Plagiarism in PhD Thesis: How to Avoid and Check It

The increase in academic documents being plagiarized is like a plague that is spreading nationwide. The newer generation finds it easier to cheat or even copy someone else’s writings in order to gain marks and good grades. Using the internet and googling every second has made an individual too dependent on the tech world.  

The task of lifting a book and going through the index, flickering through the pages to find the exact essay you were looking at, seems like a task which physically excruciates you. What researchers know is that plagiarism is a harmful practice especially in reference to the PhD thesis but as no one is physically harmed in the process, but something that is acceptable. This also harms the academic institution’s integrity and reputation.  

This article explores plagiarism in PhD thesis- types, how can one avoid it, ways of writing thesis without plagiarism, and even the role of thesis writing services. 

Table Of Content

What is PhD and PhD Thesis Writing? 

The full form of PhD is Doctor of Philosophy. It is one of the highest academic degrees that one can achieve. PhD is a research work-based degree on any discipline and research topic you want to work on. The duration of a PhD is 3-5 years depending on the country and the university you are enrolled in. A master’s degree with any specialization is an important eligibility criterion for the same. 

Thesis Writing is a research-based writing required for a PhD degree. It is research based on your original research. It is one of the longest academic writings with a word limit of 60,000-1,00,000 expanding across 150 to 300 pages or more. 

What is Plagiarism? 

Presenting work or ideas from another source, with or without the consent of the original author, by incorporating it into your own work without any kind of acknowledgement is plagiarism. Plagiarism can also include re-using your work without any citation.  

For the longest time, the fields of academia have always been standing on their course of truthfulness and originality that they provide. But, with the newer times and plagiarism, all the values of an academic institution and degree are losing their hard-earned reputation. An individual would not want to hold an academic degree which can be given and gained by many with the help of copying.  

Types of Plagiarism 

There are different types of plagiarism and have an equal amount of violation in academic writings like PhD thesis. Below mentioned are some: 

1.Direct Plagiarism: It refers to the word-to-word transcription of someone else’s work without even applying quotation marks. This is a deliberate attempt to plagiarize someone’s work without even giving them credit. Disciplinary Actions can be taken which can also lead to expulsion in the universities and other academic institutions.
2. Self-Plagiarism: Self Plagiarism can happen when a student submits or uses his/her previous work, without the permission of the university professor. It is your own work but without citing it one can self-plagiarize it mistakenly. For example, an individual who wrote a poem in high school submits the same poem in college. Then, the chances of their work being called self-plagiarized are more.
3. Mosiac Plagiarism: Mosiac Plagiarism or Patch Writing refers to when an individual does not wholly copy the author’s work but uses similar general structure while just changing the phrases. Whether it is exceptional or not, this is an academic dishonor even if you footnote your source.
4. Accidental Plagiarism: Accidental Plagiarism refers to when a person neglects to cite the sources, misquote their sources, or unintentionally paraphrase a source by using similar words, phrases, or even sentence structure.  

Why is Plagiarism bad in PhD Thesis? 

Plagiarism is bad in any academic writing, especially in PhD Thesis. Plagiarism allows an individual to steal someone’s work without any consent and without being afraid of the dire consequences.   

PhD is a part of your scholarly conversation as it gives a gist of all the research work done by an individual in the span of 2-5 years. It shows that you were inspired by other people as mentioned in your citation and not that you copied someone’s work. 

For an individual who is pursuing a PhD, using Plagiarism in their PhD thesis might be thrown out of their degree as PhD works on the core value of research and originality. It promises to present something new.  

How to Avoid Plagiarism in PhD Thesis? 

Avoiding plagiarism is not as hard as an individual believes. One can avoid plagiarism if they make up their mind about it. Below are some steps to avoid plagiarism in PhD thesis: 

1.Cite your Sources accurately: When you are explaining an idea or a concept that is not your own, make sure to cite the source. One can cite by mentioning the full name of the source, publication date, name of the publisher of that source and other common criteria.
2. Include Quotations: Putting double inverted commas or quotation is not that much of a hard work. It is, in fact, one of the easiest works done to avoid plagiarism in PhD thesis. Make sure to revise your PhD thesis as it goes by and put quotations wherever necessary.
3. Paraphrasing: One can often paraphrase the paragraph or even a line correctly, without changing its meaning to make it free from plagiarism. But it is also important to look out as when paraphrasing is not done rightly, it leads to plagiarism.
4. Using a Plagiarism Checker: If a researcher is adamant to use a phrase or a sentence that they resonate with in their PhD thesis, they can do so and check through plagiarism checker. In most of the universities, 10-12% of plagiarism is allowed in PhD levels to help a researcher cite through their sources. But it truly depends on universities. 

Role of Thesis Writing Services 

Thesis Writing Services are professional services that help a student or a researcher pursuing PhD to provide partial or full assistance for the clients on the basis of their needs. With the help of PhD thesis writing services, an individual can also check and avoid plagiarism. 

Most of the services provided by them are stated below through which plagiarism in PhD thesis can be omitted: 

• Editing and Proofreading 
• Formatting Support 
• Plagiarism Checking 
• Guidance in Writing Skills and other tasks as well.

Thesis Statement and Literature Review: Pillars of Originality 

Thesis Statement is something that cannot be plagiarized as it is a one-line statement indicating what your PhD thesis consists of. An individual is free to take inspirations but avoid using vague or old statements. In addition to that, an original thesis statement helps in better understanding of the thesis. 

Literature Review refers to analyzing and evaluating the existing information on the PhD thesis topic in the form of novels, journals, essays, and research work. But it exceeds beyond the art of informing individuals about the existing literary data. A researcher can intentionally or unintentionally plagiarize the literature review, thereby making it important to cite the source properly.  

Conclusion 

Writing a PhD thesis is not an easy task, it requires a lot of research work which might tire an individual. But plagiarizing is not the solution either. One can continuously use freewriting sessions to help them in clearing out their minds. Along with that, even if an individual suspects plagiarism in their PhD thesis, they can revise, rephrase and even cite the sources. One can also opt for Thesis Writing Servies which can help in a faster and easier way. The answer is never plagiarism. 

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