Literature Review

• To get from your prima facie question to a final question you have
to do some work.
“It’s like the bulldozers clearing a building site before a new
house is built.”
• And so do you: you have to clear the ground. You need some kit for
this:
• a literature review and
• a storyboard.
• The ground clearing means rethinking your initial question and
doing a bit of toing and froing.
• It involves what is sometimes called a ‘recursive design’ to your
research.
• The alternative is a liner design, which is more usual in natural
sciences.
• However, in the applied science it is typical for the research as it is
being done to affect the shape of the ultimate research. 1
Literature review
Prima facie L review & Final
questions desk
research
questions

Beginning
• Your research changes as you proceed: you’ll of fieldwork
have new ideas and these will affect the
direction and progress of your research- these
are the backward arrows on the diagram.
• They’re not `bad’ backward arrows; they’re
backward in the sense of letting you think again
- letting you refine your initial questions.
“ Do go into your research with an open mind,
knowing that you will be changing and varying but once you
have decided, be decisive and go for it.”

2
Literature review
Meaning of Review of Literature:
• The phrase ‘review of literature’ consists of two words: Review and
Literature.
• The term literature refers to the knowledge of a particular area of
investigation of any discipline which includes theoretical, practical and its
research studies.
• The term ‘review’ means to organize the knowledge of the specific area of
research to evolve a structure of knowledge to show that his/her study would be
an addition to this field.
• The task of review of literature is highly creative and tedious because
researcher has to synthesize the available knowledge of the field in a unique
way to provide the rationale for his study.
• In experimental research approaches, the literature is reviewed to create the
context from the past for the new study to be conducted with new subjects and
newly gathered data.
“In order to be creative and original, one must read extensively and critically as
a stimulus to thinking.”
3
 Literature review

• It’s something called `desk research’ because it may also include other
kinds of preliminary investigation that you can do sitting at your desk.
• Now, as you do your literature review, or desk research, you will almost
certainly think about changing your prima facie question.
• This is normal; don’t worry about it in fact it is more than normal; it is
necessary.
• It’s part of the clearing the ground process.

4
How do you do literature review?

???

5
 Reviewing the literature has two phases:
• The first phase includes
• identifying all the relevant published material in the problem
area/topic and
• reading that part of it with which we are
not thoroughly familiar.
We develop the foundation of ideas and
results on which our own study will be built.

6
This process can be classified into two categories:

(a) Preliminary Reading, for the birds eye view of the whole thing.
(b) Critical Reading: The references and material which seem useful as
a result of preliminary reading are noted down and are read critically
and serious evaluation of the available information and data.

7
• The second phase of the review of literature involves
• writing this foundation of ideas into a section of the research report.
This section is for the joint benefit of the researchers and readers.
For the researcher, it establishes the background in the
field.
For the readers it provides a summary of the thinking
and research necessary for them to understand the study.

8
 Literature review
Some Hints for Review of Literature:
When you are reading, you have to find out
information quickly. Do this in the following ways:

1. Use Google, Google Scholar and Google Books.

• With Google Scholar and Google Books
you can actually find bits of the book or
article that are probably the most relevant
for what you want to find out.

9
 Literature review
2. Speed read - don’t think you have to read every word.
• Many academic books are not well written and it would drive
you barmy to try to read and understand every word.
• ‘Gut’ articles and books by reading the abstract (in an
article) or the back cover (of a book), then skim through
quickly. Look for material that is relevant to your
question.
3. Always keep your question in mind as you do your reading, and ask:
• ‘How does this articles/book/source relate to my research
question?”

10
 Literature review
4. Copy and paste key bits into a word file.
• Recording where you found the work, the author, title and
other details and the key points.
• Put different reference in new paragraphs.

5. When you are in a webpage, use the Find facility (Ctrl F) to find key
words in the materials you are reading.

11
 Literature review

6. Always be critical of what you are reading. The person who wrote it is
only human, like you or me . If it doesn’t make sense, shout at it.
• Try reading it once more., but if it doesn’t make sense the
second time, move on quickly.
7. Use ‘sticky notes’ to highlight key pages of books and printed articles.
• Put the note at the place where the key text occurs on the
page.
8. Ask the librarian to show you how to use the most up-to-date way of
accessing articles from your home computer.

12
Where do you get literature?

???

13
 Literature review

Sources of Review of Literature

• There are various sources of literature which may

be used for this purpose. These sources can be
broadly classified into these heads.
(1) Books and Text-Books material.
(2) The Periodical literature, and
(3) General references

14
 Literature review
1. Books and Text books Material
• The most useful list of books published in the English
language is the Cumulative Book Index and Book Review
Index, Books Review Digest, Subject Guide to Books
indicates that books are in print or press or forthcoming books.
• National Union Catalogue is also useful for this purpose.
There are a number of publications that locate specific
references that cover particular area of knowledge.
• The Cumulative Book Index is published monthly to provide
the references, all books published in the English Language.

15
 Literature review
2. Periodicals
• A periodical is defined as a publication issued in successive parts, usually
at regular intervals, and as a rule, intended to be continued
indefinitely. These include Yearbook, Documents, almanacs, The
Cumulative Book Index, International Abstracts, Journals, Newspapers,
Magazines, International Index to Periodicals.
• Periodicals are generally placed in open shelves in the Periodical room.
Their effective use is predicted on the use of an index to identify the
articles on subject matter under the study.

16
 Literature review

• The Education Index has served as a comprehensive index of practically

all publications in the area of education.
• Education Index. New York, published monthly.
• Canadian Education Index, Ottawa published by the Council of Education.
• Current Index of Journals in Education, New York, it is published monthly.
• Index of Doctoral Dissertations International.
• Ann Arbor, it is published annually and consolidates all dissertations accepted
American, Canadian and European Universities.
• Bibliographic Index, New York, this guide indexes by subject current
bibliographies of published books and educational periodicals both in
English and in foreign languages.

17
 Literature review

3. Abstracts
• Another type of reference guide is the abstract, review, or digest.
• In addition to provide a systematized list of reference sources, it
includes a summary of the contents.
• ERIC Educational Documents Abstracts, Washington DE., this
annual publication includes abstracts of all reports which appeared in
Resources in Education for, the year.

18
 Literature review

4. Encyclopaedias
• Encyclopaedias provide concise information on a number of
subjects written by specialists.
• They provide a convenient source of information, and often
include illustrations and bibliographies.
• Only specialized encyclopaedias deal with restricted areas of
knowledge.

19
 Literature review

5. Almanacs, Handbooks, Yearbooks and Guides

• This general category of references includes those publications that
present rather detailed up-to-date information on a variety of
subjects, organized around a given theme.
• They are the types of references that one consults to find specific
information, often of a statistical nature.
• ‘World Almanac’ Book of Facts, New York: It is source of
miscellaneous information of various subjects.

20
 Literature review

6. Specialized Dictionaries
• There are specialized dictionaries of education/engineering which
includes terms, words and their meanings.
• ‘Dictionary of Education,’ New York: This educational dictionary
covers technical and professional terms. Foreign educational terms used
in comparative education writings are also included.

21
 Literature review

7. Newspaper
• The current newspapers provide up to-data information and speeches,
reports, conferences, new developments in field of engineering
education.
• The current events and educational news are also reported in newspapers.
• It is also one of the important sources of review of literature.

22
 Literature review
8. Other resources:
• Individuals, groups, and organizations;
• Opinions
• Observations, reports of findings, etc.
• Responses from agencies willing to supply reference
materials for research by mail.
• Unpublished information (reports, records, computer data bases)
• Statistics collected at the national, provincial and/or
departmental levels.
• Studies conducted in the country or region.

23
 Literature review

HINARY journal user name and p.word

Address: www.hinary.org
User name: Eth003
Password: 452SSS66

Invisible Web , please look at Research Beyond Google

article

JULS e-Resources can be accessed through:

http://www.ju.edu.et/library/e-resources ,

24
 Need of Review of Literature

The review of literature is essential due to the following reasons:

1. It is very essential for every investigator to be up-to-date in his
information about the literature, related to his own problem already
done by others.
2. It is considered the most important prerequisite to actual planning
and conducting the study.
3. The review of literature indicates the clear picture of the problem to
be solved.

25
4. It avoids the replication of the study of findings to take an advantage
from similar or related literature as regards, to methodology, techniques
of data collection, procedure adopted and conclusions drawn. He can
justify his own endeavor in the field.

5. It provides as source of problem of study, an analogy may be drawn

for identifying and selecting his own problem of research.
6. The researcher formulates his hypothesis on the basis of review of
literature.
7. It provides the rationale for the study. The results and findings of the
study can also be discussed at length.

26
• The literature review fills in the gaps in your knowledge, or indeed, it
may create some new gaps for you.

• In other words, the literature review helps you to refine your question.

27
 Literature review

The following precautions are to be taken:

1. Avoid intellectual dishonesty and guard against the temptation of
appropriating large portions of the work of another, without
acknowledging indebtedness. >>>>>> Plagiarism

2. Guard against being conditioned by the view point of an earlier

investigator and the temptation of blindly following his procedure.

28
 Literature review
3. In certain cases some studies have no needed to be repeated under
similar conditions in order to secure an adequate check on the results of
the first investigation.

4. Merely listing of previous studies without reviewing them or giving

their characteristics is not enough.
A very brief account of each investigation giving at
least the result, the method and the sources of data
and the year of research must be provided in the
chapter of a research report.

29
 Literature review

5. It is always helpful to arrange the previous studies in chronological

order so that the growth of the field is clearly known to the researcher
as well as to the readers.

N.B: The reviewing of literature is the continuous process.

A researcher begins the review of literature even before
selecting his problem of research.

30
Drawing Storyboards
• Once you have your information from your literature search you need to
make sense of it and to join it into a meaningful story.
• One of the big problems of students’ literature reviews is that they look like lists
(Jones says x; Smith says y; Katerina says Z) rather than stories.
• Your literature review should be more like a story than a list.
• You should be connecting this bit with that bit, saying how this fits but
that doesn’t, and showing how there is a theme (or not) through the
literature that you are reviewing.
• If, inconveniently, there is not a theme, say so. Suggest some reason
why might be.

connecting this
bit with that
31
bit
 What are they disagreeing ?
Say what you think.

JONES SMITH KATRIN

Jones says this Smith agrees Katrin says

BERND
Smith & Jones
are wrong
Bernd say’s he’s a genius …
& they’re all wrong
connecting this
bit with that
bit
32
 Drawing Storyboards

• Don’t be upset by the difference in opinion that you find. Take

pleasure in them, and use them to understand your field of study.
• As in any human endeavor there are disagreements,
competitions, conflicts, friendships and even cabals amongst
the professional research.
• Try to understand why these exist: try to create a story and explain the
story.
• Then, use your understanding to modify your initial
questions. You can then progress from here.

33
 Drawing Storyboards

• A storyboard helps you to get a mental map of the subject that you
intend to study.
• Just to illustrate the point: suppose that you are studying the utilization
of gravel as surface materials for Road projects. What was the design
parameters to apply gravel materials? This isn’t very clearly defined
issue or question as it stands.
• A storyboard will enable you to think about some of the issues
surrounding surface materials.

34
 Drawing Storyboards

Drawing storyboard is helpful to check whether the problem

and all major, directly contributing factors or major
components have been covered
Hint:
• Further quantifying and specifying the problem;
• Exploring the key factors or major groups of factors that, in
your opinion, might influence or cause the problem; and/or
• Any other major existing research activities

35
 Drawing Storyboards

• So, potential lines of reasoning open up to you as you do the work.

• As you have been doing your literature review and drawing
your storyboards you will have been thinking very hard
about your research topic /questions. You'll be able to say,
• “I want to do X”, or
• “No, I don't want to do X any more, I want to find out about Y.”

36
Making headway
• What you must now do is to establish and make clear how
your argument will proceed.
• The first thing to do in setting out your likely argument is to
establish the problem in the ground that you have cleared.
• You have straightened things out a bit. Now you can be
clear about where the issues lie.
Statement of the problem
• Heart of the research !
• Indicate why and how it is a problem
• Must indicate exactly what the problem is and supported by
relevant and updated literature
• This should be derived from background/from literature
information to illustrate connectivity
37
Making headway
Finding an angle
• This is often the weakest point in student research (and, indeed, much research
conducted by professional researchers and academics).
• I call it the 'so what?' problem ...
• Example: You are looking at the “use of cohesive soil in Road construction.” So
what? You are looking at “how Swelling occur in Condominium buildings/houses.”
So what? You are looking at “the economic impact of ring Road.” So what?
• The topic has to be interesting and meaningful to the reader:
it has to relate to some thing that clearly will benefit from research, so that no
one can say 'So what?'
• Your question therefore has to be set in a context that establishes an issue or an
'angle' on a theme.
• Once you know where the issue is you can promise a way of looking at it.
38
Making headway
Significance of the study: Angle, rationale, justification, or
motivation
• Define the reasons behind the selection of this research topic
• Should illustrate why the researcher is conducting the
selected topic and whom it shall benefit
• The opening context will contain some common ground on
which everyone can agree.
• The problem or 'angle' contains two parts:
• (i) some missing evidence contradictory reasoning, and
• (ii) the consequences of not having an answer.
• The response concerns your promise of a solution.
Opening context Problem or angle stated Response

39
Making headway
What’s missing?
What doesn’t Promise a solution
make sense?

• Opening context Problem or angle stated Response

Common What are the

ground consequences of not
knowing? That is to
say, ‘who cares?’ or
‘So what?’
Where does this toing and froing appear in your project write-up?

You will be outlining points (common ground, problems, significance, and promise a
solution) in your Introduction chapter. Then , write at the end of your literature review,
40
Reference citation

Introduction
• When you are writing your thesis proposal and report you are required
to refer to the work of other authors.
• Each time you do so, it is necessary to identify their work by making
reference to it in text and reference list
• This practice of acknowledging authors is known as referencing.
• References must be provided whenever you use someone else’s
opinions, theories, data or organization of material
• A reference is required if you:
• quote (use someone else’s exact words)
• copy (use figures, tables or structure)
• paraphrase (convert someone else’s ideas into your own words)
• summarize (use a brief account of someone else’s ideas).
Why should you reference?
References enhance your writing and assist your reader by:
• strengthening your academic argument
• showing the reader the source of your information
• allowing the reader to consult your sources independently
• allowing the reader to verify your data.
• Quick guidance to referencing
• The following simple flowchart assists you to cite your
research properly.
-----

• ..
Methods of Citations:
Which referencing system should you use?

1. Vancouver System

• Consecutive numbers are used in the text to indicate the references.

• Then at the end of the paper or chapter (of a book) the references will be listed
in that order, using the format described below:

• For a journal article, the following elements should be presented in this order:

For an article:

• Author(s)’ Surname followed by Initials. Title of article. Name of Journal. Year;

Volume (number): page numbers of article.

Example:

• Alex E. Effects of heat on polymer based devices. International Journal of Polymer

Engineering. 2003; 1(2):59-62.
44
References citation:
For a book:
• Author(s)’ Surname followed by initials. Title of book. Edition. Place:
Publisher; Year.
Example:
• Todd J and Lauria DB. Metallurgy Engineering. 4th ed.
Rostock. Churchill Livingstone; 1998.
For a chapter in a book:
• Author(s) of the chapter Surname(s) followed by initials.
Chapter title. In: Editor(s) of book Surname(s) followed by
initials, eds. Title of book. Place: Publisher, Year; Page
numbers of chapter.
Example:
• Briggs C, Flick U and Stringer ET. Ceramic-based
construction materials. In: Boerma T and Bennett J (eds).
Material Sciences Engineering. Amsterdam: KIT Press,
1999; p. 51-68.
45
References citation:
2. Harvard System

• References are referred more fully in the text, putting the surname of the author
and year of publication referred to between brackets, e.g., (Alemayehu, 2011).

• In this system of citation, the references at the end of the proposal should be
listed in alphabetical order and publication year comes following authors
name in brackets.

Example – For a book :

• Todd J and Lauria DB (1998). Metallurgy Engineering. 4th

ed. Rostock. Churchill Livingstone.

46
 Journal Article

Author(s)’ Surname
followed by Initials Year Title of the article

Bos, M.G. and Wolters, W. (1990). Irrigation Dam

failure in South west Ethiopia. Journal of Irrigation
Engineering
9(4), 267–278.
Title of the Journal
Volume Page
Issue number numbers
References citation: text
Vancouver System Example
• Among the most abundant volcanic rocks include Pumice and Scoria [1].
These rocks are abundant in Europe, Central America, Southeast Asia and
East Africa [2]. The Ethiopian Rift Valley, which covers around 30 % of the
area of the country, has several of these cinder cones and lava fields [3].
Harvard System
• Among the most abundant volcanic rocks include Pumice and Scoria
(Bryan, 2004). These rocks are abundant in Europe, Central America,
Southeast Asia and East Africa (Moufti, et al., 2000). The Ethiopian Rift
Valley, which covers around 30 % of the area of the country, has several of
these cinder cones and lava fields (Assefa, 1984).
• “et al.” is a scholarly abbreviation of the Latin phrase et alia, which
means “and others.” It is commonly used when you don’t want to
name all the people or things in a list, and works in roughly the same
way as “etc.”
• The “al.” in this phrase needs a period after it to indicate it is an
abbreviation of alia, but it is incorrect to put a period after “et.”
48
 Ways of citing: text
• When you cite sources of information in the text of your report —
regardless of whether you quote, copy, paraphrase or
summarize—you should include:
• the author’s surname (family name)
• the year of publication (latest edition)
• page numbers when directly quoting or closely paraphrasing
an author’s words/material
• correct punctuation and spacing

• There are two ways of citing references:

• author prominent and
• information prominent
Author prominent
• This way gives prominence to the author by using the author’s surname (family
name) as part of your sentence with the date and the page number in parentheses
(round brackets).
Direct quote example
• Cowie (1996, p. 91) argues that ‘socialism rejected the liberal ideals of
individualism and competition’.
Paraphrase example
• Cowie (1996) suggests that unlike capitalism, socialism promotes the good of the
whole before the good of the individual.
Information prominent
• The other way of citing references gives prominence to the information, with all
the required referencing details in parentheses at the end of the citation.
Direct quote example
• It has been argued that ‘socialism rejected the liberal ideals of individualism and
competition’ (Cowie 1996, p. 91).
Paraphrase example
• Unlike capitalism, socialism promotes the good of the whole before the good of the
individual (Cowie 1996).
References citation: list
Example
Vancouver System:
[1] Bryan, S.E. Pumice rafting and faunal dispersion during 2001 – 2002 in the
Southwest Pacific: record of a dacitic submarine explosive eruption from Tonga,
Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 2004; 135-154.
[2] Moufti, M.R., Sabtan, A.A., El-Mahdy, O.R., Shehata, W.M. Assessment of the
industrial utilization of scoria materials in central Harrat, Soudi Arabia,
Engineering Geology. 2000; 57 (2): 155-162.
[3] Assefa, G. The mineral industry of Ethiopia: present conditions and future
prospects. Journal of African Earth Sciences. 1984; 3(3): 331-345.

Harvard System:
Assefa, G. (1984). The mineral industry of Ethiopia: present conditions and future
prospects. Journal of African Earth Sciences. 3(3): 331-345.
Bryan, S.E. (2004). Pumice rafting and faunal dispersion during 2001 – 2002 in
the Southwest Pacific: record of a dacitic submarine explosive eruption from
Tonga. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 135-154.
Moufti, M.R., Sabtan, A.A., El-Mahdy, O.R., Shehata, W.M. (2000).
Assessment of the industrial utilization of scoria materials in central Harrat, Soudi
Arabia. Engineering Geology. 57 (2): 155-162.

51
Avoiding Plagiarism

(this part was mostly taken from University of Califonia (UC), Davis,
credits: Office of Student Judicial Affairs, September 2006, UC,
Davis, USA)

52
 Introduction
• In writing, we draw upon others’ words and ideas and the intellectual
heritage underlying human progress.

• Scholarship entails researching, understanding, and building upon

the work of others, but also requires that proper credit be given for
any “borrowed” material.

53
Introduction

54
What is Plagiarism ?
• Plagiarism means using another’s work without
giving credit.

• “Work” includes the words and ideas of others, as well

as art, graphics, computer programs, music, and other
creative expression.

• The work may consist of writing, charts, data, graphs, pictures, diagrams,
websites, movies, TV broadcasts, or other communication media.

55
The term “source” includes
published sources – books, magazines, newspapers,
textbooks, websites, movies, photos, paintings, plays
etc
unpublished sources - materials from research service,
blogs, class handouts, lectures, notes, speeches, or other
students’ papers.

• Using words, ideas, computer code, or any work

without giving proper credit is plagiarism.
!
56
• Any time you use information from a source, of any kind, you must cite
it.

57
58
Citation methods

• One citation method is to identify the source in the text,

• putting the author’s last name and publication year in
parenthesis and giving the page number where the cited
information appears. (Alemayehu, 2015, p. 66).
• The author’s name links the reader to a list at the end
of the paper giving full publishing information.
• Example:
• Alemayehu, E. Scientific Research Methods. Lecture Note,
Jimma University, 2015; pp. 62-70.

59
 Citation methods

• Two other methods are footnotes and endnotes, which

use raised numbers at the end of an idea or quoted
words to link the reader to the source which is given
either at the bottom of the page (footnote) or at the
end of the paper (endnote).

• For all three methods, you must include the source in

a reference list at the end of the paper, fully
identifying each source by author’s name, title,
publisher’s name, year of publication, and page
numbers.

60
 Citation methods

• Citation to electronic resources such as websites

should include the exact URL / URI, the date last
revised, and any available information about the writer,
publisher and/or creator of the site.
Example:
• UC Berkeley Teaching Library Internet Workshops “Style
Sheets for Citing Resources (Print & Electronic)” at
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Style.html

61
Why be concerned about plagiarism?

62
Why be concerned about plagiarism?

1. If you plagiarize, you are cheating yourself.

•You do not learn to write out your thoughts

in your own words, and

•You will not receive specific feedback from

your instructor geared to your individual
needs and skills.

63
 Why be concerned about plagiarism?
2. Plagiarism is dishonest and/or misleading, because it misrepresents
the work of another as your own.

3. Plagiarism violates the Code of Academic Conduct and can lead to

Suspension or Dismissal.

64
 Why be concerned about plagiarism?

4. Plagiarism devalues others’ original work.

• Using and submitting a professional work as your own is
taking an unfair advantage over students who do their own
work.

5. It is wrong to take or use property (an author’s

work) with out giving the owner the credit due.
• Further copyright violations can results in damages, fines, or
worse.

65
How can you avoid plagiarism?

66
 How can you avoid plagiarism?

Know what plagiarism is: ignorance will not excuse

a violation.
• Intentional plagiarism, such as
• deliberate copying or use another’s work without
credit,
• submitting a paper from the internet as one’s own,

! • or altering or falsifying citations to hide a sources

is very serious, likely to result in Suspension.

67
 How can you avoid plagiarism?
Know what plagiarism is …

• Unintentional plagiarism, may result from

 not knowing how to cite sources properly,
 sloppy research and note-taking, or

!
 careless cutting and pasting from electronic resources –
it is still a violation of the Code of Academic Conduct and
subject to discipline.

68
 Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism

1. Use your own words and ideas

•Practice is essential to learning !

•Each time you choose your words, order
your thoughts, and convey your ideas, you
can improve your writing.

69
Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism
2. Give credit for copied, adapted, or paraphrased
material
• If you copy and use another’s exact words, you must use
quotation marks and cite the source.
• If you adapt a chart or paraphrase a sentence, you must still
cite your source.

Paraphrasing is restating the author's ideas, information, and

meaning in your own words.

70
 How can you avoid plagiarism?

Paraphrase vs. Plagiarism

Original Source:
‘Highway engineers …must take into account future
traffic flows, design of highway …
intersections/interchanges, geometric alignment and
design, highway pavement materials and design. … He
or she must also consider the structural design of
pavement thickness, and pavement maintenance.’1

1Rogers, Martin (2002). Highway engineering. Oxford, UK: Blackwell

Science. ISBN 978-0-632-05993-5.

71
 How can you avoid plagiarism?
Original Source:
‘Highway engineers …must take into account future traffic
flows, design of highway … intersections/interchanges,
geometric alignment and design, highway pavement
materials and design. … He or she must also consider the
structural design of pavement thickness, and pavement
maintenance.’1

• Student Version A
Highway engineers must take into account future traffic
flows, design of highway intersections/interchanges,
geometric alignment, structural design of pavement
thickness, and pavement maintenance.

72
 How can you avoid plagiarism?
• Student Version A -- Plagiarism

Highway engineers must take into account future traffic

flows, design of highway intersections/interchanges,
geometric alignment, structural design of pavement
thickness, and pavement maintenance.

This is plagiarism; the student has combined copied

pieces of the author’s language, without quotation
marks or citations.

73
 How can you avoid plagiarism?
Original Source:
‘Highway engineers …must take into account future traffic
flows, design of highway … intersections/interchanges,
geometric alignment and design, highway pavement
materials and design. … He or she must also consider the
structural design of pavement thickness, and pavement
maintenance.’1

• Student Version B
Highway engineers must take into account stream of
traffic, design of highway intersections, geometric
orientation, structural design of pavement thickness, and
maintenance. (Martin).

74
 How can you avoid plagiarism?
• Student Version B – Improper paraphrase, also
plagiarism

Highway engineers must take into account stream of traffic,

design of highway intersections, geometric orientation,
structural design of pavement thickness, and maintenance.
(Martin)

This is plagiarism because the student has woven together

sentences and switched a few words (“stream of traffic” for
“future traffic flow,” “orientation” for “alignment”) has left
out some words, and has given an incomplete and
inaccurate citation.

75
 How can you avoid plagiarism?
Original Source:
‘Highway engineers …must take into account future traffic
flows, design of highway … intersections/interchanges,
geometric alignment and design, highway pavement
materials and design. … He or she must also consider the
structural design of pavement thickness, and pavement
maintenance.’1

• Student Version C
The author believed that highway engineers should
considered all the relevant engineering parameters in
design and maintenance of highway pavements (Rogers,
2002).

76
 How can you avoid plagiarism?
• Student Version C – Appropriate paraphrase, not
plagiarism
The author believed that highway engineers should
considered all the relevant engineering parameters in
design and maintenance of highway pavements
(Rogers, 2002).

This student has paraphrased using his/her own

words, accurately reflecting and citing the author’s
idea.

77
 How can you avoid plagiarism?
Original Source:
‘Highway engineers …must take into account future traffic
flows, design of highway … intersections/interchanges,
geometric alignment and design, highway pavement
materials and design. … He or she must also consider the
structural design of pavement thickness, and pavement
maintenance.’1

• Student Version D
The author discussed that “Highway engineers …must
take into account future traffic flows, design of highway
… structural design of pavement thickness, and pavement
maintenance.(Rogers, 2002)”.

78
 How can you avoid plagiarism?
• Student Version D – Quotation with cite, not plagiarism

The author discussed that “Highway engineers

…must take into account future traffic flows, design
of highway … structural design of pavement
thickness, and pavement maintenance.(Rogers,
2002)”.

By introducing his source, the student signals that the

following material is from that source.
Verbatim words are in quotation marks, omitted words are
marked by ellipses (…), and the original source of the quote
is cited.

79
 Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism

3. Avoid using others work with miner “cosmetic”

changes.
• Example:
• using “less” for “fewer,”
• reversing the order of a sentence,
• changing terms in a computer code, or
• altering a spreadsheet layout.
• If the work is essentially the same as your source, give
credit.

80
 Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism

4. There are no “freebies.”

Always cite words, information and ideas that you use if they are new to
you (learned in your research).

No matter where you find it – even in on the Internet or in an encyclopedia

– you cite it!

81
 Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism

5. Beware of “common knowledge.”

You may not have to cite “common knowledge,” but the

fact must be commonly known.
e.g. That Jimma University is situated in Southwest of
Ethiopia in Jimma town is common knowledge

6. When in doubt, cite.

Better to be safe than not give credit when you should!

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