Chapter: The Matter of Plagiarism: What, Why, and If

Quote:

As with most ethical concepts, there is plenty of room for debate over the definition of “plagiarism.”1 Plagiarism will be treated here very broadly as expression that improperly incorporates existing work either without authorization or without documentation, or both. The emphasis on impropriety is important. There are a wide variety of situations where it seems acceptable to repeat prior expressions while ignoring a possible attribution and making no attempt to seek permission from a putative source. We commonly repeat jokes and report established dates for historical events without citing sources, and we do so without qualms about plagiarism. An expression is only plagiarism if it is unacceptable on some established value.

What I expect to learn:

To know what plagiarism really is

Review:                    

It was just discussed to us that plagiarism is not infringement of copyright. For those who thought plagiarism is some disease found only in South East part of the world, plagiarism is the use or close imitation of the language and ideas of another author and representation of them as one's own original work.  Plagiarism is not copyright infringement. While both terms may apply to a particular act, they are different transgressions. Copyright infringement is a violation of the rights of a copyright holder, when material protected by copyright is used without consent. On the other hand, plagiarism is concerned with the unearned increment to the plagiarizing author's reputation that is achieved through false claims of authorship. See, even Wikipedia can prove why both terms may seem similar but totally different in definition.

I actually had a classmate that plagiarized already but to the class’ disappointment, he (a clue! a clue!) was not punished for it. He did not pay for something illegal to do because you know what he did? He literally just copied and pasted an article explaining how life is to people in psychology and just put his name for identification. Wrong move because my professor is very keen with plagiarism but still, trying to remember the event, I was disappointed because our professor just let it slip meaning more and more students will eventually do it because they will have an idea that they won’t be in trouble in the first place. So here is what I think, plagiarism is definitely wrong because you have a brain and you need to use it, not copy another man’s ideas COMPLETELY.

What I learned:

·         Concept of plagiarism

·         Lack of authorization – economic foundations

·         Lack of authorization – natural or moral rights

·         Lack of accreditation – noninfringing plagiarism

·         A personal view of matter

·         Literature review

Integrative Questions:            

1.    Explain the concept of plagiarism.

2.    How can plagiarism be avoided?

3.    How can plagiarism be extinguished?

4.    What is the literature view?

5.    What is lack of accreditation?