Rob Desjardins, PhD Graduate Writing Advisor

1. Avoiding Plagiarism:Strategies and Resources Rob Desjardins, PhD Graduate Writing Advisor (Based on a presentation by Stephen Kuntz, Associate Director, Writing Resources)

2. A Preliminary Reflection How to avoid concerning yourself with plagiarism: Don’t read anything written by anyone.

3. Starting PointStatistics…and Attitudes

4. The Stats: Scientific Publications Southwestern Medical Center study (University of Texas): “There were 181 works the text of which was identical on an average proportion of 85%. About 25% of these were almost 100% the same. This proves just how numerous the scientific publications are, be [they] printed, online or otherwise.” http://news.softpedia.com/news/There-Is-A-Lot-of-Plagiarism-In-Medicine-95981.shtml

5. The Stats: Graduate-Level Plagiarism “The report estimates that plagiarism among taught postgraduate students was much higher than among undergraduates. For the former, the research found around 11.9 cases for every 1,000 students, and for the latter around 6.7.” - Natasha Gilbert in The Guardian (June 24, 2008)

6. The Stats: Medical School Applicants “Five per cent of applicants, equivalent to 25,000 of this year’s 500,000 total, resorted to cutting and pasting sentences from model personal statements from the internet this year…. [M]ost lifted material from the same website, studential.com, making their transgressions as easy to spot as an elephant in an elevator.” http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article1485294.ece

7. Easy Attitudes? “Still, one might wonder whether this was so bad…, considering that this only helps spread the knowledge contained in the genuine work.” http://news.softpedia.com/news/There-Is-A-Lot-of-Plagiarism-In-Medicine-95981.shtml

8. Causes and IncentivesThe Pressures of Graduate Study

9. Plagiarism: Pressures and Prompts • Higher stakes • More acute time pressures • Writing: • longer, more complex texts • more sources • more potential problems • Higher percentage of non-native writers

10. Why Rationalization is Tempting • Perception that knowledge is more important than the process • Notions of “justified” plagiarism • “Writing isn’t really that important for me in my future work” • “Dissemination of knowledge” argument

11. Avoiding PlagiarismWhat You Should Know

12. #1Know and understand the definition of plagiarism in theory and in practice

13. Plagiarism: The Legal Definition • “The submission by a student of the words, ideas, images, or data of another person as the student's own in any academic writing, essay, thesis, research project, or assignment in a course or program of study.” (http://www.registrar.ualberta.ca/calendar-archive/calendar-2006-2007/Glossary/Information/255.html) • Code of Student Behavior:http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/gfcpolicymanual/content.cfm?ID_page=37633#38363

14. Breaking It Down Plagiarism involves using someone else’s • exact words without quotation marks • ideas paraphrased in your own words without indicating where you got the idea • data and statistics, which youdid not collect yourself, without giving credit to your source • pictures, graphics, images, tables and graphs, music, sounds, diagrams, and/or photographs, which you did not create on your own, without stating where you got them

15. Other Forms of Plagiarism • 30.3.2(2) c    No Student shall represent another’s substantial editorial or compositional assistance on an assignment as the Student’s own work. • Implications: • “Can’t I get help with my writing?”“Yes, but not substantial help.” • Not sure what that means? Find out!

16. Self-Plagiarism • 30.3.2(2) d   No Student shall submit in any course or program of study, without the written approval of the course Instructor, all or a substantial portion of any academic writing, essay, thesis, research report, project, assignment, presentation or poster for which credit has previously been obtained by the Student or which has been or is being submitted by the Student in another course or program of study in the University or elsewhere. • Implications: • You can plagiarize yourself. • Not sure what this means? Find out!

17. #2Know and understand potential pitfalls and pressures

18. Pitfalls and Pressures • Meeting disciplinary expectations • Managing time • Keeping track of sources • Paraphrasing • Writing effectively; finding the right language

19. #3Know and understand yourself

20. #4Know where to get support, assistance and instruction

21. Sources of Support • Professors/supervisors • Plagiarism seminars • Writing seminars/classes • Consultations

22. How We Can Help: Writing Seminars • Thesis-Writing Strategies • Scholarly Writing at the Graduate Level • Crafting a Thesis or Dissertation Proposal • Writing a Literature Review • Writing a Scholarly Abstract • Writing an Effective Funding Proposal • To Your Credit: Using the Words and Ideas of Others Correctly (plagiarism seminar)

23. How We Can Help: Learning Seminars • Time Management and Procrastination • Thesis Management System • Keeping Up Your Motivation in Grad School • Brain Burps and Other Intellectual Snags (avoiding memory overload)

24. For More Information Contact us at: • www.ualberta.ca/studentsuccess • success@ualberta.ca • 780-492-2682 • 2-300 Students’ Union Building (second floor, next to the Health Centre)