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Theft of Knowledge , Part III: Professionals

9/14/2011

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by Catherine Rayburn-Trobaugh: President, Word Branch Media

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While plagiarism committed by students is risky, the stakes are even higher in the professional world. Jayson Blair of the New York Times and Stephen Glass of The New Republic were notable cases, and their promising careers in journalism were destroyed by their acts ¹. While these are high-profile cases, most incidences are low-key because the companies involved don’t want the publicity and, frankly, cases in the business world are often difficult to detect. However, this doesn’t mean there are consequences.

At the professional level, plagiarism is very likely also copyright infringement. This can result in law suits and will most likely lead to a loss of credibility for the individual and company. Vladimar Putin, Ratheon’s CEO and budding novelist Kaavya Viswanathan have all been caught plagiarizing with varying consequences but all were humiliated and embarrassed. If brought to court as copyright infringement, the legal fees and fines can run into the hundreds of thousands and devastate careers ².

According to Plagiarism Today, an industry watchdog, plagiarism in small businesses is on the rise partially because of web content usage. Web content is loosely defined as a method of search engine optimization (SEO) in order to bring more traffic to a website. The most common form of content is short articles written to “catch” the word searches in search engines. Many content writers, including me, are honest and meticulous in research and documentation; however, content can be bought cheaply from non-professional writers who cut and paste more than actually write. This secondary breach of copyright accounts for much of the online business plagiarism, but the site owner is not absolved of responsibility just because he or she didn’t do the actual writing ³.

As with academic plagiarism, professional plagiarism can be avoided fairly painlessly. Giving credit where credit is due is the first step to protecting yourself against charges of plagiarism and copyright infringement. Although the documentation process is a little murkier at the professional level, all industries have their standards. If your company or organization doesn’t have a style guide that outlines the accepted documentation process, then you may want to suggest that one be created. If you are in an industry that regularly documents, invest in the appropriate guide. When in doubt, fall back on Chicago or Turabian style. It’s easy, clean and non-intrusive on the writing itself.

Most plagiarism of all types is born of wanting to take a shortcut, and we all know that shortcuts aren’t always the best path. Ruining a promising career, professional or academic, isn’t worth the risk, and the solution is simple and painless: document sources or hire a reputable writer.

1. Demirijari, Karoun. “What is the Price of Plagiarism?” The Christian Science Monitor, 11 May 2006, Accessed 25 Sept. 2011, http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0511/p14s01-lire.html.
2. Reider, Rem. “The Jayson Blair Affair,” American Journalism Review, Accessed 25 Sept. 2011, http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=3019.
3. “Small Business Plagiarism on the Rise,” Plagiarism Today,” Accessed 25 Spet. 2011, http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2011/08/30/small-business-plagiarism-on-the-rise/.

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Theft of Knowledge, Part II: Students

9/13/2011

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by Catherine Rayburn-Trobaugh: President, Word Branch Media

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In nearly 20 years of teaching college writing, I've run into only a handful of students who intentionally plagiarized their work, but every semester I find several who accidentally plagiarize. I suspect many of them have cut and pasted in the past and sincerely don’t see anything wrong with it, or they just can’t believe that they are capable of writing their own words. And more often than not, it’s because they simply aren’t documenting when they should.

As I said in Part I, the penalties for plagiarism are steep. Most colleges and universities have a “three strikes and you’re out” policy: first offense—fail the paper, second offence—fail the course, third offence—expulsion. In 2006, Ohio University withdrew the degrees of a number of graduate students who had plagiarized parts of their Master’s theses, and other institutions are following this lead and considering plagiarism a form of fraud (Knight). And while the Internet has undoubtedly made it easier for students to plagiarize, it has also made it much easier for them to be caught.

So what can a student do to avoid plagiarism? The key is documentation. The most common forms of documentation in college are MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychiatric Association). MLA is used mostly in the humanities and APA in the social sciences, and occasionally other formats are used—be sure to ask before you write a paper. Documenting is a two-step process that includes in-text parenthetical documentation and a works cited or reference page. Don’t try to memorize the citations; your college will recommend or require a handbook that you can use for reference, and beware of websites because they are often out-of-date or just plain wrong. I recommend Purdue Universities OWL site for accuracy and trustworthiness (Online Writing Lab).

What to document is as important as how to document. Often students believe that only direct quotes need to be documented, but that is what usually gets them into trouble. Paraphrases, summaries, and ideas should be documented as well, and neglecting to do so is considered plagiarism. And as much as I hate to point this out because it is sometimes misunderstood, there is a loophole called general knowledge. General knowledge is something that is commonly known like historical dates, the periodic table of elements, basic common fact, etc. It’s the “etc.” part that gives people trouble. I tell students that if it is in a common encyclopedia then it is probably general knowledge, but when in doubt, document anyway.

While all of this seems complicated and unnecessary, like anything, it gets easier with use. Don’t be tempted to skip documentation because it can be tedious. It can keep you out of trouble and make you a better writer.

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Theft of Knowledge, Part I: Defining Plagiarism

9/11/2011

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by Catherine Rayburn-Trobaugh: President, Word Branch Media

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Perhaps one of the most misunderstood issues in contemporary writing is the concept of plagiarism. Simply defined, plagiarism is the act of using direct quotes, information that you put into your own words, or even ideas without giving the appropriate credit or getting explicit permission. Every Monday for the next three weeks I’ll be looking at different aspects of plagiarism, how it can be avoided, and what the consequences are for “borrowing” other people’s work. Next week, I’ll focus on the student writer and the following week will cover professionals. Today’s blog is an overview.

Plagiarism.org, a site devoted to helping people avoid plagiarism, doesn’t mince words: plagiarism is theft. It isn’t funny; it isn’t minor. For students, the penalties can follow you throughout your education and beyond. Most colleges and universities have stiff penalties for plagiarism including failing a class and expulsion. Professionally, it can discredit you and severely damage your career in addition to the possibility law suits and fines.

Often people believe that since words aren’t tangible objects, they can’t be stolen but consider this: if you were a carpenter and built a table, and someone came in your shop and took it—that’s theft, right? You worked hard on the table; you have the cost of the materials and, mostly, your valuable time. A writer spends his or her valuable time writing and rewriting, and editors and other publishing professionals work diligently to get a piece polished and ready for public consumption. If you take those words or ideas, it is stealing. If you still aren’t convinced, how about this? It’s wrong and shows a lack of character on the part of the plagiarizer.

The good news is that there are ways to avoid plagiarism both at the student and professional level, and I will continue the conversation next Monday in “Theft of Knowledge Part II.”

“Definition of Plagiarism.” Your Dictionary. Web . 12 September 2011.
“What is Plagiarism?” Plagiarism.com. Web. 12 September 2011.

http://www.yourdictionary.com/dictionary-articles/Definition-of-Plagiarism.html
http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_what_is_plagiarism.html

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