The Ethics of

SCHOLARSHIP
from Cruz’ “Sotto: What really happened in
plagiarism issue” (2012)

“But according to Sotto, what

happened was that his staff
researchers had accumulated so much
quotes and information on birth
control that when his speech was
being crafted, they did not know who
said what.”
from Cruz’ “Sotto: What really happened in
plagiarism issue” (2012)

“’I made a general disclaimer,” he said

in Filipino. “I said: ‘These are not my
words but of others in the know on
the subjects—birth control,
contraceptives and abortion.’ Read my
speech; the disclaimer is there. I never
claimed the quotes as my own.”
from Cruz’ “Sotto: What really happened in
plagiarism issue” (2012)
“So the sin is that you forgot to use quotation
marks and give proper credits? a reporter asked.
Sotto replied: ‘As I said, the problem was that
there was a welter of quotes that it was difficult
to determine who said which quotes. So I made
a general disclaimer: ‘I am not saying these.
Others said them.’ I disclaimed authorship of the
quotes in my speech.”
 What is plagiarism?
“’Plagiarism is when you use
somebody else’s work and claim it as
your own.’” (Sen. Sotto, qtd. in Cruz)
 What is plagiarism?

• Latin plagium - means "kidnapping"

• It is intellectual theft.
• It is a serious scientific misconduct.

(American Heritage Dictionary of the

English
Gitanjali 8 Language, 3rd ed., 1992)
Writecon 2007
 “It’s not the same. I was caught stealing
office supplies. You on the other hand,
got caught stealing ideas.”
Gitanjali 9
Writecon 2007
 Why do people plagiarize?
v Ignorance
v Lack of knowledge on the ethics
of scholarly writing / poor writing
skills
v Ambition, fierce competition

Gitanjali 10
Writecon 2007
 Why do people plagiarize?
v Pressure from seniors
v Publish or perish system
v Faster
v Chances of getting caught or
action being taken is slim

Gitanjali 11
Writecon 2007
 Types of Plagiarism

1. Word-for-word plagiarism
2. Paraphrase plagiarism
3. Mosaic plagiarism
4. Incomplete citation plagiarism
5. Source plagiarism
WORD-FOR-WORD PLAGIARISM

“Copying of another’s
writing without the
use of quotation marks
and without
identifying it in a
footnote, both of
which are necessary”
(“Academic Integrity”)
PARAPHRASE PLAGIARISM

“An abbreviated
restatement of another
person’s analysis or
conclusion, without
acknowledging the
source”

(“Academic Integrity”)
MOSAIC PLAGIARISM

“Lifting ideas, phrases, and

paragraphs from a variety
of sources and joining
them together without
careful identification of
their sources. The result is
a mosaic of other people’s
ideas and words”
(“Academic Integrity)
SOURCE PLAGIARISM

“Material you gather

from one author that
he has gathered from
another is plagiarized if
you do not give the
author from whom you
took the material
credit.”
(“Understanding and
Preventing Plagiarism”)
INCOMPLETE CITATION PLAGIARISM

“Plagiarism also exists

when a source is cited
for only part of the
material copied. ”
(“Understanding and
Preventing
Plagiarism”)
 Defining Common
Knowledge

• Common knowledge is information most

college-educated people know, although they
might need to remind themselves by looking
up information in a reference book.
 Examples of
Common Knowledge
• The summer Olympics is held
every four years.
• Coca-Cola is a popular soft drink
around the world.

Coca-Cola was the number one soft

drink in 2010, outselling its nearest
competitor, Pepsi by 25%.
But what if I’m still not
sure?
If you feel that you are
walking a thin line between
common knowledge and
what may be learned from
research, be safe and
properly document your
work.
 WORKS CITED
“Academic Integrity”. Purdue U-Calumet. n.p.:n.d. Web.
15 June 2013.
Cruz, Neal. “What really happened in plagiarism issue.”
As I See It. Inquirer Opinion, 20 November 2012.
Web. 15 June 2013.
Gitanjali, B. “Cut-copy-paste: Understanding
intellectual theft and plagiarism. 15 June 2013.
PDF File.
“Understanding and Preventing Plagiarism”. CGU
Writing Center. Claremont Graduate University,
2013. Web. 15 June 2013.