April 23, 2019 • 8 mins
Everyone borrows and builds on other people's ideas, but plagiarism is outright stealing without giving credit. Learn why plagiarism hurts both parties -- and how it might be stopped -- in this episode of BrainStuff.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff, production of I Heart Radio. Hey
brain Stuff. Lauren Vogelbaum here, a reporter at The New
York Times, a U S senator running for president, a
first lady, a revered country music star, a civil rights icon,
each of them, along with thousands of students every year,
uncounted scientists and doctors, titans of business and speakers at
(00:24):
the local rotary club, filmmakers and musicians and dancers and architects.
They're all virtual thieves, swiping the work words and ideas
of others and passing them off as their own. They
are plagiarists. We spoke with David Reddinger, a professor of
psychology at the University of Mary Washington and Fredericksburg, Virginia,
and the president of the International Center for Academic Integrity.
(00:46):
He said, it's a particular problem in academia because we
care so much about the process. I say this to
my students all the time. I don't care that you
give me a clean paper. I care that you write
a paper. It's like sending someone to the gym for you.
It completely defer it's the purpose. But let's take a
step back and define plagiarism. Going to the old faithful
(01:06):
of American English definitions Miriam Webster. Plagiarism is quote to
steal and pass off the ideas or words of another
as one's own, to use another's production without crediting the source,
or to commit literary theft present a new and original
and idea or product derived from an existing source. For
one example, we could simply have copied those definitions, which
(01:28):
in fact we did not changed a word ditto, and
not credited Miriam Webster. But then, of course we'd be
flat out plagiarizing, or at the very least trampling on
the line between plagiarism and the safer albeits leazy word cribbing.
But since we credited Mariam Webster, it's an attribution, not plagiarism.
The article version of this episode even provided a link.
(01:52):
Plagiarism is not always that cut and paste easy, though
The legal definition is as legally as often is murky.
This is from Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute. Quote
deliberately passing off somebody else's original expression or creative ideas
as one's own. Plagiarism can be a violation of law
if copyrighted expression is taken. Often, however, plagiarism does not
(02:14):
violate any law, but instead simply marks the plagiarists as
an unethical person in the political, academic, or scientific community
where the plagiarism occurs. So then, what about taking information
from someone else, twisting a few words around, maybe changing
a name or two, and passing it off as your own.
How much do you have to change to avoid plagiarism?
(02:35):
How much borrowing is too much? Where do you draw
the line? Rettinger said, it's always okay to use the
ideas or the words of somebody else. That's not the problem.
The problem is acknowledging your sources. Different disciplines and different
situations have different expectations of what's yours and what's shared. Lawyers,
for another example, can use similar wording in legal briefs,
(02:57):
maybe even the exact wording. But that may be more
generally acceptable it is Reddinger says, shared language in their profession.
But what about scientists or researchers borrowing straight from another
paper that was based on original research? Or how about
this example from journalism, a big news site, say taking
chunks of a story reported and written by another site.
(03:20):
If it's a one thousand word article done by site
A and site B uses eight hundred words of it.
Verbatim is that okay, even if site BE credits site A,
is that plagiarism? If we can't decide on a precise definition,
we could probably at least agree it's pretty lame. Though
it may be that plagiarizers and the plagiarized aren't seeing
(03:40):
eye to eye, which brings us to another question. Who
would do such a thing? Students all the time, researchers sometimes,
According to one study, close to ten percent of retracted
journal articles were pulled because of plagiarism. Politicians sometimes. For example,
former U. S Senator and Vice President Joe Biden famously
was accused of it in a speech and years after
(04:01):
the fact, admitted to plagiarism he committed as a student,
though he said it wasn't malevolent. First ladies have Melania
Trump has been dogged by rumors of plagiarism and speeches
ever since her opening night address at the Republican National Convention.
In journalists, as we've pointed out, musicians to Johnny Cash
has been accused, and poets and writers. A Latin root
(04:23):
of the word plagiarism was used all the way back
in ancient Roman times to describe poets plundering one another's works.
Sometimes we should acknowledge plagiarism is accidental, though. A student
borrowing an idea from a website while doing research past
some information into a paper they're working on and forgets
to attribute it. Obviously, it's a small problem when it's
a sentence or a brief paragraph. It's a bigger problem
(04:45):
when several paragraphs or chapters make their way into a paper.
But some, of course steal on purpose, never intending to
give others credit. But why. One explanation is laziness, or
at least an unwillingness to put in the necessary effort
due to a lack of drive or a lack of time,
or perhaps expediency. Another explanation is a desire for acceptance
(05:08):
or a good grade, or maybe a lack of talent,
or at least a perceived lack of talent. Rettinger said,
plagiarism begins, I think at the core when a person
doesn't see the value in creating the work themselves. The
ones that get me are the students that just don't
feel like they can do the work. Those are the
ones that make me the saddest for those who don't
plagiarize accidentally, and of course it was an accident. As
(05:32):
the first line of defense for any plagiarist, there are
any number of reasons to go rogue. In a plagiarist's mind,
if you're never caught, it's not wrong. It becomes acceptable.
A former American journalist Jason Blair, fabricated quotes, dreamed up
things that never happened, stole entire passages from published news
accounts verbatim, then concocted dozens and dozens of stories, passing
(05:53):
them off as fact under his byline in The New
York Times, and he got away with it for years.
He tried to explain him off to Duke student reporters
in sixteen, saying, once you do something that crosses any
ethical line, it is easy to go back and do
it over and over. I danced around it and then
crossed it and had a real hard time coming back.
(06:13):
But with plagiarism's moving definition, it's difficult to pin down
exactly how many word and idea thieves are among us.
The biggest battle in the never ending war against plagiarism
remains in academia, and it's certainly not limited to high schoolers.
One study, for example, found that more than half a
four hundred medical students surveyed said they had plagiarized, even
(06:33):
in the halls of higher learning, though it's hard to
determine how widespread the problem is. Schools often contract commercial
firms to use their software to try to catch plagiarism,
and aside from those, there are online plagiarism checkers that
compare written papers to a database of published material, sometimes
for free. These services can be useful both for people
looking to catch plagiarists and for writers looking to avoid it.
(06:57):
Rattinger said, it depends on how hard you look and
what subject you teach and to whom. In terms of
wholesale plagiarism, probably not that often, but in terms of
maybe a paragraph here or sentence here, or paragraph or
sentence there, it depends on your definition of common. But
my impression is that it's fairly common. It's an arms race,
and as long as it's on, we're going to lose
(07:18):
because there are more of them and they're very motivated.
Slowing plagiarism, though can be a goal. It's critical for educators,
Writtinger says, to teach students the very real worth of
researching and writing their own work, and it's important to
make students and other would be plagiarists understand that both
sides lose when you try to take credit for another
(07:39):
person's work, words, or ideas. First of all, you're denying
yourself the valuable, affirming experience of creating your own work.
And second of all, it could hurt that credibility you're
trying to cheat your way into in the long run.
We also spoke with Jonathan Bailey, a writer in businessman
who runs the website Plagiarism Today. He said, you might
be able to get away with it in the short term,
(08:01):
but it's not just getting away with it in the
short term. It's about trying to get away with it forever,
and that is a losing battle. It's almost inevitable that
you'll get caught in the long term, So be thinking
about it, not in just terms of today, but could
this ever come back to bite you. Today's episode was
(08:21):
written by John Donovan and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain
Stuff is a production of I Heeart Radio's How Stuff Works.
For more in this and lots of other topics that's
cite their sources, visit our home Planet, how Stuff works
dot com and for more podcasts. For my heart Radio,
visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to brain Stuff, production of I Heart Radio. Hey
brain Stuff. Lauren Vogelbaum here, a reporter at The New
York Times, a U S senator running for president, a
first lady, a revered country music star, a civil rights icon,
each of them, along with thousands of students every year,
uncounted scientists and doctors, titans of business and speakers at
(00:24):
the local rotary club, filmmakers and musicians and dancers and architects.
They're all virtual thieves, swiping the work words and ideas
of others and passing them off as their own. They
are plagiarists. We spoke with David Reddinger, a professor of
psychology at the University of Mary Washington and Fredericksburg, Virginia,
and the president of the International Center for Academic Integrity.
(00:46):
He said, it's a particular problem in academia because we
care so much about the process. I say this to
my students all the time. I don't care that you
give me a clean paper. I care that you write
a paper. It's like sending someone to the gym for you.
It completely defer it's the purpose. But let's take a
step back and define plagiarism. Going to the old faithful
(01:06):
of American English definitions Miriam Webster. Plagiarism is quote to
steal and pass off the ideas or words of another
as one's own, to use another's production without crediting the source,
or to commit literary theft present a new and original
and idea or product derived from an existing source. For
one example, we could simply have copied those definitions, which
(01:28):
in fact we did not changed a word ditto, and
not credited Miriam Webster. But then, of course we'd be
flat out plagiarizing, or at the very least trampling on
the line between plagiarism and the safer albeits leazy word cribbing.
But since we credited Mariam Webster, it's an attribution, not plagiarism.
The article version of this episode even provided a link.
(01:52):
Plagiarism is not always that cut and paste easy, though
The legal definition is as legally as often is murky.
This is from Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute. Quote
deliberately passing off somebody else's original expression or creative ideas
as one's own. Plagiarism can be a violation of law
if copyrighted expression is taken. Often, however, plagiarism does not
(02:14):
violate any law, but instead simply marks the plagiarists as
an unethical person in the political, academic, or scientific community
where the plagiarism occurs. So then, what about taking information
from someone else, twisting a few words around, maybe changing
a name or two, and passing it off as your own.
How much do you have to change to avoid plagiarism?
(02:35):
How much borrowing is too much? Where do you draw
the line? Rettinger said, it's always okay to use the
ideas or the words of somebody else. That's not the problem.
The problem is acknowledging your sources. Different disciplines and different
situations have different expectations of what's yours and what's shared. Lawyers,
for another example, can use similar wording in legal briefs,
(02:57):
maybe even the exact wording. But that may be more
generally acceptable it is Reddinger says, shared language in their profession.
But what about scientists or researchers borrowing straight from another
paper that was based on original research? Or how about
this example from journalism, a big news site, say taking
chunks of a story reported and written by another site.
(03:20):
If it's a one thousand word article done by site
A and site B uses eight hundred words of it.
Verbatim is that okay, even if site BE credits site A,
is that plagiarism? If we can't decide on a precise definition,
we could probably at least agree it's pretty lame. Though
it may be that plagiarizers and the plagiarized aren't seeing
(03:40):
eye to eye, which brings us to another question. Who
would do such a thing? Students all the time, researchers sometimes,
According to one study, close to ten percent of retracted
journal articles were pulled because of plagiarism. Politicians sometimes. For example,
former U. S Senator and Vice President Joe Biden famously
was accused of it in a speech and years after
(04:01):
the fact, admitted to plagiarism he committed as a student,
though he said it wasn't malevolent. First ladies have Melania
Trump has been dogged by rumors of plagiarism and speeches
ever since her opening night address at the Republican National Convention.
In journalists, as we've pointed out, musicians to Johnny Cash
has been accused, and poets and writers. A Latin root
(04:23):
of the word plagiarism was used all the way back
in ancient Roman times to describe poets plundering one another's works.
Sometimes we should acknowledge plagiarism is accidental, though. A student
borrowing an idea from a website while doing research past
some information into a paper they're working on and forgets
to attribute it. Obviously, it's a small problem when it's
a sentence or a brief paragraph. It's a bigger problem
(04:45):
when several paragraphs or chapters make their way into a paper.
But some, of course steal on purpose, never intending to
give others credit. But why. One explanation is laziness, or
at least an unwillingness to put in the necessary effort
due to a lack of drive or a lack of time,
or perhaps expediency. Another explanation is a desire for acceptance
(05:08):
or a good grade, or maybe a lack of talent,
or at least a perceived lack of talent. Rettinger said,
plagiarism begins, I think at the core when a person
doesn't see the value in creating the work themselves. The
ones that get me are the students that just don't
feel like they can do the work. Those are the
ones that make me the saddest for those who don't
plagiarize accidentally, and of course it was an accident. As
(05:32):
the first line of defense for any plagiarist, there are
any number of reasons to go rogue. In a plagiarist's mind,
if you're never caught, it's not wrong. It becomes acceptable.
A former American journalist Jason Blair, fabricated quotes, dreamed up
things that never happened, stole entire passages from published news
accounts verbatim, then concocted dozens and dozens of stories, passing
(05:53):
them off as fact under his byline in The New
York Times, and he got away with it for years.
He tried to explain him off to Duke student reporters
in sixteen, saying, once you do something that crosses any
ethical line, it is easy to go back and do
it over and over. I danced around it and then
crossed it and had a real hard time coming back.
(06:13):
But with plagiarism's moving definition, it's difficult to pin down
exactly how many word and idea thieves are among us.
The biggest battle in the never ending war against plagiarism
remains in academia, and it's certainly not limited to high schoolers.
One study, for example, found that more than half a
four hundred medical students surveyed said they had plagiarized, even
(06:33):
in the halls of higher learning, though it's hard to
determine how widespread the problem is. Schools often contract commercial
firms to use their software to try to catch plagiarism,
and aside from those, there are online plagiarism checkers that
compare written papers to a database of published material, sometimes
for free. These services can be useful both for people
looking to catch plagiarists and for writers looking to avoid it.
(06:57):
Rattinger said, it depends on how hard you look and
what subject you teach and to whom. In terms of
wholesale plagiarism, probably not that often, but in terms of
maybe a paragraph here or sentence here, or paragraph or
sentence there, it depends on your definition of common. But
my impression is that it's fairly common. It's an arms race,
and as long as it's on, we're going to lose
(07:18):
because there are more of them and they're very motivated.
Slowing plagiarism, though can be a goal. It's critical for educators,
Writtinger says, to teach students the very real worth of
researching and writing their own work, and it's important to
make students and other would be plagiarists understand that both
sides lose when you try to take credit for another
(07:39):
person's work, words, or ideas. First of all, you're denying
yourself the valuable, affirming experience of creating your own work.
And second of all, it could hurt that credibility you're
trying to cheat your way into in the long run.
We also spoke with Jonathan Bailey, a writer in businessman
who runs the website Plagiarism Today. He said, you might
be able to get away with it in the short term,
(08:01):
but it's not just getting away with it in the
short term. It's about trying to get away with it forever,
and that is a losing battle. It's almost inevitable that
you'll get caught in the long term, So be thinking
about it, not in just terms of today, but could
this ever come back to bite you. Today's episode was
(08:21):
written by John Donovan and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain
Stuff is a production of I Heeart Radio's How Stuff Works.
For more in this and lots of other topics that's
cite their sources, visit our home Planet, how Stuff works
dot com and for more podcasts. For my heart Radio,
visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
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