A code of honesty

When writing your final year project or research report you need to present evidence in support of your argument.Jane Fitzpatrick points us in the right direction, steering clear of the perils of plagiarism.

Presenting the evidence for your final year project takes the form of citing your sources, which will add weight to your discussion. Drawing on others’ work as you develop your ideas can be a stimulating and rewarding experience, however, the underlying principle is to acknowledge the work of others. Citations also point the reader to other sources (Hamilton, 2003).

Remember the work you are presenting for assessment is designed to enable you to demonstrate how you have developed your ideas within the field of study.

Citations therefore enable you to show how you have analysed and acknowledged the ideas present in the literature. They serve to strengthen your argument and support your efforts in presenting a coherent discussion (Harris, 2002).

However, failure to acknowledge sources constitutes plagiarism. This is ‘to take someone else’s words or ideas and present them as your own without proper acknowledgement.’ (Marshall and Rowland, 1998)

A code of honesty underpins the recommendations for preventing plagiarism. As the study skills guide from the University of the West of England (2003) argues, the offence of plagiarism is considered academic dishonesty and it has serious repercussions for the perpetrator.

Plagiarism ‘can be inadvertent (unintentional) or deliberate’ (UNISA, 2003:2). However, the onus is on you as the writer to ensure that plagiarism does not occur. Plagiarism constitutes an assessment offence, which if proven can have significant consequences for you in achieving your award.

The outcome of an accusation of plagiarism will depend on the form it has taken and the degree to which it extends.

By degree

There are several forms of plagiarism including:

Using published ideas as one’s own
Representing excerpts or images from books, journals or papers published on the Web as one’s own wor
Copying the work of another student or another person and presenting it as one’s own
Collaborating inappropriately with another student when the assignment requires individual work
Resubmitting substantive excerpts of your own work from other assignments as a new piece of work.

Plagiarism can occur in a small section or sections of a piece of work through to the whole of an assignment. Whatever the extent it is a serious offence.

How can you ensure that you do not commit plagiarism?

It can prove difficult remembering where you read about an idea. You may have taken copious notes in class, read numerous books or scanned the Web, and it may be difficult to distinguish the source of your thoughts.

In addition, you can sometimes genuinely think that the idea is your own. A question you can ask yourself is, ‘Is there such a thing as original thought?’. Someone somewhere is likely to have thought of something at least similar before.

When writing up your final year project, as a rule of thumb, you might consider if there is likely to be a source that will compliment your discussion in some way. The important thing is to locate the source and acknowledge the original author in your text.

You can present evidence to support your points in several ways: quoting directly from another source; paraphrasing; summarising; reproducing a diagram, image or artwork.

In your write up, you must acknowledge the sources using the reference system advocated by the institution with which you are studying (UNISA, 2003).

Am I likely to be found out if I do not acknowledge my sources?

Currently, there is a purge on plagiarism in educational circles. The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA, 2000) calls for academic institutions to demonstrate that they are not allowing students to cheat in the assessment process. This includes ensuring that students are referencing their material appropriately and acknowledging the sources of their ideas.

There is a range of initiatives designed to detect plagiarism ranging from tutors reading your work and realising your text seems very familiar through to the development of very sophisticated technology, which can detect similarities with existing texts.

The message is that academic institutions are getting very tough on plagiarism offences and are likely to find and sanction offenders.

Penalties for plagiarism

Plagiarism is considered a serious offence, whether it is intentional or unintentional. The penalty for failure to cite sources accurately can be devastating.

Depending on the extent of the offence and the policies of the academic institution this can range from grading the paper as zero to failing a course. The consequence may be that the student will not be able to complete their degree. For some this also means that they cannot gain their professional qualification.

Responsibility for accurate citations

As Creme and Lee (2003) observe, plagiarism is not straightforward. For example, in seminars students talk over issues with lecturers who may be citing their own work or the work of others. Whose work then is the emerging idea? The onus is on you as the student to make sure that you have cited your sources accurately.

With the advent of the Internet and electronic databases it is all too easy for one to highlight text and cut and paste it into an assignment. It is unlikely, however, that material used in this way will meet the exact brief of your assignment.

The style of presentation, for example, is likely to give it away. When you are incorporating material into your text think about the message that is being conveyed in the piece and present it in a way that adds to your argument.

By citing the source you also indicate to the reader that you have read around the topic and have thought about how the idea contributes to the point you are making in your own work.

Top tips for avoiding plagiarism

Keep a notebook handy. When you come across an interesting point make a note of it. Include the author and/or editor, date, page number, journal, article title, book and chapter title and publisher. Don’t use extensive quotes; think about paraphrasing or summarising points in your own words in support of your argument, and always cite the original source.Use a thesaurus as a word prompt when paraphrasing or summarising points.
When downloading material from the Internet make sure you make a note of the source.
Always make sure you cite all your sources.
Contact your personal tutor or study skills advisor to find out ways of making your arguments and supporting them from the published material.
Have confidence in yourself and develop your skills in making the argument in your own words with support from the literature.
Leave yourself thinking time for the assignment so that you are not tempted to take shortcuts.
Remember, if you are tempted to use another person’s work inappropriately, or your own from another assignment, without accurate citation you are risking your career.

Many academic institutions now have study skills programmes available. It is worth considering if you need to sign up for one. Often they can help you to think about how you can present material and help you to develop your confidence in writing and using citations competently so that your chance of plagiarising work is avoided.

References

Hamilton College Writing Center (2003) Using Sources

Harris, R. (2002) Anti-Plagiarism Strategies for Research Papers

Quality Assurance Agency (2000) Code of Practice on Assessment

University of South Australia (UNISA) (2003)

University of the West of England (2003) Plagiarism

Jane Fitzpatrick is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at the University of the West of England,Bristol, researching self-assessment in professional and higher education (SAPHE project). Jane was co-ordinator of the nursing strand of SAPHE. Since completing her Doctorate of Education at the University of Bristol she has been undertaking empowerment research with members of a remote community in Papua New Guinea. She also works with colleagues who are members of the Asai Pacific EBM network in exploring their uses of Information Communication Technologies..

Creme, P. and Lee, M.R. (2003) 2nd edition. Writing at University: a Guide for Students, Maidenhead: Open University Press

Marshall, L. & Rowland, F. (1998), A Guide to Learning Independently, 3rd Edition, Addison Wesley Longman, Melbourne

Source: HERO : The official online gateway to Higher Education and Research in the UK

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