\n| \n If you take a passage from others\u2019 work, you must put the copied passage in quotation or identify it by using proper indentation, to show to the readers that it is the work of another person, and provide the source.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nSecondly, the source must be clearly provided immediately after the copied passages.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>The source should include full details of the name of the author, the full details of the source, the date of publication and the page reference. There are different ways of citing the source, and the form and style of citation may vary from discipline to discipline. However, the most important thing is that the copied passages have to be identified and their sources adequately provided so that it would not give a misleading impression that the copied passages are your own work. It is insufficient to list the sources at the end of the work.<\/p>\nExample:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n| Competition Policy and Law<\/u><\/em>\n As the convergence phenomenon continues, cross-media acquisitions will increase, leading to both a growing level of horizontal integration amongst the bigger players and an intensified concentration in the market. In Hong Kong, the classic example of such cross-media acquisitions is provided by the takeover in August 2000 of Cable and Wireless (HKT) Limited, the largest player in the telecommunications sector, by Pacific Century Cyberworks Limited, a new internet company set up only one year earlier by Richard Li, the son of Hong Kong tycoon, Li Ka Shing.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nThis passage appeared at p 9 of a research paper submitted by an undergraduate student. There were 13 pages in the research paper. If you read the above passage, you may think that this is the original work of the student. In fact, they were copied almost word for word from Richard W S Wu and Grace L K Leung, \u2018Media Policy and Regulation in the Age of Convergence \u2013 the Hong Kong Experience\u2019 (2000) 30 Hong Kong Law Journal 545. That article was cited as the fourth item under the section of References at the end of the paper.\u00a0<\/span>Although the source article was cited in the References section, the above passage still constitutes plagiarism. The copied passages have not been identified, and the source has not been provided immediately.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nPlagiarism of this kind can easily be avoided by putting the above passage in quotation marks and by providing the source article at the end of the passage. The proper way to do it will be like this:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n| Competition Policy and Law<\/strong><\/u><\/em>\n \u201cAs the convergence phenomenon continues, cross-media acquisitions will increase, leading to both a growing level of horizontal integration amongst the bigger players and an intensified concentration in the market. In Hong Kong, the classic example of such cross-media acquisitions is provided by the takeover in August 2000 of Cable and Wireless (HKT) Limited, the largest player in the telecommunications sector, by Pacific Century Cyberworks Limited, a new internet company set up only one year earlier by Richard Li, the son of Hong Kong tycoon, Li Ka Shing.\u201d (Richard Wu and Grace Leung, 2000, at pp 481-482).<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nNote the quotation marks that identify the copied text. The full citation should be provided at the References section. Alternatively, you may provide the full citation by way of a footnote or an endnote. You can then offer some comments of your own on the above passage.<\/p>\n Thus, you can see that plagiarism can be easily avoided. Identifying the copied passage and providing the source will not detract from the force of your argument (unless the whole paper is copied).<\/p>\n Paraphrasing or adopting an idea or an argument<\/span><\/h3>\nPlagiarism is not confined to copying someone\u2019s words.<\/span><\/p>\nIf you are paraphrasing or adopting an idea or argument from a book or an article or any other source, you should also acknowledge the original author. The same rationale applies: you are borrowing other people\u2019s ideas, and the original author of the idea should be properly acknowledged. Some students think that changing the words or paraphrasing will avoid plagiarism. This is wrong. Even if you change all the words, failure to acknowledge the source of the idea will still constitute plagiarism.<\/span><\/p>\nTake this example. The following passage is taken from Lawrence W C Lai,\u00a0<\/span>Town Planning in Hong Kong: A Critical Review<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>(City University of Hong Kong Press,1997), at p 12.<\/p>\nHistorically, the rise of planning as a profession has been heavily influenced by European pre-war economic thought and political experience. The planning profession has come to encompass the techniques, activities, procedures, and management of government intervention in spatial and socioeconomic affairs in terms of the issues of externalities and public goods. It is worth noting, for example, that Pigou\u2019s The Economics of Welfare (1920) provides justification for government intervention on the grounds of resource allocation efficiency.<\/span><\/p>\nNow consider this passage:<\/p>\n The town planning profession is heavily influenced by European pre-war economic thought and political experience. Not only has the planning profession adopted the techniques, activities and procedures prevalent in Europe, but it has also embraced political beliefs such as management of government intervention in spatial and socioeconomic affairs in terms of the issues of externalities and public goods. For example, Pigou\u2019s The Economics of Welfare (1920) provides strong justification for government intervention on the grounds of resource allocation efficiency.<\/span><\/p>\nAlthough this passage is not a direct copy of Lai\u2019s work, the idea is clearly taken from Lai.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>The language is similar, and the example is clearly that of Lai. The original author is entitled to be acknowledged. In the absence of acknowledgement, this passage constitutes plagiarism as it conveys to an ordinary reader a reasonable impression that this passage is the original work and idea of the student.\u00a0<\/span>An honest way to do it will be like this:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n| \n According to Lai (1997, at p 12), the town planning profession is \u201cheavily influenced by European pre-war economic thought and political experience.\u201d Not only has the planning profession adopted the techniques, activities and procedures prevalent in Europe, but it has also embraced political beliefs such as management of government intervention in spatial and socioeconomic affairs in terms of the issues of externalities and public goods. Lai referred to Pigou\u2019s The Economics of Welfare (1920) as an example of arguing for government intervention on the grounds of \u201cresource allocation efficiency\u201d. (at p 12)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n How much plagiarism is plagiarism?<\/span><\/h3>\nThis question is similar to asking how much I steal would constitute theft! Strictly speaking, even lifting a sentence from another source without acknowledgement constitutes plagiarism.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>Sometimes students think that there is no plagiarism if their work includes only a small portion of plagiarized passages but a substantial part of their own work. This is wrong. Even a small portion of plagiarized passages is sufficient to taint the whole piece of work. In one case it was found that 20% of a student\u2019s assignment was plagiarized. She provided her own analysis and at the end of the paper, she gave a conclusion that was her own work. This is a clear case of plagiarism. In July 2002, the Vice-Chancellor of a leading University in Australia resigned because it was revealed that he lifted several passages from other academics without acknowledgement in his book. The extent of plagiarism is only relevant in determining the form and level of sanction.<\/p>\nWhat if the footnote is also copied?<\/h3>\nConsider this passage:<\/p>\n \n\n\n| \n Mo once declared, \u2018I hate the historical novel\u2026 There\u2019s an inherent bathos about the form of the historical novel \u2013 people put modern language into these characters\u2019 mouths\u2026. I like the historical novel as written by someone like Peter Ackroyd because\u2026 he uses the old language.\u20191<\/p>\n 1. Parker, Blitz, July 1987, p 34.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n This looks proper on the face of it, except that the passage, including the footnote, was lifted from Elaine Ho, Timothy Mo (Manchester University Press, 2000), p 70. Although the passage contains largely quotes from a source and the source has been identified, it does not alter the character of the passage being a copy of some other\u2019s work. The quote of Andrew Parker was chosen by Elaine Ho in her work to illustrate a point. If you wish to use this passage, the original author, Elaine Ho in this case, is entitled to be acknowledged.\u00a0<\/span>A simple way to acknowledge the author can be done like this.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n| Mo once stated, \u2018I hate the historical novel\u2026 There\u2019s an inherent bathos about the form of the historical novel \u2013 people put modern language into these characters\u2019 mouths\u2026. I like the historical novel as written by someone like Peter Ackroyd because\u2026 he uses the old language.\u2019 1<\/span>\n 1. Parker, Blitz, July 1987, p 34, as quoted by Elaine Ho, Timothy Mo (Manchester University Press, 2000), at p 70.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nThis is also an acknowledgement that you have not read Parker, but you relied on Elaine Ho\u2019s work which you have read.\u00a0<\/span>Do not cite sources that you have not read. If you rely on a secondary source, say it.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Contrary to what many students believe, reliance on a secondary source is not necessarily regarded as a sign of weakness, although it is also better to go to the primary source, in this case Parker, if it is available.<\/p>\nDoes it matter that what is copied is factual information only?<\/span><\/h3>\nCopying is copying.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>It does not matter whether you copied factual information, opinion or argument. In all cases you have to make proper acknowledgement. Remember again that the test of plagiarism is whether you give a reasonable impression to an ordinary reader that the work is your own. If so, it constitutes plagiarism, and it makes no difference that the copied passages are factual in nature. Indeed, there is no justification for copying factual information, as such information can be presented in many different ways.<\/p>\nCan I avoid plagiarism by making minor alterations or adding some remarks of my own?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nThe answer is \u2018no\u2019.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Plagiarism cannot be avoided by making minor alterations or stylistic changes.\u00a0<\/span>You must also remember that plagiarism covers not only word for word copying but also borrowing of ideas.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nThe following passage appeared in the thesis of a graduate student:<\/p>\n \n\n\n| \n Dependence of fish on actinians is behavioural, not physiological, as evidenced by their ability to survive alone in captivity. In the absence of an actinian, captive fish will bathe among air bubbles or frondose vegetation, thereby appearing to obtain tactile stimulation from the anemone tentacles (Fautin, 1986 & 1991). Lubbock\u2019s (1980) claim that fish are healthier when kept with anemones suggests that they benefit in other ways, too.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n This passage came from Fautin (1991), at p 38. The original reads like this:<\/p>\n \n\n\n| \n Dependence of fish on actinians is behavioural, not physiological, as evidenced by their ability to survive alone in captivity (which is not to deny that fish might benefit by association with an anemone). In the absence of an actinian, captive fish will bathe among air bubbles or frondose vegetation, so appear to obtain tactile stimulation from anemone tentacles (Mariscal, 1970b, 1972; Fricke, 1974; Trivedi, 1977). The claim (Fishelson, 1965; Lubbock 1980a) that fish are healthier when kept with anemones suggests that they profit in other ways, too.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n While some alteration to the original source has been made and the source has been cited, this still constitutes plagiarism.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>The examiner commented: \u201cI was stunned to find entire sentences taken verbatim from the literature without appropriate attribution\u2026 I infer from his alteration of a few words that he has some sense of this issue. He clearly has not apprehended, however, how to acknowledge intellectual property.\u201d<\/p>\nI didn\u2019t intend to cheat\u2026.<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n| It is unnecessary to show that you intended to cheat for the offense of plagiarism. It is an objective test: whether your work will convey to an ordinary reader a reasonable impression that it is your own work when it is in fact copied from other\u2019s work. This is done by comparing what you have done and the sources, and whether you have made appropriate acknowledgement in your work.\u00a0<\/span>The only subjective element required is that you were aware that you were copying.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>It will be difficult to convince any person that you were not aware of copying if passages upon passages of your work are copied from sources.\n It is irrelevant, for the offense of plagiarism, to determine why you copy.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>It may be because you did not have enough time to do the research or reading (because you left it to the last minute). It may be because you think your English is not good enough and you fear you will be penalized for your poor English. It may be a matter of ignorance and inexperience. It may be that you have copied these passages in your notes and you have forgotten to include the sources so that when you wrote your essay, you thought these passages were paraphrases or even your own work. In short, it is a result of negligence rather than a deliberate intent to deceive. All these defences have been raised in the past and have failed.\u00a0<\/span>A comparison between your work and the source will usually speak for itself. Why you decide to copy is a matter that goes to the form and level of sanction.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>The sanction will of course be more severe if it is shown that you intended to deceive.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n\n\n\n| \n For the offence of plagiarism, it is unnecessary to show an intention to cheat. Whether you intend to cheat is a matter of motive, which will only be relevant in considering the appropriate sanction.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nI don\u2019t know what plagiarism is. No one has told me about it before.<\/span><\/h3>\nIgnorance of the law is no defence, for otherwise anyone can choose not to know the law and have a defence in committing an offence. The same applies to plagiarism. The offence is defined in the University regulations. Many departments have also provided further guidelines on what plagiarism is. After all, it is a simple concept of copying without proper acknowledgement. At the university level, if you do not know what plagiarism is, it is your duty to find it out, instead of just waiting to be told.<\/p>\n Having said that, the University has decided to be more proactive. This is the purpose of this booklet. This booklet will constitute notice of what plagiarism is. It may not cover every single situation, and you should consult teachers in your department in borderline situations. The golden rule is, whenever in doubt, identify the copied passages and provide the source. It is always better to err on the cautious side of acknowledging sources. The better approach is to avoid copying at all.<\/p>\n How to avoid plagiarism?<\/span><\/h3>\nIt is not difficult to avoid plagiarism. Some of the examples above have already shown how plagiarism can be avoided.\u00a0<\/span>The best approach is of course not to copy at all.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>Try to summarize, digest and then explain what you have read in your own words. Focus on the difference between different authors on the same topic, and try to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their arguments. Avoid doing your research and writing at the last minute. For a good piece of research work, the time for writing up (and re-writing) may be as long as, if not longer, than the time for research. Prepare an outline of your paper, and write from your outline without looking at the source material or even your notes. This will reduce the temptation to copy.\u00a0<\/span>If you have to quote from other sources<\/strong>, for example, in order to preserve the impact of the original wording or to illustrate a point,\u00a0<\/span>make sure that you identify the quote and provide the source. In any event, the copied passages should not form a substantial portion of your work. Don\u2019t forget that proper acknowledgement is still required if you borrow an idea from others, even when you are not directly quoting from the source.<\/strong><\/p>\nSanction<\/h3>\nPlagiarism is a serious offence in the academic world. This University takes plagiarism seriously. Academically, it is almost certain that the plagiarized work will receive a fail grade (and most likely a zero mark). There may also be disciplinary action against the student who commits the offence of plagiarism. A warning letter will be issued in case of minor plagiarism. In the more serious cases, the students concerned will be referred to the Vice-Chancellor for referral to the University Disciplinary Committee for disciplinary action. The Disciplinary Committee, which comprises 3 members from the Senate and 2 student members, will investigate the complaint and may impose a wide range of penalties once a student is found guilty of a disciplinary offence. These penalties include a published reprimand, suspension of study for a period of time, and even expulsion from the University. Some students who are found guilty of plagiarism are suspended from their studies. If you are expelled, you will probably never be able to re-enroll in this or indeed any university. Disciplinary action may be taken even after graduation, particularly in the case of research students who commit plagiarism in their thesis or dissertation. If a student lends his work to another student for copying, both students will be punished.<\/p>\n A Matter of Integrity, Creativity and Originality<\/h3>\nPlagiarism stifles originality and creativity. If you think you cannot express the idea better than the source article, copying is not the solution. The problem may lie in your language proficiency, or it may be that you do not really understand the source article. In either case, if you resort to copying, you will never improve your language or analytical ability, let alone originality and independent thinking. While the internet makes plagiarism easier, it also makes detection of plagiarism easier. There is now software available to detect plagiarism. It is not too difficult for an experienced teacher to detect plagiarism. Even if you go undiscovered, there is one person whom you would never be able to deceive \u2013 you yourself. At the end of the day, plagiarism involves a matter of honesty and integrity. Stay away from it.<\/p>\n Further Information<\/h3>\nThere are many books on plagiarism and correct acknowledgement and citation<\/span><\/p>\n | | | | | | | | | | |