14.7: Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism
- Page ID
- 315353
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Once you have located and evaluated your sources, you can decide which ones will ultimately work best in your paper. When you have decided which sources to use, you will need to integrate and cite those sources within your paper. Chapter 8 deals with source integration in more detail, so we will focus primarily on resources you can use to ensure that you are citing your sources correctly and integrating them ethically to avoid plagiarism.
Resources for Citation
If you struggle with citation, there are several credible, helpful resources you can use to improve in this area. As we have already noted, Noodletools can help you to keep track of your sources and source notes, but it can also help you to create citations or import auto-generated citations from the databases. While you can use general sites like Citation Machine or EasyBib, these sites do not play as nicely with the databases, so it may take more effort to collect all of your citations in one place if you rely on them.
For general information about citations, many instructors suggest the Purdue Online Writing Lab, as it features many clear examples and explanations to help students understand both MLA and APA style. You can also use Butler’s Online Writing Lab for more specific, individual help with your citation and formatting leading up to paper deadlines.
Avoiding Plagiarism
As your instructor has likely discussed with you, either verbally or via written syllabus policies, plagiarism describes the act of presenting another person’s ideas as your own, and engaging in this act can result in serious consequences, ranging from failing an assignment to failing a class (or, in extreme cases, being expelled from a school altogether). While most students complete their own work without intending any kind of deliberate subterfuge, plagiarism can take many forms, some of which are considered intentional and others of which are considered unintentional. Intentional plagiarism refers to the kind of explicit duplicity you are likely to imagine when the topic arises: a student copying someone else’s work entirely or buying a paper online are classic examples, but this also can include more subtle techniques like patchwriting—splicing together your own wording with another author’s without proper attribution. Unintentional plagiarism, on the other hand, is more nuanced: forgetting in-text citations or Works Cited entries is the most common manifestation of this problem, and while it may be accidental, it is still a serious problem as it prevents readers from understanding the boundary between your ideas and those from your sources.
To avoid plagiarism, be sure to offer citations each time you quote, paraphrase, or summarize ideas that are not your own; while it is possible to over-cite (say, in the case of information considered common knowledge), over-citing is always preferable to under-citing. When paraphrasing, make sure you put aside the text to ensure that you are truly putting an author’s ideas into your own words based on your understanding of their message. When quoting, always incorporate quotation marks to clearly indicate where a direct quote begins and ends.