Module 3: Organizing, Managing and Screening Sources
Avoiding Plagiarism by Citing It Right
Plagiarism happens when you claim the words, ideas, or data of another person as if it is your own, without appropriate referencing. Plagiarism can range from copying an entire paper to changing only a few words and not citing the original source. It’s important to familiarize yourself with what constitutes plagiarism. One way you can do this is to consult your institution’s academic integrity policy so you know how to avoid a charge of plagiarism.
Citation Styles
When it comes time to write your review, you will need to demonstrate that you understand when and how to cite your sources. Keeping them organized will help you with this task. By using a citation management tool, you will be able to access your sources in one place and pull the information needed to cite them correctly. Before sitting down to write your review, make sure you familiarize yourself with the rules of your citation style. While it is true that some citation management tools will offer you a plug-in for your word processor that seemingly does all the work, it can make mistakes. Getting to know the rules yourself will save you a lot of time and reduce the risk of plagiarism. Table 3.4 below provides a curated list of citation style resources to help you familiarize yourself with the rules.
| Style | Resource |
|---|---|
| APA |
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| MLA |
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| Turabian (Chicago) |
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| Vancouver (also known as ICMJE) |
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| IEEE |
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Learning Activity
How much do you know about plagiarism? Take this quiz to find out.
This quiz is adapted from the University of Guelph, Academic Integrity Plagiarism Quiz. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Key Takeaways
Familiarize yourself with the academic integrity policies of your institution to better understand how plagiarism is defined and how to avoid it. Commit to learning the rules or conventions of your chosen citation style.
A bibliographic citation is a reference to a book, article, web page, or other published item. Citations should enough supply detail to identify the item uniquely