Administrative Guidelines 2012

Plagiarism

Use of similarity detecting software

The similarity software we use (WCopyfind) works by matching up phrases and words (with a high tolerance for changes) across different sources. Your assignments will be compared with:

• Other students’ assignments submitted at the same time.
• Other students’ assignments submitted in previous years.
• Internet resources such as online journals, websites, Wikipedia.
• Library resources such as the set references for the assignment, other relevant books and articles.

Often the similarity software simply gives us an indication something is wrong, and then when tutors follow-up on suspicions more material is found which is not necessarily copied word for word, but ideas and arguments have been used without acknowledgement.
The similarity detecting software only offers evidence which may support a case that plagiarism has occurred, it does not determine this definitively. The software we are currently using (WCopyfind) does not allow your work to be accessed or used by any other party or company outside of the School of Psychology. If you have any concerns or questions about the use of this software, ask your course coordinator.

Avoiding plagiarism – key points

• Plagiarism is a serious offence and may result in failure in the course. Even where students are completing an exercise together, each student must submit separate written work. Incorporation of any material from another student’s assignment is regarded as plagiarism.
• In writing essays or reports to meet coursework requirements, you should use your own words. In some contexts (e.g., theoretical research) it is appropriate to use an occasional quotation. This should be indicated in the conventional way by enclosing the passage within quotation marks and by providing a precise (page number) reference for the source of the quote. In many contexts, especially reports of empirical work, quotations are best avoided.
• “Using your own words” means that you should not borrow from the writing of others – whether from fellow students or published authors. For example, it is not acceptable to base an essay on text from various sources that you have then edited to some degree – even if you cite these sources. First of all, there is the ethical issue arising from the dishonesty of presenting as your own work something which is essentially the work of others. In addition, there are good educational reasons for avoiding this, even where you feel that someone else has expressed some idea far more clearly than you could. One reason is that you must learn to express yourself clearly in writing; like most other skills, this only comes with practice. Another, is the failure to understand information or ideas at all thoroughly if all you have done is reproduce (with some editing) what someone else has written about the topic.
• When you express in your own words what you have learned from various sources, you should cite each source. The standard convention for most written work in psychology is to list references at the end of your essay or report, rather than, for example, to use footnotes. To express some idea without giving a citation implies that it is your own idea. Therefore, if it is in fact an idea obtained from someone else, this needs to be acknowledged. Listing a set of sources implies that you have read them all. Therefore, you should list as references only those you have actually read. If you are depending on a secondary source, then make this clear, e.g., ... salivary conditioning (Pavlov, 1927; cited in Mazur, 1998).
• The points made here also apply to non-textual material. For example, graphs or tables of data included in a report should be your own work and not copied from others. Very occasionally you may need to ‘quote’ a figure from some other source; if you do so, you should make its origin quite clear.
• In general, avoid letting other students use your work for any kind of assessment. On the rare occasion where this may be appropriate, make sure that the other student acknowledges your contribution as the original author.
• In some cultures, students show their respect for a teacher by copying what the teacher has said or written. In Australian University education, copying a teacher (even if paraphrasing) is plagiarism if the source is not cited.