What is Plagiarism?

The UQ Handbook of University Policies and Procedures contains information regarding the official policies and procedures of the University approved by Senate.

In Policy 3: Teaching and Learning, under Student and Related Matters, Policy 3.40.12 relates directly to Academic Integrity and Plagiarism.

The University has defined plagiarism as:

Plagiarism is the act of misrepresenting as one's own original work the ideas, interpretations, words or creative works of another. These include published and unpublished documents, designs, music, sounds, images, photographs, computer codes and ideas gained through working in a group. These ideas, interpretations, words or works may be found in print and/or electronic media.

• UQ Academic Integrity Tutorial
  The University has developed this tutorial to instruct students in referencing and avoiding plagiarism. More information about the tutorial.

Other University, Faculty and School Information

While the University has a defined official policy on plagiarism, many Faculties, Schools and University Services also seek to help students with extra information on plagiarism and how to avoid it. For Faculty/School information see individual Faculty/School web pages.

Key University Services

• myAdvisor: Assessment Overview
  This online help for UQ Students contains information on Assessment at UQ and UQ policies and procedures including information on plagiarism.
• myAdvisor: Academic integrity and plagiarism
  What happens when I am accused of cheating or breaking a University rule?
• Student Services
  List of All Workshops & Seminars. Writing Skills: Avoiding Plagiarism.

How can you avoid plagiarism?

To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you

• quote from someone's actual spoken or written words
• use another person's ideas, opinions, or theories in an assignment or essay
• make use of pieces of information, such as statistics, graphs, drawings, that are not common knowledge
• paraphrase another person's spoken or written words

How can you avoid unintentional plagiarism?

• Use quotation marks around everything that comes directly from a text or article
• Try to summarise ideas and arguments in your own words - don't just rearrange a few words here and there
• Check that you have correctly paraphrased and acknowledged the original ideas
• Check your summary against the original text

Citing References/Creating Bibliographies

What are citations, references and bibliographies?

• The University of Queensland "Hang in there" Distance Learning Support Kit
  This Kit has information on what referencing and styles are and why you should use them.

Help with creating a bibliography or list of references

• Style guides are often available from your Faculty/School. See individual Faculty/School web pages.
• Use the Referencing Style Guides available from the Library web page
• Use EndNote - Bibliographic Management Software

Internet Resources With Examples and Tests

• Acceptable Use or Plagiarism?
  University of Southern Mississippi. Library.
• How to Recognize Plagiarism. Indiana University Bloomington. School of Education
  This tutorial will help you to understand and recognize plagiarism.
• You Quote It, You Note It!
  Vaughan Memorial Library, Acadia University

Internet Resources on Avoiding, Stopping and Detecting Plagiarism For Academic Staff

• Anti-Plagiarism Strategies for Research Papers
  A useful set of anti-plagiarism strategies for research papers, by Robert Harris of the Vanguard University of Southern California. Harris provides an eight-point plan for setting unique assignments that make plagiarism virtually impossible for students.
  Version Date: March 7, 2002
• A Faculty Guide to Cyber-Plagiarism - University of Alberta
  Provides information on terminology, paper mills, preventing, detecting and reporting plagiarism; handouts for students, and other resources.
• Internet Plagiarism: Strategies to Deter Academic Misconduct
  Scholarly article by Mary Hricko, Library Director, Middle Tennessee State University. Includes links to related material.
• Plagiarism and Anti-PlagiarismIncludes links to useful webpages for detecting and fighting plagiarism.
• Plagiarism and the Web
  Includes information for academics and links to 'paper mills' where students can get hold of assignments and papers.
• Plagiarism.org
  The site claims to offer the document source analysis tools needed to detect plagiarism in the digital age.
• Plagiarism Theme Page
  Students and teachers will find curricular resources (information, content) and reference materials to help them learn about this topic. In addition, there are also links to instructional materials (lesson plans) which will help teachers provide instruction in this theme.

Internet Resources on Avoiding, Stopping and Detecting Plagiarism For Students

• Avoiding Plagiarism
  Explanations and advice on avoiding plagiarism from Student Judicial Affairs, at the University of California, Davis.
• Avoiding Plagiarism
  Includes links to a range of anti-plagiarism sites.
• A Faculty Guide to Cyber-Plagiarism - University of Alberta
  Provides information on terminology, paper mills, preventing, detecting and reporting plagiarism; handouts for students, and other resources.
• Plagiarism
  Plagiarism: what it is and how to recognise and avoid it from Writing Tutorial Services, the writing centre at Indiana University Bloomington, USA.
• Plagiarism Theme Page
  Students and teachers will find curricular resources (information, content) and reference materials to help them learn about this topic. In addition, there are also links to instructional materials (lesson plans) which will help teachers provide instruction in this theme.
• ReferenceCite
  Academic Referencing Resource from University of Auckland, Student Learning Centre. Includes short videos of students and academics saying why referencing is important to them. Includes information on avoiding plagiarism.
• Using Sources
  Advice and examples from Hamilton College, New York, USA.