How to Avoid Plagiarism When Writing Academic Research

Prepared by: Prof. Sadiq Khalaf Ayoub

By this we mean total dependence on the efforts of others in the quoted part and its attribution to the late researcher, and it has two forms:

The first: plagiarizing the text - without referring to it in the margin or referring to it incorrectly.

           And the lengthening of quoting of texts - even if it was referred to in the margin.

         The second form - quoting the structure, the idea, and the expression, even if the words change, because the principle is that the idea that is intended to be reached is different from the idea reached by others, because there is no point in repeating what the predecessors(1). wrote 

Within our academic reality, there are two ways to know plagiarism:

First - Knowing the percentages of plagiarism through electronic programs:

The Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, when estimating the percentage of plagiarism in theses, dissertations and academic research, relied on the (TuRnitin) program, as it collects quotations and records each group of consecutive words quoted from a source: a point - even if it exceeds the permissible percentage (15% - letters and theses). And (20% - for research) - the presented research was rejected (2) - and we referred to this in a previous article, and it seems to me that it counts between three to five words - consecutive - a point, which means that it is necessary to paraphrase texts and add what is new and useful.

• Second – Realizing  the percentage of plagiarism through the committees affiliated to the group in the scientific departments, known as (scientific innovation committees)

They are committees formed in the scientific departments belonging to the faculties to consider the quotations of academic research, theses and university dissertations- this mechanism differs from the electronic plagiarism test in that the work of the committee is in matters that do not appear in the electronic plagiarism- its work is summarized in:

1- The large number of text quotations that are placed between two inverted commas to get out of the electronic plagiarism report - because the large number of these quotations and their transgression of the permissible percentage wastes the research modernity by adding what is new.

2- Looking at the title of the research and comparing it with the one mentioned above - because not all research outputs are included in the electronic programs.

3- Checking master’s theses and doctoral theses for the researcher and those who participated with him in the research.

4- The committee should be Familiar with the the research product in the scientific department to which the researcher belongs - from theses, dissertations, teaching staff research and graduation research (the graduation research may not be submitted for academic promotion because it was previously evaluated and awarded a degree for the purpose of passing the bachelor’s degree) (3)

• How to extract the quoted  information from plagiarism

To begin with - the best watch to avoid prohibited plagiarism is to activate the self-censor and arbitrate the conscience based on the Sharia text, the Almighty said: ((To all are degrees (or ranks) according to their deeds: for thy Lord is not unmindful of anything that they do.)) (4)

On the practical side, it follows:

1- Accurate understanding of the information to be quoted from previous sources, and if the reference is old, then modern sources are used to understand it and then compare it with the research material and adapt it to suit it in a discreet manner.

2- The idea of ??the information must be derived from the researcher’s understanding, and not from the understanding of the previous writer, 

even if there are commonalities.

3-Relying on more than one source to refer to the information in the margin contributes to the crystallization of ideas on the one hand, and the selection of appropriate expressions for research and contrasting with those previously mentioned on the other (5) .

4- Avoid quoting the special words adopted by the previous researchers, because that weakens the personality of the researcher.

5- Act by changing the quoted phrases, so do not use four connected words, without changing, because that will appear in the electronic detection program.

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(1) The provisions of scientific quotation when writing academic research in Islamic jurisprudence, research published in the Journal of Xi’an University of Architecture & Technology in 2020, p. 361, at the link: The provisions of scientific quotation when 

writing academic research in Islamic jurisprudenc

(2) Book No. (BT 5 / 5868) dated 7/27/2015 issued by the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

(3) Book No. (BT 4/6089) dated 06/26/2019 (Fifth Paragraph) issued by the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

(4) Surat Al-An'am: (132)

(5) Writing the scientific research in a new formulation, Prof. Dr. Abdul-Wahhab Ibrahim Abu Suleiman, Umm Al-Qura University - Makkah Al-Mukarramah, Publishing House: Al-Rasheed Library - Saudi Arabia, 1423 AH: pp. 130-131.