Jun. 16, 2005 - Plagiarising Printed Work vs. Researching
Ever wondered how journalists compile and reuse information without breaking copyright laws? Want to know how you can collect information and use it in your articles without getting in trouble? If your answer is "yes," then read on! (If your answer is "no," you can still read on  )
"How in the world do you use all that research without plagiarizing?" When people ask that question they're usually referring to the extensive amounts of research material that I use in my articles - quotes, stories, facts, and figures. Even members of my own family have asked me to explain the difference between plagiarism and research. It's not easy - the fine line between use of information for journalistic purposes and illegal pirating is often faint - but walking that line is a balancing act that every responsible writer must learn to master.
Merriam-Webster's online dictionary defines the word plagiarism as "To steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as one's own: to use another's production without crediting the source." Beyond this description, plagiarism can include paraphrasing too closely to the source (intentional or not) and adopting another writer's "slant" on a subject. The former case is an obvious temptation when you're short five hundred words and facing a looming deadline. The latter is more of a subconscious transgression, but must be guarded against all the same.
The following article from FOXnews (regarding the homeschooler who recently won the National Geographic Bee) exemplifies an ideal piece of research material. It lists many details about the subject that are public knowledge and can be used without fear of violating copyright laws or plagiarizing the article. This article is also written by the associated press, which means exactly what it sounds like - a group of reporters sharing information in order to publish news. That doesn't give me the right to copy the article verbatim and claim to have authored it, but it does make me comfortable with gleaning facts from the article since I know they're more inclined to be correct. (50% of the time, at least  ) In the following article, facts that I would use are underlined.
Homeschooler Wins National Geographic Bee
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
WASHINGTON — James Williams, a home-schooled 14-year-old from Vancouver, Wash., won the 15th annual National Geographic Bee on Wednesday.
Williams captured the title by knowing that Goa in India was formerly a colony of Portugal. That answer gave him a tiebreaker victory over Dallas Simons, a 13-year-old from Nashville, Tenn.
Placing third in the competition was Sean Rao, 14, from Hubertus, Wis.
Williams said being home-schooled was a big help in the competition because it gave him extra time to concentrate on things he enjoys, like studying geography.
Williams made the trip to the competition here after participating in a science bowl competition in Ohio and later in the year he goes on to another competition as a member of the Washington-Oregon science bowl team.
The top three were among 5 million students from across the country who took part in local contests that narrowed the field down to 55 local champions for the finals in Washington.
First prize is a $25,000 college scholarship, a lifetime subscription to National Geographic magazine and a week at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Adventure Camps. Second and third prizes are scholarships of $15,000 and $10,000.
Here are two paragraphs written using the information provided by the FOXnews article above. First, we have our obvious plagiarism:
"James Williams, a home-schooled 14-year-old from Vancouver, Washington, won the 15th annual National Geographic Bee on Wednesday. Williams won the title because he knew that Goa in India was formerly a colony of Portugal. His answer gave him a tiebreaker victory over a 13-year-old from Nashville, Tenn. named Dallas Simons."
As you probably realized, this paragraph is not a word-for-word copy of the FOXnews article. But it is still a plagiarism. All I really did was change the order of the author's words. My paragraph's beginning slant is identical to that of the one written by the AP.
Now let's look at a paragraph written without plagiarizing!
Don't expect to see James Williams sitting at a desk any time soon. The 14-year-old homeschooler from Vancouver, Washington won National Geographic's 15th annual geography bee on Wednesday, and now he's on his way to a week at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Adventure Camps. Williams might be a little young to think about college, but Mom and Dad are smiling over the $25,000 scholarship he received as part of his prize. And if any of the family members get bored while they're on vacation, they can always read one of Williams' National Geographic magazines - he's entitled to a life subscription after Wednesday's competition!
Here's the difference between this paragraph and my former example - in the first paragraph, I was plagiarizing someone's style. Plagiarism rarely has anything to do with stealing facts... facts are facts! If they're known to man (i.e. the sun rises in the morning, rain is wet, etc.), no one can write about them and claim them as "their" personal facts. But "writing style," "voice," or "slant" can be plagiarized very easily. Once the offending writer allows their mind to be influenced by an article, plagiarism is the next - almost logical - step.
So what can you and your students do to avoid plagiarizing when you're doing a lot of research? It's pretty simple. Underline or highlight facts that you can use without infringing. Don't rely on one particular source or author for your research - more is less trouble in this case! (When I'm writing an in-depth article, it's normal for me to have ten to twenty research articles printed out, and some of those can be up to 15 single-spaced pages long). And most importantly, write using your voice - don't borrow someone else's. It's not ethical to take the "easy way out," because in the long run it just isn't worth it!
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