Preview

Plagiarism in the Academic World

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
783 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Plagiarism in the Academic World
Introduction

In order to be a successful graduate student in the academic world, referencing and citation is an important skill when used effectively and appropriate. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action, or even dismissal from the degree program of the University. (Evans & Rossman, 2002)

The above issue is related to what we know as plagiarism and how we define the concept of ownership in different contexts. The following sections present the definition of ownership in three different contexts: western academic context, cultural context and the internet and globalization context.

Finally, a plan for honing and practising citation and referencing skills is provided.

Western Academic Context

In the western academic world a lot of value is put in the individual who creates an idea or writes about it. This, to some, extent defines the ownership of the words as belonging to the individual that wrote them. The identification of the author of the words stems from three concerns. First, students in the U.S. (and UK) are expected to develop their own analytical and critical skills so that they can form their own opinions, and so that a reader is able to discern the student 's words from those of someone else. Secondly, researchers of more advanced research work may want to evaluate the original work cited in order to check the accuracy of the quotation or decide if he agrees with the author 's interpretation of the text. Finally, the third concern is related to copyright law, which helps protect the author 's and their work. So, in the western academic world, an individual owns his work as long as it is protected by copyright law. (Evans & Rossman, 2009)

Cultural Context

In countries like China, Spain and Africa (including Angola) the concept of ownership takes on a different meaning, because it is perfectly normal to use someone else 's idea. In China, for instance, it is a sign of disrespect to alter the words of a really well know



Bibliography: Evans, David R. & Rossman, Gretchen B. (2002), Using the words and work of other authors: a short guide to APA style for graduate students in Education at U.S. Universities, University of Massachusetts [Online]. Available from: http://www.umass.edu/cie/Themes/APARules-3rd%20ed.pdf (Accessed: 24 July 2009) Miller, Nora (2005) “Wikipedia and the disappearing “Author”,” ETC.: A Review of General Semantics, Volume 62, Issue 1 [Online]. Available from: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5008697163 (Accessed 25 July 2009) Yusof, Dahlia Syahrani Md. (2009), “A different perspective of plagiarism”, The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. XV, No. 2 [Online]. Available from: http://iteslj.org/Articles/Yusof-Plagiarism.html (Accessed 25 July 2009)

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    BIO204

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Explain how CO2 enters leaves. What environmental factors control stomatal movement? How are these factors related to physical and chemical properties that control the opening and closing of stomata?…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Discussion Question Week2

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Bowden, D. (1996) ‘Coming to terms: plagiarism,’ English Journal,85 (4), pp. 82-84, ProQuest Central [Online]. DOI: 9477482 (Accessed: 9 March 2009).By Wednesday, post 3–5 responses to your colleagues by: * Asking insightful questions * Offering contributions based upon the literature and your prior experience * Extending the discussion into new but relevant areas * Modelling or promoting critical reflection Remember to cite ideas from the readings for this week, using Harvard style. Please submit your initial response through the Turnitin submission links below in addition to posting it to the Discussion Board.…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Truman may have not been very involved in the vietnam war but his participation in this war dates back to the 1950s when he aided the french with around 160 million dollars. This started and established the U.S. interest in indochina. During President Kennedy’s presidency troops in vietnam increased from 1,000 troops in the 1950’s to 9,000 troops by 1962. Kennedy justified going to war to protect South Vietnam was because of the Domino Theory, that if vietnam becomes a communist country than other southeast asian countries will also become communist. The Domino theory was first brought up by Dwight Eisenhower and is what kennedy and johnson reason for getting involved in the Vietnam War.…

    • 554 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Russell Smith's insightful piece “A Plague of Plagiarists in a Cut and Paste World” he explores the possibilities of both opinions that could be perceived with the topic of the increasingly pressing issue of plagiarism arising within today's culture. Whilst understanding the reasoning, justified by the advancing technology flooding society, Smith feels that the process of filtering students' essay's through turnitin.com or others is necessary in order to preserve originality and honest education.…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    W100

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In order to avoid plagiarism, and therefore side-step inadequate preparation for any academic work under-taken, it is important to understand how and when plagiarism comes into effect. There are numerous reasons why students plagiarise, whether intentionally or not and some examples of the reasons and also when it is evident in sub-standard work is described below:…

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The popular article, “Why Street Protests Don’t Work,” is by Moisés Naím, a contributing editor for The Atlantic, an author of more than 10 books, and a distinguished fellow in the International Economics Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Throughout this article, Naím argues that protests are no longer productive with the popularization of street marches. By explaining how social media has undermined real activism and productive, organized protesting, Naím’s piece is subjectively denouncing social media’s affect on social movements and demonstrations. Naím’s aim is to inform the public about the importance of organized and committed movements rather than the popular movement of clicking to share without sustained action…

    • 141 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Plagiarism takes numerous structures from just replicating another student’s paper, to writing an exam or manufacturing an official university transcript. Since most specialists have centered their consideration on cheating during examinations or literary theft, little is thought…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Salem Telephone Company

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Jaschik, Scott. “Winning Hearts and Minds in War of Plagiarism.” Inside Higher Education: 2008. Pg. 261-266. Print.…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Annotated Bibliography

    • 1293 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Infringement,” Matthew K Dames informs his audience of the differences between plagiarism and copyright infringement and the misperception that they go hand in hand. Dames describes copyright infringement as “a set of laws and the illegal use of protected works without exception, license, or purchase” and defines plagiarism as “an act of stealing and passing off someone’s ideas or words as one’s own without crediting the source.” He opens his audience’s eyes to the unfair world of plagiarism as he cites a scandal at Ohio University where a disgruntled student accused other students of plagiarizing their thesis. Whether these allegations are true or not the accused has no way of defending him/herself and their reputation is ruined.…

    • 1293 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The paper uses content analysis methodology to implement the ethical framework described above. Consequently, the research evaluates the recorded content found in the confidential files of students found to have plagiarised work at a US university. This includes the formal process by which the students were charged with plagiarism and how they defended their actions.…

    • 1295 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    paper for a course. Many students have never learned, or have not been taught, the proper form…

    • 1764 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    To define plagiarism, the Oxford English Dictionary states that plagiarism is "the action or practice of taking someone else 's work, idea, etc., and passing it off as one 's own; literary theft" (Last, 2007). In the academic world it has been made clear that plagiarism is a crime. Students are introduced to the issues surrounding plagiarism in their first orientation. After the first class, they are reminded and warned about plagiarizing all the way through their academic career. When a student enrolls in a college or university they are given a code of conduct and a set of rules that have to be adhered to. Additionally, all students agree to the ethical values that come with the code of conduct. If a student does not adhere to the code of conduct the rules state what the price to be paid is for each penalty. In fact, the penalty for plagiarism can be as high as being expelled from the school with a failing grade. This can ruin a student 's academic career. Since we have covered the consequences of being caught plagiarizing, what are the consequences if the student is not caught? The consequences if not caught would be that the student will not be prepared for the career that they are training for and will probably continue plagiarizing other authors throughout their career.…

    • 2171 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    MacDonell, C. (2005, January). The problem of plagiarism: students who copy may not know they 've committed an offense. School Library Journal, 51, 1. p.35(1). Retrieved February 04, 2008, from General OneFile via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS…

    • 1086 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    First, Blum believes plagiarism is a problem on college campuses, and schools are not doing enough to prevent it. When attempting to prevent plagiarism, universities typically approach it as one of two things; either as something as simple as a moral dilemma or as severe as punishable criminal offense(Blum1). This means that plagiarism and academic integrity is a problem with no foreseeable solution that will continue to worsen. Next, Blum expresses that students need more education about attribution in order to prevent plagiarism. The standard methods of teaching attribution to students as a singular concept instead of a learned skill leaves students with a very limited knowledge and understanding of what what the term academic integrity means…

    • 211 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Referencing Referencing

    • 4559 Words
    • 19 Pages

    with exAmpleS in the ApA & hArvArd StyleS Sixth edition university of canberra library and Academic Skills program 2010…

    • 4559 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Best Essays

Related Topics