Title: Plagiarism - Definitions
Course: RITA MC - CISCO III

At NCTC, plagiarism is defined as any of the following:

- Turning in someone else's ideas, opinions, theories, or work as your own
  - Example
    - Last semester, John submitted a history paper about politics during the US civil war. His paper contained the following introduction: The US civil war was a complex and divisive period in American political history. Modern storytellers often paint a picture of blue versus gray, north versus south. However, the reality of the times was not that simple. Motivations and alliances shifted throughout the war, as was evident in the politics within the Union.
    - This semester, John's friend Katie submitted an English paper about political journalism during the US civil war. Her paper began: The US civil war was a complex and divisive period in American political history. Modern storytellers often paint a picture of blue versus gray, north versus south. However, the reality of the times was not that simple. Motivations and alliances shifted throughout the war, as was evident in the politics within the Union.
    - Katie using John's introduction is a clear example of plagiarism.
      - John is also guilty of collusion if he knowingly allowed Katie to use his work. At NCTC, collusion is the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work for fulfillment of course requirements.
- Copying words, ideas, or images from someone else without giving credit
  - Example
    - That said, employers' first line of defense against rate increases remains the shifting of cost to employees, but this tactic can present a tough challenge for employers that feel their employee cost-sharing requirements are already high. Domaszewicz, S., Havlin, L., & Connolly, S. (2010). Health care consumerism: Incentives, behavior change and uncertainties. Benefits Quarterly, 26(1), 29-33.
    - This semester, Stephanie submitted an economics paper with the following sentence: Employers' first line of defense against rate increases remains the shifting of cost to employees, but this tactic can present a tough challenge for employers that feel their employee cost-sharing requirements are already high.
    - Stephanie's verbatim use of the source statement, without quotations and proper citation information, is also a clear example of plagiarism.
- Failing to put a quote in quotation marks
  - Example
    - See "Copying words, ideas, or images from someone else without giving credit"
- Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation or image
  - Example
    - The objective of this study was to assess the self-reported terrorism preparedness and training needs of a nurse workforce in North Texas. Jacobson, H., Mas, F., Chiehwen Ed, H., Turley, J., Miller, J., & Misu, K. (2010). Self-assessed emergency readiness and training needs of nurses in rural Texas. Public Health Nursing, 27(1), 41-48.
    - Last semester, John submitted a paper on public health issues in North Texas that included the following statement: Jacobson and Mas (2010) write, "The objective... was to assess the self-reported terrorism preparedness and training needs of a nurse workforce in North Texas," (p. 43).
    - By not providing accurate details about the article's authors, John plagiarized the source.
- Changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
  - Example
    - Economists... say that the Chinese currency, the renminbi, is undervalued by 25 to 40 percent compared to the dollar and other currencies. Landler, M. (2010, February 4). China shows little patience for U.S. currency pressure. New York Times. Retrieved February 4, 2010, from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/world/asia/05diplo.html?hp
    - This semester, Mark turned in an economics paper that included the following sentence: Researchers suggest that the Chinese currency known as the renminbi is underrated between 25 to 40 percent in comparison with other currencies, including the dollar.
    - By changing some words from the source statement while maintaining the sentence structure and not citing the source, Mark committed plagiarism.
- Copying so many words, ideas, or images from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not
  - Example
    - See "Turning in someone else's ideas, opinions, theories, or work as your own"

Also See:

Plagiarism - Consequences

Plagiarism - Avoiding