Some actions are obviously plagiarism, such as buying a paper, hiring someone to write your paper or copying a large portion of a text without acknowledgement. Intentional plagiarism is a violation of professional ethics. However, most people plagiarize unintentionally, through ignorance of what constitutes plagiarism. However, unintentional plagiarism is still a violation of professional ethics, even if it is done inadvertently. Below are three key areas on which people may plagiarise: |
Original ideas of others:
You plagiarise if you use the original ideas of others AND
Direct quotes:
You plagiarise if you are directly quoting someone else's words AND
Paraphrasing:
You plagiarise if you paraphrase (i.e. rephrase) someone else's ideas AND
Here are the most common forms of plagiarism:
Reference: Harris, Robert A. (2001). The plagiarism handbook. Los Angeles: Pyczark Publishing.
Common knowledge is something that most people already know. There is no clear boundary on what is regarded as common knowledge. Below are some examples:
Commonly reported facts - facts that are generally known by a vast population and can be found in numerous places:
Easily observable information
When in doubt, cite!
(1) Borger, J. (2009, Oct. 9). More no-Bush than Nobel. Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/oct/09/obama-nobel-peace-prize/
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