Plagiarism. Source: Trinity Washington Uni.

A student uses an internet article in researching her paper. She finds several of the ideas in the article useful, and develops them in her own paper. Since she does not quote from the text, she does not cite it in her paper, but she does put the reference in the bibliography.

• Plagiarism

• Not plagiariam

Answer explanation

This is plagiarism. Although the student was correct to cite the article in her bibliography, this is not enough. If she uses the ideas in her paper, she needs to acknowledge the source of those ideas in the paper itself. One way to do this is to acknowledge the source of the idea directly (i.e., “As Jones has pointed out, . . . .”) Even with this reference, the paper should also include a citation. Depending on your discipline, this could be an in-text citation or a footnote or endnote.

In researching a paper on Mary Kingsley, a student discovers that Kingsley was born in Islington in 1862. She didn’t know this fact previously. However, every article she reads on Kingsley reports the same fact. She does not acknowledge the source of this information with a citation.

• Plagiarism

• Not plagiarism

Answer explanation

This is not plagiarism. Although the student didn’t know this fact before, it is an easily established fact that is well known to anyone who has written on Kingsley. Since it is undisputed and well known, it would fall into the category of “common knowledge,” and does not need to be cited.

You are taking a class that a friend has already taken. She lets you read her paper in order to get some ideas, and tells you to use any parts of the paper you find useful. You incorporate some of her paragraphs into your paper without citation.

• Plagiarism

• Not plagiarism

Answer explanation

This is plagiarism. The fact that your friend has given you permission to use her paper is not relevant; if you are presenting work that someone else has done as your own, it is still plagiarism. At some universities, your friend would also be guilty of violating the Honor Code by helping you to plagiarize.

A friend offers to let you read his paper in order to get some ideas, and tells you to use any parts of the paper you find useful. You incorporate one of his paragraphs into your paper, and you are careful to include all of the citations from his paper in your footnotes, so that the reader will be able to find the original source of the information.

• Plagiarism

• Not plagiarism

Answer explanation

This example is trickier – but it’s still plagiarism. Even if you include the citations, presenting someone else’s work as your own is plagiarism. Once again, your friend would be also in violation of the Honor Code.

A student finds a picture on the web that perfectly illustrates a point she wants to make in her paper. She downloads the picture, but does not use the website’s analysis; in addition, she writes her own caption for the picture. Since the analysis and caption are her own, she does not include a citation for the picture.

• Plagiarism

• Not plagiarism

• It depends

Answer explanation

It depends. If the image is well-known (i.e., a picture of the Mona Lisa), it can be considered common knowledge, and therefore would not need a citation. However, if the image is the product of another individual’s artistic or intellectual work (i.e., a personal photograph, even of a well-known artifact, like Chartres Cathedral; or a graph or chart that forms part of another person’s paper or research) it would be considered plagiarism. In general, if the image represents the artistic or intellectual work of another person, it should be cited.

A student uses a data set collected by his professor in his analysis of economic trends. Since he develops his own analysis, and since his professor has not published the data, he does not include a citation for the data set.

• Plagiarism

• Not plagiarism

Answer explanation

This is plagiarism. Even though the student did his own analysis, the material he is working with was generated by someone else, and that work should be acknowledged. The fact that the data have not been published is irrelevant; it is still someone else’s work, and needs to be cited. Nor does it matter that the data set was developed by the student’s professor; professional norms require that all sources be acknowledged.

You find an interesting analysis of Kant’s categorical imperative in a book on 18th century philosophers. You do not quote directly from the text, but you mention the author of the book as the source for this idea, and include a citation at the end of the paragraph.

• Plagiarism

• Not plagiarism

Answer explanation

This is the appropriate way to avoid plagiarism. Even though you have not quoted directly from the text, you should mention the source of the idea in the body of your paper, and cite the source.

A student finds some interesting information on a website that is not under copyright. She downloads several paragraphs and incorporates them into her paper, but doesn’t cite them, because they are in the public domain.

• Plagiarism

• Not plagiarism

Answer explanation

This is plagiarism. It is irrelevant that the material you are using is in the public domain, or that it is not protected by copyright. If it is not your work, you must acknowledge its source.

You are discussing your term paper with your professor. She gives you an interesting idea about how you might interpret some of the material you have been studying. Since the discussion was informal, and does not pertain to an area in which your professor intends you publish, you incorporate her suggestions without attribution.

• Plagiarism

• Not plagiarism

Answer explanation

It is important to recognize the intellectual work of others. Your professor’s ideas should be acknowledged, even if she has not written on the subject, and does not intend to do so. The same would hold true if the idea came from a fellow student or friend

You find a very interesting quote from Gregor Mendel’s “Experimentation in Plant Hybridization” in a book about Mendel’s life. In your paper, you include the quote, and cite Mendel’s paper as the source.

• Plagiarism

• Not plagiarism

Answer explanation

This is plagiarism. Even though you are acknowledging the source of the quotation, you have failed to acknowledge the source of your own information – the biography of Mendel. Citing only Mendel’s paper would indicate to your reader that you had read the paper itself, whereas you have, in fact, been relying on someone else’s research. The correct way to avoid plagiarism in this instance would be to cite the original source of the quote (Mendel’s “Experiments in Plant Hybridization”) and your source for the quote (“quoted in . . . .”).