PLAGIARISM, COLLUSION AND REFERENCING

IN ACADEMIC WRITING YOU NEED

to show that you have researched your subject to acknowledge the sources you have used to

avoid the charge of plagiarism to ensure that it is your own work written in your

own words avoiding collusion to reference all the sources using the Harvard

Referencing system

WHAT IS PLAGIARISM ?

HOW TO AVOID IT

Reference all your sources – within the assignment

Be accurate when you quote your sources

If in doubt – reference it!

TIP: Keep a record of your sources as you go along!

WHAT IS COLLUSION ?

When students work together on assignments which should be completed alone

When one student produces work and allows another student to copy it

- both students would be found guilty of collusion

PENALTIES

You might get:

ZERO marks

Disqualified from that exam unit/or for the whole exam subject

Barred from entering again for a period of time

REFERENCING & BIBLIOGRAPHY

Good practice – protection for you against charges of plagiarism

To your credit – shows the extent of your research

Harvard Referencing System – the approved system for College (and UWE, University of Plymouth and many other colleges and universities)

HARVARD REFERENCING - BOOKS

In the Reference List/Bibliography 1 author’s surname 2 author’s initials 3 year of publication 4 title (in italics or underlined – be consistent) 5 edition (other than first) 6 place of publication 7 publisher

EXAMPLE

In the Reference List/Bibliography

Neville,C. (2007) The complete guide to referencing and avoiding plagiarism 2nd ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press

In the text:

“Tutors will be interested in your list of references or bibliographyto identify which authors and sourceshave been influential in moulding or shaping the direction taken by you in your research” (Neville, 2007 p.12)

HARVARD REFERENCING – JOURNALS/MAGAZINES

In the Reference List/Bibliography

1 author’s surname 2 author’s initials 3 year of publication 4 title of article 5 title of journal/magazine (in italics or underlined – be consistent) 6 volume & part number / issue number 7 page number(s)

EXAMPLE

In the Reference List/BibliographyNicolle, L., 1990, Data Protection: laying down the law. Management Computing13 (12) pp 48-49, 52

In the text:

It is essential that all managers are familiar with the

Data Protection Act (Nicolle 1990)

HARVARD REFERENCING –WEB SITE / EBOOK

In the Reference List/Bibliography

1 author’s surname 2 author’s initials 3 year (if known) 4 title (online) 5 edition (if known - ebooks) 6 place (if known) 7 publisher 8 available from (URL) 9 date accessed (by you)

EXAMPLE

In the Reference List/Bibliography:

Barnett, M., 1996, Harvard System, London, Fictitious University, www.fictitious.ac.uk (accessed 29.09.04)

In the text:

It is suggested that Harvard Referencing should be the world standard (Barnett 1996).

Plagiarism Quiz

1. The writer does not put references in the main text but puts them in a bibliography at the end of the assignment or essay.

Is this plagiarism or not plagiarism?

PLAGIARISM

If you are referencing there should be references in the body of the text as well as at the end (of the page, chapter, complete work).

2. The writer uses another person’s words but changes several of them and gives a reference to the source in the text, e.g. (Keynes, 1936) with full details in the bibliography.

Is this plagiarism or not plagiarism?

PLAGIARISM The referencing isn’t in question here but:

It is not enough to change a few words. You either use the whole quotation or write it entirely in your own words.

3. The writer rewrites a paragraph from a text, changing the vocabulary and the structure of the original text. The writer puts a reference to the original source, e.g. (Keynes, 1936:22) in the text with full details in the bibliography.

Is this plagiarism or not plagiarism?

NOT PLAGIARISM

4. With the agreement of another student, the writer uses some sections of that student’s essay in his work.

Is this plagiarism or not plagiarism?

PLAGIARISM

The student is giving the tutors the impression that the work is his/her own.

This is also ‘collusion’ as more than one person was involved in the deception.

5. The writer copies the exact words from a source, in quotation marks, and includes a reference in the text e.g. (Keynes, 1936: 22), with full details in the bibliography.

Is this plagiarism or not plagiarism?

The writer has used the exact words of another author but has given full credit to the other writer.

Not plagiarism

6. The writer works with another student to prepare an essay. Each student writes half of the essay and submits this as individual work.

Is this plagiarism or not plagiarism?

PLAGIARISM

Both writers are cheating here by giving the impression that all their work is their own. And, of course, they are colluding as well.

7. The writer copies several sentences exactly as they were written in an original source and includes a reference to this source in the text, e.g. (Keynes, 1936: 22) or as a footnote, with full details in the bibliography.

Is this plagiarism or not plagiarism?

PLAGIARISM

Exact wording from other works should be indicated by the use of quotation marks.

FINALLYFurther reading:

Pears, R., 2005, Cite them right: the essential guide to referencing and plagiarism, Newcastle upon Tyne, Pear Tree Books*

*This can be found in the LRC Study Skills Section (371.3 PEA)

‘The Complete Guide to Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism’ This can be found in Dawson Era eBooks HERE

From the drop down box choose ‘City of Bristol’Then login using your college user name and password

You may also like to have a look at ‘Effective Study Skills’ in My I Library HERE