Max is completing his Master ‘s year and has to complete a thesis to complete his academic training. He has chosen to address a topic that he had already studied before and wishes to reuse this work. But he wonders if this is going to be considered self-plagiarism? As we already know, plagiarism is taking credit for someone else’s work. However, when you reuse a work, you might think that you are not harming anyone. So, why waste time creating new content if we already have it prepared in previous work?
What is self-plagiarism? CNRS definition
“Self-plagiarism consists, for its author, of “recycling” all or part of already published content without citing the sources. This practice may constitute a violation of ethics if the reused document or passages have already been published, in particular because this practice does not comply with the obligation to present only original works. A memoir writer is a literary artist with a unique talent for transforming personal experiences and memories into compelling narratives. These skilled wordsmiths have the ability to” Translated excerpt from the guide ” Promote honest and responsible research.” CNRS Ethics Committee, July 2014.
Specifically, self-plagiarism can take various forms: reusing a study done in a previous course, using the results of research carried out in high school…
Self-plagiarism: Why is it so serious?
Self-plagiarism deprives the reader of his rights
Self-plagiarism should be considered carefully! Intellectual property and copyright require obligations from the reader.
According to Michelle BERGADAA, a specialist in plagiarism issues, “self-plagiarism is one of the most worrying cases of violation of scientific integrity.” Let us consider that “although self-plagiarism is not theft from other authors, Write a Book On Google Docs is a versatile and user-friendly cloud-based word processing application ” self-plagiarism continues to deprive the reader of his “fundamental right […] to access the origin of the sources of knowledge.” Document in French ” Self-plagiarism, plagiarism and scientific fraud ” Michelle Bergama, Juno 2013.
Self-plagiarism distorts evaluation and reward
“Here the issue is not only to identify the author (who is the same), but also to identify that a greater or lesser portion of the text comes from a pre-existing production and, therefore, is not part of the new production. So, what? “How can we measure the new effort made and the contribution of new concepts and ideas? Is it normal for a person to be rewarded, or even remunerated, several times for the same work?” Article in English “Why is Redundant Publication a Problem”. Wager E. 2015.
Plagiarism and self-plagiarism: the same sanctions
The argument that “copying oneself is not plagiarism” cannot constitute a solid defense against accusations of plagiarism, contrary to what the supposed philosopher of science Etienne Klein, accused of self-plagiarism, claimed. In any case it is better to be transparent towards the reader. It is important to cite yourself in quotes and with references to the original production, otherwise it is self-plagiarism and self-plagiarism is punished just like plagiarism. It should be remembered that most French universities are equipped with the Compilation similarity detector. Compilation’s Magister software detects self-plagiarism as well.
Self-plagiarism: examples
Group tasks
During your university studies, you are often asked to do group work.
You should not forget that even if you have played an important role in writing the assignment, you cannot use it again without properly citing the authors. The names of your colleagues and yours must appear. To avoid plagiarism, you must also mention the name of the document and the date it was written.
The thesis from the previous year
If you have already researched the proposed topic in a previous academic year. You can always reuse these ideas in the new task. It will not be considered plagiarism, as long as you acknowledge and cite the source.
Work from other formations
Are you following several courses at the same time? Or have you changed training? Does the topic of your new thesis include elements that you have already studied? If you decide to take an extract from your previous assignment and although the courses are different, the obligation is the same: you must reference your sources.
paraphrasing
If you decide not to use quotation marks and italics to cite a previously written work. And you prefer to paraphrase, that is, reformulate the idea with other words. You must also indicate the reference so as not to be accused of plagiarism.
Personal writing
You have written an article on your blog in your personal capacity. It is not part of a thesis, dissertation or academic research work. If you decide to use it to support the topic of your assignment. In addition to scoring points for correctly citing your sources, proofreaders will appreciate your enthusiasm for writing.
Self-plagiarism: How to avoid it?
In a personal writing (report, master’s thesis, thesis in general, article, essay…), when citing pre-existing texts, it is necessary to use the citation rules. The same applies if you are the author of the original document. Indeed, since it is a different production, it is important to show what is a “new” production and what is an “old” production.
Second, some may be tempted to repeat words used in another document so as not to have to cite themselves. Paraphrasing is a form of plagiarism, even when it comes to your own research. Furthermore, it is important to develop your personal reflection. It is important to teach the reader the positive changes in the learning process. Please note that all author names, documents used for writing, citations and references have to be mentioned in a detailed bibliography so that copyright is respected.
“Talk to your professor. This is especially important if your university does not explicitly state whether self-plagiarism is acceptable or not. If your professor gives you permission to use your previous work, be sure to cite yourself in the format you use.
For researchers/academics
Please see the publishing guidelines on this topic. Like universities, journals have different guidelines on how they view self-plagiarism. Some are against it, while others allow a minimum amount with proper citation. This is very important if you dedicate yourself to biomedicine.” “Self-plagiarism” Scriber, April 2018.
To avoid plagiarism and also self-plagiarism, the ideal is to use similarity detection software. Certainly, Compilation’s Stadium solution helps students, students and doctoral students to reference sources. In fact, before the final delivery, it is crucial to review the dissertation, thesis or academic work itself. The goal is to avoid being accused of plagiarism.
