Academic Honesty -- Plagiarism Defining Research Paper

Citing Quotes without Acknowledging them as Quotes

This form of plagiarism consists of citing the material as the ideas of another but neglecting to indicate that the cited material is actually quoted verbatim (iParadigm, 2010). A perfect example would be the following citation of the iParadigm material on this topic:

The writer properly cites a source, but neglects to put in quotation marks text that has been copied word-for-word, or close to it. Although attributing the basic ideas to the source, the writer is falsely claiming original presentation and interpretation of the information (iParadigm, 2010).

Unacknowledged Reliance and Over-reliance on Sourced Material

Unacknowledged reliance on sourced material would be citing only the first paragraph of this section, "Examples of Proper and Improper Citation" as being derived from iParadigm without any subsequent citation for the rest of the section when those ideas are also derived from the same source. Finally, simple over-reliance on source material would be where the student properly references all material but does not actually include any original analyses in the work at all (iParadigm, 2003).

Citing, Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Expressing Another's Ideas

In principle, any thought or idea that is not the writer's own intellectual analysis must be properly referenced (Harvey, 2003; iParadigm, 2010) unless it is common knowledge (Thompson, 2008). Whereas historical facts (such as "the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on December 7, 1941" need not be referenced, conclusions (such as "in many ways the attack on Pearl Harbor was predictable" must be referenced unless it reflects the writer's own conclusion or analysis (Thompson, 2008).

Common Knowledge and the Relative Risks of Over-citing and Under-citing

Confusing original ideas as common knowledge is one of the easiest ways to commit plagiarism accidentally, precisely where the distinction is fine or ambiguous (Thompson, 2008). In that regard, there is little risk associated with over-citing material that could be fairly considered common knowledge. On the other hand, erring on the other side could easily result in accidental plagiarism.

References:

Harvey, M. (2003). The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing. Accessed 7 Nov, 2010 from:

http://nutsandbolts.washcoll.edu/plagiarism.html

iParadigm. (2010). How Do I Cite Sources? Accessed 7 Nov, 2010 from:

http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_how_do_i_cite_sources.html

Thompson, S. (2008). Plagiarism Prevention for Students: How to Avoid Plagiarism.

Accessed 7 Nov, 2010 from:

http://library.csusm.edu/plagiarism/howtoavoid/how_avoid_common.htm