Social Sciences

Example 41- Undergraduate in film study

Social Sciences, Undergraduate Students One Comment

Source text:

From Kelly, M. K. (1991).

Writer’s text:

Scorsese’s films are not so preoccupied with the theme of love as they are with the darker issues of New York such as violence and urban alienation.

Writer’s comment:

“Urban alienation” was a phrase I took from a book that I read. I thought that was a neat way of calling it. I did not refer to the source because it’s a common term that people use.

Student’s comment:

  1. But it’s so, it’s already in like… they only have to type it into the computer twice, in order to get a footnote or a cite out of it, so I would say cite it. I mean what’s the worst alternative is that you get… there is the suggestion that it’s plagiarized, so… five seconds to put in Kelly or… (A Master’s student in Library & Information Studies)
  2. I’ve seen that phrase cross multiple texts than be cited. This is not, this is like, try to copy, right, something. It’s like “ah, no, that’s out there, that’s newspapers, magazines.” So no need to put citation.(A PhD student in Education)

Faculty member’s comment:

  1. He thought it’s a neat term; it’s a neat term then it’s not so common. You would not think, ‘oh that’s a neat term. I already use it.’ I will ask the student to cite. (A professor in Education)
  2. I tend to agree with the writer that it seems to me to be a very everyday part of English language. I can put the two parts of the phrase together and calculate or compute probably an easy meaning. It doesn’t seem puzzling to me. I would expect to read it in a newspaper. (A professor in Education) 

 

 

Example 39- Undergraduate student in arts

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Source text:

It used to be only five to ten percent of people developed allergic reactions to antibiotics, mainly penicillin. Now, as more and more individuals are exposed to antibiotics more and more often, increasing number of people are developing allergic reactions to drugs. (From (McKenna, J. 1998, p.29)

Writer’s text:

In the past, only 5% to 10% of the people are allergic to antibiotics, primarily penicillin. Now, as antibiotics are used more and more often, increasing number of people are developing allergic effects. (McKenna, 1998, p.29)

Writer’s comment:

I did not use quotation marks because it was too long. I changed a few words in there.

Student’s comment:

  1. But she didn’t use quotation marks…Seems like that the student has recognized the source text said it best, but for whatever reason didn’t want actually quote the source text…I mean there are ways to quote long passages, and there would also be ways to not say in the exactly the same way. So it’s much better that he did use the source text, but same thing I think should be quoted. (A Master’s student in Library & Information Studies)
  2. I would prefer a quotation. I think that quotation chunk dot dot dot continuing quotation would have been a better way of representing this, cause they have it succeeded in rephrasing it enough. So my hunch is that I would have said “just go to the quote on this one”. (A PhD student in Education)

Faculty member’s comment:

  1. In this case, it is a bad job of paraphrasing. And it comes to close to a direct quotation. So I failed to understand the writer’s justification of passage being too long. The writer believes it’s a paraphrase, there’s too much material that has been used directly from the source to count as genuine paraphrase. So there’s another thing that looks as if we need to be teaching what counts as paraphrase, how much change does one need to introduce to become a paraphrase. This does not count as a paraphrase. It’s a poor job of quotation. (A professor in Education)

Example 38- Undergraduate student in arts

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Source text:

As a nonprofit entity responsible for the collective good, the government is often the only institution capable of preventing this from happening. (From Okimoto, D. I. p.11)

Writer’s text:

The government is the only institution capable of preventing this from happening between MITI and the market (Daniel I. Okimoto, p.11)

Writer’s comment:

The professor recommended this book.

Student’s comment:

  1. I would put it in quotation marks. And the fact that the professor recommended the book, again I fear plagiarism, the prof would be familiar with it, so would be more likely to pick this up. (A Master’s student in Library & Information Studies)
  2. I actually think this is ok. I think you’ve already given the source. You are not putting it in quotes, but I think… to me, if one word is different, even one word, then you should not put in quote, anything that you should put in quotes is the exact copy of what said. So I think that’s fine. (A graduate in Business)

Faculty member’s comment:

  1. This is okay, because you have the person who said it… because it’s not exactly the same sentence. Just one word. (Reads the student’s text) It’s difficult because it’s not exactly the same thing, you cannot treat with quotation marks, it’s not exactly what person says. I would agree with that. At least we know that this person said this basically maybe few different words. (A professor in Education)
  2. It’s a case of slightly inaccurate quotation. The student deserves credit for citing the source, and in fact including the page reference, because in the case of direct quotation most style manuals require a page reference, so good for the student.

 

 

Example 37- Undergraduate student in arts

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Source text:

These allergic reactions can range from a skin rash to edema (tissue swelling), to anaphylactic reactions, including bronchospasm (constriction of the airways) and shock. These reactions are not limited to the use of the penicillin group of antibiotics, either. They may occur also as a result of the use of the cephalosporins and tetracyclines. (From McKenna, J. 1998, p. 29)

Writer’s text:

Some of these allergic reactions include skin rash, edema (swelling of tissue), bronchospasm (constriction of the airways), and shock. These side effects are not only present for the penicillin-like antibiotics. These side effects also present for antibiotics like cephalosporin and tetracycline.

Writer’s comment:

That’s general information so I do not need to cite. If it actually involves numbers then it is specific information and needs to be acknowledged.

Student’s comment:

  1. This is my paranoia about being caught for plagiarism. If something was this common, I would definitely just put without doubting, and if it’s like I said it’s in the bibliography it takes very little efforts to turn it into footnotes… This isn’t most of the words, this is most of the word order, this is not just words here and there, it’s the words in the same order with almost the exactly same sentence structure…If I can say better than the source text, I would use my own words; if the source text said it better, I would say in the source text’s words. Well, they seemed like the source text said it better and the writer recognized it, but he didn’t actually change into his own words. I mean, I don’t think he can talk about “allergic reactions” to “penicillin” without saying things like “skin rash” and “bronchospasm” that sort of stuff. But they don’t have to be in the same order, and it doesn’t have to be the exact meaning to make sense. (A Master’s student in Library & Information Studies)
  2. I would tell him this is was a cite. I think when we become an ordinary tradition run discipline, we start to have different assumptions what general information is, and forget there’s a variety of audience that come to the text. (A PhD student in Education)

Faculty member’s comment:

  1. It’s not general information for everybody, it’s general information maybe for the people in the field. I mean these things are pretty specific, that’s knowledge that’s science, there has been experiments done for these two things. I mean this first thing, I can see that you know, they would use those words, but for the second part, you would need quotation of the study that chose that…You need to conduct to experiment to know that. So I would say this (second part) belongs to somebody who did the study. Also, people who study on that. (A professor in Education)
  2. APA has some good language on that how you handle direct quotations versus paraphrases, and both cases it requires a citation, in one case with a page reference, in the other without. Paraphrases you don’t bother putting a page reference in, ’cause you’ll never find that exact quotation and you don’t use quotation marks. The student in the case would have been smarter to simply taken the exact quotation shown here in the source, put quotation marks around them, and drop in the text, and attribute it… but I would give the student credit for making that judgment. In fact it is to student’s credit. They’re beginning to make the discrimination what’s widely accepted knowledge and what might be controversial or contestable knowledge. ‘New study suggests this view is incorrect.’ Cite that new study   (A professor in Education

Example 36- Undergraduate student in arts

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Source text:

(The writer could not remember where s/he read it.)

Writer’s text:

In my opinion, teaching grammar is important but it is not only about establishing moral conductivity.

Writer’s comment:

The actual words or the idea of “moral conductivity” is from one of the readings but I don’t remember the details.

Student’s comment:

  1. If it was me, I think what I would do when it happened that I couldn’t remember where something was from, instead of using the exact term, I’d try to make the terms my own. So you avoid the problem of having to…I don’t think I would use that if I didn’t remember where it was from, and something which was obviously not my idea. So yes, she has a problem with her “moral conductivity” and not saying where it comes from, and I agree that it’s not a good excuse that she can’t remember where it came from. (A Master’s student in Library & Information Studies)
  2. I disagree with the student here. Moral conductivity is not a common phrase, and it’s not a common thing which people would use to describe. It’s a very specific term. Because of that, if you gonna use something like that, and it’s not obvious what it means to a person with, I mean, ok, I consider myself with OK level of English, I don’t know what exactly it means by “moral conductivity”. I mean it’s obviously a term borrowed from somewhere else. And they have to either, in my mind, they have to either go on and explain what that means, or they have to attribute the source. So at least, me as a reader, I can look at that and think “well, I’m not sure what that means, I can look at the source and then see the rest of the context”. So I think the student should have gone a step further. (A graduate in Business)

Faculty member’s comment:

  1. I would not see to quote any words, but this is a very specific term. I XX definition somebody gave, I have no idea what it means. So I would put the author or the person who made up this term. I mean it would be better to give reference, but… otherwise, it really looks like plagiarism, the student doesn’t know what she/he is saying. She is putting big XX for… but if the student gives a definition then at least it would be deferential XX…(A professor in Education)
  2. That’s interesting. The student here has confessing to have been a bit lazy. This student at least has been honesty, but could easily have found the source just by using any of the searching techniques for this exact phrase. And the instructor could easily find that exact phrase and to find out what are the possible sources for this. It’s also expression that is rather specialized, so it falls into that category of not standard or widely understood knowledge, therefore to the extent that it is a specialized term. The student probably should have given a source if only, so the reader could find out more about what this specialized term might mean and how it’s used.( A professor in Education)

Example 35- Undergraduate student in arts

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Source text:

(Lecture notes)

Writer’s text:

The Realist perspective emphasizes that a causal determinant of the theory is whether or not the theory fits the situation in the real world.

Writer’s comment:

This is from lecture notes by the instructor. I didn’t think that it warranted a citation.

Student’s comment:

  1. I cite lecture notes as long as I remember that. It wasn’t what I had thought, wasn’t what I had said, so I deserve to give… I guess if it was from two different professors, so I deserve to tell the professor from reading the paper where that came from, because it wasn’t me. I guess it depends, if it’s direct, you know it’s a quotation from what the professor said in the course in the class, yes, I would always cite it in direct quotation. But if it’s an idea, I think I would inquire, asking whether that professor really want it. (A Master’s student in Library & Information Studies) 
  2. I probably wouldn’t cite that. I mean if I set the sociolinguistic perspective on something, if I made a broad statement like that, I don’t think we cite. You know, if it’s broad statement, this is what the general…this particular student here, she is saying it comes from lecture notes. I think it could come from a number of places where you, whatever the final penny is… make sure I understand this is what they say is. This is… I think we do this all the time…This is really broad, general statement, this is like, you know, someone putting, this is postmodernism, you know. (A PhD student in Education)

Faculty member’s comment:

  1. If a prof said that there are perspectives, there are people behind that. There are authors. So, students should find out who actually said this. The original author of of this, not just a lecturer. (A professor in Education)
  2. I would prefer that the student cite the sources that I was using, in other words to go back behind my lecture, and do a little more work to go to primary sources rather than lecture notes, but it depends how important this piece of text is for the success of the student’s own paper. If it’s a central claim, I would expect the student go behind my lectures to the sources that I have cited in the lectures. If it is a peripheral claim and who knows where the line is, it’s a judgment, just citing lecture notes is a good practice. I don’t require it.  (A professor in Education)

Example 34- Undergraduate student in political science

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Source text:

The student recognized that this idea was not his own but could not remember where it originally came from.

Writer’s text:

It is not entirely clear why the United States did not choose to remove Mr. Hussein from power when they had the opportunity to after the success of Operation Desert Storm, apart from the fact that Colin Powell, then the commanding general of the coalition troops, stressed that they should not enter Baghdad for that purpose.

Writer’s comment:

I just take a whole bunch of stuff, think about it for a while and then come up with my own ideas. There is a lot of gray area in describing what I think of as my own because it came from someone else’s ideas originally.

Student’s comment:

  1. He could list the sources in his bibliography, with note, footnote, explaining that it was…it would be incredibly hard to cite anything, when it is jumbled. And I think that as long as he wrote in his bibliography that he had to use these sources. (A Master’s student in Library & Information Studies)
  2. My first feeling is that I agree with the student. I think that you are not referencing very specific facts, you are talking about why or why not in this case or particular instance a country did not do something. There is always lots of opinions flying about as towards what should have happened, what shouldn’t have happened. The person is not specifically stating that is what the US did or what the US didn’t do, they are making an opinion, I think everyone open to their own opinion, I think, this is one where I think personally that if you are sometimes taking the opinion which could be a general opinion from several people, I think it’s fine. I don’t see problem with what this student saying that. (A graduate in Business)

Faculty  member’s comment:

  1. In this one, I would not think you need a quotation, if the student takes that idea to be their own. It’s like an opinion, so student allow to have an opinion, and when you have an opinion for sure somebody else may have the same opinion. Many people would have the same opinion. So it’s really an original creation, or new idea…But it also depends on academic topics, if somebody says ‘I believe that ecological awareness is necessary to learn how to read’ and there are lots of studies and research behind that. You cannot just say ‘I believe.’ You have to have facts to show why you believe that. Political issues should be different. If it’s political issues about something that should have been done, it’s not really knowledge, I wouldn’t call it knowledge. It depends. (A professor in Education) 
  2. On number 5 I believe that so long as the student is prepared to take responsibility for defending what he or she has written in the text, in the overall text. I would not require outside documentation of these claims. I would accept this as assumptions made by the student, therefore subject to backing up in the body of the work, but not necessarily backing them up with outside sources. I would find this quite acceptable. (A professor in Education)

Example 33- Undergraduate student in film study

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Source text:

(The student created the citation him/herself)

Writer’s text:

The scenario is funny in a very “New York way” (Lax, 348).

Writer’s comment:

The author didn’t actually say it. I’m not using it in a bad way. I’m sure this is everybody else’s general opinion but I just didn’t want to go into trouble to describe what is the “New York Way.”

Student’s comment:

  1. The same professor that I have my biblical history class, he was fanatical about checking citations, and he caught a number of people who made it up. One of the students that I know, he just made up the page number, the quote was correct, but the page number was not, which of course the prof caught. They made errors in the authors and the page numbers, that’s it. Cause they couldn’t find where the number was, and where the source was from. So I would imagine he obviously did it for convenience as well, because he didn’t want to go into the trouble to describe. (A Master’s student in Library & Information Studies)
  2. No, I totally disagree with the student in this. I think unless you, if you are quoting something from anyone else and this is from Lax 348, it has to be a direct quote. If you are gonna manipulate it in any way, you have to say something to an effect, so you have to say something like “adapted from…” or, if it’s something in this way, where says “I’m not using it in a bad way. I’m sure this is everyone else’s general opinion…” well, you can not speak for everyone else, as simple as that.(From a graduate in Business)

Faculty member’s comment:

  1. That’s pretty bad. I wouldn’t definitely agree with that. I mean the author didn’t say anything… I don’t know if you can call that plagiarism it’s worse than that. Plagiarism, at least you use what people say, but if you use what they didn’t say it and attributed to them, it’s… I don’t know what it is. To me it’s worse than… yeah. (A professor in Education)
  2. That would be a mistake by the writer. Again it would be the reverse phenomenon of failing to attribute, quote or cite. This is ficticious?? citation, and that’s the writing mistake. Possibly this is a student who doesn’t understand the purpose of citing a source. (A professor in Education(

     

Example 32- Undergraduate student in film study

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Source text:

It’s not enough to know that movies began in New York City – they were first shot here, in 1896, and they were first shown here in the same year. James Sanders wants you to know, New York City also began in the movies. (From Mandell, J. New York and Films. http://www.gothamgazette.com/iotw/photo-esaay-nyfilms)

Writer’s text:

New York and films have had a working relationship since the first film was shot in the city in 1896.

Writer’s comment:

I did not cite the reference because it’s kind of information or fact, not an opinion.

Student’s comment:

  1. Probably the point I see in sourcing is allowing readers to find additional information, and he’s just denied his readers any kind of opportunity to find additional information about what has happened here. So I would say that it should probably be cited. And then for the reader to know, to verity, it’s not just him making it up. (A Master’s student in Library & Information Studies)
  2. I think it’s a hard line to draw. I think if it’s common knowledge to everyone in that field, and there’s no discrepancies, and you as an expert in that field know there’s no discrepancies, then I think it’s fine. But as an example, people say, for example, the Battle of Hastings in England was in 1066, such a data need to reference, it’s coming from the English book of history, or that’s just an accepted fact, or World War Two from 1939 to 1946, you don’t have to, that’s an accepted fact, everyone knows it, and no one will argue when it was. Something like this, unless you’re a complete expert in that field and no one else is arguing with you. (A graduate student in Business).

Faculty member’s comment:

  1. It would be more believable if student wrote that he got that from there. Otherwise, how do we know that New York since has had movie? relationship? I mean it’s just fair to say that then you can say anything. So at least it’s in a newspaper or something…People would know this person this person would be an authority in the field, and it would be credible. I would put there. (A professor in Education)
  2. I tend to agree with the writer. It’s a simple fact that is probably uncontroversial, and if the fact is incorrect, that’s up to the reader to take responsibility. A good text would perhaps supply a little more information than simply the claim that it was shot in 1896, but it looks okay to me. I agree with the writer. (A professor in Education) 

 

 

 

Example 31- Undergraduate student in political science

Social Sciences, Undergraduate Students One Comment

Source text:

No reference mentioned (From a book on Japanese economy)

Writer’s text:

Japanese economic process the period of a high growth in 1950 – 1977, and they experienced the slowdown of growth and stable growth in 1978 – 1990.

Writer’s comment:

I do not need to give references because I copied and then translated these sentences from Japanese.

Student’s comment:

  1. That’s not a good idea. In my BA, I did a lot of…, I read a little bit of German as well, and in religious studies, there is a lot of French and German writing, and in papers I would always cite the original text, and then footnote, give the translation. I don’t agree with this though. (A Master’s student in Library & Information Studies)
  2. Well, that’s just cultural misunderstanding. I’m impressed with this list translation. (Another speaker: This is from a Korean student.) Well, then I’m not sure that they did the translation, I can find the website where graduate students would do it for them for free…I think in Korea, more than just students think it’s acceptable, I think professors find it acceptable, and that’s in many there are, this is not something that students receive negative feedback on. It’s dealt explicitly, I don’t speak Korean, so and I haven’t set in the classroom, so I can’t say. But tacitly I think it’s understood at multiple levels, that this is an acceptable behavior. (A PhD student in Education)

 

Faculty member’s comment:

  1. No you’re supposed to put the free translation from the author and give the actual reference. If you read and take the sentence from somebody and you translated, you give the reference for free translation.  (A professor in Education)
  2. Let me start with critiquing the writer’s view. The writer there is wrong in the sense that the writer admits to copying the material and the question of translation from one language to another, I think is irrelevant to citing a source. The student can take credit for doing the translation and there’s absolutely standard approach in both style manuals to doing that. You cite your source, and you annotate the source through with translation in mind, that simple. And with the respect to the text, I believe that specific statistical claims of this sort are exactly the kind of claim that is subject to some debate and therefore should be cited, if only to say which kind of source this writer looking at, and can I go other sources and verify it, or look for different views. Again as courtesy to reader, that’s a very good item to cite a source to support their view and help the reader.    (A professor in Education).