The term “plagiarize” as defined by the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary (2011) is, “to steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as one's own: use another's production without crediting the source.”
Why do students plagiarize? Plagiarism occurs when an individual does not have knowledge of the subject, lack of knowledge of the American Psychological Association (APA) writing guidelines, procrastination, which does not allow the individual to spend the time needed to research the topic. The guidelines of the American Psychological Association should be followed. Some students plagiarize because they think that it is not necessary to place citations throughout the written work text, but only on the reference page. This occurs when the individual is unfamiliar with the APA guidelines. Lack of knowledge of the subject due to students procrastinating. Procrastination does not allow for the student to thoroughly research the subject to ensure that the ideas are solely his or her own. Procrastination can cause a student to plagiarize by copying and pasting the information that is found. This practice can also cause a student to purchase the work of others from different sources.
Intentional versus Unintentional Plagiarism Intentional plagiarism occurs when an individual knowingly uses the work of another as his or her own. A common form of intentional plagiarism is copying and pasting from multiple sources to construct a source and not giving the authors credit. Unintentional plagiarism occurs when an individual uses a series of words from a source and does not credit the author. A common form of unintentional plagiarism is rearranging the information that another author wrote by changing or omitting words (APA, 2010, pg. 171). Students sometimes forget to provide an in text citation, but place the source on the reference page. Even though this act may not have been done purposefully it is still considered plagiarism.
Importance of citing It is important to cite any information obtained from a source, to give the author credit for the information. Citing sources is also important because it allows the professor or anyone reading the document to see where the information originated from. An example of the use of improper citation is a direct quote is used and the page number is not included.
Citing, directing quoting, paraphrasing, and expressing other’s ideas Direct quoting involves using the information of another word for word. There are many ways to cite a direct quote. Direct quotes can be cited at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence. They can contain as much as a sentence or a whole paragraph of a source. When an individual uses direct quotes, he or she should always remember to include the year the source was written, the author of the source, and the page number or paragraph at which the information was obtained (APA, 2010, pgs. 170-171). Depending on the number of words in a direct quote the format will be different. Paraphrasing involves taking the idea of another and rephrasing it. When paraphrasing the individual must remember to include the page number or the paragraph at which the information was taken from. This allows the individual reading the work to locate the original source if a better understanding is needed (APA, 2010, pg. 171).
Common Knowledge: over or under-citing Common knowledge refers to information that the writer knows. An example of common knowledge is President Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States. The writer’s understanding of the concept of common knowledge can mean the difference between a plagiarized or original document. When it comes to over or under citing it is best to over cite. Over citing when composing a document helps to protect the writer from any accusations of plagiarism. The method of over citing shows that the writer has done research on the topic.
Conclusion
Plagiarism involves an individual using the work of someone else has his or her own work. It can come in two forms intentional or unintentional. Intentional plagiarism involves the writer using the work of someone else word for without providing the proper citation. Whereas unintentional plagiarism involves the writer failing to provide the proper citation of another author’s work. Both intentional and unintentional plagiarism is avoidable. Plagiarism can be avoided if the writer understands the guidelines set forth by the American Psychological Association (APA). The American Psychological Association outlines ways to ensure that the writer documents sources to prevent plagiarism.