Plagiarism, definition, forms, reasons, sources, detection and how to avoid

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www.plagairism.org
Plagiarism
Professor Tarek Tawfik Amin
Public Health Cairo University
amin55@myway.com
http://www.joycevalenza.com/

2. Definition:Definition:
Plagiarism viewed ascopying another’swork, or borrowing someone
else’soriginal ideas. But termslike“copying” and
“borrowing” can disguisetheseriousnessof theoffense:
According to theMerriam-Webster On Line Dictio nary, to
“plagiarize” means
o To steal and passoff (ideasor wordsof others) asone'sown
o To use(other'sproduction) without crediting thesource
o To commit literary theft
o To present asnew and original an ideaor product derived from
an existing source.
Plagiarism isan act of fraud. It involvesboth stealingsomeone
else’swork and lyingabout it afterward.
www.plagiarism.o rg

3. But can words and ideas really be
stolen?
But can words and ideas really be
stolen?
In theU.Sand many other countries, the
expression of original ideasisconsidered
intellectual property, and isprotected by
copyright laws, just likeoriginal
inventions.
Almost all formsof expression fall under
copyright protection aslong asthey are
recorded in somemedia(such asabook
or acomputer file).
www.plagiarism.org

4. Copyright lawsCopyright laws
• Copyright lawsexist to protect our intellectual
property.
• It isillegal to reproducesomeoneelse’sexpression of
ideasor information without permission (includes
music, images, written words, video, and avariety of
other media).
• At onetime, awork wasonly protected by copyright if
it included acopyright trademark (the© symbol).
According to lawsestablished in 1989, however, works
arenow copyright protected with or without the
inclusion of thissymbol.
• Anyonewho reproducescopyrighted material
improperly can beprosecuted in acourt of law.

5. Copyright lawsCopyright laws
Are all published works copyrighted?
Actually, no. TheCopyright Act only protectsworksthat
expressoriginal ideasor information.
You could borrow liberally from thefollowing without
fear of plagiarism:
1- Compilationsof readily availableinformation, such as
thephonebook
2- Workspublished by governments
3- Factsthat arenot theresult of original research (carrots
contain Vitamin A)
4- Worksin thepublic domain (provided you cite
properly)

6. Public domainPublic domain
What is the “public domain?”
• Worksthat areno longer protected by copyright, or
never havebeen, areconsidered “public domain.” This
meansthat you may freely borrow material from these
workswithout fear of plagiarism, provided you make
proper attributions.
How do Iknow if something is public domain or
not?
• In general, anything published morethan 75 yearsago
isnow in thepublic domain. Workspublished after
1978 areprotected for thelifetimeof theauthor plus70
years.

7. All of the following are considered
plagiarism
All of the following are considered
plagiarism
• Turning in someoneelse’swork asyour own
• Copying wordsor ideasfrom someoneelse
without giving credit
• Failing to put aquotation in quotation marks
• Giving incorrect information about thesource
of aquotation
• Changing wordsbut copying thesentence
structureof asourcewithout giving credit
• Copying so many wordsor ideasfrom asource
that it makesup themajority of your work,
whether you givecredit or not.
www.turnitin.co m

8. How serious is the problem?How serious is the problem?
“A study of almost 4,500 studentsat 25 schools,
suggestscheating is. . . asignificant problem in high
school - 74% of therespondentsadmitted to oneor
moreinstancesof serioustest cheating and 72%
admitted to serious cheating on written
assignments. Overhalf of the students admitted
they have engaged in some level of plagiarism
on written assignments using the Internet.”
Based on theresearch of Donald L. McCabe, RutgersUniversity
Source: “CIA Research.” Center for Academic Integrity, DukeUniversity,
2003 <http://academicintegrity.org/cai_research.asp>.

9. Two categories of plagiarismTwo categories of plagiarism
• Intentional
• Copying afriend’swork
• Buying or borrowing
papers
• Cutting and pasting
blocksof text from
electronic sources
without documenting
• Media
“borrowing”without
documentation
• Web publishing without
permissionsof creators
• Unintentional
• Carelessparaphrasing
• Poor documentation
• Quoting excessively
• Failureto useyour own
“voice”

10. ExcusesExcuses
It’s okay if
I don’t get caught!
I was too busy to
write that paper!
(Job, big game, too much homework!)
My teachers
expect
too much!
I’ve got to get
into
??? U.!
My parents
expect “A”s!
This assignment
was BORING!
Everyone does it!

11. Types of PlagiarismTypes of Plagiarism
I. Sourcesnot cited:
“TheGhost Writer” :
Thewriter turnsin another’swork,
word-for-word, ashisor her own.
“ThePhotocopy”:
copiessignificant portionsof text
straight from a single source,
without alteration.
“ThePotluck Paper”:
disguiseplagiarism by copying
from several different sources,
tweaking thesentences to make
them fit together whileretaining
most of theoriginal phrasing.
“ThePoor Disguise” :
Although retained theessential
content of thesource, heor shehas
altered thepaper’sappearance
slightly by changing key wordsand
phrases.
“TheLabor of Laziness” : Paraphrase
most of thepaper from other
sourcesand makeit all fit together,
instead of spending thesameeffort
on original work.
“TheSelf-Stealer”:
“borrows” generously from hisor
her previouswork, violating
policiesconcerning theexpectation
of originality.

12. Types of PlagiarismTypes of Plagiarism
II. SourcesCited (but still
plagiarized!)
“TheForgotten Footnote”:
Mentionsan author’snamefor a
source, but neglectsto include
specific information on the
location of thematerial referenced.
“TheMisinformer”:
Providing inaccurate information
regarding thesources, making it
impossibleto find them.
“TheToo-Perfect Paraphrase”:
Properly citesasource, but
neglectsto put in quotation marks
text that hasbeen copied word-for-
word, or closeto it.
“TheResourceful Citer”:
Thewriter properly citesall
sources, paraphrasing and using
quotationsappropriately. The
catch? Thepaper contains
almost no original work!
“ThePerfect Crime”:
It doesn’t exist.

13. Examples of plagiarismExamples of plagiarism
Original SourceMaterial: Ibrahim, S. A. (2009). Health
inequities: A global concern. American Journal of
Public Health 99 (7): p. 7.
• Furthermore, in reacting to the global
economic downturn, many nations, including
the wealthy ones, are downsizing their
commitments to health and social
expenditures. History teaches us that in times
like these, we often balance the books on the
backs of the poor, the disenfranchised, and the
minorities. But we need a new vision. It is
imperative that we use the current crisis as an
opportunity to reshape the global community.
Everywhere in the world, the engine of
economic prosperity runs on human capital and
innovation, and nothing impacts human capital
and innovation more than health. A fatherlost
to AIDS in South Africa represent a lost
opportunity to provide forthe future of a
family. A son ordaughterlost to tuberculosis
in India orChina represents a lost opportunity
to raise the next computergenius whose
creativity we may need to achieve better
world connectivity. An African-American child
in innercity Chicago lost to crime or
imprisonment represents a lost opportunity to
develop the next visionary leader.
Student Version A: Plagiarism – Near
Verbatim Text with No Attribution
Many nationsaredownsizing their
commitmentsto health and social
expenditures. A new vision is
needed. Wemust employ thecurrent
crisisto reshapetheglobal
community. Acrosstheworld,
economic prosperity runson human
capital and innovation, and nothing
affectshuman capital and innovation
morethan health. A child lost to
tuberculosisin Indiaor Chinaisa
lost opportunity to raisethenext
mathematical geniuswhosecreativity
wemay need to reach improved
world connectivity. An African-
American child in inner city Los
Angeleslost to crimeor
imprisonment isalost opportunity to
develop thenext visionary leader.

14. Examples of plagiarismExamples of plagiarism
Original SourceMaterial: Ibrahim, S. A. (2009). Health
inequities: A global concern. American Journal of
Public Health 99 (7): p. 7.
• Furthermore, in reacting to the global
economic downturn, many nations, including
the wealthy ones, are downsizing their
commitments to health and social
expenditures. History teaches us that in times
like these, we often balance the books on the
backs of the poor, the disenfranchised, and the
minorities. But we need a new vision. It is
imperative that we use the current crisis as an
opportunity to reshape the global community.
Everywhere in the world, the engine of
economic prosperity runs on human capital and
innovation, and nothing impacts human capital
and innovation more than health. A fatherlost
to AIDS in South Africa represent a lost
opportunity to provide forthe future of a
family. A son ordaughterlost to tuberculosis
in India orChina represents a lost opportunity
to raise the next computergenius whose
creativity we may need to achieve better
world connectivity. An African-American child
in innercity Chicago lost to crime or
imprisonment represents a lost opportunity to
develop the next visionary leader.
Student Version B: Plagiarism – Mere
Cosmetic Changes
In responding to theglobal economic
recession, many countries, including
therich ones, arelesscommitted to
spending money on health and social
concerns. Asthehistory booksteach
us, wefrequently balancethebooks
on thebacksof theminoritiesand the
impoverished. A new vision is
necessary. It isimperativethat we
usethecurrent crisisasan
opportunity to restructurethe
international community. Health has
thestrongest impact than anything
elseupon innovation and human
capital. For example, afather in
Africawho diesfrom AIDS
translatesinto losing achancefor
providing for hisfuturefamily; a
child who diesfrom starvation in
Indiaor Viet Nam translatesinto
losing achancefor thenext genius
scientist (Ibrahim, 2009).
www.cornell.edu.us

15. Examples of plagiarismExamples of plagiarism
Original SourceMaterial: Ibrahim, S. A. (2009). Health
inequities: A global concern. American Journal of
Public Health 99 (7): p. 7.
• Furthermore, in reacting to the global
economic downturn, many nations, including
the wealthy ones, are downsizing their
commitments to health and social
expenditures. History teaches us that in times
like these, we often balance the books on the
backs of the poor, the disenfranchised, and the
minorities. But we need a new vision. It is
imperative that we use the current crisis as an
opportunity to reshape the global community.
Everywhere in the world, the engine of
economic prosperity runs on human capital and
innovation, and nothing impacts human capital
and innovation more than health. A fatherlost
to AIDS in South Africa represent a lost
opportunity to provide forthe future of a
family. A son ordaughterlost to tuberculosis
in India orChina represents a lost opportunity
to raise the next computergenius whose
creativity we may need to achieve better
world connectivity. An African-American child
in innercity Chicago lost to crime or
imprisonment represents a lost opportunity to
develop the next visionary leader.
Student Version C: Acceptable
AsIbrahim (2009) notes,
although countriesmay spend
lesson health and social
concerns, given thecurrent
economic climate, wemust
“usethecurrent crisisasan
opportunity to reshapethe
global community” (p. 7).
Deathsdueto such health and
social issuesasHIV,
tuberculosis, or starvation,
may deprivecountries-
developed or undeveloped -
from futurefamily providers,
political or social leaders, or
scientific geniuses(Ibrahim,
2009).

16. Plagiarism and academic integrityPlagiarism and academic integrity
• When you copy you cheat yourself and
limit your own learning.
• Theconsequencesarenot worth therisks!
• It isonly right to givecredit to authors
whoseideasyou use
• Citing givesauthority to theinformation
you present
• Citing makesit possiblefor your readers
to locateyour source
• Education isnot an “usvs. them” game!
It’sabout learning to learn!
• Cheating isunethical behavior
Is your academic
reputation valuable
to you?
JoyceValenza

17. Real life consequences:Real life consequences:
• Damaged thereputation of two prominent historians, Stephen
Ambroseand DorisKearnsGoodwin,
• Kearnsleft television position and stepped down asPulitzer
Prizejudgefor “lifting” 50 passagesfor her 1987 book The
Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys (Lewis)
• Senator Joseph Biden dropped his1987 campaign for the
Democratic presidential nomination. (Sabato)
• Copied in law school and borrowed from campaign speeches
of Robert Kennedy
• Boston Globejournalist MikeBarnicleforced to resign for
plagiarism in hiscolumns (“Boston Columnist . . .”)
• Scandal of Asim Kuraj in Croatia: Professor of Obg/yn
• CNNArticle AP. 26 No v. 2001
• Channel OneArticleAP. 27 Nov. 2002
Joyce Valenza

18. Consequences (cont’d)Consequences (cont’d)
• New Yo rk Times senior reporter Jayson Blair
forced to resign after being accused of
plagiarism and fraud.
• “Thenewspaper said at least 36 of the73
articleshehad written had problemswith
accuracy, calling thedeception a"low point" in
thenewspaper'shistory.”
“New York TimesExposesFraud of Own Reporter.” ABCNews
Online. 12 May, 2003.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/newshour_index.html
Joyce Valenza

19. What are the punishments forplagiarism?What are the punishments forplagiarism?
Aswith any wrongdoing, thedegreeof
intent and thenatureof theoffense
determineitsstatus.
In an academic setting, it ismost often
handled by theindividual instructorsand
theacademic institution involved.
If plagiarism involvesmoney, prizes, or
job placement, it constitutesacrime
punishablein court.

20. PunishmentsPunishments
I-Academic Punishments
• Most collegesand universitieshavezero
tolerancefor plagiarists.
• You arelesslikely to betreated with any
leniency than if you plagiarized copyrighted
material.
• A plagiarized paper almost alwaysresultsin
failurefor theassignment, frequently in failure
for thecourse, and sometimesin expulsion.
www.turnitin.com

21. PunishmentsPunishments
II- LegalPunishments
• Most casesof plagiarism areconsidered
misdemeanors, punishableby finesof anywhere
between $100 and $50,000 – and up to oneyear in jail.
• Also beconsidered afelony. For example, if a
plagiarist copiesand earnsmorethan $2,500 from
copyrighted material, he/shemay faceup to $250,000
in finesand up to ten yearsin jail.
III- Institutio nalPunishments
• Most corporationsand institutionswill not tolerateany
form of plagiarism. Peoplehavelost their jobsor been
denied positionsasaresult of plagiarism.

22. Internet and PlagiarismInternet and Plagiarism
1- TheInternet now makesit easy to find thousandsof
relevant sourcesin seconds, and in thespaceof afew
minutesplagiaristscan find, copy, and pastetogether
an entireterm paper or essay.
2- Theonlinepaper mills(cheat sites). Homeworks,
assignments, projectsand paper-based solutionsareall
readily availableon paying somefees.

23. Document provided by Turnitin.com and Research Resources. Turnitin allows free distribution and non-profit use of this
document in educational settings.
www.plagairism.org
Plagiarism checkers
http://www.dustball.com/cs/plagiarism.checker/
http://www.plagiarismchecker.com/
http://plagiarisma.net/
http://www.articlechecker.com/
http://www.academicplagiarism.com/

24. Avoiding plagiarismAvoiding plagiarism
1- Citation
2- Quotation
3- Paraphrasing
4- Summarizing

25. 1- Citation1- Citation
A “citation” istheway you tell readersthat certain
material in your work camefrom another source.
It givesyour readerstheinformation necessary to find
that sourceagain, including:
• Information about theauthor
• Thetitleof thework
• Thenameand location of thepublisher
• Thedateyour copy waspublished
• Thepagenumbersof thematerial you areborrowing

26. CitationCitation
Why should Icite sources?
• Giving credit to theoriginal author by citing sourcesistheonly
way to useother people’swork without plagiarizing.
But thereareanumber of other reasonsto citesources:
• Citationsarehelpful to find out moreabout your ideasand where
they camefrom.
• Not all sourcesaregood or right – your own ideasmay often be
moreaccurateor interesting than thoseof your sources. Proper
citation will keep you from taking therap for someoneelse’sbad
ideas.
• Showstheamount of research you’vedone.
• Citing sourcesstrengthensyour work by lending outsidesupport
to your ideas.

27. Citation examplesCitation examples
Saudi Arabiahaswitnessed enormouseconomic advancement in therecent
decades. Thistransition haspromoted theadoption of westernized dietary
habitsand sedentarism with considerablenegativeimpact on community
health. Thesechangesarethought to beimportant contributorsfor recent
epidemic of non-communicablediseasesand their complications.1,2
A seriesof studiesnoted that cigarettesmoking among youth isacomplex
behavior with several identifiabledeterminantsincluding: interpersonal
factors(such asfamily and peer influence), intrapersonal factors(self-
esteem), individual motivational and attitudinal determinantsaswell as
cultural settings(Goddard 1990; O’Loughlin et al. 1998; Kandel et al.
2007).
Go ddard, E. (1 990). Why children start smo king? Office o f po pulatio n census and surveys (so cial survey divisio n). Lo ndo n: HMSO
1. Alwan A. Noncommunicablediseases: amajor challengeto public health in theRegion.
East Mediterr Health J. 1997;3:6–16.
2. Al-NozhaM, Arafah M, Al-Mazrou Y, et al. Coronary artery diseasein Saudi Arabia. Saudi
Med J. 2004;5:1165–1171.

28. 2- Quoting2- Quoting
Taking theexact wordsfrom an original sourceis
called quoting.
You should quotematerial when you believethe
way theoriginal author expressesan ideaisthe
most effectivemeansof communicating the
point you want to make.
If you want to borrow an ideafrom an author, but
do not need hisor her exact words, you should
try paraphrasing instead of quoting.

29. QuotingQuoting
Quotations are the exact words of an author, copied directly
from a source, word forword. Quotations must be cited!
Use quo tatio ns when:
• You want to add thepower of an author’swordsto support your
argument
• You want to disagreewith an author’sargument
• You want to highlight particularly eloquent or powerful phrases
or passages
• You arecomparing and contrasting specific pointsof view
• You want to notetheimportant research that precedesyour own
Carol Rohrbach and Joyce Valenza

30. ExamplesExamples
For example, let’ssay you want to quotefrom the
following passagein an essay called “United
Shareholdersof America,” by Jacob Weisberg:
“ Thecitizen-investor serveshisfellow citizensbadly by
hisinclination to withdraw from thecommunity. He
tendsto servehimself badly aswell. Hedoesso by
focusing hispursuit of happinesson something that
very seldom makespeoplehappy in theway they
expect it to.”

31. Examples of quotingExamples of quoting
In hisessay, “United Shareholdersof
America,” Jacob Weisberg insiststhat “The
citizen-investor serveshisfellow citizensbadly
by hisinclination to withdraw from the
community. Hetendsto servehimself
badly. . . by focusing hispursuit of happiness
on something that very seldom makespeople
happy in theway they expect it to.”

32. Using FootnotesUsing Footnotes
Footnotesarenotesplaced at thebottom of
apage. They citereferencesor
comment on adesignated part of the
text aboveit.
This is an illustration of a footnote.1
The
number “1” at the end of the sentence
corresponds to the note below. See
how it fits in the body of the text?
1
At the bottom of the page you can insert
your comments about the sentence
preceding the footnote.

33. 3-Paraphrasing3-Paraphrasing
A paraphraseisarestatement in yourown words of
someoneelse’s ideas. Changing afew wordsof the
original sentencesdoesNOT makeyour writing a
legitimateparaphrase.
You must changeboththewords and thesentence
structure of theoriginal, without changing the
content.
Paraphrased passagesstill require citationbecausethe
ideascamefrom another source, even though you are
putting them in your own words.

34. ParaphrasingParaphrasing
If I change a
few words, I’m
okay, right?
Wrong! Paraphrasingoriginal ideas withoutdocumenting
your source,is plagiarism too!
JoyceValenza

35. ParaphrasingParaphrasing
Paraphrasewhen:
• You plan to useinformation on your note
cardsand wish to avoid plagiarizing
• You want to avoid overusing quotations
• You want to useyour own voiceto
present information
Carol Rohrbach and Joyce Valenza

36. 4-Summarizing4-Summarizing
• Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s)
of one orseveral writers into yourown words,
including only the main point(s).
• Summaries are significantly shorterthan the
original and take a broad overview of the source
material.
• It is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to
theiroriginal sources.
Summarizewhen:
• You want to establish background or offer an overview of atopic
• You want to describeknowledge(from several sources) about atopic
• You want to determinethemain ideasof asinglesource
Carol Rohrbach and Joyce Valenza

37. Preventing plagiarism in researchPreventing plagiarism in research
In aresearch paper, you haveto comeup with your own
original ideaswhileat thesametimemaking reference
to work that’salready been doneby others.
- But how can you tell wheretheir ideasend and your
own begin?
- What’stheproper way to integratesourcesin your
paper?
- If you changesomeof what an author said, do you still
haveto citethat person?
Confusion about theanswersto thesequestionsoften
leadsto plagiarism.
www.turnitin.com

38. Preventing plagiarismPreventing plagiarism
 Consult yourinstructor
 Plan yourpaper
 Take Effective Notes
 When in doubt, cite sources
 Make it clearwho said what
 Know how to Paraphrase
 Evaluate YourSources

39. Works CitedWorks Cited
• “Boston Columnist ResignsAmid New Plagiarism Charges.” CNN.co m 19 Aug. 1998 3
March 2003 <http://www.cnn.com/US/9808/19/barnicle/>
• Fain, Margaret. “Internet Paper Mills.” Kimbal Library. 12 Feb. 2003.
<http://www.coastal.edu/library/mills2.htm>
• Lathrop, Ann and Kathleen Foss. Student Cheating and Plagiarism in the Internet Era.
Englewood, CO: LibrariesUnlimited, 2000.
• Lewis, Mark. “DorisKearnsGoodwin And TheCredibility Gap.” Fo rbes.co m 2 Feb. 2002.
< http://www.forbes.com/2002/02/27/0227goodwin.html>
• “New York TimesExposesFraud of own Reporter.” ABC NewsOnline. 12 May, 2003.
<http://www.pbs.org/newshour/newshour_index.html>
• Sabato, Larry J. “Joseph Biden'sPlagiarism; Michael Dukakis's'Attack Video' – 1988.”
Washingto n Po st Online . 1998. 3 March 2002. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
srv/politics/special/clinton/frenzy/biden.htm>

40. Thank youThank you