Academic Integrity
@ UW
What it means.
How to strengthen yours.
Leeanne Romane
Systems Design Engineering Librarian
lromane@library.uwaterloo.ca
Presented at ExpecTAtions Winter 2007.
Created by Anne Fullerton, Chemical Engineering Librarian. Revised Sept. 2006
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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 where
I have given full and explicit acknowledgement
of other people’s work.”
Plagiarism and Referencing Standards,
Leeds University.
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Examples of Academic Integrity
• 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.
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Paraphrase
Goal: to put someone’s ideas in your own words
1. Don’t use same sentence structure
2. Don’t substitute words here and there
3. Avoid using the author’s keywords or
unusual words
4. 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 24hour 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 counterproductive (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 24hour 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.)
No – it’s Plagiarized
Unacceptable Paraphrasing.
Why? Duplicates original sentence
structure. Several phrases stolen
word for word.
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 24hour 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 counterproductive (MacLeish 54).
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Acceptable paraphrasing: uses different language &
sentence structure from the original
sixties and early
seventies
fast
[original text]
atmospheric modeling
techniques
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
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 24hour hurricane warning
and predict where a
storm will hit with an
error of not more than
100 miles (MacLeish
54).
Plagiarised from original
Examples adapted from:
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. 2001. Avoiding Plagiarism. [online] 10
Retrieved September 18, 2006 from http://www.usip.edu/writing/plagrsm.html
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
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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:
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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)
Are there:
• weak research skills
• confusion about how to
cite sources
Then Talk to:
Your Liaison Librarian
Consultations & Instruction
Library Info Desk staff
• time pressures
Supervisor
• careless notetaking
Counselling Services
• high personal expectations
Short courses- time management;
notetaking, etc.
Discussions with a counsellor
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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.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Read the original text.
Think about it’s meaning.
Look away from the original (rely on memory).
Write down the idea in you own words.
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
Quiz
Academic
Integrity
Practice
Paraphrasing
A
B
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
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?
Was this PowerPoint presentation with web links helpful?
Please let me know. Leeanne Romane
lromane@library.uwaterloo.ca
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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?
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