Study Skills

Lecture 4
Written Communication 2

Referencing
Plagiarism

Study Skills Lecture 4

 Referencing

References are used to show to a

reader:
 The source of a quotation

 Document or validate the source of

the information used
 A reference to another part of your
written text

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 Referencing
When do you need to give a reference?
 To show sources of inspiration (general)

 To show the source of specific theory,

argument or viewpoint
 To use specific information – statistics,
surveys, case studies
 For direct quotations (to illustrate a point)

 For information which you choose to

paraphrase rather than quote.

Study Skills Lecture 4

 Referencing
Some useful phrases to introduce material from
reference sources:

 To quote from Jones (1999), “…

 As Jones (1999) points out, …
 According to Jones (1999), …
 Jones (1999) suggests that, …
 In her article ‘name of article’, Jones (1999) makes
the point that …
 In ‘book title’ Jones (1999) explains that ...
 Writing in 1999, Jones proposed that ….

Study Skills Lecture 4

 Referencing
All external sources referenced in the text must be included in
a reference list or bibliography.

The information provided allows a reader to locate the source

quickly and efficiently:
 Authors surname and initials or first name
 Date of publication
 Title of book, paper or article
 Place of publication
 Publisher

There are various established styles of referencing.

Try to use the Harvard referencing style, but most importantly
use a consistent style

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 Quotations
Use quotations sparing, keep brief and ensure they
make a valuable addition to your writing

Ensure:
 Words are copied exactly
 Use three dots (…) to indicate any omitted words
 Put quotation marks around any individual words
you quote
 Say exactly where the quotation comes from

It is rarely necessary to quote more than one

sentence. Other information should be paraphrased
and utilised by yourself to justify your academic
argument.

Study Skills Lecture 4

 What is plagiarism -
Oxford Dictionary definition:
 take and use (the thoughts, writings, inventions,
etc. of another person) as one's own.
 pass off the thoughts etc. of (another person) as
one's own.

New Webster’s Encycopedic Dictionary (1997)

 Plagiarism is “the unauthorized use of the
language and thoughts of another author and the
representation of them as one’s own”.

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 Plagiarism / Unfair practice
What does it include?

 Using words more or less exactly as they

have been used in articles, lectures,
television programmes, books or
anywhere else (without indicating that
these are quotations)
 Using other people’s ideas or theories
without saying whose ideas they are
 Paraphrasing what you read or hear
without stating where it comes from
(Cottrell, 2003, page 133)

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 Plagiarism
Different forms of plagiarism
 Direct duplication, by copying (or allowing to be copied)
another’s work, whether from a book, article, web site,
another student’s assignment, etc.
 Paraphrasing of another’s work closely, with minor
changes but with the essential form and/or progression of
ideas maintained
 Piecing together sections of the works of others into a
new whole
 Submitting one’s own work which has already been
submitted for assessment purposes in another subject
 Producing assignments in conjunction with other people
(e.g. another student, a tutor) which should be your own
independent work

(see also University regulations relating to unfair practice)

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 Plagiarism
 Intentional plagiarism is plagiarism
which arises from intention to deceive

 Unintentional plagiarism is plagiarism

which arises from lack of knowledge or
understanding of the concept of
plagiarism, or lack of skill in using the
relevant academic conventions

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 Plagiarism
Some definitions:

 Group work means a formally established project to be

conducted by a number of students in common,
resulting in a single piece of assessment or a number of
associated pieces of assessment
 Legitimate collaboration means any constructive
educational and intellectual practice that aims to
facilitate optimal learning outcomes through interaction
between students
 Collusion (unauthorised collaboration) involves working
together with others without permission to produce
work which is then presented as work completed
independently by the student. Collusion is a form of
plagiarism. Students should not knowingly allow their
work to be copied.

Study Skills Lecture 4

 Plagiarism / Unfair Practice
Plagiarism is taken very seriously.
It could mean:
 Failure in an assignment (carrying zeros)

 Failure in the module (carrying zeros)

 Permission to re-take for a maximum of 40%

 Referral to University Authorities for consideration of more

serious action

(see University Regulations relating to Unfair Practice)

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 Detecting Unfair Practice
During marking all academic staff are looking to ensure that
the work submitted is that of the student. The following is
checked –
 Written in a style and language consistent with students
normal style
 Answers the questions set, not some other question

 That answer is in the students own words

 Electronic files are submitted through turnitin, plagarism

checking, software. The report is interpreted. This can
identify the amount of the assignment actually written by
the student in their own words, the amount of quotations,
any un-attributed copying from various information sources
(see example of turnitin report)

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 Plagiarism and Copyright

There is a close relationship between

plagiarism and copyright issues

 Copyright infringement takes place

when a person takes a substantial part of
another person’s work and incorporates
this in the author’s own work. In
copyright law this is permissible only
where the author has the license of the
original author.

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 Copyright
 Copyright law does not prohibit copying
altogether, but it does place a limit on
what a person can copy from an existing
work without incurring a penalty or legal
recourse

 That amount is legally referred to as a

“substantial part”. The law defining what
a substantial part is has developed over
time since 1709.

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 Differences between
Copyright & Plagiarism
 A plagiarised work will not always be an
infringement of copyright
 A copyright infringement occurs in a large
number of cases of plagiarism
 There is no penalty in law for plagiarism
as such, however an individuals reputation
and credibility may be affected by word of
mouth criticism
 A successful claim of copyright
infringement may lead to damages being
payable to the author of the original work.
It is also a criminal offence in the UK.
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 Plagiarism
Can you identify plagiarism?

Examples from Cottrell, 2003, page 134

You need to ensure:

 You understand the problem

 Understand why copying is wrong
 Understand how it is dealt with

 Actively ensure that you do not plagiarise

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 Paraphrasing
 This involves re-writing someone
words
 Should not be over-used
 Must always be referenced to the
source
 But can be useful to align text style
with your own writing, to compare
information from different sources
etc.
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 MIT referencing
Use the Havard Referencing System
(FULL DETAILS ARE PROVIDED on the MIT web site -
http://www.lamp.ac.uk/mit/pdf/referencing_guide.pdf )

Examples -
Appraisal Systems work best when all parties
understand the aims (Jones, 1999, p.54)
Jones (1999) explains how Appraisal systems work
best when all parties understand the aims.
A recent academic study (Evans, 2002) …

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 MIT referencing
Some point of the Havard System:

 When referencing in the text the name and date must be

included. Either – for example Jones (1999) thought that,
or some authors (Jones, 1999; Spencer, 2004) think that.
(page numbers can also be included in brackets)
 If authors name appears naturally in the text the date must
always be included in brackets.
 If an author has more than one publication in a given year
then small letters are added (2002a, 2002b, etc.) to
distinguish between different sources
 Where there is dual authorship, both authors should be
used (Smith & Brown, 2003)
 Where there are more than two authors the reference can
be shortened (Black et al 2006)

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