A note on some cases of alleged lack of citation of secondary sources in a PhD thesis

Brian Martin

Alan John Williams in 1975 submitted his Ph.D. thesis from the Department of Commerce at the University of Western Australia.[1] In 1977 he took up a chair in the Department of Commerce at the University of Newcastle. Beginning in 1978, Dr Michael Spautz of the same department made allegations about Professor Williams' thesis. Some of the issues arising out of Dr Spautz' allegations are discussed in a paper of mine.[2] This note may be considered as a supplement to that paper, which provides essential context for the information presented here.

One of Dr Spautz' allegations was and is that Professor Williams' thesis contains a number of plagiarised passages. I would characterise most of these passages as cases in which, allegedly, proper credit is not given to secondary sources. Dr Spautz has listed 46 specific instances allegedly of this nature, noting the passages in uncited secondary sources to which sections of Professor Williams' thesis allegedly correspond.[3] This note presents information about several of these instances so that the reader may judge personally about the validity of the allegations.

The procedure adopted was to choose 9 instances, from among those to which attention has been drawn by Dr Spautz, for verification.[4] The instances selected were mostly those which included quotations from original sources, thus providing the possibility that there might be textual inaccuracy or some other clear feature suggesting lack of proper citation. In each of the 9 instances chosen both the primary source cited by Professor Williams and the secondary source suggested by Dr Spautz were consulted. In several cases minor differences in wording or punctuation are emphasised in comparisons between primary and secondary sources and Professor Williams' thesis. This is not because these differences are significant in themselves, but because of the light they throw on whether lack of proper credit to secondary sources has indeed occurred.

The examples here are presented to allow the reader to judge in at least a few specific instances the validity of Dr Spautz' allegations. Therefore, information about 8 of the 9 instances investigated is presented here, irrespective of whether the investigation did or did not seem to support Dr Spautz' allegations. (The one instance not presented did not lead to material which can easily or concisely be presented.) No attempt is made here to assess the significance of these instances, which would require a careful assessment of the content of the entire thesis in the light of current standards and practices in scholarly activity. For example, it is quite possible that the instances specified by Dr Spautz, even if judged to constitute scholarly shortcomings, might be considered minor in relation to the achievement of the thesis as a whole. On the other hand, it is possible that other portions of the thesis, undetected by Dr Spautz, are similar in nature to the examples presented here. (In this regard, it should be mentioned that no attempt has been made to investigate the further instances pointed out by Dr Spautz.)

It is worth mentioning that the detection by Dr Spautz of correspondences between passages in Professor Williams' thesis and passages in unacknowledged secondary sources - whatever judgement is made concerning these correspondences - is a considerable feat of search and acumen.

Every attempt has been made here to present quotations from the sources cited exactly as they appear in the original, including punctuation and capitalisation of words, and to quote all material relevant to the comparison being made between sources.

A draft copy of this 'Note' was sent in December 1982 to Professor Williams for his comments, but no reply has been received.

13 July 1983

Footnotes

1 Alan John Williams, 'A study of the characteristics and performance of small business owner/managers in Western Australia', Ph.D. thesis, Department of Commerce, University of Western Australia, 1975 (herein referred to as Williams (1975) or Williams' thesis).

2 Brian Martin, 'Plagiarism, incompetence and responsibility: a case study in the academic ethos' (submitted for publication). [A version of this was published as "Plagiarism and responsibility", Journal of Tertiary Educational Administration, vol. 6, no. 2, October 1984, pp. 83-90. See also "Disruption and due process: the dismissal of Dr Spautz from the University of Newcastle", Vestes (Journal of the Federation of Australian University Staff Associations), vol. 26, no. 1, 1983, pp. 3-9.]

3 Mike Spautz, 'A pathetic patchwork of pilfered passages', In Vita Veritas ', 1 April 1982, parts (a) to (tt). Available from Michael Spautz, 31 Scott Street, Flat 16, Newcastle NSW 2300.

4 Although Dr Spautz groups the instances which he selects from Professor Williams' thesis into 46 categories, they may be further subdivided and/or amalgamated in various ways. The 9 instances selected for the investigation here are a subset of those presented by Dr Spautz, but do not bear a one-to-one correspondence with his categories.

CASE FROM PAGE 17 (PART ONE)

As early as 1938, a seminar of small business men in Washington heard a statement from one Jesse H. Jones, who owned considerable business interests, and who was, at that time, Chairman of the United States Reconstruction Finance Corporation. He distinguished rather crudely between large and small business as follows:

By little business is meant something comparative or relative. Organisations like General Motors, big Steel, little Steel, and so forth are big business - the rest of us are little business (Jones, 1938)

[Williams (1975), p. 17]

Jones, J. H. quoted in New York Times. Feb.3, 1938, p. 14.

[Williams (1975), p. 736 (from the bibliography)]

In the cited source (The Associated Press, "Jones defines 'small' business", New York Times, 3 February 1938, p. 14) the following is found:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2. - Jesse H. Jones, chairman of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, speaking 'as a little business man myself,' drew a distinction between big and little business at the 'small' business conference.
'By little business is meant something comparative, or relative,' he said. 'Organizations like General Motors, big Steel, little Steel, and so forth, are big business - the rest of us are little business.
'We're happy when we're making a little money, when we're getting along. We're not happy when we're not making money.'

Note that Williams leaves out two commas in the original quote from Jones.

However, in another source (Joseph D. Phillips, Little Business in the American Economy (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1958)) the following is found at p. 8:

Jesse H. Jones, owner of large business interests in Texas and then chairman of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, speaking 'as a little business man myself' to the 1938 conference of small businessmen in Washington, drew a distinction between big and little business in the following terms: 'By little business is meant something comparative or relative. Organizations like General Motors, big Steel, little Steel, and so forth are big business - the rest of us are little business. We're happy when we're making a little money, when we're getting along. We're not happy when we're not making money.'[l]

[1] New York Times, February 3, 1938, p. 14.

Note that Phillips leaves out two commas in the original quote from Jones.

Williams leaves out the same commas. Note also that Williams lists Phillips (1958) in the bibliography of his thesis, but does not cite it on any page near page 17.

CASE FROM PAGE 17 (PART TWO)

About the same time, Ernest G. Draper, the United States Assistant Secretary of Commerce, in a somewhat more exacting statement, classified the 'more than 90 per cent of the manufacturing firms employing less than 500' as small business. (Elliston 1938).

[Williams (1975), p. 17]

Elliston, H. B. 'Little Businessman, What Now?'. Saturday Evening Post No. 210. April 16, 1938, p. 39.

[Williams (1975), p. 730 (from the bibliography)]

The above quote from page 17 follows immediately after the earlier quote from Williams' thesis, page 17 (containing the quote from Jones (1938)).

In the cited source (H. B. Ellison, "Little businessman, what now?", Saturday Evening Post, volume 210, number 42, 16 April 1938, pages 23, 36, 39-40) the following is found at p. 39:

All that came from the department was Assistant Secretary Draper's introductory statement:

We have heard so much about gigantic corporations of America and the amazing success of mass-production methods that we are apt to forget the importance of small business to this country. The fact of the matter is that more than 90 per cent of the manufacturing concerns employ less than 500, and these companies do more than 60 per cent of all the business of the United States; and so, regardless of big business, they have been for many years and are today the backbone of the industrial life of America.

Note that Williams quotes Draper and Elliston as saying "firms employing", whereas the Elliston original gives Draper saying "concerns employ".

However, in another source (Joseph D. Phillips, Little Business in the American Economy (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1958) the following is found at pp. 8-9:

The then Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Ernest G. Draper, included in the category of small business the 'more than 500 per cent of the manufacturing firms employing less than 500.[3]

[3] H. B. Elliston, 'Little Businessman, What Now?' Saturday Evening Post, 210 (April 6, 1938), p. 39.

Note that Phillips (1958) quotes Draper and Elliston as saying "firms employing", whereas the Elliston original gives Draper saying "concerns employ". Williams makes the same misquotation. Note also that Williams lists Phillips (1958) in the bibliography of his thesis, but does not cite it on any page near page 17.

CASE FROM PAGE 87

More than twenty years earlier a similar thesis was presented by the initial president of the American Economic History Association, Edwin F. Gay (1923, p. 12), who wrote that

the self-centered, active individual is a disruptive force, and there are periods in the rhythm of history when the cake of custom must be broken, when that disruptive, innovating energy is socially advantageous and must be given freer opportunity.

[Williams (1975), p. 87]

Gay, E. F. 'The Rhythm of History', Harvard Graduates' Magazine. Vol.32, 1923.

[Williams (1975), p. 732 (from the bibliography)]

In the cited source (Edwin Francis Gay, "The rhythm of history", Harvard Graduates' Magazine, volume XXXII, September 1923, pages 1-16) the following is found at page 12:

The self-centred, active individual is a disruptive force, and there are periods in the rhythm of history when the cake of custom must be broken, when that disruptive, innovating energy is socially advantageous and must be given freer opportunity.

Note that Williams does not capitalise the initial word 'The', and spells 'centered' with an American spelling rather than the British spelling 'centred' used by Gay.

In another source (Arthur H. Cole, "An approach to the study of entrepreneurship: a tribute to Edwin F. Gay", in Hugh G. J. Aitken (editor), Explorations in Enterprise (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1965), pages 30-44; originally published in The Journal of Economic History, Supplement VI, 1946, pages 1-15) the following quote is found at pp. 30-31 and footnote at page 374:

Twenty years ago Mr. Gay gave the Phi Beta Kappa Commencement address at Harvard. He entitled it 'The Rhythm of History,' and not infrequently in his later years he referred to the theme that he embodied in it:

The amount of permissible free competition ... varies with the social need. In differing degree it must always be active - this is what the socialists fail adequately to recognize - but it must always be subject more or less to group control, for the interest of the group predominates, and each member of the group consciously or unconsciously acknowledges this. The self-centered, active individual is a disruptive force, and there are periods in the rhythm of history when the cake of custom must be broken, when that disruptive, innovating energy is socially advantageous and must be given freer opportunity. But the social or group motive is even then latently powerful, while for normally longer periods of the rhythm the motive of social stability and order enjoys the more marked social approval. It then becomes active in building and defending social institutions and in seeking security for its members.[1]

[l.] Edwin Francis Gay, 'The Rhythm of History,' Harvard Graduates' Magazine, 32:12 (1923-1924).

In the original 1946 publication of Cole's article, the quote from Gay is exactly as reproduced in Aitken (1965). The footnote reference to Gay, at page 2, is different only in format:

[1] Edwin Francis Gay, 'The Rhythm of History,' Harvard Graduates' Magazine, XXXII (1923-24), 12.

Note that Williams' quotation from Gay (1923) is only a portion of Cole's quotation from Gay. Note that Cole uses the spelling 'centered' in quoting Gay rather than Gay's spelling 'centred', and that Williams also uses the spelling 'centered'. Note that Williams correctly lists the date of Gay's article as 1923, whereas Cole incorrectly lists the date as 1923-1924. Note that Williams lists Cole (1946) and Aitken (1965) in his bibliography, but does not list Cole (1965), namely the reprint of Cole (1946) in Aitken (1965). Note also that Cole (1946) and Aitken (1965) are cited and quoted extensively on pages in Williams (1975) preceding page 87.

CASE FROM PAGES 103-104

Motivation theory attempts to explain

how behavior gets started, is energized, is sustained, is directed, is stopped, and what kind of subjective reaction is present in the organism while all this is going on. (Jones, 1959, p. 11)

[Williams (1975), pp. 103-104]

Jones, M. R.(ed.) Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. Vol. 7. Lincoln: Nebraska University Press, 1959.

[Williams (1975), p. 736 (from the bibliography)]

In the cited work (Marshall R. Jones, "Introduction", in Marshall R. Jones (editor), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, volume 7 (1959), pages vii-ix; Nebraska Symposium on Motivation is published by University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln), the quote presented by Williams is not to be found.

However, in another source (Lyman W. Porter and Edward E. Lawler, III, Managerial Attitudes and Performance (Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1968)) the following quote is found at p. 7 and reference at p. 201 (in the bibliography):

Motivation theory attempts to explain 'how behavior gets started, is energized, is sustained, is directed, is stopped, and what kind of subjective reaction is present in the organism while all this is going on' (Jones, 1959).

Jones, M. R., ed. Nebraska symposium on motivation. Lincoln: Nebraska University Press, 1959, 7.

Note that Porter and Lawler (1968) do not give a page number for the quote from Jones. Note that the page number given by Williams for the quote from Jones is part of a contribution by a different author. Porter and Lawler (1968) is listed in Williams (1975) in the bibliography, but is not cited in any page near pages 103-104.

The quote from Jones given by Porter and Lawler (1968) and by Williams (1975) is found in a different source (Marshall R. Jones, "Introduction", in Marshall R. Jones (editor), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, volume 3 (1955), pages vii-x; the quote is on page vii). Neither Porter and Lawler nor Williams cite this source.

CASE FROM PAGE 171

Achievement knowledge for the businessman is nearly always expressed in monetary terms. The conventional view of economic man attributes to him the psychological characteristic known as the 'profit motive'. However, with the greater clarification of the fundamental motivation of the entrepreneur during the past 25 years, it is now more readily accepted that much of man's interest in profitability stems from his need for achievement, which is concerned with profitability because it provides concrete knowledge of competence or achievement.

Personal money income plays a highly important role in our society as a symbol of achievement. A man with a large income is likely to gain respect - not because of the income itself but because of the presumption that it is an index of his importance or competence (Sutton et al, 1956, p. 331).

[Williams (1975), p. 171]

Sutton, F. X., Harris, S.E., Kaysen, C. and Tobin, J. The American Business Creed. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1956.

[Williams (1975), p. 747 (from the bibliography)]

In the 1962 printing of the cited source (Francis X. Sutton, Seymour E. Harris, Carl Kaysen and James Tobin, The American Business Creed (New York: Schocken Books, copyright 1956, 1962) the passage quoted by Williams is found on page 331, exactly as Williams has presented it.

Also in another source (David C. McClelland, The Achieving Society (Princeton, New Jersey: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., 1961) the following quote is found at p. 234 and reference at p. 448 (in the bibliography):

Yet obviously no one would want to argue that these men had no interest in profitability. That interest can now be understood, not in terms of the naive psychology of the 'profit motive,' but in terms of a need for Achievement which is interested in profitability precisely because it gives definite knowledge of how competent one is. As expressed by Sutton et al., 'Personal money income plays a highly important role in our society as a symbol of achievement. A man with a large income is likely to gain respect not because of the income itself but because of the presumption that it is an index of his importance or competence.' (1956, P. 331.)

Sutton, F. X., Harris, S. E., Kaysen, C., & Tobin, J. The American business creed. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univer. Press, 1956.

Note that both McClelland (1961) and Williams (1975) quote precisely the same passage from Sutton et al. (1956). Note also that Williams lists McClelland (1961) in the bibliography of his thesis, and cites McClelland (1961) on pages near page 171, including pages 168 and 172.

CASE FROM PAGE 185

Goffman (1959, p. 145) has indicated that 'the increasing ability with which one uses a predominant strategy provides a certain amount of security and self-confidence for the person'.

[Williams (1975), p. 185]

Goffman, E. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Garden City, New York: Doubleday Anchor Books, 1959.

[Williams (1975), p. 732 (from the bibliography)]

In the cited work (Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (Garden City, New York: Doubleday Anchor Books, 1959), p. 145), the quote presented by Williams is not to be found. However, in another source (Joel B. Cohen, "An interpersonal orientation to the study of consumer behavior", Journal of Marketing Research, volume IV (August 1967), pages 270-278) the following quote is found at p. 271 and reference at p. 278 (in the list of references):

The increasing ability with which one uses a predominant strategy provides a certain amount of security and self-confidence for the person [3].

3. Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday Anchor Books, 1959.

Cohen (1967) is listed in Williams (1975) in the bibliography, but is not cited in any page near page 185.

CASE FROM PAGE 203

Cofer and Appley (1964, p.441) have defined stress as 'a force which, acting on a body, produces strain or deformation', and have added that the term 'has been used as a synonym for anxiety, conflict, ego-involvement, frustration, threat, and emotionality...' (ibid., p.449). With a slightly different emphasis, Lazarus, Deese and Osler (1952), p.295) have stated that 'stress occurs when a particular situation threatens the attainment of some goal'. Adding a further aspect, Appley (1962, p. 880) proposed that stress is 'the state of an organism in any situation where his general well-being is threatened, and where no readily available response exists for the reduction of the threat'.

[Williams (1975), p. 203]

Appley, M. H. 'Motivation, Threat Perception and the Induction of Psychological Stress', Proceedings of the 16th International Congress of Psychologists, Bonn, 1960. Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing Co., 1962, pp. 880-881.

[Williams (1975), p. 725 (from the bibliography)]

Cofer, C. N. and Appley, M. H. Motivation: Theory and Research. New York: Wiley, 1964.

[Williams (1975), p. 728 (from the bibliography)]

In the cited work by Appley (M. H. Appley, "Motivation, threat perception, and psychological stress", Acta Psychologica, volume XIX (1961), pp. 880-881; this volume of Acta Psychologica is composed of the "Proceedings of the Sixteenth International Congress of Psychology, Bonn - 1960", and Acta Psychologica is published by North-Holland Publishing Company, Amsterdam) the following is found:

Psychological stress is defined as 'the state of an organism in any situation where his general well-being is threatened, and where no readily available response exists for the reduction of the threat.' [Appley (1961), p. 880]

Note that Williams puts the word 'and' in italics; it is not italicised in the original source.

However, in another source (C. N. Cofer and M. H. Appley, Motivation: Theory and Research (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1964) the following quote is found at p. 451 and reference at p. 842 (in the bibliography):

In a previous definition, one of us (Appley, 1962a) proposed that stress is 'the state of an organism in any situation where his general well-being is threatened, and where no readily available response exists for the reduction of the threat' (p. 880).

Appley, M. H. (1962a) Motivation, threat perception, and the induction of psychological stress. Proc. Sixteenth Internat. Congr. Psychol., Bonn 1960. Amsterdam: North Holland Publ. Co., pp. 880-881.

Note that Cofer and Appley (1964) put the word 'and' in italics, do not cite Acta Psychologica and leave out the hyphen in 'North-Holland'. Note that Williams does the same as Cofer and Appley in these matters, and differently than Appley (1961). Note also that Williams cites Cofer and Appley earlier on the same page of his thesis.

CASE FROM PAGES 208-209

Each of these possible responses is a means of reducing the stress created by interpersonal conflict (Steiner, 1970). Any one, or any combination, of the available techniques may be used to dissipate stress, but subjects have shown a significant tendency to rely upon a single response instead of using two or more simultaneously. According to Steiner (1966, p. 187) 'different individuals have revealed preferences for different responses, and these preferences have been found to be related to scores on personality variables'.

[Williams (1975), pp. 208-209]

Steiner, I. D. 'The Resolution of Interpersonal Disagreements' in Maher, B.(ed.) Progress in Experimental Personality Research Vol. III. New York: Academic Press, 1966).
Steiner, I. D. 'Strategies for Controlling Stress in Interpersonal Situations, in McGrath, J. D. (ed.) Social and Psychological Factors in Stress. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc., 1970. pp. 140-158.

[Williams (1975), p. 746 (from the bibliography)]

In the cited 1966 work (Ivan D. Steiner, "Personality and the resolution of interpersonal disagreements", in Brendan A. Maher (editor), Progress in Experimental Personality Research, volume 3 (1966), pages 195-239), the quote presented by Williams is not found on page 187, which is part of a contribution by a different author.

However, in another source (Ivan D. Steiner, "Strategies for controlling stress in interpersonal situations", in Joseph E. McGrath (editor), Social and Psychological Factors in Stress (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1970), pages 140-158) the following quote is found at p. 141 and reference at p. 158 (in the list of references):

Different individuals have revealed preferences for different responses, and these preferences have been found to be related to scores on personality variables (Steiner, 1966).

Steiner, I. D. The resolution of interpersonal disagreements. In B. Maher (Ed.), Progress in experimental personality research. Vol. III. New York: Academic Press, 1966.

Note that Steiner (1970) leaves out the initial words 'personality and the' in the title of his own 1966 paper. Williams does the same. Note also that Williams cites Steiner (1970) earlier on page 208 of his thesis.

CASE FROM PAGE 239

For example, Bromley (1956) classified 256 subjects into four age groups which were similar in average social background and I.Q. (Wechsler-Bellevue). These subjects were then given a test involving, without time limits, the mental operations of abstracting, serializing, and productive thinking, as well as persistence, flexibility, and imaginative exploration. Bromley's findings (Table 2.22), with a 'normal' sample, appear to match Lehman's results for outstanding individuals.

TABLE 2.22 RESPONSES TO THE SHAW TEST OF CREATIVITY

Source: adapted from Bromley, 1956

[Williams (1975), p. 239]

Bromley, D. B. 'Some Experimental Tests of the Effect of Age on Creative Intellectual Output', Journal of Gerontology. Vol.11, 1956, pp. 74-82.

[Williams (1975), p. 727 (from the bibliography)]

In the cited source (Dennis B. Bromley, "Some experimental tests of the effect of age on creative intellectual output", Journal of Gerontology, volume 11, section B, number 1 (January 1956), pages 74-82), data on 'mean social background' and 'mean WBIQ' is given as two rows of data out of 18 rows altogether, and given for four age groups as well as for 'all age groups', in Table 1, page 77. Also in the cited source, the following table is found at p. 77:

Table 2. Responses to the Shaw Test in Terms of Grade and Age Group.

Note that the second last row of Bromley (1956), Table 2, namely the mean for ABCD, gives the four figures 12.8, 11.2, 11.4 and 9.6 found in the row 'Mean total output of responses' in Williams' Table 2.22. Bromley nowhere refers to 'high quality responses' or 'low quality responses', but refers to 'good quality output (Grade A)' and 'poor quality output (Grade D)' (p. 78). Nevertheless, if A responses are identified as 'high quality responses' and D responses as 'low quality responses', then the percentages of each may be calculated for the four age groups from Bromley's Table 2:

Note that all results have been rounded to the nearest whole percentage. These percentages are the same as those given in Williams' Table 2.22 in the last two rows, except for three minor deviations.

However, in another source (Harold E. Jones, "Intelligence and problem solving", in James E. Birren (editor), Handbook of Aging and the Individual (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1959), pages 700-738) the following quote is found at p. 730, the following table at p. 731 and the following reference at p. 735 (from the list of references):

... a recent study by Bromley (1956) which was conceived as directly related to Lehman's investigations. Bromley classified 256 subjects into four age groups which were similar in average social background and Wechsler-Bellevue I.Q. These subjects were given the Shaw Test, consisting of wooden blocks which could be arranged according to a number of principles of logical order. In terms of face validity, the test involves, without time limits, the mental operations of abstracting, serializing, and productive thinking as well as persistence, flexibility, and imaginative exploration. Table 11 compares age differences in responses of the highest and lowest quality and also shows that the total output decreases with age less rapidly than the high-quality output.

Bromley, D. B. 1956. Some experimental tests of the effect of age on creative intellectual output. J. Gerontol., 11, 74-82.

Note that Jones (1959) has made three slight errors in calculating 'Percentage high-quality responses' and 'Percentage low-quality responses', assuming that these are the fractions of A and D responses, respectively, which were calculated earlier.Note also that Williams does not list Jones (1959) in the bibliography of his thesis, although he does list this source on page 726 of the thesis: "Birren, J. E. 'Principles of Research on Aging' in Birren, J. E. (ed.) Handbook of Aging and the Individual. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971, pp. 3-42."