On Plagiarism
American Occupational Therapy Association
Ethics Commission's Advisory Opinion on Plagiarism
What is plagiarism?
The Oxford Desk Dictionary &Thesaurus defines plagiarize as taking and using "the thoughts, writings, inventions, etc. of another" as one's own, or "passing off thoughts, etc., (of another) as one's own" (Abate, F. R., 1997). Among its word alternatives to plagiarism, the thesaurus lists the words piracy, theft, stealing, appropriation, and thievery.
These definitions remind readers that plagiarism's scope extends beyond the failure to reference a published quote. Plagiarism involves the taking of another's ideas, thoughts, and concepts from any source. The sources can include printed or formally published works, electronic media, presentations or workshops, video or audiotaped materials, and information obtained from the World Wide Web.
Plagiarism can occur in several contexts. Individuals can take someone else's complete work and represent an identical work as their own (University of Victoria, 2003). One can omit references to borrowed phrases or sentences incorporated into his or her work (University of Victoria, 2003). Authors can paraphrase statements from other sources and fail to cite the source (University of Victoria, 2003). And finally, writers can represent another's ideas or concepts as their own without including a reference to the creator or source.
Plagiarism can take several forms. One can actively or intentionally use the words, ideas, or concepts of another without citing the author as the source (Drummond, 1998). Unintentional plagiarism occurs as well. Sometimes after dedicating long hours to research on a specific topic, one may find it difficult to discern his or her own ideas from the ideas of the many readings one has undertaken. Unintentional confusion of another's ideas with one's own still constitutes plagiarism. One also may engage in passive plagiarism when one cuts and pastes "the ideas and words of others from various sources" and arranges them into a new order to form a "new" work (Drummond, 1998). One should understand that a "pastiche of ideas and words of other people" fails to rise to the level of an original work (Drummond, 1998). One also may commit unintentional plagiarism when one "fails to adequately cite" another's ideas or concepts because of ignorance of how or when to use citations (Kalikoff, 1995).
How does the occupational therapy profession view plagiarism?
As a profession, occupational therapy embraces a set of basic beliefs as put forth in the Core Values and Attitudes of Occupational Therapy Practice (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 1993); and the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics (AOTA, 2000). According to the Core Values and Attitudes document, "[T]ruth requires that we be faithful to facts and reality. Truthfulness or veracity is demonstrated by being accountable, honest, forthright, accurate, and authentic in our attitudes and actions. There is an obligation to be truthful with ourselves, those who receive services, colleagues, and society" (AOTA, 1993).
AOTA's Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics expands on the concept of truth in Principles 6 and 7 (AOTA, 2000). Principle 6C states that "Occupational therapy personnel shall refrain from using or participating in the use of any form of communication that contains false, fraudulent, deceptive, or unfair statements or claims" (AOTA, 2000). Principle 7 states that "Occupational therapy personnel shall treat colleagues and other professionals with fairness, discretion, and integrity (fidelity)" (AOTA, 2000). Subsection B of Principle 7 elaborates further on truth: "Occupational therapy practitioners shall accurately represent the qualifications, views, contributions, and findings of colleagues" (AOTA, 2000). The Code also reminds us that we need to comply with laws and policies relevant to plagiarism such as federal copyright laws. Principle 5A explicitly states, "Occupational therapy personnel shall familiarize themselves with and seek to understand and abide by applicable Association policies; local, state, and federal laws; and institutional rules" (AOTA, 2000). The Guidelines to the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics further clarify the prohibition against plagiarism (AOTA, 1998). Section 2, which addresses communication, states, "Communication is important in all aspects of occupational therapy. Individuals must be conscientious and truthful in all facets of written, verbal, and electronic communication" (AOTA, 1998). Subsection 2.8 further explains that "Occupational therapy personnel must give credit and recognition when using the work of others" (AOTA, 1998).
Examples of plagiarism in occupational therapy:
- A local charity asks an occupational therapy practitioner to write an article for a local charity newsletter explaining how occupational therapy can help the charity's constituents. The occupational therapy practitioner reads all of the major occupational therapy literature on the subject and surfs the Internet. She paraphrases the materials as she goes, collecting several pages of notes. At the end of her search, she puts her notes together in a coherent manner and submits her article. If the occupational therapy practitioner omits references to the ideas she paraphrased from the work of others, she commits plagiarism. (Intentional plagiarism)
- Before writing a paper, a graduate student reads another student's paper. Two days later, she sits down and writes her own paper. Upon review of the paper, many ideas sound strikingly similar to the other student's paper. Although the student never intended to copy her fellow student's ideas, her conduct falls under the umbrella of plagiarism. (Confusion of one's own ideas with another's ideas)
- An occupational therapy practitioner accepts a position to open a new, community-based occupational therapy program. As she develops her evaluation forms and policies and procedures, she reviews a collection of material she gathered from previous employers and others. She cuts and pastes pieces from the various sources to form her "new" forms and policies and procedures. She includes no references in her documents. Because the practitioner took materials written by others and failed to give them credit, this constitutes plagiarism. (Cutting and pasting ideas of others)
- An occupational therapy practitioner attends a workshop. Upon her return, her employer requests that she present the material to the other occupational therapy practitioners. The occupational therapy practitioner copies and distributes to her colleagues the handout given out at the workshop. She reproduces the PowerPoint slide handout onto overheads and presents the material to the staff. Although everyone knows this material comes from a workshop presented by a world-renowned occupational therapy practitioner, none of the materials or slides contain a reference. If the occupational therapy practitioner uses the materials without referencing their source, she plagiarizes the materials. This also may violate copyright laws. (Unintentional plagiarism due to ignorance)
How can occupational therapy practitioners and students avoid plagiarism?
Occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and occupational therapy students may take several steps to avoid committing plagiarism. One must always put direct quotes in quotation marks and include the appropriately cited source (Writing Resource Center, 2003). If authors borrow significant words from the work of another, they must quote those words and give credit to the author who coined them (Writing Resource Center, 2003). When paraphrasing statements or borrowing concepts or ideas from another's work, one must include a reference to the source following the adopted information (Writing Resource Center, 2003). One should consider introducing the quote or paraphrased language by including the author's name in an introductory statement, such as "According to Mary Reilly…" (Writing Resource Center, 2003).
As members of AOTA, we respect a standard of professionalism. Professionalism requires occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and students of occupational therapy at all levels to treat the works of others as an extension of respect for the author. When in doubt, one should cite the source of words, thoughts, and ideas that may have originated from others. Writers must never represent someone else's words, thoughts, or ideas as their own. Plagiarism is not acceptable in any form.
References
American Occupational Therapy Association. (1993). Core values and attitudes of occupational therapy practice. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 47, 1085-1086.
American Occupational Therapy Association. (1998). Guidelines to the occupational therapy code of ethics. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 52, 881-884.
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2000). Occupational therapy code of ethics. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 54, 614-616.
Abate, F. R. (1997). Oxford desk dictionary and thesaurus. NY: Berkley Books
Drummond, L. (August 25, 1998). Research and argumentation course: Plagiarism. Austin, TX: St. Edward's University. Retrieved June 10, 2004, from: http://www.stedwards.edu/hum/drummond/23pol.html
Kalikoff, B. (1995). Plagiarism. Tacoma, WA: University of Washington- Tacoma Writing Center. Retrieved June 10, 2004, from: http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/ctlt/
learning/resources/plagiarism.pdf
University of Victoria. (2003). Plagiarism and cheating. Victoria, BC, Canada. Retrieved June 10, 2004, from: http://web.uvic.ca/calendar2003/GI/AcRe/PaCh.html
Writing Resource Center. (2003). Avoiding plagiarism. Bemidji, MN: Bemidji State University. Retrieved June 10, 2004, from: http://cal.bemidji.msus.edu/WRC/Handouts/avoidPlag.html
Other Helpful Resources
Purdue University Online Writing Lab. (2004). Avoiding plagiarism. Retrieved June 10, 2004, from: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html
Spears, M. L. (2001). Plagiarism Q&A. University of Central Michigan. Retrieved June 10, 2004, from:
http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~mspears/plagiarism.html
Indiana University Writing Tutorial Services. (2004). Plagiarism: What it is and how to recognize and avoid it. Retrieved June 10, 2004, from: http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism
Links
Plagiarism
http://www.web-miner.com/plagiarism (Compilation of resources by Sharon Stoerger, MLS, MBA)
Lee, I. (May 20, 2004). Plagiarism: How to avoid it. A Research Guide for Students. Retrieved June 10, 2004, from: http://www.aresearchguide.com/6plagiar.html
Last Updated: 1-26-05