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Ngee Ann Polytechnic Plagiarism Policy
The Polytechnic regards all forms of academic dishonesty with equal seriousness. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:
- cheating in examinations, common tests, class tests, on-line quizzes, etc
- plagiarism, which means submitting the work of others as your own (or allowing someone else to copy and submit your work as their own)
- forging someone else’s signature for attendance (or asking someone to forge your signature or tapping your friend’s student card at the lecture theatre, etc)
1. Plagiarism Definition
Plagiarism occurs if you copy any part of a source and then submit it, claiming that it is your own work. Such items could include:
- text (essay, project, reflections)
- image (including photograph & drawing)
- oral presentation
- music
- computer program
- sound recording
- interview
- artwork
The original sources could include books, journal articles, a classmate’s assignment or project, textbooks, the Internet, CDs, CD-ROMs, DVDs, magazines, newspapers, radio, charts, graphs, lyrics, lines of a poem, illustrations, graphics, collection of audio samples, software, etc.
All work that you submit must be your own. You cannot gain credit from the hard work of others. When you submit any assignment at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, you are claiming that the work is entirely your own (except where you have properly quoted or paraphrased from other sources and given proper recognition to the sources).
2. Acceptable Practice
Of course, we want you to read extensively to learn more about a topic before writing your assignments. You may do the following:
- Quote from a book, journal, website, friend, lecturer’s notes, etc, by clearly placing the quote in quotation marks and properly referencing the quote at the end of the assignment. As a general rule, limit your use of quotations to 15% of the total word count.
- Paraphrase or summarise a section from someone else’s writings, by stating next to the paraphrase where the content or idea came from and then properly referencing the source in the reference list.
- Include an image from a website, CD, scanned from a book, journal to illustrate your essay, project, PPT slides etc and then properly reference the source of the image in the body of your work and in the reference list at the end.
- Discuss an assignment or project (where the assignment is meant to be done individually) with your classmates and then do your own work to produce your own individual assignment.
- Discuss group assignments or projects with your group mates and ensure that work submitted for the group is original and appropriately referenced.
3. Referencing Style
The recommended referencing style to be used across the Polytechnic is APA (American Psychological Association) style. Explanatory examples can be found at APA Style Guide.
Some schools in the Polytechnic may require a different referencing style and you will be informed accordingly. For example, in the school of LSCT, the preferred referencing style is Harvard.
Proper citation is important since it:
- Demonstrates your honesty in academic matters,
- Means the points that you are making in your assignment are stronger,
- Improves your self-respect,
- Allows the reader to locate and further explore the sources that were used in the preparation of the assignment.
4. Turnitin
Turnitin is an on-line database that can detect similarities in student submissions. It will help to detect:
- dishonestly copied materials from another source
- properly recognized and referenced quotes from another source
4.1 Similarity Reports
Turnitin provides a Similarity Report indicating the proportion of an assignment that has been copied from other sources. It is up to a (human) tutor to determine if plagiarism has actually occurred, by determining if the copied passages were properly referenced in the body of the assignment and in the reference list at the end.
4.2 What Percentage of Copying is Plagiarism?
Many students and staff are concerned that Turnitin will indicate trivial cases (just a few words being identical to another source, which is quite possible by chance) and imply that it is plagiarism. However, experience shows that Turnitin will only flag cases where there is reasonable doubt that a particular passage is authentic.
While it is up to the professional judgement of the tutor to decide if plagiarism has occurred, a general rule of thumb for text-based assignments is that if you copy, without appropriate referencing, one or more complete phrases or sentences from an existing work, plagiarism has occurred.
For specific examples, see: Examples
In the case of media-based assignments, unreferenced copying of any or all of an existing work will be considered as plagiarism.
When you submit your assignment through Turnitin, you will be agreeing that the assignment that you are about to submit will be checked for plagiarism by Turnitin. By submitting, you are claiming that all of the work is your own and that any sources you have used are properly referenced.
In the case of hardcopy or non-text submissions, you will need to sign a plagiarism detection statement for that assignment.
5. Discipline Procedure
Note:
- The following procedure applies across all modules that the student is studying.
- If two or more students are involved in plagiarism, the penalty will apply to all students involved, regardless of who was the originator and who did the copying. Security of assignments is the students’ responsibility until the related assignment submission due date, including any extensions to that date. Theft of an assignment, or parts of an assignment, will not be considered as excuses for plagiarism.
- In the case of group projects, the student responsible for the plagiarised portion will face the penalty. Where it is not clear who is responsible for the plagiarism, all group members will face the penalty. The group leader should ensure that no part of the submission has been plagiarised.
- In some circumstances, students may face the plagiarism penalty even if they have copied their own work. For example, a student uses whole or part of his work that is to be graded or already graded for one module, in his submission for another module. This is what is commonly known as self-plagiarism, which refers to reusing or recycling previously published or graded work of the author, without referencing. Whilst it might seem like the student is building on his work, he should always check with the module lecturers if this is permissible, even with referencing.
If it is determined that plagiarism has occurred, the following penalties will apply.
First Instance of Committing Plagiarism
The tutor will interview the student involved in the instance of plagiarism. If the tutor is not satisfied with the student’s explanation, and determines that plagiarism has occurred, the student will receive zero mark for the assignment. No resubmission of the assignment will be allowed.
Second Instance of Committing Plagiarism
The case will be referred to the School Disciplinary Committee, which will consider the case and may interview the student(s) involved. If it is a proven second case, the student will receive zero marks for that module.
Third Instance of Committing Plagiarism
The case will be referred to the NP Disciplinary Committee for its deliberation. This may result in dismissal from the Polytechnic.
Example
- Tommy Tan plagiarised in an assignment for Individual and the Community in Level 1.1. As a result, he was given zero mark for that assignment.
- He again plagiarised in Basic Thermofluids in Level 1.2. He was awarded zero mark for that module and hence failed Basic Thermofluids.
- He did a group project in Computer Programming in Level 2.1. The portion that he submitted was found to be identical to that of Larry Lim’s in another class.
- Tommy Tan was referred to the NP Disciplinary Committee as this was his third instance of committing plagiarism.
- Larry Lim had abetted Tommy by providing his work to be plagiarised. As it was Larry’s first instance of plagiarism, so he scored zero mark for his project in Computer Programming.
APA Style Guide
Recommended Referencing Guide
The following information and examples of referencing are based on the APA (American Psychological Association) Style Guide, a commonly used guide for writing academic papers.
| Recognising the Work of Others | |
|---|---|
| How do I cite sources in my assignment? | Within the assignment itself (in-text referencing) Format: Surname of author, date and page(s). Example: Since students learn in different ways, flexibility of presentation can help them to learn and understand more easily (Healy, 1994, p.148). And then in the reference list at the end of the assignment you need: Format: Author, date, title (in italics), place of publication, and publisher Example: Healy, J.M. (1994). Your child's growing mind. New York: Doubleday. |
| What is the difference between a reference list and a bibliography? | A reference list (or citation list) is a list of the books, journals, Internet sites, magazines, newspapers, etc that are directly referenced (either by quoting, paraphrasing or summarising) in the assignment. A bibliography is a list of all the materials consulted when preparing the assignment, including those which are not directly referenced. APA Style requires a reference list at the end of the assignment, not a bibliography. |
| Print Sources | |
|---|---|
| How do I reference a book? | Example: Nicol, A. A. M., & Pexman, P. M. (1999). Presenting your findings: A practical guide for creating tables. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. |
| How do I reference a journal article? | Example: Fine, M. A., & Kurdek, L. A. (1993). Reflections on determining authorship credit and authorship order on faculty-student collaborations. American Psychologist, 48, 1141-1147. |
| How do I reference a book chapter? | Example: O'Neil, J. M., & Egan, J. (1992). Men's and women's gender role journeys: Metaphor for healing, transition, and transformation. In B. R. Wainrib (Ed.), Gender issues across the life cycle (pp. 107-123). New York: Springer. |
| How do I reference a book review? | Example: Schatz, B. R. (2000). Learning by text or context? [Review of the book The social life of information]. Science, 290, 1304. |
| How do I cite a newspaper article when there is no author? | Example: New drug appears to sharply cut risk of death from heart failure. (1993, July 15) The Washington Post, p. A12.
|
| Electronic Sources | |
|---|---|
| How do I cite an article in an Internet-only journal? | Example: Fredrickson, B. L. (2000, March 7). Cultivating positive emotions to optimize health and well-being. Prevention & Treatment, 3, Article 0001a. Retrieved November 20, 2000, from http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume3/pre0030001a.html |
| How do I cite an article in an Internet-only newsletter? | Example: Glueckauf, R. L., Whitton, J., Baxter, J., Kain, J., Vogelgesang, S., Hudson, M., et al. (1998, July). Videocounseling for families of rural teens with epilepsy -- Project update. Telehealth News,2(2). Retrieved from http://www.telehealth.net/subscribe/newslettr4a.html |
| How do I cite a stand-alone document with no author identified & no date? | Example: GVU's 8th WWW user survey. (n.d.). Retrieved August 8, 2000, from http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/usersurveys/survey1997-10/
|
| How do I cite a document available on a department Web site? | Example: Chou, L., McClintock, R., Moretti, F., Nix, D. H. (1993). Technology and education: New wine in new bottles: Choosing pasts and imagining educational futures. Retrieved August 24, 2000, from Columbia University, Institute for Learning Technologies Web site: http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/publications/papers/newwine1.html |
| How do I cite E-mail communications from individuals? | E-mail communications from individuals should be cited as personal communications. The format in text (personal communications are not cited in the reference list) is as follows: Example: L. A. Chafez (personal communication, March 28, 1997) It is possible to send an e-mail note disguised as someone else. Authors − not journal editors or copy editors − are responsible for the accuracy of all references, which includes verifying the source of e-mail communications before citing them as personal communications in manuscripts. |
| How do I cite an Internet article based on a print source? | Example: VandenBos, G., Knapp, S., & Doe, J. (2001). Role of reference elements in the selection of resources by psychology undergraduates [Electronic version]. Journal of Bibliographic Research, 5, 117-123. |
| General Questions | |
|---|---|
| How do I cite two or more works within the same parentheses? | List two or more works by different authors who are cited within the same parentheses in alphabetical order by the first author's surname. Separate the citations with semicolons. Example: Several studies (Balda, 1980; Kamil, 1988; Pepperberg & Funk, 1990) ... |
Sources for this page:
Learn more at NP Library's Citing Resources.
For Students
Examples of Plagiarism
Student Submission #1 (student has plagiarised)
The Chinese government did not do enough in the first SARS outbreak in 2002 - in fact, they covered it up. The country is grappling with a health system that has seen limited investment and millions of rural workers who have no access to health care at all. While China has spent $1.5 billion for SARS prevention and control, it is clearly not enough.
This shows serious plagiarism (about 70%), with no citing of sources. (I have used red highlighting similar to the way the Turnitin Similarity Report would highlight copied portions.)
But however good its intentions -- and officials agree that China learned the hard way the cost of a cover-up -- the country is grappling with a health system that has seen limited investment and millions of rural workers who have no access to health care at all.
China has spent $1.5 billion for SARS prevention and control, state media has reported, but Zhong said there was a need for still greater investment.
"We should put in more money, whether in the field of flu prevention, or the improving of the monitoring systems," he said.
Student Submission #2 (this is OK)
This submission uses the same CNN article as a source but shows correct quoting and paraphrasing.
The Chinese government did not do enough in the first SARS outbreak in 2002 - in fact, they covered it up. According to a CNN report (china.sars.repeat.reut/index.html), China's health system has experienced limited investment and many rural workers have no access to health care. This could be one of the many issues that may lead to social turmoil in China over the next few years - it contributes to the divide between the richer eastern cities and poorer rural areas.
In the same article, CNN state that "China has spent $1.5 billion for SARS prevention and control" but this is clearly not enough.
The reference list at the end of this assignment would include:
Reuters, "Fears raised over return of SARS",CNN.com International, 2004.
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/11/15/china.sars.repeat.reut/index.html (Accessed 16 Nov 2004, inaccessible as at 22 Oct 2024)
In brief, assignments are about getting students to learn about the issue, think through the issues and come up with their own responses.
It is good to only have a limited number of quotes - a good rule of thumb is to give at least 2 lines of your own thoughts and reactions for each line of quote.
Quoting, paraphrasing and summarising are fine - as long as the original source is correctly cited.
After all, using Turnitin is all about improving the value of your diploma...
Further Example From NP's Student Services
How does plagiarism affect me?
Here is an example of a case of plagiarism. A student submitted an assignment which included the following paragraph:-
Let us examine what can go wrong in the paragraph above. This sentence is the student’s original idea:
"Concluding a negotiation well is an important part of a successful discussion"
However,
"Since negotiating basically is carrying out part of a relationship, after you concluded negotiations, you’ll need to deal with that person again"
was lifted word for word from the book How Winners Do It by Michael W. Mercher, 1994.
This is plagiarism.
Furthermore, the sentence:
"Hence when you conclude the negotiation, make sure the person is happy, so that the next contract goes smoothly"
is paraphrased from the same book. Here is the original text:
"Therefore, you want him to leave feeling good about you so your next contract goes smoothly."
Again, this is plagiarism.
How can I avoid plagiarism?
By acknowledging or making reference to the portions that you used from another source, you can avoid plagiarism. Let us look at the above example again. Here is how the above example should have been presented:
Concluding a negotiation well is an important part of a successful discussion In his book, How Winners Do It, M. W Mercher said, “Since negotiating basically is carrying out part of a relationship, after you concluded negotiations, you’ll need to deal with that person again." Hence when you conclude the negotiation, make sure the person is happy, so that the subsequent contracts go smoothly. (Mercher, M.W., 1994).
In addition to the references made in the text, you need to include a bibliography containing the details of author, title of the book, chapter and page number(s) and publication date. The style of making references may vary from discipline to discipline, so it is best to check with your lecturers on this.
Resources for Students
Questions You Should Be Able to Answer...
- What is the difference between quoting, paraphrasing, summarising and cheating?
- What type of citation should I use? (In-line or footnotes?)
- What style of citation should I use in my module? (There are different styles for sciences, humanities, social sciences, etc.)
- What kind of bibliography or reference list should I include?
- Where can I find more information on plagiarism?
From Plagiarism.org:
See also Referencing.
*Note: Check with your School for the correct way of acknowledging another persons's work and for bibliographies. It is different for different disciplines.
FAQs for Students
You should identify where you used Gen AI in your work via in-line citations.
Format of citation: at NP, you should cite Gen AI tools and content as algorithm output.
Example of citation of an algorithm output, in APA style: OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
NP guidance on Gen AI is likely to evolve. The above guidance applies until further notice.
Those that take pride in their work will not copy from others or allow others to copy from them.
There is nothing wrong with sitting down and discussing the assignment with friends and then going off to do your own essay.
• think about the question
• read some references to understand the question
• write our own answer and our own thoughts, referencing other sources as we go
This means we are doing our own work and giving credit to others' work. In this case, Turnitin detects the things we have quoted and then there is no problem.
Recommended Referencing Guide
• doing a Google search on random phrases
• stating clearly on the assignment who did what section
• getting each member to sign a plagiarism declaration form
"The assignment that you are about to submit will be checked for similarities to other work by Turnitin. By submitting your assignment here, you are claiming that all of the work is your own and that any sources you have used are properly referenced."
Since you are agreeing to this by submitting your assignment to Turnitin, it means there is no longer any need to submit a plagiarism declaration form.