Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
A
Plagiarism
AN ETHICAL ANALYSIS OF A SCENARIO INVOLVING PLAGIARISM APPEARS IN SECTION 2.6.2.
This appendix provides a much more complete picture of what plagiarism is and how to
avoid it.
According to the Council of Writing Program Administrators (WPA), “plagiarism oc-
curs when a writer deliberately uses someone else's language, ideas, or other original
(not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source” [1]. The conse-
quences of plagiarism can be severe. Newspaper reporters and college professors have
lost their jobs because they plagiarized the work of others [2, 3]. Colleges and universi-
ties view plagiarism as a form of cheating. A few years ago at the University of Virginia,
48 students either quit or were expelled for plagiarism [4].
The vast amount of information freely available on the Internet, the power of search
engines, and the cut-and-paste capability of contemporary computer programs have
made it easier than ever to commit plagiarism. Of course, Web search engines can also
make it easy for teachers to detect plagiarism [5].
You are plagiarizing if you deliberately do any of the following:
