It’s OK to Copy - What You Must Know

IT’S OK TO COPY

WHAT YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT USING IDEAS

THAT CAN BE FOUND ELSEWHERE

DEFENSIVE WRITING (Part 1)

Version 2 completed 05 Nov 2013

CONTENTS

Introduction

• If You Didn’t Copy

• What’s Plagiarism

• Defensive Writing

• Borrowed Ideas

Five Protections

• How to Quote

• How to Paraphrase

• How to Cite

• How to Reference

• Original Ideas

EVEN IF YOU DIDN’T COPYINTRODUCTION

It’s OK to Copy

But you must do it the right way

• The wrong way of copying is called plagiarism

• Plagiarism is unacceptable

• Plagiarism is punishable

IT’S OK TO COPY WHEN...

You use the exact words and word arrangement

–Enclose in quote marks

–Use a citation each time,

–Use a reference for each source

IT’S OK TO COPY WHEN (2)

You change the words and word arrangement

–Don’t enclose in quote marks

–Use a citation each time,

–Use a reference for each source

Even if You Didn’t Copy

If an idea in your paper can be found somewhere else (even if it came from your own brain), your idea is a copy.

• It is not original.

• No excuses, no exceptions.

Even if You Didn’t Copy

• This presentation will show you how to protect yourself from any possible punishment.

• This is called “defensive writing”

Logo courtesy of (www.aperfectworld.org)

WHAT EXACTLY IS PLAGIARISM?NEXT

What Exactly is Plagiarism (1)

You use someone’s exact words and word arrangement but

• Not enclosed in quote marks

• Incorrect or no citation each time,

• Incorrect or no reference for each source


You changed the words and word arrangement but




You change the arrangement of words but




You changed all or some of the wordsbut



It’s not only words

The term “ideas” refers to

• words, images, sounds

• or any combination thereof

It’s not only words

The term “ideas” also refers to the way the words, images, sounds are

• arranged

• combined

• used

• produced

HOW TO WRITE DEFENSIVELYWRITER PROTECTION


Defensive Writing 1

• After your first complete draft, Google your key ideas to see if these can be found elsewhere.

• If not, no problem.

• If so, attribute.


Defensive Writing 2

Attribution means to indicate where an idea comes from by using citations and referencesin your writing.


Defensive Writing 3

If you find ideas that are the same as or similar toyours, cite them to support your ideas.

This can create stronger arguments and more convincing ideas.


Defensive Writing 4

If you find ideas that are opposite or contrary to yours, cite them to balance your ideas.

This can add objectivity to – and lessen bias in – your writing.


Defensive Writing 5

If you find ideas that are related to your ideas, cite them to add details to your writing.


Defensive Writing 6

When you find ideas in unrelated works, clearly connect and cite them in your writing.

This can introduce scope and breadth to your work.


Defensive Writing 7

Attribute correctly; use the attribution style preferred by your school, organization, or publisher.


BORROWED & ORIGINAL IDEASDEFENSIVE WRITING


The Ethics of Borrowing

• When you borrow something, you must first ask permission

• If you borrow something, you must return it.


Borrowing Ideas

When it’s not possible ask permission to borrow ideas for your paper but:

• You can say where it can be found

• You can say who owns it or

• You can say who created it.


Borrowing Ideas

Say where published, when published, and who published it.

• Transparency: That makes it easier for others to find.

• Full disclosure: This shows that you’re not hiding anything.


Returning Borrowed Ideas

You can’t return ideas in research-based writing but:

• When you use exact words and structures, you can clearly indicate that these are from someone else

• You can show the reader exactly how to return to the source of your borrowed ideas


Mixing Ideas

When you mix your own ideas with borrowed ideas, you can clearly indicate which ideas belong to someone and which ideas are yours.


Mixing Ideas

You can mix clearly & correctly by:

• paraphrasing

• quoting

• citation

• referencing


Mixing Ideas

You can mix borrowed and original ideas smoothly by:

• integrating sources and

• integrating sourced ideas

–Quotes

–Paraphrases Logo courtesy of (www.aperfectworld.org)

Lending Ideas

When publishing your work, show others how to use your ideas by:

• Including an example of how your work can be cited in different ways

• Including an example of how your work can be listed as a reference


Lending Ideas

You can include examples for each attribution style such as:

• APA

• Chicago

• Turabian

• MLA

• Harvard

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citation Logo courtesy of (www.aperfectworld.org)

FIVE PROTECTIVE DEVICES

Image courtesy of (www.fullsailblog.com)

1. THE QUOTEWHEN BORROWING EXACT WORDS & STRUCTURES

Definition: The Quote

A quote is the exact words and exact arrangement of words taken from a source

• Exact words

• Exact sentence structure

Rules: The Quote

• Exact words

• Exact sentence structure / arrangement of words

• Should be enclosed in quote marks “…”

• Any removed words should be replaced by three dots …

• A citation should be used each time

• A reference should show each source

2. THE PARAPHRASEWHEN BORROWING IDEAS

Definition: The Paraphrase

A paraphrase is the exact idea taken from a source, but using different words, and different arrangement of words

• Same idea

• Different words

• Different sentence structure

Rules: The Paraphrase

• Exact ideas, different words

• Different sentence structure / arrangement of words

• No quote marks

• A citation should show the source of each paraphrase

3. THE CITATIONINDICATING CREATORS AND PUBLISHERS OF IDEAS

Definition: The Citation

• Open parenthesis (

• Last name of author Smith

• Comma ,

• year of publication 2009

• close parentheses )

Example: (Smith, 2009)

• Located in the text, near the quote or paraphrase

Rules: The Citation

• Each borrowed idea should have a citation

• Use author last name only in the citation

• The full stop is after the close parenthesis.

There were times in the past when life in Malaysia was not only difficult but also dangerous (Buruhanudeen, 1997).

Rules: The Citation

• If there is no author, use company or organization name

(Albukhary Foundation, 1992)

Rules: The Citation

• If there is no company or organization name, use Anon. which means anonymous

(Anon., 1992)

Rules: The Citation

• A comma separates the author and the date

(Anon., 1992)

Rules: The Citation

• Each citation should have a year

• If there is no year, use n.d. which means no date

(Buruhanudeen, n. d.)

The reference is a complete version of the citation.

Buruhanudeen, n. d. My Secret Life. AiU Press, Malaysia. Online at www.faris.com

Rules: The Citation

• A comma separates the author and the date

(Anon., 1992)

Rules: The Citation

• A comma separates many authors of one document.

(Cruz, Abu, and Montri, 1992)

• The last name is preceded by and.

(Cruz, Abu, and Montri, 1992)

Rules: The Citation

• If there are more than three authors, use the first author, followed by et. al. (Latin for et alia = “and others”)

(Abu, et. al., 1992)

Rules: The Citation

• A comma shows that the names are in a different order:

Martin Abu = Abu, Martin

• Use the complete last name and the first letter of the first name.

(Abu, M., 1992)

• The full-stop means the first name is shortened to one letter.

Rules: The Citation

• A comma separates many authors of one document.

(Abu, M., and Montri, J. 1992)

(Cruz, B., Abu, M., and Montri, J., 1992)

• The last name is preceded by and.

(Cruz, B., Abu, M., and Montri, J., 1992)

Rules: The Citation• If there are more than three authors, use the

first author, followed by et. al. (Latin for et alia = “and others”)

(Buruhanudeen, F., et. al., 1992)

The reference is a complete version of the citation: all authors are listed, no “et. al.”

Buruhanudeen, F., Cruz, B., Abu, M., and Montri, J., (1992) My Secret Life. AiU Press, Malaysia. Online at www.faris.com

4. THE REFERENCE LISTINDICATING EXATCLY WHERE IDEAS CAN BE FOUND

The Reference List

• Complete citation: Author name, year, title, publisher, city of publisher, website

• Even better: DOI, live web link

• Located: at the end of the document

The Reference List

• Each citation has one reference; each reference is related to a citation

• The list is arranged alphabetically

• The list is titled List of References or References

QUOTES & CITATIONS ESTABLISHED CONVENTIONS OF USING

Quote & Citation #1

• The exact words are inside quote marks.

• The full-stop is after the citation.

“There were times in the past when life in Malaysia was not only difficult but also dangerous” (Buruhanudeen, M., 1997).

Quote & Citation #2

• Only the date is in the parenthesis.

• The date follows the author name.

• The first name initial is not used.

“There were times in the past when life in Malaysia was not only difficult but also dangerous” says Buruhanudeen (1997).

Quote & Citation #3



• The first name initial is not used.

According to Buruhanudeen(1997), “There were times in the past when life in Malaysia was not only difficult but also dangerous.”

QUOTES & CITATIONS (TWO AUTHORS) ESTABLISHED CONVENTIONS OF USING

Quote & Citation #1

• The exact words are inside quote marks.

• The full-stop is after the citation.

“There were times in the past when life in Malaysia was not only difficult but also dangerous” (Buruhanudeen, F., and Ssemudu, I., 1997).

Quote & Citation #2



• The first name initials are not used.

“There were times in the past when life in Malaysia was not only difficult but also dangerous” says Buruhanudeen and Ssemudu (1997).

Quote & Citation #3



• The first name initials are not used.

According to Buruhanudeen and Ssemudu(1997), “There were times in the past when life in Malaysia was not only difficult but also dangerous.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Search using the following keywords

• citation, reference, __ style, cheatsheet

Add any of these

• filetype:pdf

• filetype:ppt

• filetype:doc

5. ORIGINALITY OF IDEAHOW TO ACCURATELY IDENTIFY

IDEAS (It’s not only words)

Ideas come in different forms, such as:

• Words or arrangement of words

• Images or arrangement of images

• Sounds or arrangement of sounds

• Colors, patterns

• Objects, feelings

BORROWED IDEAS

A borrowed idea is not original. This includes:

• Any idea that did not come from your own senses

• Any idea that can be found in any source, such as the internet

• Any idea that you did not experience by yourself

ORIGINAL IDEAS

An idea that comes from your own thinking can be original. However, it is not original when:

• Someone else thought of it before you did

• It can be found in any source

• It is based on ideas with sources that you have forgotten

• Most of it is similar to someone else’s ideas

ORIGINAL IDEAS

An idea that comes from your own thinking can be considered as original when:

• It is a new idea formed by combining the ideas of others (synthesis)

• It is a new idea formed by changing the ideas of others (modification)

• There is no proof that someone else thought of it before you did

• Nothing exactly like it can be found in any source

DOCUMENTATION

All borrowed ideas should be cited and referenced. This is called “attribution”

You must attribute ideas that you use in your writing if they are:

• Borrowed

• Similar

• Add related details

• Opposing

END OF PRESENTATION

Email comments or corrections to [email protected]

“It’s OK to Copy” by Syed Muhammad Faris bin Syed Buruhanudeen and Jaime Alfredo Cabrera, 03 July 2013, Albukhary International University, Alor Setar, Malaysia.

Version 2 completed 05 Nov 2013

Education

It’s OK to Copy - What You Must Know