# Can You Plagiarize Yourself? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 10, 2017, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-plagiarize-yourself/779505 "2017-02-10T22:53:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2017, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-plagiarize-yourself/779505/41 "2017-02-19T05:37:39Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > that is perfectly safe from copyright lawsuits Nothing is safe from lawsuits. There is no mechanism to filter that a copyright lawsuit doesn’t have merit and gets stamped and returned to sender. Maybe on fictional TV shows they resolve things quickly, but not in real life. That’s what the court system is for, which is time consuming, expensive and stressful. If you “ripped off” someone else’s work in any way, you can expect a lawsuit. Even if you didn’t intentionally rip them off, you can still expect a lawsuit. ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2017, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-plagiarize-yourself/779505/42 "2017-02-19T05:44:39Z")
> [@snoe](#): > > Here’s a self-plagiarism scenario: student turns in the same essay/project in two different courses. (Less easy to get away with today than when I was a youth, but let’s say the profs aren’t using the same online plagiarism checkers.) > It seems obvious to me that this would violate the usual norms of academic integrity, but the more I try to figure out why that’s the case, the less sure I am that it’s really a _plagiarism_ case at heart. > Are we expecting the student to provide a citation saying “this entire paper was written by me last year for another class?” (I don’t remember an MLA or Turabian citation format for _school assignments,_ although now I’m sure there will turn out to be several variations.) If a student is given the same assignment from two different classes and they are the original author of the work, there is nothing wrong with turning it in to both classes without mention of the other. There would be no reason to do this nor would the professors from either class care. If anything it would embarrass the professors they are offering redundant assignments to students. If you wrote a term paper in high school on honey bees and are now doing research on honey bees in graduate school, it would be to the author’s benefit to cite their high school term paper or at least mention it. I don’t think any sane person in academic would consider this on the same level of scandal such as cheating on an exam or turning in work that wasn’t your own. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2017, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-plagiarize-yourself/779505/43 "2017-02-19T09:08:30Z")
Really, you people would cite a high school term paper in your graduate school project? Your writing style would surely have improved, your knowledge would have greatly expanded–otherwise why be in school? But in any case it would not be plagiarism, which is taking someone else’s written expression and pretending it’s your own expression. Check the definition. Appropriating someone else’s words. If a student turns in the same paper for two different classes, that may very well be academic cheating, but it isn’t plagiarism. Of course definitions can change but “self-plagiarism” is a lazy construct that kind of sounds like an oxymoron. Also re: Cairo Carol’s consultant, I had to laugh, because I did some work for an engineering consulting company and they had whole libraries of boilerplate for various situations, which was used for multiple clients who had the same or similar situations, and why not? I have no idea if anyone complained but I don’t see why they would. If the situation was the same, the conclusions would be the same, and the consultant was paid for the conclusion and for knowing when and how to apply it. If they got that right, why should the client care if they did the original research on the same topic for a previous client? And it seems like SafeAssign is soon going to run into the million-monkey rule. I actually ran into something like this once. I was about 3/4 of the way through a 3000-word article on a guy and his business when he sent me a pile of stuff previously published about him and the business. One of them, in fact written by a friend and colleague of mine, took exactly the same slant I was taking, and even had some of the same direct quotes from the guy, because apparently he said exactly the same thing every time he sat down in front of a writer and answered questions, and they were the typical questions anyone would think of asking. So I had to rethink and rewrite my piece, which in theory should have made it better. But I don’t think it did. ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-plagiarize-yourself/779505/44 "2017-02-20T04:19:48Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Really, you people would cite a high school term paper in your graduate school project? Your writing style would surely have improved, your knowledge would have greatly expanded–otherwise why be in school? Yes, if it is related to the research topic and this is your passion. If in the previous paper you interviewed a famous scientist who’s research is now part of your graduate students, you’d be stupid to leave it out because it adds some dynamic to your work that others don’t have. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-plagiarize-yourself/779505/45 "2017-02-20T13:05:56Z")
This is a topic I have some immediate interest in. I am writing a survey paper. It’s not supposed to contain new material, it’s supposed to summarize accepted material as a teaching aid. I have copyright permissions to use several existing papers. I copied extensively from those papers, one of which I wrote. I tried to be careful to footnote the material I copied. I debated whether to footnote my own paper, and decided that was appropriate. But I’m curious what others think. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-plagiarize-yourself/779505/46 "2017-02-20T13:13:09Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Let’s say you publish an academic paper about Topic X, and your paper includes a few paragraphs about a related side issue, relevant to your research. Years later, you’re working on an academic paper about Topic Y, and your few paragraphs about the related side issue are just as relevant as they were years ago. If you lift your own passages, word for word, without attribution, have you committed plagiarism? NO, not always. Its akin to releasing the second addition of a book. You don’t have to say “This part remained unchanged from edition one” anywhere. What people are saying about “you should credit it” MIGHT be true. - The other authors may want to be credited again, and their contribution made clear - IF the institute/workplace/corporation/club/society is different between original and reuse, the old context should probably be credited. So you should probably make it a reference , the proper place for credits in the academic context. - Or, if its possible that a reader might decide that the statements are not self-supporting, they must be supported by some other material. Eg if you quote the conclusion of the paper, (surely its the conclusion ??? I here the cry now… Perhaps, perhaps not.) then its based on the results or perhaps references of the previous paper… You surely should provide the reference to support that. But just because its a cut and paste ? No Ill do a cut and paste 1+1=2. Where did I just cut and paste that from ? should I reference it ? As there are no “second editions” is academic papers,its actually very often done that the original paper is cut and paste… AIM ? cut and paste Method ? cut and paste , perhaps a correcting or clarifying addition put in. It could be the results that are reworked. or perhaps just the conclusion… It would seem to be that the conclusion might be the place to mention the previous paper and explain why this paper has so much to duplicate. "A previous paper, produced such and a such a conclusion but it was erroneous because… " ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-plagiarize-yourself/779505/47 "2017-02-20T15:20:26Z")
> [@edwardcoast](#): > > Nothing is safe from lawsuits. Well, obviously, but _in the context of nothing being absolutely safe from lawsuits_, plagiarizing in a way which does not violate copyright law is as safe as most things. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-plagiarize-yourself/779505/48 "2017-02-20T17:22:54Z")
I know someone whose undergraduate thesis turned into his doctoral dissertation. Of course, “turned into” does not mean verbatim copying and doubtless wasn’t. Still I don’t think he had any obligation to cite his undergrad thesis. For one thing it was not published, so it would have been a useless citation. Just remember that the first reason for citation is that the reader can go read the place cited. Giving the authors credit is a secondary reason. And if you are that author, it can get pointless. I know at least some people who are into citation counting and all too ready to cite themselves. Insofar as plagiarism is illegal copying, my answer to the OP is a clear NO. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-plagiarize-yourself/779505/49 "2017-02-20T17:35:47Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Insofar as plagiarism is illegal copying … which it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-plagiarize-yourself/779505/50 "2017-02-20T23:49:15Z")
> [@GMANCANADA](#): > > If you had an A on a first year paper and resubmitted it in 4th year and got another A, I’d be surprised but also very disappointed by the professor or school - they are clearly not doing a good job teaching, developing assignments and/or grading. > > Speaking only for myself and the school’s I’ve taught (and still teach) at and as someone who teaches both 1st and 4th year courses, the expectations of 1st versus 4th years are dramatically different. > > First years are expected to primarily display “knowledge” which is basic factual understanding, typically based on memorization of facts and definitions. By fourth year they’re expected to have “evaluative” understanding. This is being able to look at new situations and interpret data and apply previous 'knowledge" to new situations to make decisions, judgments or new hypotheses on that data. > > These categories are not randomly developed, they’re based on "Bloom’s Taxonomy"and have been used everywhere I’ve every taught as a formal standard to develop assessments. [Bloom's taxonomy - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom's_taxonomy) > > … Pleased as I am to be acknowledged for my taxonomy, to my shame I regurgitated a portion of one paper in grad school for another. In that case, FWIW, the minimally recast material was added gravy, so to speak, for extra impressiveness. My Professor to her credit smelled a rat, but didn’t pursue it. Published Experts are not immune for this (leaving aside the usual dissertation–\>first book deal); they soon become known as Published Lazy Scholars, and are treated accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-plagiarize-yourself/779505/51 "2017-02-21T01:44:54Z")
Mr. Bloom - I applaud your honesty and forthrightness in dealing with this awkward situation. My hat is off to you!! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-plagiarize-yourself/779505.md?page=2)