Is Transcription a Type of Plagiarism When Writing a Dissertation
Writing a dissertation needs novice researchers to clearly understand the dos and don’ts of academic writing. The majority of the time, students receive lectures on the fundamentals of research before starting their research carrier. However, they often neglect to pay attention to things that are vital to avoid for maintaining the dissertation quality. This article aims to focus on a similar issue. It will discuss whether the process of transcription of data in research lies under the umbrella of plagiarism. To draw useful consequences on this interesting topic, we will discuss the concept of transcription, the concept of plagiarism, and their types and compare both processes to draw useful consequences.
What is transcription when writing a dissertation?
Transcription is the process of conversion of data from one form to another form. Usually, in research, transcription refers to the translation of interviews and responses of participants recorded in the form of audio into formal written text. Stated in another way, transcription is the act of providing a written account of the spoken words. It is a straightforward technical task. The process one should use for transcription depends on the results one needs to extract. Dissertation writing mainly consists of two steps: research and analysis. Research merely depends on how you collect data (experiment, interviews, audio, or video). You can get dissertation help online if you are unable to collect the data properly. Once you collect the data, the next step must be transcribing it into accurate text. This process refers to the transcription that is an essential part of the analysis when writing a dissertation.
1.1 Difference between transcription and translation:
Whenever we talk about transcription, we must not confuse it with translation. Transcription and translation are two different concepts in writing a dissertation. There is a very fine line of differences between the two. As described earlier, transcription is the process of converting audio recording, video recording, and spoken words into written language. Concurrently, translation is the process of converting the source language text into the desired language. It is clear from this definition that in translation, the text can be translated into a written form. However, for transcription, more than one form of information is involved (audio to written and written to audio).
What are the two types of transcription?
Broadly, transcription can be of two types: Phonetic transcription and orthographic transcription. Phonetic transcription considers the phonological and phonetic properties of a language. It takes into account the rules for mapping an individual’s sound of words. Alongside, orthographic transcription considers the rules for mapping verbal words to the written text.
What is plagiarism?
After reviewing the meaning of the word transcription in writing a dissertation and its type, it is time to quickly review the basics of the concept of plagiarism as well. As a matter of course, plagiarism is the act of presenting someone else’s work without properly acknowledging the original author. The rule applies to all published, unpublished, printed, and electronic forms of literature. Merriam-Webster dictionary uses several terms as a synonym of the word ‘plagiarise,’ such as:
- To use something without mentioning the name of the author
- To pass off and steal an individual’s data
- To declare an idea as your intellectual property that does not belong to you
- To commit literary theft
To put it simply, plagiarism is simply the act of academic fraud.
What are the six most important types of plagiarism?
Typically, students think they may commit the act of plagiarism only when they directly copy and paste someone’s assignment or ideas. Yes, this is one of the examples of plagiarism. However, there are several other types of plagiarism as well. Knowing about each may help you understand further whether transcription is a type of plagiarism in writing a dissertation or not.
Direct plagiarism:
The type of plagiarism we have just described is an example of direct plagiarism. It is simply the process of copying someone else’s work.
Self-plagiarism:
Reusing content from your manuscript repeatedly is another type of plagiarism, i.e., self-plagiarism. It often occurs to professional writers whose duty is to write at least eight hours daily.
Accidental plagiarism:
This type of plagiarism occurs on its own. In this case, you do not know that you are plagiarising someone. It happens when you forget to mention your source or when your thought accidentally resembles others’ thoughts. It also occurs when you are using a universal theory, and several authors have used it in their explanations before you.
Source-based plagiarism:
It is the trickiest type to understand. The type of plagiarism may be the result of two situations. First, when the author forgets to source a study at all. Second, when he/she cites the source misleadingly or incorrectly.
Paraphrasing plagiarism:
These days, paraphrasing plagiarism is the most common type. It occurs when you use the author’s ideas or work in your own words to dodge the similarity index measuring tools.
Patchwork plagiarism:
Mosaic plagiarism is another name for patchwork plagiarism. It refers to the situation when a text is a mixture of stolen and original thoughts.
Differences between the transcription and plagiarism:
According to the definition of transcription, it is the process of converting oral responses and interviews into formal written text. In contrast, plagiarism, including all its types, is the act of stealing another researcher’s idea to make your worth in the scientific community. Both of these definitions depict that transcription is not a type of either intentional or unintentional plagiarism. Rather, it is the part of the data analysis process that facilitates the researchers to extract useful consequences by gathering information from the expert’s views, interviews, opinions, and experiences. Transcription helps analyze the data but plagiarism is serious scientific misconduct that may even lead to serious circumstances.
Bottom lines:
After all, is said and done, transcription is a part of the qualitative data analysis process that aims to change the data from one form to another. Phonetic and orthographic transcription both differ in the process but have the same common purpose- to convert audio content into a written one. In contrast, plagiarism sketches an entirely different scenario. It is an academic theft and, thus, must be avoided to maintain the quality when writing a dissertation. To end things off, transcription and plagiarism are two different concepts that cannot be interconnected at any stage of dissertation writing.
