When do I commit fraud or plagiarism and how do I prevent this when I write my thesis?

When do you commit fraud?

Fraud is literally a form of deception. You present things differently than they actually are. You commit fraud if you:

• buy, steal or borrow a document
• hire someone to write your thesis for you

Fraud is punishable, although this must be proven. It can have major consequences, especially when you graduate, and may result in your not being allowed to graduate or even being suspended from your course.

When is something plagiarism?

If you pretend that certain words, thoughts, and ideas of others are your own, you are committing plagiarism. The meaning of plagiarism, according to Van Dale (2020), is: “1. copying pieces, thoughts, and reasoning from others and passing them off as your own work; 2. a part of writing copied from others, etc.”

In practice, this relates to pieces of text that you did not write yourself but which were directly copied from existing texts. This can encompass text from books or websites, as well as texts that you have previously submitted for assessment.

What is considered plagiarism?

You commit plagiarism if you:

• Clone texts: This is the most well-known and serious form of plagiarism, where you present someone else’s work as your own.
• Copy large portions of text from another source without using quotation marks, citations, or giving credit to the original author. Plagiarism also occurs when not properly citing sources.
• Use the find and replace function to change certain words in a copied text from another source, which is also considered plagiarism. This still involves using someone else’s text and ideas. Plagiarism detection software is designed to identify this type of plagiarism as well.
• Paraphrase or summarize texts without providing proper attribution.
• Provide incorrect information about the original source, whether it is quoted directly or expressed in one’s own words.
• Reuse elaborations that have been used previously. You can only present your elaboration once to demonstrate that you have met the requirements. Therefore, it is not permissible to reuse answers from previous exams, even if they are your own answers that you wrote in the past (unless it is a resit of the same exam).
• Plagiarism is sometimes also characterized as copyright infringement. Anyone who creates work is an author and is, therefore, directly protected under this right.

What are the consequences if I commit plagiarism?

If you commit plagiarism (or engage in copyright infringement), there may be consequences for your thesis. For instance, it could be rejected if it fails the plagiarism scan required by your course. Moreover, its evaluation by the examiner could lead to rejection as well. This could prevent you from defending your thesis and, under worst-case circumstances, even result in suspension from your course.

When do you not commit plagiarism?

Writing about your own personal experiences, processing and documenting the results of your own research, and utilizing your own images, diagrams, and tables is not considered plagiarism. Even if you draw your own conclusions about a specific topic, it is not plagiarism. In short, if you are the original writer, what you write will not be classified as plagiarism.

How do you prevent plagiarism, or in other words: what is allowed?

• Paraphrase. If you utilize texts, articles, or ideas from others in your own written work, it is permissible as long as you appropriately cite your sources. The key is not just to replace a few words, but to rephrase the content using your own language.
• Quote: This is simply copying certain words or sentences, limited to a maximum of 5 lines. Consequently, it will always require fitting these fragments into an authentic piece written by yourself. Proper citation and usage of the APA format are crucial when quoting. To do so, enclose the quoted text within double quotation marks and provide proper source attribution. It is worth noting that quotations should only be utilized when the author’s literal words contribute value. They must never act as a replacement for your own words but rather serve to support or enhance your own ideas.
• Refer. Ensure that all your statements and theories are supported with literature. You should provide justification for the use of specific theories or statements by referencing books, articles, or other credible sources. Remember to follow APA guidelines when citing sources and creating your bibliography.

Is the use of ChatGPT considered fraud or plagiarism?

ChatGPT is an uncharted territory for many colleges and universities, but it is certainly utilized by numerous students. Collegiate institutions do not endorse the use of ChatGPT and consider it to be fraudulent. However, a definitive policy regarding its usage is often absent. Meanwhile, the tool is becoming more sophisticated, making it increasingly challenging to determine whether a text has been generated with the assistance of AI. This also poses a challenge for plagiarism detection software, as ChatGPT has the capability to generate original texts. Nonetheless, as a student, it is still your responsibility to ensure the integrity of your work. When composing a thesis, you must conduct your own research, interpret your findings, and draw logical conclusions and recommendations, or develop a concrete end product. Additionally, you must be able to address your research question or design inquiry. Ultimately, relying on your own common sense is imperative.

We have written the following article about when writing your thesis becomes plagiarism or even fraud if you use ChatGPT.

Why do you need to cite sources and use scientific articles?

You must cite your sources correctly to avoid plagiarism and to clarify what you have written and the insights you have gained from them. This provides recognition to the original authors for their contributions. In addition, scientific articles are a reliable source to consult, while (commercial) blog articles can also be considered, they are often lacking scientific substantiation and may be biased.

With a scientific source, knowledge is substantiated through research. By subsequently utilizing and amalgamating multiple sources, one can arrive at accurate conclusions. If 10 scientific sources concur on an aspect, it can be considered true. From there, you can formulate your own deductions, which is your unique contribution. Interested in learning more about this? Make sure to check out our blog post on the importance of literature research.

Which rules apply for correctly noting sources?

You can cite your sources in various ways in the text: summarizing, paraphrasing, or quoting. In our article on APA references, we explain the distinction between these citation methods. We also provide guidelines to follow and requirements for a proper source citation. In our next article, we will explain how to conduct source and literature research.

Is sourcing and conducting literature research difficult? If so, consider seeking assistance.

Conducting source and literature research and processing your sources and literature correctly can be an exacting and time-consuming task, but it does demonstrate whether you have written the content yourself or relied on others’ knowledge. It is crucial to utilize an adequate number of sources to support your conclusions; relying on a single source (n=1) is insufficient. If you need assistance with your literature and source research, paraphrasing, citing, or summarizing, please feel free to contact us for a complimentary consultation. We are more than willing to assist you.