Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct in the Age

of Generative AI

Jason Bennett Thatcher

Because science is not simple, people
are sometimes tempted to take
shortcuts, make mistakes, or simply
don’t think.
 Source: https://www.chronicle.com/article/indian-chemist-is-found-to-have-plagiarized-and-falsified-articles/

Source: https://thewire.in/education/in-india-you-can-plagiarize-and-flourish Source: https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/article30247080.ece

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.co m/ci ty/thiruvan anthapuram/kaliyad ans -phd-thesis-assam-varsity-l aunches-inquiry/art iclesho w/101742551.cms

Source: https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2023/mar/11/plagiarism-charges-raised-against-
dr-sheena-shukkursphd-thesis-in-kerala-2554934.html

Source: https://retractionwatch.com/2012/09/12/fired-kalasalingam-prof-gurunathans-retraction-count-stands-at-eight/#more-9696
https://fixgerald.com/blog/cheating-and-plagiarism-statistic
 4 in 10,000 academic papers are
retracted, about half of those are due to
plagiarism.

Brainder and You, 2018.

Brainder and You, 2018.
Brainder and You, 2018.
 Why more retractions for plagiarism?

Its much easier to detect & more people

are watching.

Brainder and You, 2018.

So what is plagiarism?
 Plagiarism: the practice of taking
someone else's work or ideas and
passing them off as one's own.

Oxford Languages, accessed 7/21

 Plagiarism in other words.

Copying * infringement of copyright *

piracy * theft * stealing * poaching *
appropriation
Oxford Languages, accessed 7/21
Four common forms of plagiarism vary
in terms of intent and severity.
Direct Plagiarism: the word-for-word
transcription of a section of someone
else’s work, without attribution and
without quotation marks.

Bowdoin College 7/21

https://www.scribbr.com/plagiarism/types-of-plagiarism/
Direct Plagiarism is easily detected.

Bowdoin College 7/21

 Direct plagiarism is unethical,
academically dishonest, and grounds for
disciplinary actions, including expulsion
from your university and your
professional association.

Bowdoin College 7/21

Self Plagiarism: when a scholar submits
their own previous work, or mixes parts
of previous works, without permission
from all professors involved.

Bowdoin College 7/21

 For example, it would be unacceptable
to incorporate part of a research paper
you wrote in one course to fulfil the
requirements of another course without
previous permission from both
professors.

Bowdoin College 7/21

It is unacceptable to incorporate part of
a published paper without citation and
previous permission from the publisher.
Self-plagiarism is easily detected. It has
become a serious issue in academic
journals.
 Mosaic Plagiarism: when a scholar
borrows phrases from a source without
using quotation marks, or finds
synonyms for the author’s language
while keeping to the same general
structure and meaning of the original.

Bowdoin College 7/21

 Mosaic Plagiarism can involve copying
how an author brings together pieces of
others’ work in order to make an
argument or summarize a literature.
Some argue it is not plagiarism.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-
were-watching-patchwriting
https://reverbico.com/blog/types-of-plagiarism/
Mosiac plagiarism is not easily detected.
It has become a serious issue in
academic journals.
Mosaic plagiarism is sometimes called
“patch writing,” this kind of
paraphrasing, whether intentional or
not, is academically dishonest and
punishable – even if you footnote your
source!

Bowdoin College 7/21

 Accidental Plagiarism: occurs when a
scholar neglects to cite their sources, or
misquotes their sources, or
unintentionally paraphrases a source by
using similar words, groups of words,
and/or sentence structure without
attribution.
Bowdoin College 7/21
https://reverbico.com/blog/types-of-plagiarism/
 Lack of intent does not absolve the
student of responsibility for plagiarism.
Cases of accidental plagiarism are
subject to the same range of
consequences as other types of
plagiarism.

Bowdoin College 7/21

Washington Post 6/5/2019
Accidental plagiarism is easily detected.
It implications are as serious as any
other form of plagiarism.
 Common ways plagiarism occurs

Paraphrasing & summarizing scholarly work.

•Made easier by “cut & paste” from online
resources
•Sometimes attributed to cultural and
disciplinary differences
 Common ways plagiarism occurs

Paraphrasing & summarizing scholarly work.

Accreditedschoolsonline 7/21/2023
 Common ways plagiarism occurs

Paraphrasing involves reformulating a quote or

restating a premise or point taken from a discrete
section of text for the purposes of clarity or style.

It can be useful for simplifying overly technical

language, for updating antiquated language, or for
bringing into sharper focus a specific concept or idea
raised by the author.
Accreditedschoolsonline 7/21/2023
 Common ways plagiarism occurs

Summary involves taking a larger section of text,

perhaps even an entire chapter or essay, and boils it
down into one or several key points that have
specific relevance.

A paraphrase is often roughly the same length as the

original text, while a summary is always significantly
shorter.
Accreditedschoolsonline 7/21/2023
 Common ways plagiarism occurs

Paraphrasing involves reformulating a quote or

restating a premise or point taken from a discrete
section of text for the purposes of clarity or style.

It can be useful for simplifying overly technical

language, for updating antiquated language, or for
bringing into sharper focus a specific concept or idea
raised by the author.
Accreditedschoolsonline 7/21/2023
 Common ways plagiarism occurs

Paraphrasing & summarizing scholarly work.

•Made easier by “cut & paste” from online
resources
•Sometimes attributed to cultural and
disciplinary differences
Accreditedschoolsonline 7/21/2023
 Common ways plagiarism occurs

Failing to distinguish between common and

unique knowledge.

Common knowledge does not need to be

cited.
Harvard College Writing Program Guide
 Common ways plagiarism occurs

Common knowledge: “information generally

known to an educated reader, such as widely
known facts and dates, and, more rarely, ideas or
language. Facts, ideas, and language that are
distinct and unique products of a particular
individual's work do not count as common
knowledge and must always be cited.”
Harvard College Writing Program Guide
 Common ways plagiarism occurs

Helpful tip: Wikipedia is meticulous about

distinguishing between common knowledge
and unique knowledge. When in doubt,
check!
Accreditedschoolsonline 7/21/2023
 Plagiarism versus copyright

Copyrights give exclusive rights to a

person/scholar to intellectual content.
 Plagiarism versus copyright

Key rights include:

1. The right to reproduce copies of original work(s)
2. The right to prepare derivative works
3. The right to distribute copies of the work to the public
(sale, rental, lease, or lending)
4. The right to perform or display the work publicly
5. The right to perform the work publicly via digital
audio transmission (for sound recordings)
Accreditedschoolsonline 7/21/2023
Accreditedschoolsonline 7/21/2023
 Plagiarism versus copyright

Copyrights require you to secure permission

to replicate text or images or other forms of
content.
 How to avoid plagiarism?

Anticipate: Put in quotations everything that

comes directly from the text, especially when
taking notes.

https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/plagiarism.html#strategies
 How to avoid plagiarism?

Rewrite: Be sure you are not just rearranging

or replacing a few words.

https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/plagiarism.html#strategies
 How to avoid plagiarism?

Confirm: Check your paraphrase against the

original text to be sure you have not
accidentally used the same phrases or words,
and that the information remains accurate.

https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/plagiarism.html#strategies
 How to avoid plagiarism?

Cite: When in doubt, cite the original work.

https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/plagiarism.html#strategies
 How to avoid plagiarism?

Sources: Stay organized so you don’t wonder

where information comes from.
 How to avoid plagiarism?

Self-checking: Run all of your work through a

plagiarism checker; run all completed papers
through a plagiarism checker before
submission.
We have a problem
https://www.chronicle.com/article/chatgpt-is-a-plagiarism-
machine
 Problems with ChatGPT

1. Hallucinations
2. Privacy
3. Attribution
 What to do?

Be purposeful and focused in your use of

ChatGPT
 Appropriate Use

1. Enter your own text and ask for help with

wordsmithing.
2. Enter your own ideas and ask for help
outlining.
3. Enter your own references and ask for help
formatting.
 Inappropriate Use

1. Ask ChatGPT to write entire sections.

2. Ask ChatGPT to create arguments.
3. Ask ChatGPT to craft papers.
 What to do?

Learn to use ChatGPT to help you create

original content – not create original content
for you.
 Thank you

(jason.thatcher@colorado.edu)
 Resources

Harvard Writing Guide:

https://library.harvard.edu/writing-guide#tools-resources

Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lucas

Citation Project:
http://www.citationproject.net/plagiarism/
 Examples of Plagiarism:
https://www.bowdoin.edu/dean-of-
students/conduct-review-board/academic-
honesty-and-plagiarism/examples.html
Preventing Plagiarism
https://www.accreditedschoolsonline.org/r
esources/preventing-plagiarism/
 Indiana University:
https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-
guides/plagiarism.html

Reverb on plagiarism
https://reverbico.com/blog/types-of-
plagiarism/