrczak Publishing, 2001. 143-144.
You be the judge: Is this plagiarism?
You receive your assignment for a class,
and realize that you can write your paper
on the same topic that you wrote on for
another class last semester. Because of
the requirements of the assignment, the
focus of the paper will be different, but
you can use many of the same sources
you already read just two months ago.
You be the judge: Is this plagiarism?
No, this is not plagiarism. Using the same
sources to support or inform your
arguments in the new paper does not
constitute plagiarism. If you were to
incorporate sections of your old paper
into your new paper without citing the
previous paper, you would be committing
self-plagiarism by not acknowledging your
own earlier work, regardless of whether
or not that work was published.
Sources for Instructional Content
• FIG Plagiarism Activity from the UT
Libraries
• All About Plagiarism Tutorial from the UT
Libraries
• Understanding Citations Tutorial from
the UT Libraries
• Handouts from the UT Undergraduate
Writing Center
Sources for Instructional Content
• ACRL Instruction Section’s Peer-Reviewed
Instructional Materials Online Database (PRIMO)
• Plagiarism in the Digital Age: Voices from the Front
Lines: What’s Happening in High Schools Today?
from Plagiarism.org (makers of TurnItIn)
• Harris, R. A. (2001). The Plagiarism Handbook:
Strategies for Preventing, Detecting, and Dealing
With Plagiarism (1st ed.). Pyrczak Publishing.
• Dow, M. (2008). Teaching Ethical Behavior in the
Global World of Information and the New AASL
Standards. School Library Media Activities Monthly,
25(4), 49-52.
Plagiarism Proofing:
The Faculty/Instructor Connection
jobadge. (2010). #4IPC2010_wordle_tweets. Retrieved from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24612276@N05/4732885512/
Who In Your Class Might Plagiarize?
miyagusku, renata. (2010). the intellectual thief. Retrieved from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rmiya/4357139416/
Why Do Students Plagiarize?
Whittaker, L. (2009). It’s Arguable Whether I Had Any in the First Place.
Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/angelic0devil6/3997705041/
Definition of Plagiarism
Gao, B. ("call me D. (2009). Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.
Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/gaobo/3956142890/
UT-Austin’s Definition of Plagiarism
“Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the
appropriation of, buying, receiving as a gift, or
obtaining by any means material that is
attributable in whole or in part to another
source, including words, ideas, illustrations,
structure, computer code, and other expression
or media, and presenting that material as one’s
own academic work being offered for credit.”
Section 11-802(d) of the Institutional Rules on Student Services and Activities,
http://registrar.utexas.edu/catalogs/gi07-08/app/appc03.html
What constitutes plagiarism?
Bartel, T. (2011). Copy-Paste. Retrieved from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/avatar-1/5499235063/
What Instructors & Faculty Can Do
Rebel, D. (2004). PlaGiaRisM. Retrieved from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ad4evr/2128607/
What Instructors & Faculty Can Do
• Model good behavior
• Include a statement/policy for your course,
with clear expectations and consequences
• Talk about it in class
• Don’t assume knowledge of how to research,
write or cite
• Create good assignments
Original Assignment
Write a 5-7 page paper arguing either for or
against gun control.
What you know:
There is currently a hotly debated bill in the
Texas legislature about whether or not to allow
students to carry concealed handguns on
campus.
Ideas to Improve Assignment
• Localize: make it about Texas or your campus.
You may want to ask them to take a certain
perspective (student, campus administrator,
Texas legislator).
• Sources: require a certain number and type of
sources and specify citation style
• Rubric: include a rubric that explains what an
A paper, B paper, C paper looks like
Ideas to Improve Assignment
Scaffold:
• Have students explore all sides of the
controversy and turn in an annotated
bibliography using sources representing
different sides of the issue
• Have students turn in a brief proposal stating
the argument they plan to make and the
evidence they plan to use
• Have students turn in an outline, draft and
then final paper
Assignment Design
Paper Topics
• Narrow, specific topics
• Current events
• Personal experience
• Assign compare/contrast papers
• Localize the topic
Assignment Design
Process:
• Pre-approval of research topics
• No last minute changes
• Create a research plan
• Scaffold the assignment
• Research log/portfolio
• Post-assignment reflection
Assignment Design
Sources:
• Variety of types
• Recent
• Assign some sources
• Citation style
Assignment Design
Additional tips:
• Change assignments every year
• Make sure the assignment is meaningful and
students know why it matters
• Explain your assessment procedures
Questions?
Contact us at
lib-instruction@utlists.utexas.edu