Plagiarism

Week 4.1 Application

Jane Doe

Success Strategies Online Environment

The Extent of Plagiarism Upon reading the original passage and then the student’s passage, it is clear that the student’s written work has been plagiarized. According to Perrin (2007), he states three forms of plagiarism. An extreme form of this is “Whole paper plagiarism”, a less extreme form is “Copy-and-paste plagiarism” and lastly, “Careless plagiarism” (p. 16). The extent to which this student plagiarized would be considered under, “Careless plagiarism”. This type of plagiarism is “evident when distinct material is unquoted or when specialized information (dates, percentages, and other facts) is not acknowledged. Even when this is carelessly or inadvertently done, the writer is still at fault for dishonest work, and the paper is still unacceptable” (Perrin, 2007, p. 16).
Two plagiarized Sentences in the Passage The first sentence that I see plagiarized is the second sentence of the student’s passage which states, “But it is hard to know if a conflict of interest between doctors, researchers, and the drug company stockholders has tainted the results”. This sentence could have been better written as, “It is difficult to know and impossible to prove if a conflict of interest between doctors, researchers and the drug company stockholders has tainted the results” (Crossen, 1994, p. 166). A second sentence that I see obvious plagiarism is the third sentence of the student’s passage which says, “Biomedical researchers incorporate strict rules of science into their work, which is examined by peers”. A more profound way to have written this without plagiarizing would have been to write: According to Crossen (1994), “Biomedical researchers incorporate strict rules of science into their work, which is examined by peers” (p.167).

How is Plagiarism Recognized When a student writes a paper, plagiarism can be recognized in various ways such as not using appropriate words in a sentence, change in tone/vocabulary within a paragraph and writing material in a paper in which exact words are repeated in whole. As Perrin (2007) states, “Learn to recognize the distinctive qualities of source materials” (p. 17). Furthermore, there are four special qualities of sources that Perrin (2007) mentions: “Distinctive prose style, Original facts, Personal interpretations of information and Original ideas” (p. 18). More importantly, being aware of the use of “Common Knowledge”. This is information (i.e. facts and interpretations) are known by many people (Perrin, 2007, p.16). Some examples include “historical facts, general observations and opinions and unacknowledged information that appears in multiple sources” (Perrin, 2007, p.17).
Ways in Which to Avoid Plagiarism For starters, the best way to avoid plagiarizing material is to use your own words. One must reference material if words are written exactly from the source or if material written is paraphrased in any way. Paraphrase means that “you restate the author's ideas, meaning, and information in your own words” (UC Riverside Libraries, 2009). According to UC Riverside Libraries (2009), “Avoid using other’s work with minor ‘cosmetic’ changes such as: substituting words (such as “less” for “fewer”); reversing the order of a sentence; Change terms in a computer code and Alter a spread sheet layout”. Lastly, “if one is uncertain about written information to be used as ‘common knowledge’, always document the material (Perrin, 2007, p. 17). Thus, if a writer shows any integrity to his/her work and cites material accordingly; plagiarism should not be a factor within the written work.

References
Crossen, C. (1994). Tainted: The manipulation of fact in America. New York: Touchstone, pp. 166-167.
Perrin, R. (2007). Pocket Guide to APA Style (2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.
UC Riverside Libraries. (2009, February 17). Avoiding Plagiarism: Mastering the Art of Scholarship. Retrieved May 28, 2014, from: http://library.ucr.edu/?view=help/plagiarism2.html