Example 33- Undergraduate student in film study

August 25, 2017Social Sciences, Undergraduate StudentsPlagiarismJui-Ping Lin Leave a comment

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:

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)
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:

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)
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

August 25, 2017Social Sciences, Undergraduate StudentsFactJui-Ping Lin Leave a comment

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:

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)
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:

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)
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

August 25, 2017Social Sciences, Undergraduate StudentsTranslated textJui-Ping Lin 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:

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)
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:

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)
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).