Plagiarism is a growing problem in universities because student now have at their fingertips a vast amount of information to plagiarize by simply cutting and pasting.  This page provides resources and information about plagiarism -- what it is and how to avoid it -- for Northeastern Illinois University.

Plagiarism derives from the latin "plagiare" -- "to kidnap."  Put simply, plagiarism is presenting someone else's unique idea or written work without acknowledging them -- thereby suggesting their work is your own.   As the diagram to the right suggests (click to enlarge), there are many gradations of plagiarism, some of which may even occur by accident.  The writing tutorial service of Indiana University in Bloomington has created a useful page called Plagiarism: What it is and how to recognize and avoid it .  It starts with a passage which is quoted wrongly and rightly with clear examples and explanations of what is permissible and what is not.  Generally,

         DO reference if

• you are directly quoting someone else's words; depending on the style, you may need to include page number in the citation
• you are using someone's unique idea even if you have paraphrased it with your own words
• you refer to the work of several authors: "There appears to be a strong relationship between X and Y (Smith 1992, Jones 2001, Williams 1995)
• you refer to the reported experiences of a person other than yourself: "According to John Doe, president of ______, the ...."  or (personal conversation, John Doe)

• you are referring to a generally known fact or idea (e.g. "World population is now well over 6 billion" needs no reference).
• you are referring to your own work

How easy is it to commit plagiarism?

Strictly speaking, it's difficult to avoid.  An incomplete citation, a minor paraphrased idea that isn't sourced, even a typographic error can constitute plagiarism.  These minor oversights are generally forgiven, especially at the early college level.

Flagrant plagiarism is easy to commit, but isn't likely to occur by accident.  Anyone with simple computer skills can search the web, cut-and-paste, slap on their name and turn in a bogus paper.   An industry has developed to serve students who are so inclined.  Peggy Bates and Margaret Fain, Library Instruction Coordinator for the Kimberly Library at Coastal Carolina University, have itemized 265 different sites whose business is to serve pre-written papers and essays.  These sites have colorful names like "Ace your Paper," "Evil House of Cheat," "Paperpimp" and "Schoolsucks.com."   See how easy it is today to find pre-written papers, at the  Bates/Fain list of paper mills.

The "paper mill" plagiarism is inexcusable, as is cutting and pasting chunks out of various sources (without citation).

How can instructors detect plagiarism?

It's often painfully obvious when a paper written by someone else is received.  Work that is uneven or not similar to other work produced by that student, work that is off-topic or submitted very late, excellent work from students whose attendance or performance has been poor, unusual phrasing or vocabulary, and odd references, including inappropriate first person ("Here at Starbucks we ..."), or non-existing passages ("as explained in Chapter 6") are all common warning signs.

Search engines such as  Google, AltaVista, or  Lycos provide useful detection tools.  Use the advanced tools of Google, for example, to search for an exact phrase (most engines will do this if you put quotation marks around the words).  Simply type in a questionable passage and -- if it's out there -- Google will deliver .html, .pdf, .ps, .doc, .xls, powerpint, and .rtf files that contain the phrase, in seconds.  If the paper refers to  a URL, use Google to find pages that link to that page (also in advanced tools).  Looking for a map, chart, or graphic you suspect was not original?  Use Google's Image Search.

How serious is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is theft of intellectual property, and is a serious offense in academia.  The original author is cheated, fellow students who do their own work are cheated, the student plagiarizing cheats him/herself, and the instructor of the course is likely to be insulted as his/her efforts are undermined.  When plagiarism is detected, the individual instructor is likely to assign a failing grade to the paper or for the class, and may even initiate an effort to expel the student from the university.  The seriousness of the deceit and the level of the course are likely to affect the outcome, but students should be aware that -- even if it not spelled out on the syllabus -- faculty may respond harshly to plagiarism.  A grade appeal is not likely to be successful if evidence of blatant plagiarism is in hand.

Why is it in student's own interest to cite carefully?
Giving due credit is a professional courtesy as well as a legal responsibility, so it elevates the student's own scholarly status.  By citing thoroughly, students don't put themselves in a position of defending the information they have found -- the reputation of the original author or the publication itself will carry the liability if it turns out to be false or unjustifiable.  If these reasons aren't enough, the penalties plagiarism can be serious (see below).

How should one cite internet sources?
First, be aware that different disciplines use different professional writing styles, each with specific formatting requirements.  For example, social sciences generally use APA while humanities tend toward MLA and history and some others choose Turabian, which is also know as Chicago Style.  Find the usual writing style for your discipline and stick with it.  Here is Western Illinois University's list of discipline specific styles, but verify this with your own instructor.

When it comes to internet sources, ask your instructor to what extent are they allowed.  Despite the vast quantity of material available on line, its uneven quality and fleeting nature suggest caution when writing a scholarly paper.  An online book called ONLINE! A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources shows how to cite a wide variety of internet sources within each professional writing style.  Purdue University's Online Writing Lab offers a similar page.

What can students do to avoid plagiarism?

• familiarize yourself with the guidelines above ("Do reference if ...")
• understand how easy plagiarism is to detect and trace
• accept that it is a serious offense and understand the possible consequences
• recognize that developing good writing skills is an important part of a college education
• annotate your research notes with complete sources as you prepare your papers
• use quotation marks for direct quotes
• when in doubt, use a citation
• be aware that students are held to higher standards of plagiarism at higher level classes

Consider adding a statement like the following to your syllabus.

Cheating and plagiarism will be punished severely.  This may include failing the course and being subject to further administrative actions, in accordance with university rules.

Copying other's work and submitting it as one's own, even with slight modifications, will result in a failing grade for the course.

As allowed by the Student Conduct Code, a grade of F for the assignment or course will be given for plagiarism.

Plagiarism, presenting of another's words or ideas as one's own, will result in an academic consequence which may be failing of the assignment or course, as allowed in the Student Conduct Code.  See http://www.neiu.edu/~ejhowens/plagiarism (or http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html#plagiarized) for more on plagiarism.

Also

• familiarize yourself with the essay-online.com sites, and the search engines used to trace phrases
• give adequate time for completing a written assignment, and remind students of deadlines
• state your policy on plagiarism on your syllabus
• take great care not to violate your own rules when preparing course materials
• show students how easily internet plagiarism can be traced
• discuss plagiarism with students, and direct them to necessary resources
• give unique, local, timely or comparative assignments which are less likely to be available on-line.
• be involved in the writing process, such as suggesting sources or viewing drafts
• advise students to retain their research notes
• be aware that an F grade for the paper or class is defensible, and commonly done

What can instructors do if they discover plagiarism?

In NEIU's Student Conduct Code plagiarism is defined as follows:

Plagiarism. Appropriation or imitation of the language, ideas, and thoughts of another author and representation of them as one's original work.  This includes (1) paraphrasing another's ideas or conclusions without acknowledgement; (2) lifting of entire paragraphs, chapters, etc. from another's work; and (3) submission as one's own work, any work prepared by another person or agenciy.
(Administrative Memorandum N. 37, Acts of Misconduct, Academic, #4)

... the faculty member ... may adjust the grade downward (including F-failure) for the test, paper, or course, or other course related activigy in question).  In such instances the faculty member shall notify the student, the Department/Unit Head, and the Office of the Dean of Students of the reason for such action in writing.
(Administrative Memorandum N. 37, Acts of Misconduct, Academic)

(1) If the incident occurs before the drop date, faculty may immediately call to the Dean of Student's office  at 442-4610 (and follow shortly thereafter with a written complaint) to put a temporary hold on registration, thereby disallowing the student from dropping the course.  The complaint is adjudicated either by the Assistant Dean or, if the student prefers, by a committee made up of students and faculty appointed by the student and faculty senate, respectively.  The procedure is explained fully in the Student Conduct Code.

(2) If the incident occurs after the drop date temporary hold on registration changes is not necessary, and if the student wishes to appeal the grade he/she initiates the Grade Appeal Process which can be summarized as follows
 

Student appeals directly to the faculty member. If not resolved, student appeals in writing to the department chair, who investigates If not resolved, student appeals in writing to the Dean, who gathers information from the department chair The Dean determines whether the matter should be turned over to the Grade Appeals Committee which consists of two students from student government two faculty members a Dean's representative, who votes only in cases of a tie The decision of the committtee, which may commute the grade to a P (pass), is final If you choose to report to the Dean of Students, it will go on the student's record. In this way the Dean's office serves as a central repository for such charges, which makes it possible to identify frequent violators.

(3) If the discovery is made after the grade is given, file a standard change of grade form, notify the student, chair, and dean in writing.

Links:
Extensive Links on plagiarism by Stoerger