PLAGIARISM - Know the Facts!
As well as the following, you can also get lots of information from the university's web pages on plagiarism and academic dishonesty www.staffs.ac.uk/refzone
Plus - from Monday 16th to Friday 27th November, pop along to the 'Ask A Librarian' stands in Thomson and Nelson libraries for extra information from experienced staff. (Mon - Thurs 11am - 8pm, Fri 11-5, Sat & Sun 1-6pm).
More on plagiarism
What is plagiarism?
What is academic dishonesty?
How to cheat: the idiot’s guide
How you’ll get caught
Avoid being a plagiarist
Further advice
What is Plagiarism?
Defined as:
“The representation of another person’s work, without acknowledgement of the source, as the student’s own for the purposes of satisfying formal assessment requirements.”
Here are some examples:
• Use of more than a single phrase without use of quotation marks.
• Summarising work by changing words, and making no acknowledgement.
• Copying work of another person.
• Submission of work which has been obtained from the internet.
• Submission of work with significant use of unattributed digital images, e.g. graphs, tables photographs, etc.
• Submission of work which has previously been assessed for another module or at a different institution as if it were new work.
What is Academic Dishonesty?
Some definitions (not all)
• Aiding and abetting a student in any form of dishonest practice.
• Bribery – paying or offering inducements.
• Collusion – when two or more students collaborate and submit work as though it was individual.
• Commissioning someone else to complete an assignment for you.
How to Cheat: The Idiot’s Guide
• Type the essay title into a search engine and you will be presented with a multitude of websites.
• Many of these will contain complete or partial coverage of the subject, written by more learned people than yourself and probably in better grammar than your usual style.
• Cut and paste one or more of the best into a WORD document.
• Possibly change some fonts etc. to make it look like one piece of work rather than a patchwork quilt.
• Add title and name etc.
• Hand in as your own work.
How you’ll get Caught:
It’s easy to spot a cheat and your tutors and lecturers here at Staffs University have the facilities to detect if you’ve been plagiarising...so beware!
They can use:
• Online services such as JISC
– Turnitin software allows them to see what percentage of a piece of work has been taken from websites or from work that has previously been submitted.
• Google
– By far and away the easiest way to cheat – and the easiest way to catch people who cheat!
How to avoid being a plagiarist:
• Learn to use references correctly
• Guidelines are available on key skills website (www.staffs.ac.uk/keyskills)
• All material used MUST have a clear reference
Think of the consequences!
• Academic dishonesty is taken very seriously
• If you’re caught - your degree classification could suffer
• Learn how to avoid the common pitfalls – reference correctly, and you’ll get better marks!
Need Further Advice?
If you want to find out more about plagiarism and how to avoid it, as well as help with using references in your own work visit the Key Skills website: www.staffs.ac.uk/keyskills, or go directly to www.plagiarism.org.
Students’ Union Advisors are available to help with any issues that require confidentiality.
Or contact the University’s Appeals and Complaints Department:
Stephanie Bates
Appeals and Complaints Officer
Tel: 01782 294359
Email: S.E.Bates@staffs.ac.uk