Plagiarism Citing Sources Evaluating Sources Mrs. Castro GJHS Library

Definition  According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to "plagiarize" means  1) to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own  2) to use (another's production) without crediting the source  3) to commit literary theft  4) to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

What?  In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud.  It involves both stealing someone else's work and lying about it afterward.

Not citing sources…  “Ghost Writer”  “The Photocopy”  “The Potluck Paper”  “The Poor Disguise”  “The Labor of Laziness”  “The Self Stealer”

Sources cited, still plagiarized…  “The Forgotten Footnote”  “The Misinformer”  “The Too-Perfect Paraphrase”  “The Resourceful Citer”  “The Perfect Crime”

Did you know?  The penalties for plagiarism can be surprisingly severe, ranging from failure of classes and expulsion from academic institutions to heavy fines and jail time!

GJHS Student Handbook  Students are expected to do their own work.  Students who choose to cheat, plagiarize, or forge may: 1. have to repeat work for partial or no credit 2. receive a grade of zero 3. receive a failing grade for the semester

Believe it or not…  Changing the words of an original source is not sufficient to prevent plagiarism. If you have retained the essential idea of an original source, and have not cited it, then no matter how drastically you may have altered its context or presentation, you have still plagiarized.

What do we do?  Cite Sources Acknowledge borrowed material/ideas  Provide audience with information to find sources

What is Citation?  A "citation" is the way you tell your readers that certain material in your work came from another source. It also gives your readers the information necessary to find that source again, including: Author Title Publishing Company Date of Publication Page numbers of the material Where to locate the source

When do I need to Cite?  Whenever you borrow words or ideas. The following situations almost always require citation: Quotes Paraphrase Use an idea someone else has already expressed Make specific reference to the work of another Someone else's work has been critical in developing your own ideas

How do I Cite?  GJHS Library Website   Citation Machine  Library Handouts

Keeping track of sources  Save to favorites Organize this so you can find things again Before moving on, save pages so you can easily go back  Look for “persistent” links  Keep a “working” works cited list

Evaluate Your Sources  Databases - great places to start EBSCO – Infotrac – Worldbook – Science FOF Print resources  Websites - Who, What, Where, When, Why Use an evaluation form Be very careful!

Try it!  The importance of evaluating sites… and looking at the dot what?  Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division

Creating better searches… Worldbook (online or print)  Great place to “pre-search” General overview of topic Find key words to use in searching Database Basic Search Tips – handout available in the library (Yellow)  Boolean Operators  Parentheses  Quotation Marks  Wildcard and truncation symbols – ?,!,*  Proximity

Sources:    GJHS Student Handbook,    Database Basic Search Tips – GJHS  Research Notes & Web Evaluation - GJHS