2023-07-22 22:00:00
Intellectual property theft: why is it plagiarized? A writing coach shares her views and tips on how to avoid falling into the plagiarism trap.
Plagiarism – presenting someone else’s intellectual property as one’s own work or part of one’s own work – violates the rules of good scientific work. According to the amendment to the Universities Act (UG) of 2021 by the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research, good scientific practice means “complying with the legal regulations, ethical standards and the current state of knowledge of the respective subject within the framework of the tasks and goals of the respective institution”. This is therefore not the case if “false information is provided intentionally or through gross negligence in a scientifically relevant context (manipulation, invention) or the intellectual property of others is used without authorization (plagiarism)”. Plagiarism is illegal and can be punished in Austria with a fine of up to 15,000 euros, in addition to the loss of an academic degree.
Plagiarism Scan and Prevention: How to Avoid Scientific Errors
The Austrian Students’ Union at the University of Salzburg is certain that “penalties cannot replace better education, better assistance or improved supervision”. The student representatives therefore also offer a plagiarism scan. True to the motto: “Prevention prevents problems.” Especially when everyday student life is stressful again and maybe even several seminar papers have to be written at the same time. It is not uncommon for mistakes to be made in such cases. In addition, the scientific (final) work can also be checked using various, often free software programs from the Internet. In general, the topic of plagiarism has repeatedly been raised in the past by so-called plagiarism hunters, who have made it their mission to uncover deficiencies in scientific work by prominent people. Last but not least, work from a cooperation between the University of Salzburg Business School (SMBS) and the State University in Riga was also in the crosshairs.
Why do people plagiarize?
Of course, the problem of plagiarism does not only begin when you have to defend your ideas in court, but already during the training period. Writing coach Sarah Vaclav believes that academic writing needs to be learned properly from the ground up. Apart from the conscious deception there is the danger that one works sloppily despite a clear conscience and thus fails to meet the criteria of good scientific work. The result: plagiarism. When asked why people plagiarize, the expert replies: “You don’t trust yourself to write the work correctly and you try to hand over the responsibility to someone who is supposedly more professional and thus compensate for your own insecurities.” The reason for this is, among other things, the tunnel vision of wanting to achieve good grades. According to the coach, the solution is better clarification of what constitutes good scientific practice.
Tips to avoid plagiarism due to lack of time
A big factor in plagiarism is lack of time. According to the expert, this in turn is due to a lack of knowledge about the correct planning and organization of a scientific work: “Most of the time, students are overwhelmed with tasks that need to be handed in within a very short time. Overwhelming sets in, and then plagiarism occurs.” What are your tips for not falling into this trap? “In order not to run the risk of being overwhelmed by a flood of information, you should learn speed reading and speed writing. You can learn these skills,” says Vaclav. It’s not about getting everything over with in a hurry, but about getting clear thoughts faster, networking and bundling them. As is well known, scientific work is not always fun – often another reason to succumb to plagiarism. “Scientific work is often conveyed in a very dry manner, which results in a lack of motivation,” explains Vaclav. New perspectives are therefore needed, because: “Scientific work should have added value – for oneself and for science.” This added value is achieved by learning and practicing clean scientific work – and by discarding negative prejudices. The expert: “When you realize that you also benefit from the writing process yourself, then your attitude changes by itself and your motivation is awakened.”
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