Defining Plagiarism, Academic Dishonesty

Defining Plagiarism

plagiarize:
v. tr. - 1. To use and pass off as one's own (the ideas or writings of another).
2. To appropriate for use as one's own passages or ideas from (another).

v. intr. 1. To put forth as original to oneself the ideas or words of another.
(from the American Heritage Dictionary)

For more legal definitions and examples on plagiarism, see the Plagiarism in Colleges in USA Web site.

Examples of student plagiarism include submitting a paper not written by the student, quoting or paraphrasing text without citing the original source, fabricating data, creating false references in a bibliography or proposing an idea as "original" when another source proposed it first.

Defining Academic Dishonesty

Plagiarism is just one act which constitutes an act of academic dishonesty which also includes cheating on an exam, submitting the same assignment to multiple courses without permission and others.

Defining Academic Integrity

The reverse of academic dishonesty is academic integrity. Academic Integrity is also one of the four Penn State Principles. The statement in Policy 49-20 of the Faculty Senate reads:

"Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible manner. Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at The Pennsylvania State University, and all members of the University community are expected to act in accordance with this principle. Consistent with this expectation, the University's Code of Conduct states that all students should act with personal integrity, respect other students' dignity, rights and property, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts."

-- www.psu.edu/ufs/policies/47-00.html#49-20

A Note on Copyright and Digital Media

A related topic to plagiarism is respecting copyright for digital media. If you or a student wish to include digital media from another source (e.g. audio, video, graphics files, and large data sets), you should ensure you have appropriate permissions to use them. Citation may not be enough.

You and your students can learn more at these links below. When in doubt, link, but don't copy.

• Copyright Perspectives
• Ethical and Legal Use of Digital Media FAQ (Penn State Information Technology Services)
• Penn State ITS Copyright Information

Some Penn State Plagiarism Numbers

In a Penn State Pulse Survey on "Academic Integrity" (March 2008), 59% of students surveyed admitted to cheating on a class assignment and approximately 11% further admitted to committed one or more forms of plagiarism.

Interestingly a 1999 Penn State Pulse survey on Academic Integrity (March 1999) indicated that the cheaters were more likely to have a lower G.P.A. than the non-cheaters although cheating did occur at all G.P.A. ranges.