Copyright and Plagiarism Adapted from the following web page originally created as a graduate project in ETL. (Educational Technology Leadership) at The George Washington University. Last updated 3/03/03. ©2001 by Phyllis D. Gardner.

Copyright???!!! Plagiarism???!!! COME ON!!! I'm supposed to know what copyright and plagiarism mean??? I'm supposed to be able to figure out what I can use on the internet and what I can't???

It all started when my Science teacher told us to do a report on dinosaurs. Easy, I said. That night, I got on the internet and went to I copied their whole page on Gobi Dinosaurs. I even copied their great graphic with the words "Gobi Dinosaurs" written across it. Well, was I surprised when I got my report back.... The teacher said I copied and that I was stealing and a lot of other things that took me by surprise! Who knew? That's right! Who does know? "Copying" and "cheating" and "stealing" are not words you want to hear from your teachers or anyone else. But you are not alone if you are confused about what to do with that good information you find on the internet. What can you use? What is the right way to use it? How about all those great pictures? Can you "borrow" them or not? Gobi Dinosaurs

EVERYTHING… books, internet, pictures But… Put it in YOUR OWN WORDS. Cite your SOURCE.

Put it in YOUR OWN WORDS Chris just found some good stuff on the Web for his science report about sharks. He highlights a paragraph that explains that most sharks grow to be only 3 to 4 feet long and can't hurt people. Chris copies it and pastes it into his report. He quickly changes the font so it matches the rest of the report and continues his research. Uh-oh. Chris just made a big mistake. Do you know what he did? He committed plagiarism. Plagiarism is when you use someone else's words or ideas and pass them off as your own. Chris should have given the author and the website credit for the information. Why? Because these aren't his thoughts or ideas. NEVER copy word for word!!!

Cite your SOURCE To be on the safe side, always make it clear where the information comes from. A bibliography is a list of the sources that you used for a project or report. To do that, you'll need to know the author, the title, and the date it was published. For Example: Smith, Hazel B. "All About Giraffes." 1995.

How about all those great pictures? One of the coolest things about the internet is that it is easy to borrow pictures. Pictures and graphics are a little different because you can’t exactly “re-write” a picture. BUT… Pictures are COPYRIGHT  protected. Copyright is a form of protection given to the authors or creators of original works. 

Can you "borrow" them or not? YES But… Put it in YOUR OWN WORDS. Cite your SOURCE.