What is plagiarism?
While defining "original work" can sometimes seem complex, the core definition is straightforward. Swinburne University's Academic Integrity Guidelines state that:
"Plagiarism is the action or practice of taking and submitting or presenting the thoughts, writings or other work of someone else as though it is your own work."
You should read widely across books, peer-reviewed papers, and academic websites until you fully understand the physical astronomy principles you wish to convey, and then write your piece entirely in your own words. A key to constructing authentic, original work is to survey the literature in depth and avoid relying on only one or two references.
It ultimately boils down to this: any work you submit to SAO must be your own. When you sit down to write an essay, project report, or Discussion posting, you should not copy from another document. If you are paraphrasing (i.e., putting someone else's findings or ideas into your own words), you need to provide an exact reference and citation to the source material.
Severe academic penalties for submitting other people's work as your own original work will be applied.
An Example in Practice
Suppose you are asked to submit text as part of an assessment on the topic: "What physical processes could cause asymmetric light distributions of spiral galaxies?" Using the NASA ADS abstract server, you locate the following paper:
Many spiral galaxies display clear asymmetries in their light distribution (Rix & Zaritsky 1995; Zaritsky & Rix 1996), including some which are apparently quite isolated and non-interacting. Often, studies of the underlying mass distribution of neutral hydrogen reveal much of this asymmetry to be mainly "cosmetic", attributable to (in the case of NGC 1313; Ryder et al. 1995) such factors as the presence of an HI superbubble. However, the recognition of an inherently non-circular and asymmetric population of galaxies would have major ramifications for topics as fundamental as the derivation of disk inclinations, dark matter halos, and the Tully-Fisher relation.
The following examples show acceptable and unacceptable ways to utilize the information in this source.
The study of the structure and morphology of spiral galaxies via different wavelengths provides important information about their fundamental properties. Observations of spiral galaxies have shown that many have asymmetric light distributions (Rix & Zaritsky 1995; Zaritsky & Rix 1996). Such light distributions can be caused by interactions or mergers with neighbouring galaxies (Struck 1999; Kuijken & Garcia 2000). Interestingly, some of these asymmetric or distorted examples are apparently isolated which seems to preclude mergers or interactions with nearby galaxies as the source of the asymmetries.
Observations of the cold gas distribution (e.g. neutral hydrogen or HI) however provide an important check on whether the asymmetries are of an internal or external nature. For example, in NGC 1313, Ryder et al. (1995) have detected HI 'superbubbles' that are most likely produced by recent supernovae explosions. As well, a recent HI observation (Ryder et al. 1997) of the barred spiral NGC 7421 in a group of galaxies, that has an off-centre optical light distribution, shows an HI 'wake'. This discovery supports the scenario of the galaxy interacting with the intracluster (gaseous) medium of its group. From these cases we can conclude that asymmetric light distributions in spiral galaxies could have many different origins. As stated by Ryder et al. (1997), such a population of asymmetric galaxies "would have major ramifications for topics as fundamental as the determination of disk inclinations, dark matter halos, and the Tully-Fisher relation."
Kuijken, K., & Garcia, I. 2000, In "Galaxy Disks and Disk Galaxies", ASP Conf .Ser., 230, 401
Rix, H.-W., & Zaritsky, D. 1995, ApJ, 447, 82
Ryder, S., et al. 1995, AJ, 109, 1592
Ryder, S. D., Purcell, G., Davis, D., & Andersen, V. 1997, PASA, 14, 81
Struck, C. 1999, Physics Reports, 321, 1
Zaritsky, D., & Rix, H.-W. 1997, ApJ, 477, 118
Why is this acceptable?
The text above is significantly different and much more expansive than the single resource of Ryder et al. (1997). The author researched related concepts, integrated multiple peer-reviewed papers (e.g., Struck 1999; Kuijken & Garcia 2000), explained the underlying physical processes in their own words, and correctly placed the author's exact phrasing inside quotation marks and italics.
Learning and practicing this technique has major benefits:
- It helps you digest, master, and understand astronomical topics at a far deeper level.
- It is ultimately faster than attempting "copy-paste-substitution" (which text-matching engines will flag anyway).
- It develops essential scientific communication skills critical for your studies and career.
Unacceptable Examples (Plagiarism)
Many spiral galaxies display clear asymmetries in the distribution of their light (Rix & Zaritsky 1995; Zaritsky & Rix 1996), including some which seem to be quite isolated and non-interacting. Often, studies of the underlying mass distribution of neutral hydrogen show much of this asymmetry to be mostly "cosmetic", attributable to (in the case of NGC 1313, see Ryder et al. 1995) such factors as the presence of an HI superbubble. However, the recognition of an inherently non-circular and asymmetric population of galaxies would have great ramifications for topics as fundamental as the determination of disk inclinations, dark matter halos, and the Tully-Fisher relation.
Why is this plagiarism?
Swapping out or rearranging a handful of words (e.g., changing "clear asymmetries in their light distribution" to "clear asymmetries in the distribution of their light") while copying the exact structure of the sentences is plagiarism—even if you list the citations. You are presenting Ryder et al.'s specific composition and phrasing as if it were your own writing.
It has been found that many spiral galaxies display asymmetries in the distribution of their light (Rix & Zaritsky 1995; Zaritsky & Rix 1996). Some of these spirals are apparently isolated and non-interacting. Often, observations of the distribution of neutral hydrogen reveal much of this asymmetry to be mainly "cosmetic", attributable to (e.g. NGC 1313, see Ryder et al. 1995) the presence of such structures like HI superbubbles. However, the recognition of a non-circular and asymmetric galaxy population would have major impact for topics as fundamental as the derivation of disk inclinations, dark matter halos, and the Tully-Fisher relation.
Why is this plagiarism?
This example falls into the same category. Simply splitting a sentence or substituting minor nouns and verbs (e.g., "major ramifications" to "major impact") does not constitute original scientific writing.
Using Direct Quotations Correctly
A student might occasionally use a sentence from another author because "they explained the point so well." However, this should be done sparingly.
While it is entirely reasonable to occasionally quote directly from an author, you must format it correctly:
- Enclose the text inside double quotation marks.
- Distinguish it visually (e.g., using italics).
- Directly credit the original source with a citation immediately following the quote.
The remainder of your work must showcase your own understanding of astronomy explained entirely in your own words.
Need More Information & Support?
To learn more about referencing conventions and academic integrity guidelines at Swinburne, please explore the following official university resources:
- Visit the official Swinburne Academic Integrity Portal to read about your obligations as a student.
- Review Swinburne's Plagiarism Guide.
- Refer to the Swinburne Library Referencing Guides to master correct citation protocols (such as APA or Harvard styles) for your specific unit.
- Refer to the SAO-specific Referencing Guide.