University of Technology

Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Department

Plagiarism
By
Hasanin Ghanem Khudair
Supervisor by
Dr. Bassam Hameed

2019/2020
 Plagiarism
Abstract :
Plagiarism is a major problem for research. There are, however, divergent views on how
to define plagiarism and on what makes plagiarism reprehensible. In this paper we
explicate the concept of "plagiarism" and discuss plagiarism normatively in relation to
research. We suggest that plagiarism should be understood as "someone using someone
else's intellectual product (such as texts, ideas, or results), thereby implying that it is their
own" and argue that this is an adequate and fruitful definition .

INTRODUCTION :

Plagiarism is “the worst of bad behaviour” “a sin” “academic high treason” , etc. In
fact ,Park amused himself gathering a lot of such “rhetoric of plagiarism,” which he
finds “nothing if not colourful .” Naturally, calling plagiarism a hateful blasphemy is not
the same as showing that it is wrong .The unbearable vagueness of plagiarism The word
‘plagiarism’ is applied to vastly different situations, for crimes as well as misdemeanors
and even for deeds of unclear wrongness: “from sloppy documentation and proof-reading
to outright ,premeditated fraud. Few other terms that we commonly use in our classes
have such widely differing meanings” . One may call all instances ‘plagiarism’ and
distinguish between minor and major ones as one calls both killing in self-defense and
genocide ‘killing’ without treating them as equally blame worthy . Alternatively, one may
choose to use the word ‘plagiarism’ only for cases where the author obtained
unwarranted benefits —maybe calling other instances “poor academic practice” , just like
one uses the word ‘murder’ for certain kinds of manslaughter only; for example, to
Yilmaz “borrowing sentences in the part of a paper that simply helps to better introduce
the problem should not be seen as plagiarism.” In any case, it is important to be
consistent. Unfortunately few authors are thus cautious; for instance Maddox aims to
show that “plagiarism is worse than mere theft” (his title) but focuses on articles that
merely used “background material” from others .Giles writes that “the search [of
Sorokina] turned up 677 examples of possible plagiarism . found “677 pairs of documents
with at least four sentences sharing uncommon7-grams” (i.e. sentences with at least seven
consecutive words in common). One should note that 80%of these have six or fewer
sentences in common: then only a paragraph was taken from another’s work They also
mention that “many of the isolated copied sentences are of ‘background’ nature,
containing neither particularly unique information content nor stylistic virtue.”
Moreover, 677 is not a number of articles but of pairs of similar articles: an article using
multiple sources would be counted as many times. In other words, this number does not
mean anything. (On top of using a number that is plainly misleading ,Giles mentions
Sorokina’s name without providing a reference to her article .Plagiarism: words or ideas?
Plagiarism (if explicitly defined at all) is generally taken to mean the appropriation of the
words and ideas of others. However, the specific status of words and ideas is not always
made clear. After talking

Defining Plagiarism
There are many definitions of what constitutes plagiarism, and we will look at some
of them in more detail below. However, according to research resources at
plagiarism.org, the things that immediately come to mind as description of plagiarism
are:

• turning in someone else's work as your own

• copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
• failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
• giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation • changing words
but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
• copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of
your work, whether you give credit or not

Types of Plagiarism
Direct plagiarism: In direct plagiarism, copying of whole paragraphs or
longer pass ages from another source is done without quotation marks as though it is their
creation .This type of plagiarism can be detected easily by using plagiarism checking
software and comparing similarity index.

Paraphrase plagiarism: Probably, this is the most common type of

plagiarism ,wherein, the author paraphrases or restates a part of someone else's work, but
without citing the source.

Mosaic plagiarism: This is a case of appropriating phrases from other sources or

using synonyms to change some words or parts of a sentence; but general structure of
the work remains the same. This kind of patch writing, whether intentional or not, is not
a good academic practice.

Insufficient acknowledgment: In certain works, the authors may have mentioned the
original source of only part of what has been taken or they may not have cited the
source suitably. In both cases, the authors failed to acknowledge adequately, and the
reader would not understand what is original and what has been borrowed.

Complete plagiarism: If you appropriate someone else’s article as such and publish it
under your name, it is a case of complete plagiarism. It is the most
heinous form of plagiarism. Students sometimes commit complete plagiarism, for
example, by submitting a copy of the assignment of another student as his/her own.
Self-plagiarism: This occurs when the author uses his/her own previous works suchas
texts, articles, and research results for a new work without mentioning that they have
been published before. Most students publish papers based on their Masters and Doctoral
thesis work, and these are permitted and encouraged. However, if the individual is
producing a paper using the data of works already published, it is a clear case of self-
plagiarism.

Accidental plagiarism: This is unintentional and includes the problems such

as neglecting to cite the sources, misquoting the sources, or inadvertently using the
source by similar words, groups of words, or sentence structure without
attribution.

Disadvantages of plagiarism :

Consequences of plagiarism include:

1. Destroyed Student Reputation

Plagiarism allegations can cause a student to be suspended or expelled. Their academic

record can reflect the ethics offense, possibly causing the student to be barred from
entering college from high school or another college. Schools, colleges, and universities
take plagiarism very seriously. Most educational institutions have academic integrity
committees who police students. Many schools suspend students for their first violation.
Students are usually expelled for further offences.

2. Destroyed Professional Reputation

A professional business person, politician, or public figure may find that the damage
from plagiarism follows them for their entire career. Not only will they likely be fired or
asked to step down from their present position, but they will surely find it difficult to
obtain another respectable job. Depending on the offense and the plagiarist’s public
stature, his or her name may become ruined, making any kind of meaningful career
impossible.
 3. Destroyed Academic Reputation

The consequences of plagiarism have been widely reported in the world of academia.
Once scarred with plagiarism allegations, an academic’s career can be ruined. Publishing
is an integral part of a prestigious academic career. To lose the ability to publish most
likely means the end of an academic position and a destroyed reputation.

4. Legal Repercussions

The legal repercussions of plagiarism can be quite serious. Copyright laws are absolute.
One cannot use another person’s material without citation and reference. An author has
the right to sue a plagiarist. Some plagiarism may also be deemed a criminal offense,
possibly leading to a prison sentence. Those who write for a living, such as journalists or
authors, are particularly susceptible to plagiarism issues. Those who write frequently
must be ever-vigilant not to err. Writers are well-aware of copyright laws and ways to
avoid plagiarism. As a professional writer, to plagiarize is a serious ethical and perhaps
legal issue.

5. Monetary Repercussions

Many recent news reports and articles have exposed plagiarism by journalists, authors,
public figures, and researchers. In the case where an author sues a plagiarist, the author
may be granted monetary restitution. In the case where a journalist works for a magazine,
newspaper or other publisher, or even if a student is found plagiarizing in school, the
offending plagiarist could have to pay monetary penalties.

6. Plagiarized Research

Plagiarized research is an especially egregious form of plagiarism. If the research is

medical in nature, the consequences of plagiarism could mean the loss of peoples’ lives.
This kind of plagiarism is particularly heinous.

The consequences of plagiarism are far-reaching and no one is immune. Neither

ignorance nor stature excuses a person from the ethical and legal ramifications of
committing plagiarism. Before attempting any writing project, learn about plagiarism.
Find out what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it. The rules are easy to understand
and follow. If there is any question about missing attribution, try using an online
plagiarism checker or plagiarism detection software to check your writing for plagiarism
before turning it in. Laziness or dishonesty can lead to a ruined reputation, the loss of a
career, and legal problems.

Conclusion :
Avoiding plagiarism is important. It is important to properly concede to the contributions
and information made by other people. It shows respect for their work, most importantly,
you are giving credit where credit is due. You are not deceiving the person who reads it
to falsely believe that the work is yours.

From the point of view of what we have discussed about plagiarism here, there is a
definite fact that plagiarism is found at the premier in academics. It is an increasing lure
amongst students and an invariable complication for the Professors in dealing with the
issue. The academic community definitely values the acknowledgment of other people's
contributions to knowledge. And therefore, the punishment for someone who gets caught
for plagiarism could be severe. Hence it is very vital for students to understand what
plagiarism means and the consequences of plagiarizing, which was the main aim of this
short tutorial.