# Self Plagiarism ?



## ALBin517 (Oct 5, 2010)

Hypothetical:

John is in engineering grad school. He does an Independent Study that focuses on engineering entrepreneurship.

John then goes on to business school at another college. He is one credit short of earning his MBA and his advisor suggests that he does an Independent Study. Could he get in trouble by recycling the work from his previous Independent Study and not admitting that he had submitted the work previously for another class?


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## Supe (Oct 5, 2010)

Yes.


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## FLBuff PE (Oct 5, 2010)

Supe said:


> Yes.


Why? It is John's work. It's not his fault that a work product of his is equally applicable for a different class.

AL, was John's work published?


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## Capt Worley PE (Oct 5, 2010)

I'm with Buff on this one.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Oct 5, 2010)

Hey ALB, never knew your name was John...

If it's published, yes you can be guilty of self plagiarism.


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## IL-SE (Oct 5, 2010)

I think the only question you need to ask is, would the school accept the work knowing that John received credit for it previously? If the answer is no, then maybe John should choose another topic...perhaps something related to ethics in business and engineering.


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## Sschell (Oct 5, 2010)

IL-SE said:


> perhaps something related to ethics in business and engineering.


:lmao:


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Oct 5, 2010)

^or human centipede...


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## Sschell (Oct 5, 2010)

now _there's_ an independent study topic!


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## FLBuff PE (Oct 5, 2010)

Any chance engineering grad school course could transfer into B-school at the different college?


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## udpolo15 (Oct 5, 2010)

> Could he get in trouble by recycling the work from his previous Independent Study and not admitting that he had submitted the work previously for another class?


My guess is you can't use a college credit that has already be used for another degree. So, yes you could get in trouble.

However - I don't think there is anything stopping you from using your previous work in a new independent study.


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## ALBin517 (Oct 5, 2010)

FLBuff PE said:


> Supe said:
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> > Yes.
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No, never published

This feels a lot like the Army recruitment scene from _Stripes_.

Recruiter: "Ever been convicted of a felony?"

Winger: "Convicted?"

Ziskey: "Never convicted."


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## navyasw02 (Oct 5, 2010)

John should do some minor revisions to it and presto chango, it becomes a new piece of work.


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## IlPadrino (Oct 6, 2010)

I don't think there's any problem here... for what it's worth. But I'm reminded of the adage that it doesn't matter what the lawbooks say or whether you're innocent - it only matters what the judge decides the lawbook says or if you're innocent. Who's the "judge" here? Do some Operational Risk Management... probability and severity analysis.


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## Supe (Oct 6, 2010)

FLBuff PE said:


> Supe said:
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> > Yes.
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If John's work has been published, then it is still a problem.

Even if it has not, there are some schools out there that will cover it in their code of conduct. While there may not be any intellectual property right issues, it can be viewed as academic dishonesty.

I know for SURE that it can apply at the high school level. My now-retired father's former coworker had a daughter in high school, A student, who had a book report turned in for one of those summer reading requirements where the book was optional. The following year, she had to do the same, only the book was now a requirement, so she submitted the same report. The teacher had turned it into one of those online plagiarism filters, and sure enough, there it was. She had received a failing grade, which the parents then fought since it was not specifically addressed in school policies, and she was allowed to paraphrase basically and resubmit.

I never said I agreed with the policy, because I don't, but don't assume that John would always be safe from it.


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## Peele1 (Oct 6, 2010)

In the US, I don't believe that you could be liable for any sort of legal problem, even if it is published, as long as you are the author and either filed a copyright, retain rights, or something of that sort.

However, academia doesn't care what the law says, if you tick off the wrong person, they'll kick you out. Academia is a bureaucracy centered upon itself.


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## FLBuff PE (Oct 8, 2010)

Supe said:


> FLBuff PE said:
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> > Supe said:
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Supe, I wasn't trying to be confrontational. I was just trying to understand your logic. Now I understand. Perhaps "John" should just talk to his prof.


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