PLAGIARISM
SO WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?
For Students taking Criminal Justice and
Legal Assistant Studies Courses
This short presentation will:
Help you to understand what plagiarism is and how
to avoid it.
Identify the consequences of committing plagiarism
and/or other acts of academic dishonesty.
Help you understand the difference between
paraphrasing, quoting, and plagiarism.
Provide you with the opportunity to inform your
instructor that you have completed this module.
Plagiarism
To plagiarize means to take someone else’s
words and/or ideas (or patterns of ideas) and
to present them to the reader as if they are
yours.
Plagiarism is an act of stealing
It is also an unwise act because it : a) does not
help you learn and b) you can be severely
punished for it.
See UTC Student Handbook p. 5 or visit:
https://www.utc.edu/Administration/StudentDevelopment/handbook/academics.pdf
Plagiarism includes:
words
ideas
images
sounds
Plagiarism can be:
Intentional – when you mean to
mislead others and represent work as your
own when it is not
Careless – when you are careless and do not
properly credit/cite material that is someone
else’s work (published or unpublished)
Intentional Acts
Copying a friend’s work
Buying papers or homework assignments
Copying material off an internet site without citing the
source
Using a web site that sells research papers
Cutting and pasting material without a citation
Paraphrasing and only changing a few words or using
synonyms of words
Submitting a paper more than once to different instructors
Unintentional Acts
Sloppy citations
lack information
have inaccurate information
Paraphrasing inappropriately
Improper documentation of sources
If you plagiarize:
You may jeopardize your academic career and
your reputation
BUT – MORE IMPORTANTLY
You cheat yourself. Failing to complete
assignments means you do not develop
intellectually, learn critical thinking skills, and
improve writing skills.
An education costs a lot of money – get what
you paid for!
Penalties for Plagiarism
The instructor can give you a failing grade on the
assignment or in the course
You can be referred to Honor Court and have a
formal finding put on your record
Honor Court can rule:
You receive an F in the course
You are to be placed on disciplinary probation
You are suspended from UTC
You are dismissed from UTC
Is this plagiarism?
Original Source: “While it is not feasible to
abandon the use of the automobile, foot patrol
can and has been integrated by many agencies
into their overall strategy.” [Gaines, L.; Kappeler,
V., and Vaughn, J. (1999). Anderson: Cincinnati,
OH. (p. 200).
Student paper: While most think it is not practical
to completely get rid of patrol cars, many think
that foot patrols can be used in agencies.
Yes No
Correct: This is plagiarism.
Obviously, using the exact sentence without a
citation is plagiarism, but this example also is
plagiarism. The student has merely changed a few
words from the original statement without a
citation.
Continue
Incorrect: This is plagiarism.
Obviously, using the exact sentence without a citation is plagiarism, but this example also is plagiarism. The student has merely changed a few words from the original statement without a citation.
Original Source: “While it is not feasible to abandon the use of the automobile, foot patrol can and has been integrated by many agencies into their overall strategy.” [Gaines, L.; Kappeler, V., and Vaughn, J. (1999). Anderson: Cincinnati, OH. (p. 200).
Student paper: While most think it is not practical to completely get rid of patrol cars, many think that foot patrols can be used in agencies.
A paraphrase:
uses another author's idea, but it is
expressed in the student’s own words.
Quotation marks are not required unless
the material is presented word for word.
Just changing a few words from the
original doesn't count! That is still
plagiarism and not paraphrasing.
Is this plagiarism?
Original Source: “While it is not feasible to abandon the use of the automobile, foot patrol can and has been integrated by many agencies into their overall strategy.” [Gaines, L.; Kappeler, V., and Vaughn, J. (1999). Anderson: Cincinnati, OH. (p. 200).
Student paper: While most think it is not practical to completely get rid of patrol cars, many think that foot patrols can be used in agencies (Gaines, Kappeler, & Vaughn,1999, p. 200).
Yes No
Correct: This is plagiarism.
Obviously, using the exact sentence without a citation is plagiarism, but this example also is plagiarism. The student has merely changed a few words from the original statement. Even though the author was cited, the student followed the authors’ words so closely that is plagiarizing.
If this point is that important to your paper, the student you should quote the authors’ directly with the use of direct quotations and the appropriate citation.
Another way to paraphrase this point can be seen on the next slide.
Continue
Incorrect: This is plagiarism.
Obviously, using the exact sentence without a citation is plagiarism, but this example also is plagiarism. The student has merely changed a few words from the original statement without a citation.
Original Source: “While it is not feasible to abandon the use of the automobile, foot patrol can and has been integrated by many agencies into their overall strategy.” [Gaines, L.; Kappeler, V., and Vaughn, J. (1999). Anderson: Cincinnati, OH. (p. 200).
Student paper: While most think it is not practical to completely get rid of patrol cars, many think that foot patrols can be used in agencies.
Correct way to paraphrase:
Original source: “While it is not feasible to abandon the use of the automobile, foot patrol can and has been integrated by many agencies into their overall strategy.”
Paraphrase: Most departments continue to use automobiles to patrol because it is impossible to staff enough officers to use foot patrol alone. Most departments, however, have at least some officers who patrol on foot. (Gaines, Kappeler, & Vaughn,1999, p. 200).
Is this plagiarism?
Student paper: Most police officers who are
patrolling on the street wear uniforms.
No Yes
This probably is NOT plagiarism.
General knowledge does NOT have to be cited.
For example, George Washington was the first
president of the US.
General knowledge is tricky because there is a
degree of interpretation as to what is and what is
NOT a part of this category.
It is always better to be safe than sorry.
Is this plagiarism?
Student paper: The criminal justice system is
extremely costly to run and maintain.
Yes No
Correct -- because
This is a trick question. While the statement is generally common knowledge, this exact sentence was taken out of another source without a citation.
In order to cite it should read, “The criminal justice system is extremely costly to run and maintain”(Siegel, 2008, p. 11).
If the student has used information from this source and then fails to cite this sentence, the instructor will probably view it as intentional plagiarism.
Continue
Incorrect -- because
This is a trick question. While the statement is generally common knowledge, this exact sentence was taken out of another source without a citation.
In order to cite it should read, “The criminal justice system is extremely costly to run and maintain”(Siegel, 2008, p. 11).
If the student has used information from this source and then fails to cite this sentence, the instructor will probably view it as intentional plagiarism.
Is this plagiarism?
Student paper: Murder fell 39% in the US from
1990-1999.
Yes No
Correct -- because
Anytime a specific statistic is used, the author
must cite the source (table, page number,
web site or where ever the original “fact”
came from).
You must also provide a footnote for any
chart, graph, figure, picture or table taken
directly from another source.
Continue
Incorrect: This is plagiarism.
Anytime a specific statistic is used, the author
must cite the source (table, page number, web
site or where ever the original “fact” came
from).
You must also provide a footnote for any
chart, graph, figure, picture or table taken
directly from another source.
Is this plagiarism?
Student paper: After interviewing 5 victims as
assigned, 4 of them, or 80% were very
traumatized by their experience.
Yes No
Correct -- because
This is your conclusion based on your
assignment from the instructor to interview
victims. You are synthesizing the information
you gathered from the victims and reporting
it in your paper. You do not need to cite this
information.
Continue
Incorrect: This is not plagiarism.
This is your conclusion based on your assignment
from the instructor to interview victims. You are
synthesizing the information you gathered from the
victims and reporting it in your paper. You do not
need to cite this information.
Is this plagiarism?
Student paper states: After reviewing the papers assigned on fear of crime, most of the authors argue that women are more fearful than men. One of the problems with these studies, however, is that they fail to consider what types of crimes in their studies. Perhaps women are found to be more fearful because they are afraid of rape while men might be more afraid of robbery. In order to truly understand fear of crime, studies must look at specific types of crime.
Yes No
Correct -- because
This is your conclusion based on your
readings. You are analyzing the studies you
read and critiquing them. When you use
your own thoughts and words to analyze
material, it is NOT plagiarism, unless you are
using the words of someone else who has
made this critique.
Continue
Incorrect: This is not plagiarism.
This is your conclusion based on your readings. You
are analyzing the studies you read and critiquing
them. When you use your own thoughts and words
to analyze material, it is NOT plagiarism, unless
you are using the words of someone else who has
made this critique.
Is this plagiarism?
Student paper: It is clear that most of the
research on crime rates shows that crime
generally has declined in the past 20-25
years (Jones, 2005; Smith, 2007; Wilson,
2009).
Yes No
Correct -- because
This is the students’ original words and is a summary of his/her readings and they have cited the overall conclusions of several authors. When you use your own thoughts and words to summarize material is NOT plagiarism as long as you have cited the authors that you are summarizing.
Continue
Incorrect: This is not plagiarism.
This is the students’ original words and is a
summary of his/her readings and they have cited
the overall conclusions of several authors. When
you use your own thoughts and words to summarize
material is NOT plagiarism as long as you have
cited the authors that you are summarizing.
Is this plagiarism?
Student paper: (This statement was taken word for work from Wikipedia on the internet.) Several methods for measuring crime exist, including household surveys, hospital or insurance records, and compilations by police and similar law enforcement agencies.
Yes No
Correct -- because
It does not matter what the source of the
material is when it comes to rules about
plagiarism. Students must apply the same
rules to citing internet citations. The rules for
internet citations are still evolving so you may
want to ask your instructor how they want this
information documented.
Continue
Incorrect: This is plagiarism.
It does not matter what the source of the
material is when it comes to rules about
plagiarism. Students must apply the same
rules to citing internet citations. The rules for
internet citations are still evolving so you may
want to ask your instructor how they want this
information documented.
Use a citation when:
You use an original idea from one of your sources, whether you quote or paraphrase it
You summarize original ideas from one of your sources
You use factual information that is not common knowledge
You quote directly from a source
You use a date or fact that might be disputed
To avoid any accusation of plagiarism:
When in doubt cite the material
Be sure you understand the citation style required
by the instructor
If in doubt about citation expectations, talk to your
instructor
Take notes carefully and record all reference
information for your paper
Don’t allow yourself to fall for excuses:
I’m too busy. Everyone
does it.
No one will
know.
I’ll never get
caught.
I can’t do the
work.
Honor Pledge
I have reviewed the CRMJ/LAS plagiarism review. I will not steal, cheat, plagiarize, or do anything that would bring dishonor to myself or that would require a referral to Honors’ Court. I understand that if I commit these acts there will be consequences.
Click on this area to send an email to submit my honor pledge. In the body of the email, copy the above pledge. It MUST be sent from your UTC email address.