Chapter 4 - Academic conventions: referencing and avoiding plagiarism. On completion of this chapter students will know how to: understand the ethical underpinnings of academic scholarship and research in the Australian/New Zealand context; value the integral nature of referencing for all academic work; be able to use summarising, paraphrasing and quoting in the development of an academic research paper;...
Chapter Academic conventions: referencing and avoiding plagiarism Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 4-1 Learning objectives On completion of this chapter students will know how to: • understand the ethical underpinnings of academic scholarship and research in the Australian/New Zealand context • value the integral nature of referencing for all academic work • be able to use summarising, paraphrasing and quoting in the development of an academic research paper Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 4-2 Learning objectives (cont.) • understand the need to incorporate their ‘voice’ in academic argument • be able to use connecting words and reporting verbs appropriately • have the skills to use both the first and the third person in academic writing, depending on course requirements • appreciate the importance of establishing good administrative systems for note-taking and referencing Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 4-3 Educational integrity • Educational integrity is based on the premise that students and teachers in any learning institution will adhere to honest methods of teaching, learning and assessment even when they are faced with adverse or stressful situations Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 4-4 Educational integrity (cont.) • Five major tenets of educational integrity: – – – – – honesty trust fairness respect responsibility (www.academicintegrity.org/) • Students need to take responsibility for their education by: – – – – preparing for class, assignments and exams avoiding cheating referencing sources appropriately refraining from any activities that will compromise the integrity of their learning experience Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 4-5 Why study at university? • The aim of studying in a university setting is not to acquire a degree by any means possible but to apply the knowledge we gain in prospective jobs or our life in general • Any degree is partly meant to benefit the individual who acquired it and partly meant to benefit the society in which this individual will work Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 4-6 Importance of referencing • The first step towards achieving educational integrity is learning to reference correctly • Referencing enhances your writing and helps the reader by: – – – – showing the breadth of your research strengthening your academic argument showing the reader your source of information allowing the reader to consult and verify your sources independently Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 4-7 Using references • In an academic record references must be provided whenever you use someone’s ideas, opinions or words That is, when you: – – – – ‘quote’ (use their exact words) copy (use graphs, figures, tables) paraphrase (use their idea in your own words) summarise (give a brief account of their ideas) Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 4-8 Activity • Complete the ‘Using sources’ quiz on p 63 of your textbook Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 4-9 The ‘blue chair theory’ Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 10 4-10 Writing in academic style (cont.) • This could be rewritten in several ways, so that the information is emphasised: Correct examples: – Brands enable people to bond with a product at other than the simple functional level (Gabbott 2004, p 266) – People bond with a product beyond the simple functional level because of its brand (Gabbott 2004, p 266) Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 46 4-46 Using your voice in early drafts • Although objective language is a mark of academic writing, giving yourself permission to use ‘I’ may help you develop your own voice or position in relation to a question/topic • The ‘I’ makes you write your ideas, thoughts and convictions and helps you to find clarity Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 47 4-47 Using your voice in early drafts (cont.) • Use ‘I’ in first drafts only – For example, every time you give your opinion, view or idea, start the sentence with: • ‘I think…’ • ‘In my opinion…’ • ‘I agree/disagree with…’ etc – During this first draft process, differentiate the views of other researchers by starting sentences with: • ‘According to…’ • ‘X says…’ • ‘One study found that…’ Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 48 4-48 Edit in academic style • In subsequent edited drafts, change the ‘I’ to the third person (academic style) – ‘I think…’ = ‘The research suggests…’ – ‘In my opinion…’ = ‘It is apparent that…’ – ‘I agree…’ = ‘The evidence makes it clear…’ Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 49 4-49 Rewrite in academic style My research has shown that branding saves consumer search time To determine consumer preferences, we developed a questionnaire to be completed by each participant The questionnaire was based on our review of the literature We questioned the rationale for the change in advertising policy You should verify the accuracy of this report by asking the directors to review the information Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 50 4-50 Develop an argument • Refer to Chapters 1, and for full details on how to develop an argument • Review: – Closely analyse the topic/question – Develop an essay plan based on careful reading and note-taking – Ensure that a central ‘thesis’ is evident from the introduction – Use topic sentences for each paragraph – Write a conclusion that summarises your position Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 51 4-51 Establish efficient scheduling and administrative systems • Plagiarism is not always a deliberate act of academic dishonesty • It often occurs because students have not developed adequate organisational skills to ensure that: – their various assignments are carefully scheduled to meet deadlines – all sources used in those assignments are easily accessible to double-check details for references Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 52 4-52 Efficient scheduling At the beginning of each semester, plot all of your assessment items on a semester or yearly planner Use an electronic calendar such as the one provided in Outlook, or an old-fashioned wall calendar Ensure that the assessment calendar is constantly visible Using your preferred calendar, schedule key dates for each assignment Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 53 4-53 Efficient scheduling (cont.) Schedule the various activities you need to complete for each assignment (e.g reading, note-taking, drafting) and note any family/social commitments (See example on p 82 of your textbook.) Allocate time according to the percentage value of the assignment Keep in mind the nature of the assignment (e.g research essay vs short answer assignment) Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 54 4-54 Efficient scheduling (cont.) Use a system of symbols or colours to highlight important dates or to group activities Try to schedule small or easier tasks on weekends so you have time to relax 10 Plan your social calendar after you have organised your study schedule Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 55 4-55 Good administrative systems • Develop a system (such as index note cards or a software program) to keep track of all your references • Write full bibliographic details on all notes, summaries and drafts • Include full in-text references from the very first draft • Do not simply add a reference list to the end of an essay or report Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 56 4-56 Good administrative systems (cont.) • All references in the list must match your in-text references • Double-check that you have used a consistent punctuation style in the reference list • Allow at least one hour per 1000 words to finalise referencing Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 57 4-57 Summary • Academic integrity is essential in a successful learning experience • Academic misconduct in the form or plagiarism will attract severe penalties from Australian and NZ universities Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 58 4-58 Summary (cont.) • Some strategies to avoid plagiarism include: – referencing – quoting, summarising and paraphrasing – using connectors and reporting verbs appropriately – developing an argument – differentiating your ‘voice’ from the cited sources – developing efficient scheduling and administrative systems Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 59 4-59 Activities 5–8 • Complete Activities 10, 11, 12 and 13 in your textbook Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 60 4-60 ... PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 4- 9 The ‘blue chair theory’ Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia. .. Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 12 4- 12 In-text referencing There are two ways of citing references: • Author-prominent – Gives... Copyright 2009 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia 13 4- 13 Page numbers • Page numbers are one of the three ‘must-dos’ of the author-date system