Volume 1, Issue 2
by Dena Huisman
For
Charlotte Bronson, professor of plant pathology at ISU, the definition of "plagiarism"
is clear. If an idea or sentence is not completely original to the author, it
is plagiarized.
But not everyone sees the definition so clearly, and that is why she developed an exercise to demonstrate to graduate students what plagiarism is and how easy it is to plagiarize others' work.
After serving on a committee to look into allegations of plagiarism against another faculty member, Bronson realized just how difficult it is to define in words what plagiarism is and what it isn't. "Because of the difficulty of defining it, people have different views of what plagiarism is, and some do not know what it is at all," she said.
Bronson said some plagiarism is more obvious than others, and the definition among disciplines varies as well. "What journalism students see as plagiarism may not be considered plagiarism by biology students," she said.
There is a significant need for education on the topic, according to Bronson. Her original exercise was designed for graduate students in plant pathology, but has since expanded to all the life sciences. She first used the exercise in her own class, but now uses it in graduate student orientation. She has also given speeches for different ethics seminars.
Bronson said many students and professors who have tried her exercise on plagiarism are surprised to learn that their colleagues consider some of the things they write inappropriate. International students are especially grateful for the exercise because it is often the first time they have heard of the word plagiarism and its centrality to the U.S. academic system.
To assure students it is possible to create original text, even when the topic is challenging, Bronson uses the example of a Chinese graduate student who knew little English but ended up being the best writer Bronson has ever had. She said the student's grammar was poor, but her ideas were excellent. "She forgot about grammar and focused on logical, reasoned arguments," she said. Bronson encourages students to focus on expressing their ideas in whatever words are natural for them, and then worrying about grammar later. She said students are encouraged by this approach to writing.
Spring semester, Bronson will be co-teaching a Professional Practice in Life Sciences course aimed at graduate students with Lisa Lorenzen of the Office of Biotechnology. Bronson's portion of the class will include a version of her plagiarism exercise.
Bronson uses the following exercise when she teaches graduate students in the life sciences about plagiarism. The list of excerpts below the quotes begin with blatant plagiarism; successive sentences become increasingly original and acceptable. Bronson said the opinions of students and professors diverge in the middle of the list, with half of students believing the sentence is acceptable and 80 percent of professors believing it is plagiarism. She said this demonstrates the need for better communication between students and faculty on plagiarism.
What is Plagiarism?
Please read the quotations below.
from: G. S. Johal, S. H. Hulbert, and S. P. Briggs. 1995. Disease lesion mimics of maize: a model for cell death in plants. BioEssays 17: 685-692.
"A class of maize mutants, collectively known as disease lesion mimics, display discrete disease-like symptoms in the absence of pathogens. It is intriguing that a majority of these lesion mimics behave as dominant gain-of-function mutations. The production of lesions is strongly influenced by light, temperature, developmental state and genetic background. Presently, the biological significance of this lesion mimicry is not clear, although suggestions have been made that they may represent defects in the plants' recognition of, or response to, pathogens."... "In this paper we argue that this might be the case..."
Which of the following fail to give proper credit for the writing and/or ideas of the original authors?
1. Currently, the biological significance of lesion mimicry in plants is not known, although suggestions have been made that they may represent defects in the plants' recognition of, or response to, pathogens.
2. Currently, the biological significance of lesion mimicry in plants is not known, although suggestions have been made that they may represent defects in the plants' recognition of, or response to, pathogens (Johal et al. 1995).
3. Currently, "the biological significance of lesion mimicry in plants is not known, although suggestions have been made that they may represent defects in the plants' recognition of, or response to, pathogens" (Johal et al. 1995).
4. The biological significance of lesion mimicry in plants is not currently known, although some researchers believe that they may represent defects in the ability of plants to recognize or respond to pathogens.
5. The biological significance of lesion mimicry in plants is currently not known, although some researchers believe that they may represent defects in the ability of plants to recognize or respond to pathogens (Johal et al. 1995).
6. Lesion mimicry in plants has been proposed to be due to mutations in genes controlling the ability of plants to detect and respond to pathogens.
7. Lesion mimicry in plants has been proposed to be due to mutations in genes controlling the ability of plants to detect and respond to pathogens (Johal et al. 1995).
8. Disease-like lesions in plants may be due to mutations in genes controlling the ability of plants to defend themselves against pathogens (Johal et al. 1995).
Plagiarism
The misappropriation (theft) of another author's contributions, including:
1. Ideas
2. Information
3. Writing
When is this plagiarism?
All the Time!
Rules
1. Cite all ideas or information taken from another author.
2. Do not quote unless absolutely necessary. If you must quote, make sure the quote is exact, use quotation marks and cite.
3. Do not paraphrase. There are very few situations in scientific writing where it is necessary or appropriate.
Note: A citation, such as Johal et al. (1995), gives credit for information and ideas. It is insufficient to give credit for writing!
How to Write Well and Avoid Plagiarism: Focus on Insights, Not Grammar!
1. Read it.
2. Think about it. What did the authors say? How does it relate to the topic you are writing about?
3. Put it aside!
4. Using your own language and style (whatever it is), write out what you want to say.
5. Add proper citations. Check for accuracy.
6. Only then, translate it into English and fix the grammar.
Ideas First! Words Second!
For more information on this topic and exercise, contact Charlotte Bronson at cbronson@iastate.edu.
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Last Update 05/23/03