Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some answers to the most frequently asked questions of the psychology department faculty.
Do I have to purchase the textbook for my psychology class?
If it is indicated either on the syllabus for the course, or through instruction by the professor of the course that the textbook is a requirement, then you must purchase the current, and required textbook.
What exactly is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is more than using "a bunch of words in order from another author without giving proper credit." Plagiarism is using even a few words, or the ideas, or the sentence structures from another author without giving proper credit.
Can you give me an example of plagiarism?
Consider the following original source material from: http://www.drugabuse.gov/MarijBroch/parentpg13-14N.html.
Original Source Material:
· People who smoke marijuana regularly may develop many of the same breathing problems that tobacco smokers have, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent chest colds, a heightened risk of lung infections, and a greater tendency toward obstructed airways.
Student Submission:
· It has also been found that a person who smokes marijuana regularly experiences many of the same respiratory problems that cigarette smokers have, including daily cough and phlegm production, chest illness, a heightened risk of lung infections, and a greater tendency to develop obstructed airways.
Although a few words (shown in bold) of the original source material were changed, the student’s submission used the ideas, words and sentence structure of the original source without giving credit to the source. This is plagiarism because it offers someone else’s work as one’s own. And, it would not matter if the student had included a citation with his/her submission, or added "According to NIDA (2006), it has been…" If the words, phrases, ideas, and sentence structure are being borrowed, your paper has to make it clear exactly what is being borrowed.
How can I avoid practicing plagiarism?
There are three ways to avoid plagiarism:
Whenever you borrow words or phrases from a source, use quotation marks and provide in the body of your paper a citation with the author, the year, and the page number.
Whenever you borrow sentence or paragraph structures, also provide in your citation the author, year, and page number.
Whenever you are borrowing or paraphrasing the ideas (but not phrases or grammatical structures), provide in your citation the author and year.
The first two ways are fine but should be used minimally and only when the exact words of the source are absolutely necessary to make your point. If you are reading a passage and can’t rephrase it in your own words, you might not understand the material enough or you might not be trying hard enough. Quoting is generally inferior writing; paraphrasing is preferred. For example, the following shows how to paraphrase without plagiarizing and without lazy writing.
Acceptable paraphrasing:
· Like cigarette use, the regular use of marijuana is related to a variety of breathing problems, including increased rates of coughing, chest colds, lung infections and obstructed airways (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2006).
Can I apply to both the Department of Psychology’s Master’s and Doctoral programs at the same time?
Yes. If you are interested and believe that you meet the qualifications to both the Master’s and Doctoral programs, apply to both of them. For more information on the application process to either program, please visit both the Master’s and Doctoral sites.
