Plagiarism: Who is doing it and what has happened to them?

Scholars:

• Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin
  • Source: Martin Arnold, “Historians Who Resort to Cutting and Pasting,”The New York Times, February 28, 2002, B1, B3
  • Result: public censure
• Historian Stephen Ambrose
  • Source: Martin Arnold, “Historians Who Resort to Cutting and Pasting,”The New York Times, February 28, 2002, B1, B3
  • Result: public censure

Newspaper reporters:

• San Francisco Chronicle Editor Dean Wakefield
  • Source: Dwight Garner, “Beg, Borrow, or Steal,” Salon.com
  • Result: fired from job
• Associated Press Reporter Christopher Newton
  • Source: Felicity Barringer “Wire Service Says Reporter it Fired Inventer His Sources.” The New York Times, October 22, 2002
  • Result: fired from job

• New York Times Reporter Jayson Blair
  • Source: Dan Barry et al. “CORRECTING THE RECORD; Times Reporter Who Resigned Leaves Long Trail of Deception.” NYT May 11, 2003, Sunday
  • Result: fired from job

College professors and presidents:

• Hastings College President Richard E. Hoover
  • Source: Denise K. Magner, “Plagiarism Charge Prompts President of Hastings College to Retire,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 3, 2000, A39.
  • Result: retired under duress

• SUNY-Albany Classics Chair Louis W. Roberts
  • Source: Sharon Walsh, “SUNY-Albany Classicist Loses Chairmanship After Being Accused Of Plagiarism,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 8, 2002, A12.
  • Result: lost chairship

Politicians:

• Delaware Senator Joseph Biden
  • Accused of delivering, without attribution, passages from a speech by British Labor party leader Neil Kinnock during campaign speeches for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination.
  • Source: Joseph Biden’s Plagiarism; Michael Dukakis’s ‘Attack Video’ – 1988.
  • Result: compromised presidential campaign
• Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Office
  • Admitted copying material from published sources. “Jane’s Information Group, the company that publishes journals and articles about military affairs, said three of its pieces had appeared uncredited in a British government dossier on Iraq.
  • Source: “Group: Articles Copied in British Dossier, The Associate Press, February 8, 2003 New York Times.
  • Result: public embarrassment

College students:

Limited published information on specific students exists. Anecdotal evidence suggests that cheating in college is rampant. Studies suggest that colleges and universities with honor codes have less of a cheating problem then schools without them.

Donald McCabe and Linda Klebe Treviño. “Honesty and Honor Codes.” Academe On-line. September-October 2002. Vol 88 #5.,

“New Research on Academic Integrity: The Success of ‘modified’ Honor Codes.” College Administration Publications, Inc.,

Muha, Dave. “Cheating, When Students Cheat.” Rutgers Focus. March 17,

“Maryland: 6 University Students Admit Cheating.” The New York Times. Friday January 31, 2003 A19.

Results: failing grades for assignments and courses, expulsion from school

High school students:

Limited published information on specific students exists. Anecdotal evidence suggests that cheating in High school is rampant.

Brigid Schulte, “Cheatin’, Writin’ & ‘Rithmetic”, The Washington Post, September 15, 2002

Katie Hafner, “Lessons in the School of Cut and Paste”, New York Times, June 28, 2001

Results: failing grades for assignments and courses