PLAGIARISM, QUOTING, PARAPHRASING

Dr. M.C. SengstockProfessor of SociologyWayne State University

IMPORTANCE OF THIS ISSUE

• The Profession Of Sociology Is Dependent Upon The Communication Of Research

• Including Proper Citation of Other Authors’ Work • You CANNOT Do Well In Graduate School If

You Cannot Write Research Papers• Your Future In The Profession of Sociology

Depends Upon Your Ability to:– Write Grant Proposals– Write Research Articles & Reports

WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?

• Plagiarism Is Passing Off Someone Else’s Work As Your Own

• You WILL NOT Turn In Any Plagiarized Materials In This Class!

• Plagiarism May Result In:– Failing The Assignment– Failing The Class– Dismissal From The Program

EXAMPLES OF PLAGIARISM

• Downloading A Paper From The Internet• Copying A Paper From A Book Or Journal• Copying A Paper Taken From Another Student• Copying Segments Of Any Of The Above

Without Properly Citing The Original Source• Copying Someone Else’s Exam• Many Others

AVOIDING PLAGIARISM• Write Your Own Papers! Don’t Depend

On Someone Else!

• Use Direct Quotes Sparingly.

• When You Use The Work Of Someone Else, Be Sure To Quote It Appropriately.

• Learn How To Paraphrase Appropriately.

• Be Sure To Cite The Source Of The Paraphrased Material As Well.

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO CITE THE SOURCE?

• The Original Author Should Receive Credit His/Her Work.

• Gives Credibility To Your Work – Shows You Are Familiar With Research In Your Area.

• Protects You Legally From Being Accused Of Plagiarism.

DIRECT QUOTES

• Avoid Using Too Many Direct Quotes.

• Paraphrasing Is Preferable To Direct Quotes

• BOTH Direct Quotes And Paraphrased Materials Must Be Carefully Cited

• Good Rule: Maximum Number Of Quotes:– 1 Direct Quote Every 3 Pages.

QUOTES OR PARAPHRASING: WHEN TO USE WHICH?

• Paraphrasing Is Generally Preferable.

• Use Direct Quotes Only For Specific Reasons:– Passage Very Famous (MLK: “I Have A

Dream” Speech)– Original Writer Said It So Well You Want To

Make His/Her Words Known.– You Want To Criticize The Author And Want

To Make His/Her Meaning Clear.

Proper Paraphrasing

• Must Be A True Restatement Of The Original Author’s Work– Cannot Change The Author’s Original

Meaning– Must Make It Clear Who The Original Author

Was

• CANNOT Be A Simple Changing Of A Few Words Here And There.

• Essential To Success In Graduate School

PROPERLY CITING SOURCES:DIRECT QUOTES

• Make Sure The Quote Appears EXACTLY As In The Original.

• Indicate The Author, Title, And Publication Source Of The Original Work.

• Include The Exact Location Of The Quote (I.E., Include The Page Number).

• List The Original Work In The Bibliography.

FOOTNOTES AND ENDNOTES

• FOOTNOTES:– The citation appears at the bottom of the page

of your paper on which the quote appears.

• ENDNOTES– The citation appears with all other citations on

a separate page at the end of the paper.

NOTE: ENDNOTES are more common today and are generally easier.

ALL items must be in the Bibliography.

INTERNAL CITATION METHOD

• Most Social Science Journals Today Use The INTERNAL CITATION METHOD

• Author’s Name & Date Appears In Text

• Full Citation Appears In Bibliography – EX:

• “The Census Bureau does not accept mixed ethnic responses” (Jones, 1998: 2).

• Jones (1998: 2) reports the Census “does not accept mixed ethnic responses.”

PROPERLY CITING SOURCES:PARAPAHRASING

• Make Sure It Is An Appropriate Paraphrase

• Indicate The Author, Title, And Publication Source Of The Original Work

• Page Number Is Not Necessary• List The Original Work In The Bibliography

Proper Handling of Direct Quotes

• Present the passage EXACTLY as originally written

• SHORT QUOTES: Place the material in quotation marks [“….”]

• LONG QUOTES (over 3 lines): Indent and single space the material [and do NOT use quotation marks]

OMITTING MATERIAL IN QUOTES

• Omitted Material May NOT Change The Meaning Of The Original

• Indicate That Something Has Been Omitted By Using An Elision:– … (For Short Omissions Of A Few Words)– ………………………………………

(E.G., An Entire Line Of Dots For Long Omissions Of Several Lines)

QUOTING PASSAGES WITH ERRORS

• You Must Still Quote The Material EXACTLY – Including The Errors

• Indicate That The Error Appeared In The Original By Placing “Sic” (“Thus,” I.E., In The Original) At The Site Of The Error

• EXAMPLE: “Our First Precedent [Sic] Was General Robert Washington [Sic].”

EXAMPLE OF PROPER QUOTING

LONG QUOTE:The communication process between health professionals and patients is sadly lacking.

..…………………………………………………………………………Even if the patient has questions, it is often difficult to get an opportunity to ask them. The patient feels as though she is using the doctors' or nurses' valuable time (Sengstock, 1998: 286).

SHORT QUOTE: “… if the patient has information … it must be communicated to the

right person” (Sengstock, 1998: 286)

Bibliography: Sengstock, M.C. "What's Wrong with the Breast Cancer Treatment Process? A Breast Cancer Patient's Experience." Illness, Crisis, and Loss, Vol. 6, No. 3, July 1998 pp. 275-290.

QUOTES WITHIN A QUOTE

SHORT QUOTES:

“... one priest told me he didn't know much about them, but commented that they were ‘probably Orthodox’” (Sengstock, 2005: 26)

LONG QUOTES:

Use “double” quotation marks because the indentation takes their place.

PROPER FORM FOR INTERNAL CITATION

"... one priest told me he didn't know much about them, but commented that they were 'probably Orthodox'" (Sengstock, 2005: 26).NOTE: The quotation marks appear before the parentheses, but the period appears after.

IMPROPER PARAPHRASING

• The communication process between health care workers and patients is badly lacking.

• If patients have questions, it is hard to get a chance to ask them. Patients feel as though they are using the doctors' or nurses' valuable time.

• Both are too close to the original (change only a few words or the verb tense).

EXAMPLES OF PROPER PARAPHRASING

• It has been suggested that the health care setting involves serious problems of communication, both between patient and health professionals, and among the health professionals themselves (Sengstock, 1998).

• Communication within the medical setting is not very effective (Sengstock, 1998).

• Health care personnel do not communicate very well with patients or each other (Sengstock, 1998).

• There are problems of communication in the health care field (Sengstock, 1998).

SUMMARY: QUOTES VS. PARAPHRASES

EXTREME CARE TO INSURE THAT WORKS ARE USED AND CITED APPROPRIATELY

• QUOTES:– Cite Quoted Material EXACTLY– Make Clear What the Quoted Material Is– Quotation Marks or Indentation– Cite The Source (Including Page Number) 

• PARAPHRASES:– Make Sure You Have Described The Original Work

Accurately– CANNOT Be An Alteration Of Just A Few Words. – Cite The Original Source