Foundational psychology concepts for graduate study

Psychology -- Foundations for Graduate Study in Psychology

For this exercise in recognizing and avoiding plagiarism, Cynthia Crossen's Tainted truth: The manipulation of fact in America (Crossen, 1994) was correctly quoted and then shown to be unwittingly plagiarized by a student. After reading the assigned study notes and web sources to which we were referred, the plagiarism was easy to spot. Fortunately, it was also easy to correct through block quotations with proper citations.

The Extent to Which the Student Plagiarized the Original Source

Virtually all but the first and third sentences of the entire original paragraph was plagiarized by this student. "Avoiding Plagiarism" points out that a source can be plagiarized if the writer incompletely paraphrases (Regents of the University of California, 2011). Here, the student changed the orders of some concepts and some words but, taken as a whole, the student's supposed original work basically restated the concepts and many of the exact words used by Crossen.

b. Two Sentences Clearly Plagiarized

The second sentence of Crossen's paragraph was plagiarized by switching around concepts and words. In order to properly credit Crossen, it could be quoted, and since this second sentence contains at least 40 words, it should be presented in a block quotation.

As Crossen (1994) stated:

Yet unless there is evidence of misconduct (the deliberate misrepresentation of something as fact by someone who knows it is not), it is very difficult to discover and virtually impossible to prove that a piece of biomedical research has been tainted by conflict of interest. (p. 167)

The fourth sentence was also plagiarized, though split into two sentences, with concepts and exact words rearranged. In order to properly credit Crossen, it could be quoted, and since this second sentence contains at least 40 words, it should be presented in a block quotation.

As Crossen (1994) explained:

Although biomedical research incorporates rigorous scientific rules and is often critically scrutinized by peers, the information can nevertheless be warped -- by ending a study because the results are disappointing; changing rules mid-study; not trying to publish negative results; publicizing preliminary results even with final and less positive results in hand; skimming over or even not acknowledging drawbacks; and, especially, casting the results in the best light or, as scientists say, buffing them. (p. 167)

c. How Plagiarism Can Be Recognized

Plagiarism can be recognized by comparing the original source with the student's source and seeing that the student essentially changed the order of concepts and exact words but still put forth Crossen's concepts and ideas as her own thoughts and words without properly quoting Crossen's work. Plagiarism can also be recognized by widely-used programs, such as Turnitin, which is used by Walden University to check for exact wording as well as the uniqueness of the submitted paper's thoughts.

d. Ways in Which Plagiarism can be Avoided

Plagiarism can be avoided in several ways. The writer should err on the side of citing, if he/she is unsure of whether to cite (Regents of the University of California, 2011). In addition, the writer should be careful to fully cite the source (Regents of the University of California, 2011). If necessary because of the vital nature of the passage, the writer can also exactly quote that passage and properly cite it. Finally, the writer should read the source for the information, absorb the information and paraphrase in his/her own words while fully and properly citing the source (Regents of the University of California, 2011). In these ways, a writer can avoid even unintentionally plagiarizing his/her source.

3. Conclusion