Avoiding Unintentional Plagiarism The Centre for Academic - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Avoiding Unintentional Plagiarism The Centre for Academic Communication Fall 2020

Acknowledgement We acknowledge with respect the Lkwungen-speaking peoples on whose traditional territory the university stands and the Songhees, Esquimalt and W SÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.

Recording Notification • This workshop will be recorded. • If you decide to ask a question or respond in real time, your image and/or voice will be on camera/the recording. • Recording will be on the ISS website for roughly one month after the session. • We are beginning the recording now.

Learning Outcomes By the end of this workshop, you will be able to  Explain how to avoid accidental plagiarism  Outline key reading, annotating, and paraphrasing skills  Explain key steps to effective summarizing

INTE NTEGRI RITY TY • What is integrity? • What does it mean to have integrity in academic writing?

Welcome to the academic integrity quiz! Quiz Question 1: I know what academic integrity, academic dishonesty, and plagiarism are. A. Totally. I don’t need to be here. B. I think I know most of what I need to know to stay out of trouble. C. I have some questions. D. What’s plagiarism?!

What is plagiarism? Quiz Question 2: Plagiarism = cheating (copying or “stealing” another person’s work on purpose) A: True B: False

Answer Plagiarism can be both intentional and unintentional. Plagiarism is “The action or practice of taking someone else's work, idea, etc., and passing it off as one's own; literary theft.” – Oxford English Dictionary Online

Which of the following is plagiarism? Quiz Question 3: A. Buying a paper on the internet and submitting it as your own. B. Putting someone else’s idea “into your own words” by changing a few (50% or so) words in the sentence. C. Paraphrasing bits and pieces of an article throughout a paragraph and putting a citation only at the end of the paragraph. D. Submitting an essay that you wrote for a different class and got a grade for. E. All of the above are plagiarism.

Which of the following is plagiarism? Quiz Question 3: A. Buying a paper on the internet and submitting it as your own. B. Putting someone else’s idea “into your own words” by changing a few (50% or so) words in the sentence. C. Paraphrasing bits and pieces of an article throughout a paragraph and putting a citation only at the end of the paragraph. D. Submitting an essay that you wrote for a different class and got a grade for. E. All of the above are plagiarism Which of the above might be unintentional?

Types of Unintentional Plagiarism • Copying something word for word but not using quotation marks (even if you cite it, it's still plagiarism) • Using significant ideas and concepts from someone else without a citation—even if you put them into your own words (called paraphrasing), you need to give credit • Paraphrasing too closely by making only small changes, still retaining the same structure and words as the original (even if you cite it!) • Citing a source you didn't actually look at • Misquoting

When do I need to cite? Quiz Question 4: Which statements need a citation? A. The earth is round. B. World War One began in 1914. C. The majority of women in prison do not have university degrees. D. People who are vegan do not eat or wear any animal products. E. Global warming is causing environmental problems for many countries in the world.

When do I need to cite? Quiz Question 4: Which statements need a citation? A. The earth is round. B. World War One began in 1914. C. The majority of women in prison do not have university degrees. D. People who are vegan do not eat or wear any animal products. E. Global warming is causing environmental problems for many countries in the world.

Preparing for summary writing: Reading a scholarly article 1. Pay attention to the “anatomy” of a scholarly article:  Introduction (purpose/research question)  Methods (experimental setup, data collection)  Results (main findings)  Discussion (interpretation of the results)

2. Read the article strategically Read the article strategically  Carefully read the introduction (purpose/goal) o Highlight the thesis/research question o What is the author’s claim/argument?  Skim the methodology and results o Read each heading and subheading o Read first sentence of each paragraph  Carefully read the findings/discussion  What was the key finding?  What are the implications?

3. Annotate the article / 3. Annotate the article  Look up words you don’t know  Notice the way paragraph ideas are organized (definition, compare/contrast)  Highlight/underline the most important ideas  Ask questions/comment in the margins  Take notes (create a 1-page “map” or outline)

Effective reading leads to effective writing… These strategic reading practices lead to • Paraphrasing key sentences from the article • Summarizing the main message ( the “movie trailer” version) from the article • Citing sources

Writing from sources: No peeking at the original! 1. Put the source away / 2. Use your notes to write your version – Use synonyms and clear, simple language – Use different sentence types – Use linking words that reflect the relationship of the original ideas – Do not include details (numbers, examples, etc.) 3. Cite the source!

Writing from sources: What’s the difference between a summary and a paraphrase? paraphrase summary • Paraphrase single • Summarize longer pieces of sentences or short writing; articles, journals, utterances books • Use our own words • Use our own words • Change the word order in • Write the “movie trailer” the sentence version: go “higher” • Keep technical terms • Keep the order of ideas the same as in the original • Cite the source for the • Cite the source(s) for the original idea original idea

Demo: How to paraphrase a sentence from an academic article

• Let’s try it out… “The wording of a question is such an important matter that a recent book intended to help questionnaire designers (Oppenheim, 1966) devoted an entire chapter to the topic of question wording(Loftus & Zanni, 1974). 1. Read and understand the text 2. Make your own notes 3. Put the source away 4. Join the ideas in a smooth sentence!

very critical An author Let’s try it out… The question focused a book phrase section • “The wording of a question is such an important matter that a recent book intended to help questionnaire designers (Oppenheim, 1966) devoted an entire chapter to the topic of question wording” (Loftus & Zanni, 1974) • Read and understand the text • Make your own notes • Put the source away • Join the ideas in a smooth sentence!

Example • Notes: – An author – Wrote a book chapter – very critical – question phrase • Join the ideas in a smooth sentence: Written in 1966, Oppenheimer’s book included a chapter focusing on critical test question phrasing (Loftus & Zanni, 1974).

Demo: How to summarize an academic article

Goal In “Eyewitness testimony: The influence of the wording of a question,” Loftus and Zanni look at how phrasing of questions influences the way people remember an event.

Method Researchers showed participants a car accident video and asked some questions with the word, “a,” while others were asked questions with the word, “the”.

Results Participants asked questions with the article “the” responded with more certainty and gave more “false positive” answers than the respondents asked questions with the article “a.”

Discussion The group asked questions with “a” responded with less certainty because “a” means “indefinite”. Respondants fielding questions with “the”, on the other hand, were influenced by the “certainty” implied by “the” and gave more false positive answers.

Summary: Loftus and Zanni examined how question wording changes how people remember an event. They asked questions about a car accident: some using “a” and others with “the”. The participants responded confidently when “the” was used, resulting in false positive statements. When “a” was used, those responding were much less confident (1974). •

Citing sources You need to cite sources every time you use ideas from another source from any medium, online or print You don’t need to cite sources when you are reporting -common knowledge facts e.g. The sun rises in the east . -your own opinions, experiences, observations -folklore and myths • http://www.uvic.ca/library/research/citation/plagiarism/index.php

• http://www.uvic.ca/library/research/citation/index.php

Questions about how to preserve academic integrity when writing? Please make an appointment with a CAC tutor to get help with paraphrasing, summarizing, and writing your assignment. Create an account, then book up to two 25 minute appointments a week in real time (Zoom) or for written feedback at https://uvic.mywconline.com/ Librarians are available through email, zoom consultations, text, and phone. See https://www.uvic.ca/library/research/ask/index.php