PLAGIARISM AND HOW TO AVOID IT

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PLAGIARISM AND HOW TO AVOID IT
Ben Rosamond Department of Politics and
International Studies b.j.rosamond_at_warwick.ac.uk
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This session What is plagiarism? Why is
plagiarism a bad thing? How is plagiarism
investigated? Can you spot plagiarism? How can
plagiarism be avoided?
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What is plagiarism?
PAIS Student Handbook MA/Diploma Courses 2006-07,
p.37
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See also
11 Regulations Governing the Procedure to be
Adopted in the Event of Suspected Cheating in a
University Test
http//www2.warwick.ac.uk/insite/info/gov/calendar
/section2/regulations/cheating/
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Why is plagiarism a bad thing?
1. Because it infringes academic ethics and
academic norms
2. Because it is a form of theft and a type of
fraud
3. Because plagiarists ultimately cheat themselves
4. Because plagiarists cheat their fellow students
5. Because plagiarism reflects incompetence
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What happens to plagiarists?
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Procedures
1. You sign a written declaration about
plagiarism for every piece of work you submit in
PAIS
2. Markers are skilled at picking up plagiarism
and we have powerful software available to help us
NB all work in some modules will be checked by
plagiarism software
3. If markers suspect plagiarism, they notify the
chair of the PAIS Plagiarism Committee and supply
evidence
4. Committee makes a recommendation to the Chair
of PAIS
5. The accused is invited to respond to the charge
6. If found guilty, the piece of work in question
is graded ZERO
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7. Consequences for your overall grade the module
in question mean consequences for your degree
8. Rights of appeal investigation at the
University level in extreme casess
9. Possible disciplinary action by the University
10. Note even if work is deemed not to be
plagiarism, it might be classified as poor
scholarship and will be marked accordingly
Develop good scholarly practices
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Can you spot plagiarism?
Consider the following extract
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At the beginning, at any rate, the idea of
sovereignty was the idea that there is a final
and absolute political authority in the political
community and everything that needs to be added
to complete the definition is added if this
statement is continued in the following words
and no final and absolute authority exists
elsewhere. F.H Hinsley Sovereignty (second
edition), Cambridge Cambridge University Press,
1986, pp.25-6
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WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING FIVE CASES IS/ARE
PLAGIARISM?
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1
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2
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3
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So how can plagiarism be avoided?
A prior question
Why do students plagiarise?
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4 commonly cited reasons
The importance of developing time management
skills
1. The pressures of workload
2. Pressures to succeed
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3. Poor understanding of the nature of plagiarism
confusion
cultural factors
What goes on in other walks of life
respect for seniority / emulation as good work
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The importance of research skills, note-taking
skills and good citation technique
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4. Because its easy!
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A few tips
Read the Guidelines for Successful Essays and
Dissertations (PAIS Student Handbook MA/Diploma
Courses 2006-07), from p. 40
It is your responsibility to understand and act
upon these guidelines
We expect good scholarship and appropriate
academic presentation You will be penalised if
you neglect good scholarly presentation even if
it is not strictly plagiarism
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• Avoid copying when you take notes use your own
  words/ideas
• Keep track of citations, full references, page
  numbers, quotations
• You have plenty of good examples of good
  practice to draw upon look at articles we ask
  you to read
• Write first drafts without notes to hand
• Synthesise, (re-)organise, classify your sources
  heavy reliance on other sources is poor
  scholarship
• Avoid excessive quotation
• When in doubt CITE! see p. 46 of the Handbool
• Take advice ALL academics reference
  thoroughly it is the sign of being a good
  academic!

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http//www.jiscpas.ac.uk/