Avoid the lure of just lifting from the internet

CHANDIGARH: Plagiarism, the act of copying research, ideas, words, expressions and representing them as your own, is prevalent among college youth. While some students find it tempting to just "copy stuff from the internet", others are indulging in this act of academic dishonesty simply because they lack awareness about intellectual property rights.
Copying large portions from the web and showcasing them as a part of your work, without any citations constitutes plagiarism. "There are instances when students often copy assignments and projects from their seniors and submit them. "Turnatin", a software used to check plagiarism, is used by Nift to ensure the academic integrity of work submitted by students" said Amisha Mehta, associate professor, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Gandhinagar. Reproducing texts directly from books, without proper referencing is also plagiarism. Many students have started replacing some phrases in the copied text to avoid the watchful eye of Turnatin.
"In many group assignments that we get, we do lift stuff from the internet. We add bibliography at the end of our assignments." said a student from SD College, Chandigarh. "Even if you are using citations, reproduction of significant portions of someone's text in your work is prohibited. There are several tools that can detect plagiarism and counseling sessions are held if a student is caught indulging in this unethical practice. Nift also broaches the issue of plagiarism with students in their orientation programmes." said Amisha Mehta.
Lalit Bansal, dean research, PU, said, "In Punjab University, PhD students have to get their thesis approved for authenticity. It is mandatory for them to pass their research papers through Turnatin, which is an anti-plagiarism software." Spreading awareness among youth about repercussions of plagiarism is mandatory. "Two seminars regarding the issue of plagiarism among students have been conducted this year." he added. Academic dishonesty is rarely tolerated by any academic intuition. Stating the disciplinary action that students can face if caught plagiarizing, Bansal said," The research promotion cell of PU has created a policy which states that particular case committee would be set up to take necessary action if a PhD student is caught plagiarizing."
Rules of each academic institution differ when it comes to plagiarism. Though criminal proceedings may not be initiated by the university, if the affected party comes to know that you have plagiarized its work, an FIR can be lodged and under Section 63 of the copyright Act, this offence is "punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to three years".
Due credits must be given to photographs and images by mentioning name of the photographer underneath the image used.