Chapter seven

Chapter Seven: Avoiding Plagiarism

Chapter seven of the Bedford Researcher is about how to recognize plagiarism, research ethics, common knowledge, fair use and asking permission, avoiding plagiarism and what to do if you are accused of plagiarism.

Plagiarism simply said is stealing another’s words or ideas. It can be intentional and unintentional. Plagiarism in a group project is tricky because of all the questions that come up about who will get credit for what.

Research ethics obligates the writer to acknowledge the sources, fairly discuss the information and provide citations for sources used.

Common knowledge doesn’t need to be cited for example, everybody knows that Vuk Karadzic streamlined Serbian literacy somewhere in 1850’s.

Fair use says via “the Copyright Act of 1976 that writers can use materials for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research.” In short, you don’t need permission. On the other hand if you are going to publish your work, you need to ask for permission if the quote is really long or substantial.

There are five research skills which help the writer avoid plagiarism clearly mentioned in the Bedford Researcher Section 7e. They are as follows:

·         Conduct a knowledge inventory

·         Take notes carefully

·         Distinguish between your ideas and those drawn from your sources

·         Cite sources in the text and in the works cited list

·         Recognize misconceptions about intentional plagiarism

If accused of plagiarism the writer should be able to identify problems and give proof through the process of identifying suspicious parts of the text, to provide all the materials used for writing and planning. Most important is that during the meeting with the instructor to listen, take notes and reply clearly.