Hello, all This may not feel good to many of you, but I feel the need for a reality check. I will not paraphrase or quote the original thread, but I will add my original thoughts on the thread and the subsequent commentary.
Many of the responses have the feeling of arrows being flown from ivory towers. A few responses have actually had constructive leads towards defining and preventing the various forms of plagiarism. I do not publish, for several reasons (nothing to publish, mostly) but have been an undergraduate and graduate student, and a professional, and I think the pressures on each are different, and a converse to not citing has not been addressed. I had (at least 4) classes as an undergraduate that were considered "writing intensive courses", required if in the science majors. To the best of my knowledge there were no modules addressing plagiarism. As a graduate student at the same institution, I was not given formal training in what is plagiarism vs. some interpretation of what another researcher had found. I agree that quotation of published material without adequate citation is wrong, and perhaps paraphrasing is also worth penalizing, but rote condemnation is not the answer. I cannot think of an instance where I quoted published sources and did not cite them. I might have as an undrgrad, and not known that I was not supposed to, and if I did as a grad student, it would have been unintentional. As for paraphrasing, it is difficult as a student to know what is considered common knowledge vs new information. Depending on the biases of our advisors, the leaning of our universities/colleges/departments, some things are considered common knowledge or facts, while others find those tidbits of 'knowledge' to be speculation or conjecture. Not all of us have immediate access to JSTOR or university libraries. We may also not have time due to budget constraints (I work for GWBush) to do the totally inclusive literature search to find the totally obscure reference. That said, I do remember working hard to find references for my class papers and MS thesis that would totally disrupt readability, and supposedly substantiate what I had written. However, no one seems to care if their stuff is cited incorrectly, or without basis (as I think many citations in papers and theses are). I suppose for academics it is more important to notch citations in those indices that record such than to care if it is done appropriately. I acknowledge diversity among scientists, professionals and academics. This is not pointed at all. David Baker, Ecologist Central Oregon Interagency Ecology Program Deschutes National Forest 1001 SW Em Kay Dr. Bend, OR 97702 (541) 383-5424
