Discussion: Recognizing and Avoiding Plagiarism
What is plagiarism exactly? Is it always done on purpose? The rules related to plagiarism can be complex, and there are instances in which people who have unwittingly plagiarized have ended up in court. The concept of academic integrity includes the avoidance of plagiarism. To avoid plagiarism, it helps to first recognize it.
For this Discussion, you will review fictional scenarios that depict common occurrences in the classroom. It is an opportunity for you to practice identifying plagiarism and discussing how to avoid plagiarism in these situations.
To prepare for this Discussion:
- Review the materials in this week’s Learning Resources.
- Read the four scenarios presented below and, for each situation, determine whether the student has plagiarized.
John has not had time to work on his online assignment on psychological theory. He found a website that has an article with the content he needs to complete his assignment. However, he has only 30 minutes before his assignment is due. John believes that the author of the article described psychological theory so well that it would take John hours to paraphrase the material. John decides to copy several sentences and one short paragraph from the article and paste it into his own paper. He includes the author in the references and believes that this appropriately cites the author.
Sally has a writing assignment due. She has written about the topic before in a previous course and received 100% on that paper. She decides to include several paragraphs from her previous work in her current paper.
Brad just finished submitting his writing assignment through SafeAssign, and the similarity report shows a 40% match between passages he wrote and various websites.
Catherine likes to include quotes from famous psychologists in her writing assignments. She does not use quotation marks, but Catherine makes sure to include the citation immediately following each quote. - Reflect on how the Walden resources and communication with colleagues (including your Instructor) could impact the outcome of the scenarios.
- Choose one of the scenarios for your Discussion.
With these thoughts in mind:
Post a description of the scenario you chose and whether you believe the student plagiarized. Explain what led you to make that determination. Provide one strategy that the student can use to avoid potential plagiarism, given the scenario presented.
Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to this week’s Learning Resources.
American Psychological Association. (2010b). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
- 1.10. “Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism” (pp. 15–16)
These pages discuss plagiarism and self-plagiarism.
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Study Notes
Introduction to Scholarly Writing: Plagiarism and Academic Integrity
Is plagiarism a concern at Walden?
Yes—just as it is a concern in institutions throughout the world. However, in a largely
online environment where the written word is the only evidence of a student’s
knowledge of a topic, it is more than a little tempting for students to “borrow” the words
and ideas of others, especially when it’s late at night and the hard-working student has
finally put the kids to bed (especially when someone else has written such brilliant
words so beautifully).
But in starkest terms: Plagiarism is not tolerated at Walden University.
What Do We Mean by Plagiarism?
The Walden Student Handbook (2013) defines plagiarism as “the use of intellectual
material produced by another person without acknowledging its source.” For example,
plagiarism includes:
o Wholesale copying of passages from works of others into an Assignment,
paper, Discussion board posting, or thesis or dissertation without
acknowledgment
o Using the views, opinions, or insights of another without acknowledgment
o Paraphrasing another person’s characteristic or original phraseology,
metaphor, or other literary device without acknowledgment
What does that all mean to you? Compare the following two paragraphs on the
next page. (The paragraph on the left appeared in a journal. A student wrote
the paragraph on the right.)
© 2016 Laureate Education, Inc. Page 2 of 4
Journal Article
In recent decades, men have been
bombarded with images in society that
depict the “ideal” male: strong,
muscular, lean, with perfect features.
What many adolescents do not realize
is that most of the male bodies that
they idealize can be acquired only with
the use of anabolic steroids. Thus,
many adolescent boys find themselves
pursuing a body type that is impossible
to obtain. By the time these boys reach
adulthood, many have developed an
eating disorder, such as bulimia, or an
image disorder, such as muscle
dysmorphia. In this article, the authors
describe body image disorders in
adolescent males and offer
intervention strategies for school
counselors.
Stout, E. J., & Frame, M. W. (2004).
Body image disorder in adolescent
males: Strategies for school
counselors. Professional School
Counseling, 8(2), 176–181.
Student Writing
Over the past 30 years, men have
seen many images that show the
“ideal” male: strong, muscular, lean,
with perfect features. Many
adolescents do not realize that most of
the male bodies that they idealize can
be acquired only with the use of
steroids. Thus, many teenaged boys
find themselves pursuing a body type
that is impossible to obtain. When
these boys reach adulthood, many
have developed an eating disorder,
such as bulimia or anorexia, or an
image disorder, such as muscle
dysmorphia. In their article, Stout and
Frame (2004) described body image
disorders in adolescent males and
offered intervention strategies for high
school and junior high school
counselors.
Is the paragraph on the right an example of plagiarism?
Put it this way: These paragraphs might not be identical twins, but they are certainly
fraternal twins. In the student version, a few words were changed here and there, but
the ideas, the order in which they were presented, and nearly all of the words were
written as if they were the student’s own rather than those of Stout and Frame, who
actually wrote them.
So yes, the paragraph on the right is plagiarism.
You cannot take someone else’s words and ideas and recast them as your own, as if
the original work were not at your elbow. Does that mean that you can never refer to
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someone else’s writing? Use a few of someone else’s words? Quote another author?
You can only if you document your sources carefully so your reader knows who
wrote what.
Remember, scholarly writers read and think critically, so there is no reason to copy
material word for word. And scholarly writers synthesize what they have read to
show, in their own words, that what they are writing is factual.
Using Direct Quotes
Direct quotes can enhance your writing; however, there are important considerations to
keep in mind.
Consider using direct quotes when
o The writer has expressed something in a way you consider to be “just right”
o The writer has revealed something about himself or herself by the words he or
she has chosen; or the original words are critical to a specific definition or point
that you are trying to make
There are a considerable number of rules when it comes to using direct quotes. Here
is just a sampling (based on APA style).
o Direct quotes require quotation marks and, in parentheses, a page or paragraph
identifier.
o Generally, the close quote mark comes before the parenthetical citation and
is followed by a period.
Example: In an earlier study, Davis (1978) reported, “Children need to exercise
every day for at least 45 minutes” (p. 36).
o Block quotes are required when direct quotes are 40 words or longer.
o The final punctuation comes before the parenthetical citation at the end of a block
quote.
o Most Walden Instructors prefer double-spaced block quotes.
o Block quotes require no opening or closing quotation marks or ellipses.
o Block quotes are best avoided or used minimally.
Example:
Capuzzi and Gross (2005) asserted:
© 2016 Laureate Education, Inc. Page 4 of 4
The testing process, when focusing upon characteristic behaviors,
also facilitates counselees’ self-understanding. Many tests
incorporate logical, semantic, and relatively “transparent”
approaches to analysis of human behavior. Thus, actually
engaging in the testing process may enable counselees to learn
new ways of evaluating themselves. (p. 289)
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