Examples of Plagiarism

Original Source:
Logistic regression was conducted to determine which characteristics of an Easter egg hunt predicted the likelihood that an egg would be found. The predictors examined were age of hunter (preschool or preteen), length of hunt (15, 30, 45 or 60 mins.) and color of egg (green, yellow, pink and purple.) All the predictors were statistically significant. The interaction between hunt duration and age of hunter did not significantly improve prediction.
Controlling for all the predictors, the odds that preschool hunters would find an egg were only .304 of the odds that preteen hunters would find an egg. For every minute increase in hunt length, the odds that an egg would be found increased by a factor of 1.027. Green eggs were statistically significantly less likely to be found than purple eggs. The differences in odds of being found for yellow and pink eggs were not significantly different from the odds that a purple egg would be found. (This excerpt appears on p. 186.)

Reference

Bear, M. M. (2002). Influence of egg color and hunt characteristics on success in         Easter egg hunts. Ursine Journal of Human Behavior, 17(3), 183-187.

Acceptable: Bear (2002) reported that egg color was related to whether or not an Easter egg was found, with green eggs less likely to be found than yellow, pink or purple eggs.

Reference

Bear, M. M. (2002). Influence of egg color and hunt characteristics on success in Easter egg hunts. Ursine Journal of 
          Human Behavior, 17(3), 183-187.

Acceptable: Easter eggs are more likely to be found when the hunters are older and the hunts last for longer times (Bear, 2002).

Reference

Bear, M. M. (2002). Influence of egg color and hunt characteristics on success in Easter egg hunts. Ursine Journal of  
         Human Behavior, 17(3), 183-187.

Unacceptable (Plagiarism): The color of Easter egg, the age of the hunter, and the length of the egg hunt all influence the likelihood that an individual egg will be found or not.

Reference

Bear, M. M. (2002). Influence of egg color and hunt characteristics on success in         Easter egg hunts. Ursine Journal of  Human Behavior, 17(3), 183-187.

This is plagiarism because the source of the ideas is not acknowledged with a text citation, even though the work appears in the reference list.

Original Source:
There is a Celtic belief about mourning during the first year after the loss of a loved one. According to this legend, if a person faithfully visits the grave site of a loved one on a daily basis during the first year of bereavement, the deceased will arise from the grave on the first anniversary of his or her death to thank the visitor. Many people act, during the first year of bereavement, as though honoring their lost one in specific ways will somehow benefit themselves or the deceased. They are surprised to discover, the day after the first anniversary, that their loved one is still dead and their sadness unabated. There is no time off for good behavior, despite attempts to bargain. At some level, our loved ones don’t have to stay dead. It is possible to resurrect happy memories of their lives without bringing forth the sharp pain of loss. That process, however, occurs over several years, not a single one. (This excerpt appears on page 30.)

Reference:

Peep, B. (2005). Lessons learned from loss. Auckland, New Zealand: Sheepish         Press.

Acceptable: According to Peep (2005), persons in the first year of bereavement may participate in rituals with the expectation that their efforts will resolve their grief on the first anniversary of their loss.

Reference

Peep, B. (2005). Lessons learned from loss. Auckland, New Zealand: Sheepish         Press.

Acceptable: Bereavement can involve acts performed with the expectation of grief relief after the first anniversary of the loss (Peep, 2005).

Reference

Peep, B. (2005). Lessons learned from loss. Auckland, New Zealand: Sheepish         Press

Unacceptable (Plagiarism): The bargaining stage of Kübler-Ross’s (1972) stages of death and dying can also be observed in the behavior of bereaved persons in the first year following their loss.

Reference

Kübler-Ross, E. (1972). On death and dying. New York: Macmillan.

This is plagiarism because Peep’s ideas are not acknowledged as a source at all, although Kübler-Ross’s ideas are properly acknowledged.

Original Source:
Logistic regression was conducted to determine which characteristics of an Easter egg hunt predicted the likelihood that an egg would be found. The predictors examined were age of hunter (preschool or preteen), length of hunt (15, 30, 45 or 60 mins.) and color of egg (green, yellow, pink and purple.) All the predictors were statistically significant. The interaction between hunt duration and age of hunter did not significantly improve prediction.
Controlling for all the predictors, the odds that preschool hunters would find an egg were only .304 of the odds that preteen hunters would find an egg. For every minute increase in hunt length, the odds that an egg would be found increased by a factor of 1.027. Green eggs were statistically significantly less likely to be found than purple eggs. The differences in odds of being found for yellow and pink eggs were not significantly different from the odds that a purple egg would be found. (This excerpt appears on p. 186.)

Reference:

Bear, M.M. (2002). Influence of egg color and hunt characteristics on  success in Easter egg hunts. Ursine Journal of Human Behavior, 17(3), 183- 187.

Acceptable: Bear (2002) reported that “All the predictors were statistically significant. The interaction between hunt duration and age of hunter did not significantly improve prediction”(p. 186).

Reference

Bear, M. M. (2002). Influence of egg color and hunt characteristics on success in         Easter egg hunts. Ursine Journal of  Human Behavior, 17(3), 183-187.

Acceptable: “Controlling for all the predictors, the odds that preschool hunters would find an egg were only .304 of the odds that preteen hunters would find an egg. For every minute increase in hunt length, the odds that an egg would be found increased by a factor of 1.027” (Bear, 2002, p. 186).

Reference

Bear, M. M. (2002). Influence of egg color and hunt characteristics on success in         Easter egg hunts. Ursine Journal of  Human Behavior, 17(3), 183-187.

Unacceptable (Plagiarism): The likelihood that preschool hunt participants would find an egg was only .304 of the odds that preteen hunters would find an egg. The odds that an egg would be found increased by a factor of 1.027 for every minute increase in hunt length. (Bear, 2002)

Reference

Bear, M. M. (2002). Influence of egg color and hunt characteristics on success in         Easter egg hunts. Ursine Journal of  Human Behavior, 17, 183-187.

This is plagiarism because the exact words of the author have been used, even though some rearrangement has taken place and a few words have been substituted for the original words. It would be more appropriate to quote the author exactly and acknowledge the direct quote with quotation marks than to leave the impression that this is an original paraphrase of the author’s work.

Original Source:
There is a Celtic belief about mourning during the first year after the loss of a loved one. According to this legend, if a person faithfully visits the grave site of a loved one on a daily basis during the first year of bereavement, the deceased will arise from the grave on the first anniversary of his or her death to thank the visitor. Many people act, during the first year of bereavement, as though honoring their lost one in specific ways will somehow benefit themselves or the deceased. They are surprised to discover, the day after the first anniversary, that their loved one is still dead and their sadness unabated. There is no time off for good behavior, despite attempts to bargain. At some level, our loved ones don’t have to stay dead. It is possible to resurrect happy memories of their lives without bringing forth the sharp pain of loss. That process, however, occurs over several years, not a single one. (This excerpt appears on page 30.)

Reference:

Peep, B. (2005). Lessons learned from loss. Auckland, New Zealand: Sheepish         Press.

Acceptable:
According to Peep (2005) 

There is a Celtic belief about mourning during the first year after the loss of a loved one. According to this legend, if a person faithfully visits the grave site of a loved one on a daily basis during the first year of bereavement, the deceased will arise from the grave on the first anniversary of his or her death to thank the visitor. Many people act, during the first year of bereavement, as though honoring their lost one in specific ways will somehow benefit themselves or the deceased. They are surprised to discover, the day after the first anniversary, that their loved one is still dead and their sadness unabated. There is no time off for good behavior, despite attempts to bargain.
(p. 30)

Reference

Peep, B. (2005). Lessons learned from loss. Auckland, New Zealand: Sheepish         Press.

Acceptable: “That process …[of grief resolution] occurs over several years, not a single one” (Peep, 2005, p. 30).

Reference

Peep, B. (2005). Lessons learned from loss. Auckland, New Zealand: Sheepish         Press.

Unacceptable (Plagiarism): Many people act, during the first year of bereavement, as though honoring their lost one in specific ways will somehow benefit themselves or the deceased. They are surprised to discover, the day after the first anniversary, that their loved one is still dead and their sadness unabated. (Peep, 2005).

Reference

Peep, B. (2005) Lessons learned from loss. Auckland, New Zealand: Sheepish         Press.
This is plagiarism because the exact words of the author are quoted without use of quotation marks or citation of the specific page location of the quote.

Acceptable: The human hand has four fingers and a thumb.

Acceptable: Knowledge of anatomy and physiology is essential for nursing students.

Acceptable: The sky is blue.

Exception to the exception:
Original Source: Meditation by Miss L. Muffet

The sky is blue.
Like my thoughts, no cloud appears.
Tranquil and steadfast,
I sit beside the spider and know
The wonder of its many legs.
I have mastered fear.

Reference:

Muffett, L. (2007). Meditation. In F. Grimm and T. Grimmer (Eds.), Collected poems         from the Guild of Nursery Rhyme Characters (p. 271). Anaheim, CA: Fantasy         Works.

Acceptable: Muffett’s (2007) declaration that “the sky is blue” (p. 271) sets the metaphor for her assertion that mastery of fear leads to mental clarity.

Reference

Muffett, L. (2007). Meditation. In F. Grimm and T. Grimmer (Eds.), Collected poems         from the Guild of Nursery Rhyme Characters (p. 271). Anaheim, CA: Fantasy         Works.