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Plagiarism |
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What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism means using other people's work and presenting it as your own without explicitly acknowledging - or referencing - where it came from.
Work can be plagiarised from many sources - including books, articles, the world wide web, and other students' assignments.
Direct copying and paraphrasing or rewriting what someone else has said or written in your own words is plagiarism if you do not cite and reference it correctly.
When you use someone else's ideas or include a short quote or paragraph from another person's work, you must acknowledge (cite) where you got that information from.
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Why You Should Not Plagiarise
By correctly citing and referencing where you get your research from, you will avoid plagiarism. Citing and referencing is important! It:
- Makes sure that the correct person is given credit where credit is due and means you will not be guilty of 'stealing' other people's work and passing it off as your own.
- Shows your tutor that you have read widely, understood and incorporated other peoples ideas into your work.
- Improves your critical thinking and language skills.
- Allows people reading your work, to know where they can go for more information about the ideas you have discussed.
- Allows people who wish to, to repeat the research project.
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Guidelines
Cite clearly when you:
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Use another person's ideas, opinions or theories.
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Include facts, statistics, graphs or illustrations - unless they are common knowledge.
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Copy word for word or paraphrase (rewriting what someone else has written or said in your own words) another person's actual written words.
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Common Knowledge
Common knowledge consists of information that you can expect many people to know.
EG Temperatures near the equator are higher that those at the North and South Poles.
You do not need to cite this is this is a well known fact that can be found in many thousands of different sources.
However, the following fact is not generally known by many people so you must acknowledge it by citing and referencing it correctly.
EG On July 21, 1983 the lowest temperature ever measured was recorded at Vostok, a Russian Antarctic station.
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| Consequences
What happens if tutors discover that you have plagiarised material?
- They may not give you any marks
- They may take marks off your total
- They may ask you to redo your assignment
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| Tips
for Avoiding Plagiarism
The following strategies should help you to avoid plagiarism.
- Read research material and make short keyword notes. Using only these keywords write your own version. This is called making a paraphrase of the material. If you need help with this process, please talk to the staff at the Learning Centre. Cite the original source of the material according to the APA Referencing Guide given out by the library.
- Start your research early. Expect the research process for your paper to take much longer than the writing process at the end. Anticipate that the temptation to cut corners will be much greater at 3 a.m. on the morning your paper is due than it would have been three weeks earlier!
- When taking notes or printing articles, get full bibliographic citations (ie write down the title, author, date and page numbers of where you get your information from as you go!).
You need to identify and distinguish between direct quotes, paraphrases, and ideas borrowed from the information sources (books, articles, websites, etc.) you used.
If printing or photocopying, be sure to write all the bibliographic details (ie title, author, journal title, volume, issue, pages, etc.) on the copy, unless it appears on the copy already.
- Use direct quotes sparingly. While the amount of direct quotation you should use depends upon your topic, the course, and your instructor’s directions, avoid quoting secondary sources that do not add weight to the argument you are making in your paper.
- Paraphrase properly. If you summarize a passage of text, use your own words, and cite the source.
- Keep in mind that facts that are "common knowledge" do not need to be cited. For example, if you read an encyclopedia article that states that Newfoundland joined confederation in 1949, you need not cite that encyclopedia article in your paper. That fact is considered common knowledge, & can be found in thousands of other sources" (http://www.lib.unb.ca/instruction/Plagiarism.html).
- Know where to go for help. Your tutor may be able to provide you with further help, or you can visit the library or student learning centre for further assistance.
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Citing and Referencing
Use our APA Referencing Guide, available online, or get the brochure in print from the Learning Commons, for more information on how to correctly cite and reference your work. |
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