- Ethical Use of Information
- Copyright
- Fair Use
- Plagiarism
- Citing Sources
Citing Sources
To avoid plagiarizing, correctly cite all of the sources you use.
You collected bibliographic information from, and about, the sources used during the research process. Using those notes, you will be able to properly cite the resources used.
The heart of avoiding plagiarism is to make sure you give credit where credit is due by citing your sources. This may be credit for something somebody said, wrote, e-mailed, drew, composed or implied.
Provide credit:
- When you are using or referring to somebody else's words or ideas from a journal, book, newspaper, song, TV program, movie, Web page, computer program, letter, advertisement, or any other medium.
- When you use information gained through interviewing another person.
- When you copy the exact words or a "unique phrase" from somewhere.
- When you reprint any diagrams, illustrations, charts, and pictures.
- When you use ideas that others have given you in conversations or over email.
Source: Purdue University Online Writing Lab, Avoiding Plagiarism at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html
There is no need to provide credit:
- When you are writing your own experiences, your own observations, your own insights, your own thoughts, your own conclusions about a subject.
- When you are using "common knowledge" -- folklore, common sense observations, shared information within your field of study or cultural group.
- When you are compiling generally accepted facts.
- When you are writing up your own experimental results.
Source: Purdue University Online Writing Lab, Avoiding Plagiarism at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html
The Sawyer Library maintains a Library Guide to help you cite all sources.