Some Notes on Plagiarism

I just returned from a seminar at the University of Greenwich that focused some attention on delivery of the University's degree programmes in external colleges. One of the themes that was discussed was Plagiarism.

I thought that I could start with this same theme since most of the students that I deal with would be faced with this issue. Plagiarism comes in many forms and it is important that students are aware of both the forms of plagiarism as well as the implications of plagiarism.

From dictionary.com I found this definition:

"Plagiarism

n 1: a piece of writing that has been copied from someone else and is presented as being your own work 2: the act of plagiarizing; taking someone's words or ideas as if they were your own"
- http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Plagiarism

A question that is frequently asked is "how much could be copied before it is considered plagiarism?" The answer should be NONE AT ALL. Even a sentence or part of a sentence from a web site or a book will be considered plagiarized IF it is nor referenced. That is the main distinction. Any work taken from another source must not be presented as your own.

If you find a definition on line, and wish to use it then you should make a reference to the source. If you leave out the reference then you are saying that you developed the definition and you are guilty of plagiarism. It is also useful to mark the copied sentence so that it is clear that it is not part of your work. For example, you may wish to format the sentence in italics and use double quotes. The reference should then be placed immediately after the quoted text.

Having said that it is also important to note that a student cannot copy an extensive piece of work, reference the entire thing and hand it in as an assignment. You should keep the quoted sentences to a minimum. Remember that you are being marked on you own contribution (or work). If you copy every line in your report then you did not do any work that is worthy of marks.

As for the implications of plagiarism. The first and most obvious implication is that you are going to be penalised if you plagiarise. That is, you could be marked as fail for the assignment that you did, or marked as fail for the entire course. There is also some implications for the honours that you get for the degree.

Another less obvious implication is in your future career. Plagiarism is not only a concern at the university but is a serious concern in the cororate environment. A mark of plagiarism against you has some serious consequences later in your career. Another point to note is that your lecturers play an important role in your career development. They provide recommendations to your potential employers for instance. If a lecturer suspects plagiarism, you will not get a good recommendation.

So to conclude, do not copy any words or code from any source unless you clearly mark it and reference it. There is more than a good chance that your lecturer will discover it and the consequences would be dire.