AVOIDING PLAGIARISM

Building Academic Integrity

Originally Developed by for Professional Communication- Ohio University

Facts About Plagiarism

A study by The Center for Academic Integrity found
that almost 80% of college students admit to
cheating at least once.
According to a survey by the Psychological Record
36% of undergraduates have admitted to
plagiarizing written materials.

Facts About Plagiarism

A national survey published in Education Week

found that 54% of students admitted to
plagiarizing from the internet; 74% of students
admitted that at least once during the past school
year they had engaged in serious cheating; and
47% of students believe their teachers sometimes
choose to ignore students who are cheating.

What is Plagiarism

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary: to plagiarize

To

steal and pass off (the ideas and words of another)

as ones own
To use (anothers production) without crediting the
source
To commit literary theft
To present as new and original an idea or product
derived from an existing source

Plagiarism
Turning in someone elses work as your own
Copying words or ideas from someone else without
giving credit
Failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
Giving incorrect information about the source of a
quotation

Plagiarism
Changing words but copying the sentence structure
of a source without giving credit
Copying so many words or ideas from a source that
is makes up the majority of your work, whether you
give credit or not
Using your own work from previous classes (without
faculty consent or citing yourself)

Crediting Sources
A critical part of the writing process is helping
readers place your contributions in context by
citing the researchers who influenced you (APA,
2010, p. 169).

When to Cite
Work that directly influenced your work
Credit ideas of others you build off of
All facts and figures that are not common
knowledge
Direct quotations and paraphrased material

Basic Citation Styles

Parenthetical
format,
subsequent
citations in text

Type of citation

First citation in
text

Subsequent
citations in text

Parenthetical
format, first
citation in text

One work by one

author

Walker (2007)

Walker (2007)

(Walker, 2007)

(Walker, 2007)

One work by two

authors

Walker and Allen

(2004)

Walker and Allen

(2004)

(Walker & Allen,

2004)

(Walker & Allen,

2004)

One work by
three authors

Bradley, Ramirez,
and Soo (1999)

Bradley et al.
(1999)

(Bradley, Ramirez,
& Soo, 1999)

(Bradley et al.,
1999)

One work by four

authors

Bradley, Ramirez,
Soo, and Walsh
(2006)

Bradley et al.
(2006)

(Bradley, Ramirez,
Soo, & Walsh,
2006)

(Bradley et al.,
2006)

Basic Citation Styles

Parenthetical
format,
subsequent
citations in text
(Bradley et al.,
2008)

Type of citation

First citation in
text

Subsequent
citations in text

Parenthetical
format, first
citation in text

One work by five

authors

Walker, Allen,
Bradley, Ramirez,
and Soo (2008)

Walker et al.
(2008)

(Walker, Allen,
Bradley, Ramirez,
& Soo, 2008)

One work by six

authors

Wasserstein et al.
(2005)

Wasserstein et al. (Wasserstein et al. (Wasserstein et al.

(2005)
2005)
2005)

Groups ( readily
identified through
abbreviation) as
authors

National Institute
of Mental Health
(NIMH, 2003)

NIMH (2003)

(National Institute
of Mental Health
[NIMH], 2003)

(NIMH, 2003)

Groups (no
abbreviation) as
authors

University of
Pittsburgh (2005)

University of
Pittsburgh (2005)

(University of
Pittsburgh, 2005)

(University of
Pittsburgh, 2005)

Direct Quotation of Sources

Interpreting these results, Robbins et al., (2003)

suggests that the therapists in dropout cases may
have inadvertently validated parental negativity
about the adolescent without adequately responding
to the adolescents needs or concerns (p. 541),
contributing to an overall climate of negativity.

Direct Quotation of Sources

Confusing this issue is the overlapping nature of roles

in palliative care, whereby medial needs are met by
those in the medical disciplines; nonmedical needs
may be addressed by anyone of the team (Csikai &
Chaitin, 2006, p. 112).

Direct Quotation of Sources

This is the paragraph leading to the direct quote that is over 40 words. Others have
contradicted this view:
Co-presence does not ensure intimate interaction among all group members.
Consider large-scale social gatherings in which hundreds or thousands of people
gather in a location to perform a ritual or celebrate an event.
In these instances, participants are able to see the visible manifestation of the
group, the physical gathering, yet their ability to make direct, intimate connections
with those around this is limited by the sheer magnitude of the assembly. (Purcell,
1997, pp. 111-112)
The paper continues as normal after the large direct quote.

Citing Within Quotations

In the United States, the American Cancer Society

(2007) estimated that about 1 million cases of
NMSC and 59,940 cases of melanoma would be
diagnosed in 2007, with melanoma resulting in
8,110 deaths (Miller et al., 2009, p. 209).

Paraphrasing Material
Kessler (2003) found that among epidemiological
samples. . .
Early onset results in a more persistent and severe
course (Kessler, 2003).
In 2003, Kesslers study of epidemiological samples
showed that. . .

Paraphrasing Within a Paragraph

Among epidemiological samples, Kessler (2003) found
that early onset social anxiety disorder results in a
more potent and severe course. Kessler also found. . . .
The study also showed that there was a high rate of
comorbidity with alcohol or dependence and major
depression (Kessler, 2003).

Reference List
The reference list at the end of a work provides
the information necessary to identify and
retrieve each source. Include only the sources
that you used in the research and preparation of
the work.

References
Must be correct and complete
Usually contains the following elements:

Author
Year

of publication

Title
Retrieved

date & url address (if electronic source)

Alphabetized list
Accurately prepared references help establish your
credibility

Sample APA References

JOURNAL ARTICLE, ONE AUTHOR
Fox, H. (1982). Communication policies on evolving products. The Journal of Business
Communication, 19(3), 27-34.
JOURNAL ARTICLE, TWO AUTHORS, JOURNAL PAGINATED BY ISSUE
Moutoux, D., & Porte, M. (1980). Small talk in industry. The Journal of Business
Communication, 17(2), 3-11.
JOURNAL ARTICLE, MORE THAN SIX AUTHORS
Wolchik, S. A., West, S. G., Sandler, I. N., Tein, J., Coatsworth, D., Lengua, L., et al.
(2000). An experimental evaluation of theory-based mother and mother-child
programs for children of divorce. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
68, 843-856.

Sample APA References

INTERNET ARTICLE BASED ON A MAGAZINE OR JOURNAL PRINT SOURCE
Author(s). (Dateindicate n.d. if date is unknown). Title [Electronic version]. Magazine or Journal
Title, volume (issue, if given), paging. [Add the date of retrieval and the URL only if you believe
that the print version differs from the electronic version.]
Endicott, J. (1999). If disaster strikes onstage, stay focused and be creative. Presentations, 27-28.
Retrieved April 9, 2001, from: <http://www.presentations.com/deliver/speak/1999/06/12_ctif.html>.

Sample APA References

ARTICLE IN AN INTERNET-ONLY MAGAZINE OR JOURNAL
Author(s). (Date). Title. Magazine or Journal Title, volume (issue), paging (if given). Retrieved
[access date] from [URL]
MAGAZINE OR JOURNAL ARTICLE FROM A DATABASE
Author(s). (Date). Title. Magazine or Journal Title, volume (issue), paging. Retrieved [date], from
[database], Article No. (if given).
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE (ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE BY SEARCH)
Author(s). (Date). Title. Name of Newspaper. Retrieved [date] from [URL]
INTERNET GOVERNMENT REPORT
Sponsoring agency. (Date). Title. (Publication data). Retrieved [date] from [name of organization and
URL]

Sample APA References

NONPERIODICAL MULTIPAGE WEB DOCUMENT (NO AUTHOR)
Name of sponsoring organization or title of site. (Date). Document name. Retrieved [date] from
[URL]
Central Intelligence Agency. (2010). About: History. Retrieved October 5, 2010, from The World
Factbook: Japan: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/docs/history.html
Dell Inc. (2009). Income Statement. Retrieved October 5, 2010, from Financial Reporting:
http://i.dell.com/sites/content/corporate/secure/en/Documents/FY11_Q2_asdfgh_IncomeStatemen
t.pdf