Unfair Means

What is it?

How can you avoid it?

Reports, Assignments, Other assessments

• Why do we ask you do these?

– To help you learn

– To help you assimilate all the things you have learned

– To help you learn to apply your knowledge

– To give us (the markers) evidence that you have learned

Referencing

In any assessment, when you use ideas from another source, you need to reference these ideas.

Referencing styles (1)

Harvard

• In the body of the report:

The term ‘metaheuristic’ was coined by Fred Glover in his seminal paper (Glover, 1986), and it can be understood as “a master strategy that guides and modifies other heuristics to produce solutions beyond those that are normally generated in a quest for local optimality" (Glover and Laguna, 1997).

4

The citation

The reference list

• In the list of references at the end:

Glover, F. (1986) Future paths for integer programming and links to artificial intelligence, Computers and Operations Research, 13, 533-549.

Glover, F. and Laguna, M.(1997) Tabu Search. Boston:Kluwer.

Referencing styles (2)

Numeric• In the body of the report:

Many modern optimization methods, for example genetic algorithms [1], particle swarm optimization [2], ant colony optimization [3], can be considered as metaheuristicalgorithms.

5

The citation

• In the list of references at the end:[1] Regensburg, D. E. (1989) Genetic Algorithms in Search,

Optimization,and Machine Learning. Reading,MA: Addison-Wesley.[2] Kennedy,J.and Eberhart,R.C.(1995) Particle swarm optimization.

In Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Neural Networks.,vol.IV.,1942–1948.[3] Dorigo, M. and Stutzle, T. (2010) Ant Colony Optimization:

Overview and Recent Advances, in Gendreau,M.and Potvin,J.-Y.(eds), Handbook of Metaheuristics, International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, No. 146.

Referencing from the Web:

Website Reference, Harvard Style:

Author, Year. Title [online]. [Date accessed]. Available from World Wide Web : <url of site>

Website Reference, Numeric Style:

[n] Author. Title [online]. Year [Date accessed]. Available from World Wide Web : <url of site>

Why is referencing important?• It shows the source of material that is not your own.

• It shows that your material has been assembled after consideration of other published works.

• It allows the reader to study a subject in more detail by reading your referenced sources.

• Correctly referenced work avoids plagiarism.

More help with referencing

• Library - Information Skills MOLE course

• Williams, K. And Carroll, J., 2009. Referencing & Understanding Plagiarism. Pocket Study Skills. Palgrave Macmillan.

• Fisher, D. and Hanstock, I., 1998. Citing References. The Nottingham Trent University.

• Academic Skills MOLE course

Avoiding plagiarism and collusion

• What is plagiarism?

• What is collusion?

• Why do you have to avoid it?

• How do you avoid it?

Plagiarism is a form of theft

What is plagiarism?

• Submitting someone else’s work as your own.

• Submitting work which includes even a small amount of material written by others, unless this material has been correctly referenced.

• Submitting work containing paraphrases of others’ work, unless this material has been correctly referenced.

What is collusion?

• Getting another student to produce part or all of a piece of work, and handing this in as your own work.

• Copying material from another student (with their permission) then handing that material in as your own work.

• Consenting to another student copying material from you, or making your material available for other students to use or copy that they then hand in.

• Producing a piece of work in a group of two or more students, with each individual submitting the work as his/her own individual work.

Why avoid plagiarism and collusion?

• Learning at the MSc level is about acquiring, assimilating, and using knowledge.

• If you hand in work that is not your own, then you have not acquired, assimilated and used knowledge.

• Engineers (even as students) must work to ethical standards and follow a professional code of behaviour.

• Plagiarising is not ethical and it is not professional

How can you avoid plagiarism and collusion?• Keep a list of sources (e.g. in a log book) and read widely,

assimilating ideas and gaining an understanding of the subject

• Write up your own understanding and interpretation of the subject. Cite the source of background material.

• If a source expresses an idea particularly well, it may be OK to include a quote from that source and reference it – unless you have been told differently by the lecturer

• Do not work with other students on individual projects.

• If you are doing a group project, make sure you follow the lecturer’s guidelines for whether the material submitted for assessment should be produced as a group or individually.

• When you are researching a topic, don’t just copy/paste sentences from several different sources and then combine these and submit this as your own work.

• Instead, read several different sources, take notes, and keep track of what the sources were. Then, put all the sources away and write your own understanding of what you have read. Sometimes you might want to note similarities and differences between authors. Having written up your understanding, in your own words, cite the ideas and include the sources in a reference list.

CTRL-C CTRL-VAVOID!!

Avoid ‘inadvertent’ plagiarism

Other forms of unfair means you must avoid

• Buying or commissioning your work or part of your work from someone else/some organisation

• Resubmitting work that you have already submitted elsewhere. (This is called ‘self-plagiarism’)

• Fabricating work (e.g. making up results)

Penalties for using Unfair Means

Penalties can be severe, e.g….

• A student who hands in plagiarised work may get a mark of zero for that work.

• This may result in failing a module, or even failing a degree programme.

• A student who hands in plagiarised work may also be referred to the University Disciplinary Committee.

• DON’T USE UNFAIR MEANS

An example

• Suppose you had to write an essay on “The Application of Microcontrollers in Automobiles”

• You start looking for information on this topic.

Let’s suppose you find an article from: http://www.mcjournal.com/articles/arc105/arc105.htm

• You like the ideas expressed in the 5th paragraph:Another factor supporting the increase in electronic vehicle in the automobile is the networking of new and existing systems. There are many benefits of networks in the automobile and from a control systems standpoint; it is advantageous as systems can share data in real-time, thus making more intelligent systems possible. For example, an Integrated Chassis Control system layer may be implemented by coordinating the data generated by the braking, steering and suspension systems. Another benefit of these networks is that 'second guessing' becomes easier. Second-guessing is the practice of using data from one system to check the plausibility of the results of an independent system. This data could be used as a back-up under certain conditions. For example, the wheel speed and vehicle directional information used in a Stability Management system could be used to supplement the Navigation system, especially in the event that GPS is lost.

I like these descriptions. Can I put these directly

in my report?

How about this – is this a plagiarism?

“Another factor supporting the increase in electronic vehicle in the automobile is the networking of new and existing systems. There are many benefits of networks in the automobile and from a control systems standpoint; it is advantageous as systems can share data in real-time, thus making more intelligent systems possible. For example, an Integrated Chassis Control system layer may be implemented by coordinating the data generated by the braking, steering and suspension systems. Another benefit of these networks is that 'second guessing' becomes easier. Second-guessing is the practice of using data from one system to check the plausibility of the results of an independent system. This data could be used as a back-up under certain conditions. For example, the wheel speed and vehicle directional information used in a Stability Management system could be used to supplement the Navigation system, especially in the event that GPS is lost.”

Why ?! I put these in quotes.

How about this?"Another factor supporting the increase in electronic vehicle in the automobile is thenetworking of new and existing systems. There are many benefits of networks inthe automobile and from a control systems standpoint; it is advantageous assystems can share data in real-time, thus making more intelligent systems possible.For example, an Integrated Chassis Control system layer may be implemented bycoordinating the data generated by the braking, steering and suspension systems.Another benefit of these networks is that 'second guessing' becomes easier.Second-guessing is the practice of using data from one system to check theplausibility of the results of an independent system. This data could be used as aback-up under certain conditions. For example, the wheel speed and vehicledirectional information used in a Stability Management system could be used tosupplement the Navigation system, especially in the event that GPS is lost."(Bannatyne, 2004)

Why?! – I put it in quotes and cited and referenced it!

ReferencesBannatyne, R. (2004) Microcontrollers for the Automobile [online].

Micro Control Journal 2004. Available at http://www.mcjournal.com/articles/arc105/arc105.htm

[Accessed 21 November 2008]

How about this?Another factor supporting the increase in microcontrollers in the automobileis the networking of new and existing systems. There are many benefits ofnetworks in the automobile and from a control systems standpoint; it isadvantageous as systems can share data in real-time across a distributedsystem. For example, an Integrated Chassis Control system layer may beimplemented by managing the data generated by the braking, steering andsuspension systems. Another benefit of these distributed networks is that'second guessing' becomes easier. Second-guessing is the practice of usingdata from one system to check the reliability of the results of an independentsystem. This data could be used as a back-up under certain conditions. Forexample, the wheel speed and vehicle directional information used in aStability Management system could be used by the Navigation system,especially in the event that GPS is lost (Bannatyne, 2004).

Why?! – I’ve changed a few words (those in bold) and I’ve cited and

referenced it!ReferencesBannatyne, R. (2004) Microcontrollers for the Automobile [online].

Micro Control Journal 2004. Available at http://www.mcjournal.com/articles/arc105/arc105.htm

[Accessed 21 November 2008]

How about this?

The fact that an electronic system in an automobile

can be networked and data shared in real time has

contributed to increased use of microcontrollers in

automobiles. This networking and coordination of real

time data makes it possible for one component of the

system to support the reliability of other components,

thus improving overall system performance.

Why?! – I’ve written the idea in

my own words!

How about this?

Citation

Reference

This one is OK – it’s in my own

words, and the idea is correctly

cited and referenced.

The fact that an electronic system in an automobile can benetworked and data shared in real time has contributed toincreased use of microcontrollers in automobiles. Thisnetworking and coordination of real time data makes itpossible for one component of the system to support thereliability of other components, thus improving overallsystem performance (Bannatyne, 2004).

ReferencesBannatyne, R. (2004) Microcontrollers for the Automobile [online].

Micro Control Journal 2004. Available at http://www.mcjournal.com/articles/arc105/arc105.htm

[Accessed 21 November 2008]

Still unsure?

Take the University Library’s plagiarism and collusion online tutorial:

http://www.librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk/shef-only/info_skills/plagiarism.html

Things students have donein the past ….

(anonymised examples)

Example 1

• Text from a student

submission:

• This is a direct quote from http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5104063.html

• The quote was not enclosed in quotation marks, and it was not cited. The source was listed as a reference, however.

• This is plagiarism.

The system provides continuous

control over the RPM of each

landing wheel through air intake

ducts with servo motor driven

inlet vanes gating incoming air to

the wheel-mounted impellers

Example 2• Text from a student submission:An autopilot is an example of a control system. Control systems apply an action based on a measurement and almost always have an impact on the value they are measuring.… and later on in the same submission …This loop, shown above in the block diagram, works continuously, many times a second, much more quickly and smoothly than a human pilot could. Two- and three-axis autopilots obey the same principles, employing multiple processors that control multiple surfaces. Some airplanes even have autothrust computers to control engine thrust. Autopilot and autothrustsystems can work together to perform very complex maneuvers

• These are direct quotes from http://science.howstuffworks.com/autopilot3.htm

• The quotes were not enclosed in quotation marks, and were not cited. The source was listed as a reference, however.

• This is plagiarism.

Example 3

• Text from a student submission:

A fusion algorithm is used to calculate the helicopter's attitude. The main rotor rpm is detected magnetically at the rotor axle and the distance to the ground by an ultrasonic sensor. Each of these sensors is directly connected to the microcontroller.

• This is a direct quote from http://pdv.cs.tu-berlin.de/MARVIN/mark_ii_system.html

• The quote was not enclosed in quotation marks, and it was not cited. The source was listed as a reference, however.

• This is plagiarism.

Example 4• Text from a student submission:

Powerful and intelligently chosen electronics embedded in the microcontrollers can via input/output devices ( switches, push buttons, sensors, LCD displays, relays…) control various processes and devices such as: industrial automatics, electric current, temperature, engine performance etc.

... Following immediately in same submission ...

Basically, any product or device that interacts with its user has a microcontroller buried inside.

• The first sentence is a direct quote from http://www.thishelps.net/2008/05/architecture-and-programming-of-8051-microcontrollers.html

• The second sentence is a direct quote from http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/microcontroller.htm

• The quotes were not enclosed in quotation marks, they were not cited, and sources were not listed in the reference list.

• This is plagiarism.

Turnitin

• Turnitin is a plagiarism checking tool endorsed by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), an organisation that supports higher education in the UK

• In ACSE, many assignments must be submitted to Turnitin.

• Typically lecturers will create a Turnitin dropbox on MOLE.

• Link to example: TurnitinUK Originality Report.htm

Summary

• A inquiring approach to finding information can stop you from plagiarising

• When you find information, you then must synthesise it and come to your own understanding of it.

• When you report what you’ve found, you must do this in your own words.

• Don’t use unfair means. Uphold academic integrity!

Useful Links

1. General Information for MSchttp://www.shef.ac.uk/acse/current/masters/index

2. Plagiarism and Collusionhttp://www.shef.ac.uk/acse/current/masters/plag

3. Plagiarism, Collusion and the Use of Unfair Means in Assessment

http://www.shef.ac.uk/ssid/exams/plagiarism

4. Unfair Means & Information literacy related quizzes on MOLE

https://librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk/shef-only/info_skills/plagiarism.html