How To Avoid Plagiarism
Posted on 29 February 2008 by Sharon
If you don’t want to hear a rant, click away now. Two incidents happened recently that led me to write this post. The first is that one of the writers I work with was unjustly accused of plagiarism. On reflection, I think it may have been a scam (which I’ll have to add to my list some time).
The second was that in checking a piece of work from a trusted colleague, I came across a sentence that was identical to the original source. It may have been unintentional, but it was plagiarism. I hate plagiarism. Basically, it’s stealing other people’s work. When people steal the fruits of your hard work (your money and your stuff) you get upset. Shouldn’t you be even more upset when they steal the work itself? I know I am.
Research Or Copying: Who Decides?
If I give the benefit of the doubt, I can see how some people might find it hard to see the line between justifiable research and copying. I once heard a rule which went something like this: If you use one source it’s plagiarism; if you use several, it’s research. Behind that rule lies a good guide for keeping to the right side of the line. In academic terms, it’s known as triangulation - using multiple sources so that you can make sure that your information is reasonably accurate. It’s not foolproof, but mostly it works. If you use more than one source of research, then you get the information into your brain and can output it in your own words.
Quote Your Source
If you’ve ever written an essay, then you’ll know the two other rules for avoiding plagiarism. The first is: quote if you use something. That’s OK. Sometimes they say it better than you ever could - just give them the credit. If someone else has written a book, ebook or article or has published a podcast or broadcast and you want to use their words, put them in quotation marks and give the source. That’s known as attribution. In other words, you say where it came from. If you publish even a sentence without attributing it, then it’s plagiarism.
Keep It Short
That brings me to the second rule: Don’t quote too much. In copyright law, there’s something called fair use, which is the right to reproduce short excerpts of published works for review or commentary. The key word there is short. When you take several pages or whole blog posts without crediting the original source, that’s also plagiarism. Don’t do it.
Forgive me for ranting, but this issue makes my blood boil. When you’re writing a web content article, you may find lots of information that you want to use. You may even paste it into your document in the order that you want to use it. What you can’t do is use the exact words that were used in the original.
Anti Plagiarism Strategies
Usually, I can read something and summarise it without having to copy the original. However, on a long document I may copy useful bits to avoid having to find them again. When I do this, there are three things I do to make sure that I never plagiarize.
First, I always put a link to the original source at the end of the excerpt. That reminds me where it came from.
Second, I highlight the text that I have copied in bright yellow to remind myself to change it.
Third, I always type my articles from scratch. That ensures that I am following my thought processes and not copying someone else’s.
There is no excuse for stealing someone else’s work. All it takes to avoid plagiarism is a little bit of care and attention. Anyone got any other tips to share?
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February 29th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Plagiarism is a slippery slope these days. I agree, no reputable writer/author should knowingly transcribe someone else’s words and use them as their own. I have no problem giving credit where it is due.
I do think that given the multitudes of sources of written communication these days that someone could inadvertently use the same phrase or perhaps even a sentence that someone else has on the same topic.
Not looking for any methods of making excuses here. I’m just saying, as I do my research, I might read eight or ten different articles, books, etc. Do I read absolutely everything there is on a topic? No, not enough time in this life to do so. My point is, in all the things I didn’t read, maybe another person expressed something just as I am doing.
Is it still plagiarism? I am not sure of the legal ramifications. As a writer, if someone were to bring to my attention that I’ve used someone else’s words, I would set about to correct the error by citing the original source.
February 29th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
How true it is, Sharon!
You know, it is really an epidemic among us Internet writing types. It’s pitiful. But why do you think copyscape is doing so well? Because there really is a market for their work.
It is so different, this field of ours, than others. When I was studying history in Grad School, I remember being scared out of my socks because Doris Kearns Goodwin (a historian) was in deep trouble. Seems that she incorrectly sourced one of her references in a book.
Now, this was one reference out of, if I recall, over 1100. On top of that, the reference wasn’t attributable to someone else; there was no evidence of plagiarism. She just quoted her source wrong. My guess is she transposed numbers in her notes, and she lost a great deal of her professional credibility among her peers for it!
If only the community of Internet writers maintained half that level of integrity.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
I guess if people don’t know they have plagiarised and then make steps to give proper credit, then they are off the hook, morally at least, LL. However, taking large chunks is not the same as inadvertently using the same turn of phrase. If too many phrases are similar, then the odds are that it’s plagiarism, LL.
@Bob: I don’t like to think of it as an epidemic. Not surprisingly, all the writers I know personally would be horrified by the thought of even unwitting plagiarism. Meanwhile there are others who think nothing of lifting your entire blog post. Arggghhhh!
February 29th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
@Sharon: I agree with your thoughts. My point was more about the plethora of material out there and the likelihood that a phrase might be copied. And even though “great minds think alike” , you’re right chunks that are the same are more than coincidence, they are plagiarism.
@Bob: I am probably naive, but especially on the Internet, I wonder how may writers/bloggers out there are truly familiar with copyright laws and plagiarism.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:16 am
I know best-selling authors who don’t read anything in their genre when they’re working on a book because they don’t want to plagiarise unconsciously. It’s easy to absorb ideas and use them without remembering where you got the ideas.
March 1st, 2008 at 9:28 am
I get that some authors can plagiarize by accident. It is a bit of a stretch for me, because I was told in Freshman Comp. in High School what plagiarism is, why it is wrong, and what happens to those who get caught. I realize my experience wasn’t everyone’s, and so I do get it. I really do.
However, the odds of copying a sentence like “It was Washington’s advice on entangling alliances that Woodrow Wilson neglected in dragging the United States into the first World War” are so small as to be insignificant. A sentence like “In his farewell address, Washington warned against entangling alliances,” repeating itself is probably statistically more reasonable.
Sorry if I’m rambling here.
I’ll tell you all a quick story that I think you’ll enjoy while I’m here.
A few years back I was working as a Network Administrator. A friend of mine who was working on her undergrad was accused of plagiarism, and asked if I’d testify at her hearing. Her point was something about the “author” field in Microsoft Word document properties. Seems the report she turned in had a former student’s name in the author field, and the prof caught it.
A day before the hearing, she finally sent me the TurnItIn.com report on her assignment. Two thirds of the assignment was word-for-word from a former student’s paper (the one whose name was in the author field, of course). I bit my tongue; I knew she was screwed; there was no doubt about it, she had plagiarized. Still, she was a friend; the evidence would put her away, I didn’t need to. I figured I would testify about the technical side of the Microsoft Word author field in general terms, with a “it could go either way” type of answer (which was the truth, in terms of that particular question).
I never did have to testify at the hearing. The hearing was done and over in about 20 minutes, and she didn’t even ask for any of her witnesses. The hearing was closed-door, and I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall.
(Incidentally, this friend really was a brilliant student. That particular semester was rough for her. She did what the University told her to do, and she graduated. She’s now in a Ph.D. program and doing well. I’m betting that experience scared the crap out of her, though.)
March 1st, 2008 at 11:00 am
I had a scenario once where someone lifted some of my work and was horrified when I brought it to her attention and I do believe it was unconscious.
Sometimes we read so much on a topic that popular opinion can become our own and we may use catch phrases and repeat things we’ve heard a while back when we’re unaware of where we’ve heard or read them. I think the blogosphere makes it easier to plagiarise without intending it when you read a lot in a specific genre or niche. I would be mortified if I realized I did that to anyone as well. Sometimes things roll of the brain onto the keyboard and it’s possible you don’t know where you’ve assimilated the information from. I think anyone who writes or blogs for the Internet has to take plagiarism very seriously and be extremely careful.
You’ve listed some excellent tips here, Sharon.
March 1st, 2008 at 11:21 am
One of the things I do is make sure I use more than one source. This helps me because it becomes more difficult to accidentally take a sentence from the source.
March 1st, 2008 at 11:43 am
I have more of a question then a comment.
-What do you do if your work is copied, and the authors name is changed - BUT there are link backs to your site, showing the original content?
I have gotten that in the past and it bugs me. I have tried to leave a comment on their blog - but they have yet to approve the comment - or change it.
March 1st, 2008 at 1:23 pm
@Lillie: I can see where that would be a good method to avoid plagiarizing during the process.
March 1st, 2008 at 6:50 pm
@ Lillie: Yes, that’s a good idea. It’s amazing what the subconscious can absorb.
@Bob: Beware the MS Word author field. I found out that someone was subbing out work I had given them by looking there. As a prof, you have to use your judgement on when to throw the book at someone. When I was lecturing, was to give detailed guidance on plagiarism on the first offence, plus loss of a percentage of the marks. Students in their final year who should have known better had to have a plagiarism hearing.
@ Dana: Yes, I think it is easy to draw inspiration from others, and as writers, we often file away nice turns of phrase for future use. Whenever I’m not sure, even in a blog post, I ask anyone who knows the source to let me know so that I can attribute it.
@ Katherine: Triangulation is an academic technique which works well for all research.
@ Simple Mindz: I’ve had that experience too. If they have Adsense you can click on a link to report them for plagiarising. I don’t know how much good it does, though.
March 2nd, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Hi all.
Your comments, along with Sharon’s article, inspired me. I’ve put together a full post on the subject, feel free to stop by and visit:
http://writing-journey.com/internet-writing/plagiarism-101
March 2nd, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Thanks for posting that link, Bob. Bob’s post is a nice complement to what we’ve discussed here. It’s definitely worth reading.
March 3rd, 2008 at 6:27 pm
I think you’ve hit on something that we all worry about Sharon. I always use more than one source but know that it is very easy to find that you have used almost the same phraseology. Like everyone else I try to avoid this and would hope that I don’t plagiarize.
March 4th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Sue, you can even end up plagiarising yourself. Now that I’ve been doing this for a while, sometimes a search for sources throws up content that I’ve written for someone else.