What is plagiarism and why should you care?
The free exchange of information among researchers requires that ideas be credited appropriately. When you write a paper, you must distinguish your own ideas and data from those of others. Plagiarism occurs if you take someone else's work and present it as your own. You are plagiarizing (intentionally or inadvertently) if you do not cite a source when quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing a theory or concept, or when using some else's information, unless the material is common knowledge (as discussed below). Plagiarism is viewed as a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Acknowledging sources not only gives credit to those whose information you borrow; it also strengthens your own work by making it more credible and showing how it is supported by the existing literature. Proper citations also enable readers to explore your topic further by tracking down original sources of information.
Potential confusion: What is "original?"
Your role as a writer can seem confusing. On one hand, you are asked to read the published words of experts and learn about their work. But if research involves gathering information and ideas from others, you may wonder how you can also be original and creative, so that your writing is truly "your own." You are challenged to combine ideas in new ways, to add your own perceptions and analysis and examples, to juxtapose and synthesize your thinking and words with those of others, to explore new applications or frame issues in novel ways, so that you create something that is conceptually new or innovative.
In this context, the whole notion of "originality" can seem hazy. Furthermore, some students come from cultures in which originality can mean "ancient" or "timeless" and which may not value invention or novelty as highly as they are in American schools; and in some cultures, the ownership of ideas ("intellectual property") and the need to document may not be as strong as they are in the U.S.
How does plagiarism relate to the Caltech Honor Code?
Plagiarism is a serious offense in the academic world and a breach of Caltech's Honor Code.
II. Homework and Laboratory Assignments
The misinterpretation of homework collaboration policies has been a source of problems in the past. Most instructors state their policies at the beginning of each academic term. It is your responsibility as a student to get this information. If the policy is ambiguous, seek clarification from the instructor. Note that although collaboration on some assignments may be unrestricted, there is a fine line between exchanging of ideas and some forms of plagiarism. Violating a collaboration policy takes unfair advantage of those who abide by the restrictions placed on them and compromises the trust of the instructor.In general, both student and instructor share the responsibility for clarifying any rules governing a particular course. When in doubt, a student should consult the instructor before proceeding. [emphasis in original]
These principles also apply to laboratory course work and research. Falsification or theft of results ("drylabbing") are serious acts of intellectual dishonesty, as is claiming undue credit for another's work or ideas.
III. Papers and Reports
Students are required to produce a large number of reports and research papers during their careers at Caltech. In collecting data and information, students need to actively avoid plagiarizing the work of others. Proper footnoting of source material and documentation of borrowed ideas are absolutely essential. Many professors are willing to show students how to correctly document their papers. Plagiarism, whether inadvertent paraphrasing or direct substitution, takes unfair advantage of any original authors, the instructor who incorrectly believes that the ideas are the plagiarist's, and other students who correctly footnote all sources.(Source: The Honor System Handbook)
As the Honor Code suggests, plagiarism can take several forms:
Collaborating in unauthorized ways. At Caltech, students are often encouraged to work together on problem sets or to offer each other feedback on essay drafts. However, legitimate discussion can become plagiarism if you simply take someone elseÕs answers or turn in a paper written by another person. If you have any questions about the line between valid cooperation and cheating, just ask the instructor.
Cutting and pasting someone else's writing into your paper. Word processors and the Internet have made it especially easy to borrow another person's words verbatim and create a patchwork of plagiarized passages held together by a writer's linking sentences. Although research requires you to explore others' research and writing, when you use such information, you must clearly document the source.
Paraphrasing improperly. Sometimes writers take an original passage and change the phrasing slightly to "put it into their own words." But proper use of sources involves more than making superficial alterations to someone else's work; it requires understanding a passage fully and restating the ideas without depending on the original sentence structure or language. Plagiarism of this sort can happen unconsciously. If you have taken notes from a source and unintentionally jotted down a direct quote or extremely similar paraphrase, you might later mistake the writing as your own work and incorporate it into your paper. At some point, your work isn't so clearly your own any more, as these examples of paraphrasing illustrate.
What are appropriate uses of others' published work?
When you write, you may choose to use others' published work in several ways. If properly done, these uses do not constitute plagiarism:
Direct quotation. Reproducing the exact words or phrases of another writer when the precise wording is important or when rephrasing would compromise the meaning. Quotation can provide powerful support for an argument, especially if the words are very appropriate or the person quoted is an authority. When quoting, you should pare down the quotation to the phrases or sentences that are essential to your purposes, and smoothly integrate those words with your own.
Paraphrase. You may restate an original passage in different words and sentence structures, to simplify or clarify the substance or to condense a lengthy discussion. The wording should be substantially different, while the meaning should be faithful to the original.
Summary. Summaries compress another author's ideas or work or conclusions by presenting the gist or main point. Summarizing is especially useful when direct quotation would be too long or tedious.
Inclusion of data and visuals. Numbers, graphs, tables, and drawings may be used directly (a form of quotation) or indirectly (a kind of paraphrase or summary) to provide useful information, support, or contrast to your own report, presentation, or article. For brevity and focus, you may use data and visuals selectively or create new visuals based on others' data, as long as the compression or new version is true to the sense of the original.
These uses of borrowed material are legitimate, but writers must acknowledge their sources, by providing citations and references in the style used by the particular discipline. Citations appear both in the text, near the source material, and at the end of the document, in a list of all sources consulted, typically called References or Works Cited.
To learn about forms of "proper footnoting of source material and documentation of borrowed ideas" in different fields, consult these Resources.
Do you need to cite everything?
You are not required to cite a source if the information is Òcommon knowledge.Ó For example, the freezing point of water is common knowledge, but the number of people worldwide suffering from malaria is not. When applying the "common knowledge" test, remember that what constitutes common knowledge will vary among different audiences and situations. What is well understood among a group of research physicists may be unfamiliar to chemical engineers, and what is familiar to chemical engineers may be baffling to the general public. If you're wondering about whether to cite a source, ask your teacher or mentor. As a general rule, when in doubt, cite; it's better to err on the side of caution.
Citations styles vary from field to field. Although all citations generally include the same information (e.g., author, title, date, publisher, volume, issues, pages), different fields or professions have slightly different conventions for citing sources within a document and for listing sources at the end.
Can anyone really detect plagiarism?
Whether plagiarism is accidental or intentional, readers can usually find it. Experts familiar with the literature in their field will notice striking similarities between your work and that of their colleagues. But even a non-expert can spot instances of plagiarism; awkward transitions between your words and others' words, and changes in vocabulary, tone, and style are easy to notice and usually indicate that a passage has come from another source. In suspicious situations, instructors and others have used plagiarism detectorsÑ--sophisticated search engines that highlight similarities between an individual paper and any other document published online.
Questions? Comments? Contact us at writingcenter@caltech.edu.