Copy and Paste
Each week I receive a dozen or more article submissions for my various publications and websites. About 5 to 10 of these articles make their way to MyArticleArchive.com.
In this steady stream of content, I have noticed an alarming trend. There is no nice way to say it: plagiarism. It's not that I'm on the lookout for it, but that the authors don't bother to cover their tracks.
Quite specifically, they copy content from Wikipedia and paste it directly into their article, including embedded links back to Wikipedia. Although they reformat the text so that the links are not visible, they are nonetheless still there, dutifully preserved by Microsoft Word.
Of course, there is no way to know how much information is copied from sources that does not carry the telltale sign of an embedded link or two.
Usually in these articles, there is one or two instances of plagiarism (not that limited stealing is acceptable), but one article contained a half of dozen such sections, accounting for the majority of the article.
Lest you assume it is the younger generations doing this, it is not; it is Baby Boomers, not Gen Xers or Millennials.
Although I am disturbed by people who copy the work of others without giving credit or citing sources, I am also troubled that they either don't care or don't know how to remove the embedded links.
Either way, shame on them.
Quite specifically, they copy content from Wikipedia and paste it directly into their article, including embedded links back to Wikipedia. Although they reformat the text so that the links are not visible, they are nonetheless still there, dutifully preserved by Microsoft Word.
Of course, there is no way to know how much information is copied from sources that does not carry the telltale sign of an embedded link or two.
Usually in these articles, there is one or two instances of plagiarism (not that limited stealing is acceptable), but one article contained a half of dozen such sections, accounting for the majority of the article.
Lest you assume it is the younger generations doing this, it is not; it is Baby Boomers, not Gen Xers or Millennials.
Although I am disturbed by people who copy the work of others without giving credit or citing sources, I am also troubled that they either don't care or don't know how to remove the embedded links.
Either way, shame on them.
Posted by Peter DeHaan at 8/21/2009 4:41 PM 
Categories: Observation, Writing, People
Tags: Microsoft plagiarism Peter DeHaan blog author Peter DeHaan Peter DeHaan Musings Musings of Peter DeHaan
Categories: Observation, Writing, People
Tags: Microsoft plagiarism Peter DeHaan blog author Peter DeHaan Peter DeHaan Musings Musings of Peter DeHaan
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