Academic Integrity and Plagiarism at SF State

Category: Course Evaluation Methods

At SF State, we take academic integrity very seriously. Plagiarism is a form of cheating or fraud and can result in a student being expelled from the university. Several departments at SF State have information online to help you prevent plagiarism and deal with it when it occurs.

SF State Policy and Resources

The SF State Faculty Manual states:

Each faculty member who requires outside written work as part of course requirements should carefully define the meaning of plagiarism and outline the proper methods for using outside sources. Students should be cautioned about the consequences should plagiarism be discovered.

If cheating or plagiarism occurs, it is the instructor's responsibility to handle the situation. The grade assigned must be based on the student's academic performance and must not be used as a punitive measure. The Judicial Affairs Officer in the Office of Student Affairs will assist the instructor and is responsible for determining whether formal disciplinary action should be taken.

• Taken from the Cheating and Plagiarism section of the SF State Faculty Manual
  Read the SF State Faculty Manual on the Faculty Affairs Web Site

The College of Humanities has a number of procedures and guidelines for reporting plagiarism including this definition of plagiarism:

Plagiarism is a form of cheating or fraud; it occurs when a student misrepresents the work of another as his or her own. Plagiarism may consist of using the ideas, sentences, paragraphs, or the whole text of another without appropriate acknowledgment, but it also includes employing or allowing another person to write or substantially alter work that a student then submits as his or her own.

• Taken from the College of Humanities' Plagiarism Resources
  Read the Plagiarism Resources on the College of Humanities Web Site

Understanding and Preventing Plagiarism

These off-site resources provide information on instructional support you can provide your students to help them avoid plagiarism:

• Defining Plagiarism - Indiana University
  Indiana University's Writing Tutorial Services provides a clear definition and explanation of what plagiarism is and why it is important.
• Avoiding Plagiarism and Inappropriate Paraphrasing - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center has a useful handout on definitions and steps to avoiding plagiarism.
• Mastering the Art of Scolarship - University of California, Davis
• PDF file from UC Davis' Student Judicial Affairs. Download PDF file of Mastering the Art of Scholarship from UC Davis

Recognizing and Reporting Plagiarism

Turnitin at SF State

SF State utilizes the anti-plagiarism software Turnitin. The Turnitin software is used in thousands of institutions throughout the global academic community, and enjoys a proven track record in helping faculty teach their students the importance of correct citation.

Turnitin has been integrated with iLearn. Please visit the iLearn site for more details.

• Visit the iLearn Web Site

Turnitin Resources

Amy Love has written a number of guidelines and procedures on integrating Turnitin in your courses. These documents are part of Amy Love's Accessible Instructional Multimedia project.

• Plagiarism Prevention Using Turnitin: Pedagogical Approach
  Download accessible DOC file of Plagiarism Prevention Using Turnitin: Pedagogical Approach
  File Size 1.84 KB
• Plagiarism Prevention Using Turnitin: Instructor Procedures
  Download accessible DOC file of Plagiarism Prevention Using Turnitin: Instructor Procedures
  File Size 1.58 MB
• Plagiarism Prevention Using Turnitin: Student Procedures
  Download accessible DOC file of Plagiarism Prevention Using Turnitin: Student Procedures
  File Size 4.81 KB
• Plagiarism Prevention Using Turnitin: Sample Syllabus Statements
  Download accessible DOC file of Plagiarism Prevention Using Turnitin: Sample Syllabus Statements
  File Size 75.5 KB

Additional information on Amy Love's experience with integrating Turnitin with iLearn can be found in the Accessible Instructional Multimedia at SF State section of this web site.

• Read more about Accessible Instructional Multimedia at SF State

Additional Resources for Recognizing and Reporting Plagiarism

The following are off-site resources.

• Recognizing Plagiarism - Indiana University Indiana University's Writing Tutorial Services provides examples and explanations on how to recognize unacceptable and acceptable paraphrases.
• Examples of Plagiarism - Princeton University Examples developed by Princeton University with comments and explanations of why each constitutes plagiarism.
• Detecting Plagiarism - University of Alberta University of Alberta Libraries list indicators of possible plagiarism and links to track down suspect papers.

Copyright and Fair Use

At CTFD, we do our best to help teachers navigate the waters of copyright and fair use. The off-site resources below may help you make your own determination about the legality of the materials you use.

• Copyright Quiz: How savvy are you about what constitutes Fair Use?
  Answer these 20 questions and compare your answers with the pros from Tech Learning.
• Copyright Management Center
  View Indiana University - Purdue University's site for detailed information on fair use for teaching and research.
• Copyright Crash Course
  Check out this site from University of Texas for a crash course in copyright!
• 10 Big Myths about Copyright Explained
  This essay by Brad Templeton, "...an attempt to answer common myths about copyright seen on the net and cover issues related is to copyright and USENET/Internet publication."
• Copyright and Fair Use
  Learn about legal and illegal use of copyrighted materials. This includes overview of current copyright laws provided by Stanford University Libraries.
• Checklist for Fair Use - Fair use or not?
  Use this checklist as a guide regarding fair use of copyrighted materials.
• VIDEO from SF State AV/ITV Center: Am I a Crook: Copyright Isses on the Internet
  In this 1998 PBS video seminar host Shelli Lockhart discusses how copyright affects distance learning. Issues considered include infringement risks, educational fair use and the Internet, and both institutional and individual liabilities when copyright occurs in distance education settings.
• Copyright Office Study on Distance Education
  The Library of Congress Copyright Office posts copies of all public notices, written comments, and other material relevant to the distance education study on this web page as it becomes available.
• Teacher's Guide to Fair Use and Copyright
  Written by a teacher, for teachers, this site considers classroom use specifically.

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